Communications 12

Self and Society
(Personal Awareness)

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:

• assess their communication skills, interests, and attitudes in light of personal and career plans
• demonstrate awareness of the range of communication technologies and the impact these have on the workplace, their careers, and their lives

To view the prescribed learning outcomes for Self and Society (Personal Awareness) in grade 11 click below.

Suggested Instructional Strategies

• Survey the class to determine the various jobs or volunteer work that students have done. Discuss the different types of language and forms of communication used in these situations. Ask students to reach conclusions about which communication skills are most essential and most valued in the workplace (e.g., telephone skills, reading and writing skills, ability to use e-mail and other technologies). Then ask students individually to list the skills they would need for the careers they hope to follow.
• Have each student write about a job she or he would like to have and explain why. Then have them describe what they feel would be the worst possible job and why. Read a selection that focusses on a particular person doing a particular job (e.g., Alden Nowlan’s "Warren Pryor" or Tom Wayman’s poems in Paperwork). Ask students to write poems describing themselves in their perfect or worst job.
• Provide students with a series of communication tasks and discuss which considerations would determine the best communication method or format in each situation. Tasks might include:
  • sending a very brief, time-sensitive message to several people in different locations
  • sending a formal thank-you for a service
  • sending a graph of the sales performance of a company to a specific person in a time-sensitive manner
  • telling a client that you would like to set up an appointment for a specific date
  • sending a large volume of documents that are not urgent to a specific client
  • redirecting a message that was sent to you to a more appropriate recipient
  • sending confidential or sensitive material

  As an extension, have students discuss the importance of electronic communication technologies in their lives and which ones are most likely to have an impact on their careers.

Suggested Assessment Strategies

• Have students develop individual communication profiles that include:
  • a complete list of their current skills, interests, and attitudes
  • relevant experience
  • preferences among communication forms and situations (e.g., large group or small group; reading, listening, or viewing; virtual or face-to-face; writing, visual representations, speaking, or electronic media)
  • goals for improvement
  • postsecondary plans

  Look for evidence that they are able to be reflective, objective, analytical, realistic, and open in their self-analyses.

• When students explain their choices for the best communication technology for a specific communication task, check that they have considered the following elements and can offer a clear explanation for their choices:
  • purpose and audience
  • importance of timeliness
  • level of formality required
  • social situation

Recommended Learning Resources

Print Material

• Canadian Writer’s Companion
• The Communications Handbook
• English Skills With Readings, First Canadian Edition