Grade 10 - Communicate Ideas and Information (Knowledge of Language)

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 apply their knowledge of the conventions of language and use appropriate vocabulary to talk about them.

It is expected that students will:

monitor their own and others' communications for correctness, recognizing the use of purposeful misspellings or mispronunciations for stylistic effect
identify a variety of language errors and conventions that can strongly influence an audience, including the overuse of jargon and technical language, the use of double negatives, and the misuse of personal pronouns
appraise communications forms critically, using accurate terminology and a knowledge of communications rules and conventions
use a variety of technological functions and computer software to publish original work

To view the prescribed learning outcomes for Communicate Ideas and Information (Knowledge of Language) in other grades click on an icon below.

SUGGESTED INSTRUCTIONAL STRATEGIES

By examining the use of language conventions in a variety of oral and written forms, students learn to express themselves with varying degrees of sophistication and artistry and to know when and how to use different levels of language.

Discuss the appropriate use of different levels of language (formal, informal, slang) giving examples (e.g., language of ceremony and law, language used in an essay or job interview, language used with friends and family, slang expressions). Ask students to suggest additional examples.
Have students create ongoing dictionaries of the slang and informal expressions that they regularly use. Students' dictionaries should include brief etymologies and dictionary-style definitions.
Discuss with students the impact of technological and medical discoveries on language. Provide examples of new English words from the last twenty years or so (e.g., boot up, interface, CD-ROM, compact disc, AIDS, HIV, star wars ). Discuss what these words tell us about English as a language and about the world.
Suggest that students access various grammar sites on the Internet and find grammar tips to share with the class.
With partners, have students read aloud a passage from which all punctuation has been removed, noting the problems this causes. Then have them add punctuation to the passage and reread it to their partners. Ask students to explain how reading their written work aloud can help them with editing it.
Have each student write two rŽsumŽs for a job he or she knows well: one full of jargon and bragging and the other more neutral and positive.

SUGGESTED ASSESSMENT STRATEGIES

At this level, students should show increasing precision in their oral and written work. Assessment of language conventions is most valid when it is contextualized within activities that students see as purposeful and important. Students can also benefit from opportunities to check on their understanding of the conventions they use.

After students have practised reading passages with and without punctuation, ask them questions to prompt reflection. For example:
- Which punctuation marks were most important for clarifying meaning?
- Which punctuation marks (or grammatical structures) were you least confident about inserting? Why? Was the difficulty caused by the fact that the rules are not always cut-and-dried or by your lack of practice with the structure?
- How did you resolve aspects that were difficult?
- What two rules or conventions are clearer to you because of this activity?
Have students work with partners or in small groups to research and present examples of events, discoveries, situations, and technologies that have had an impact on language. Look for evidence that the information they present is complete and accurate.
Students can check on their knowledge about language conventions, communications technologies, and ways of documenting information by answering questions posed by their classmates. For example, each student can ask one question as part of an impromptu classroom quiz on language or communications technology. Ask students to prepare at least two questions each in case one question is asked by another student.
As part of the requirements for writing portfolios or other collections, specify that students include evidence of having worked with a variety of communications technologies available to them and relevant to their interests and assignments.

RECOMMENDED LEARNING RESOURCES

Print Materials

The 21st Century Dictionary of Acronyms and Abbreviations
The 21st Century Dictionary of Quotations
The 21st Century Grammar Handbook
The 21st Century Guide to Pronunciation
The 21st Century Synonyms and Antonyms Finder
Desktop Publishing
Develop Your English Skills
The Little, Brown Handbook
Roget's Twenty-First Century Thesaurus
Stories from Asia
The Writer's Workshop
Writing for Results

Multimedia

Word Attack 3

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Revised: January 25, 1999

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