Communications 12

Comprehend and Respond
(Engagement and Personal Response)

This sub-organizer contains the following sections:
Prescribed Learning Outcomes
Suggested Instructional Strategies
Suggested Assessment Strategies
Recommended Learning Resources

Prescribed Learning Outcomes

It is expected that students will:

• demonstrate the ability to connect their experiences and values to those reflected in Canadian and international literary and mass media works
• demonstrate a willingness to explore diverse perspectives to develop or modify their points of view
• assess their knowledge and use of language in light of the requirements of workplace communications
• demonstrate the ability to support a position by citing specific details from what they have read, heard, or viewed

To view the prescribed learning outcomes for Comprehend and Respond (Engagement and Personal Response) in grade 11 click below.

Suggested Instructional Strategies

• Have students keep ongoing response journals in which they indicate their impressions of Canadian and international literary or media works of a specific genre (e.g. novels, poetry, movies). In reviewing these works, they should answer the following questions:
  • What are some common characteristics of Canadian works in this genre?
  • What are some common characteristics of international works in this genre?
  • How do Canadian works in this genre compare with international works?
  • Which of these works connect with your personal values and experiences?

  Ask students to cite specific examples and record their reactions in their journals. As an extension activity, have students form groups to discuss their observations.

• Use Romeo and Juliet and West Side Story to explore the issues of gangs, prejudice, revenge, young love, and fate. Have students summarize what the authors are saying about these topics. Then ask them whether they agree or disagree and have them support their position with evidence from the plays or other sources.
• Through discussion, elicit student experiences with and ideas about a controversial topic (e.g., aging, role of women, schooling, penal systems, global warming). Have students read or view a variety of different perspectives on the topic, then ask them to compare their own values to those reflected in the selections. For example, provide students with articles on aging and ask them to connect their experiences with seniors to the ideas expressed in the articles.

Suggested Assessment Strategies

• When students read or view several selections on a controversial topic, check to see that they can provide details and support for both sides of the issue. When they compare their own values to those reflected in the selections, look for evidence that they:
  • clearly illustrate or explain their opinions, attitudes, and beliefs
  • demonstrate understanding of the issue
  • summarize and synthesize information from different sources

  Possible questions for self-assessment include:

  • Have I objectively considered different points of view on the issue?
  • Can I justify my position?
• Students can show their responses to articles about issues that concern them by developing collages that feature excerpts from the articles, other materials, and samples of their writing and sketching. Criteria might include:
  • clear focus on a central theme or issue
  • connections to personal experiences, values, and beliefs
  • logical presentation of student’s position
  • response supported by specific and accurate references to the articles
  • includes excerpts that represent more than one perspective
• When students complete a literature unit on a theme such as"No Man Is an Island," assess their understanding of the ideas in the unit by having them answer the following questions in their response journals:
  • How has your understanding of your own values been influenced by the literature studied?
  • Which character(s) did you most identify with or have the most sympathy for?
  • How has your understanding of other points of view been influenced?
  • If you could offer advice to the characters studied, what would it be?
  • What connections can you make between the characters studied and people in real life?

Recommended Learning Resources

Print Material

• Canadian Writer’s Companion
• The Communications Handbook
• English Skills With Readings, First Canadian Edition
• Mass Media and Popular Culture, Version 2

Video

• Scanning Television: Videos for Media Literacy in Class