Grade 10 - Self and Society (Working Together)

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 use language to interact and collaborate with others to explore ideas and to accomplish goals.

It is expected that students will:

demonstrate their commitment to collective goals
show a willingness to consider and elaborate on others' ideas or viewpoints
make effective use of strategies for resolving conflicts, solving problems, and building consensus
establish and use criteria to evaluate group processes, their own contributions to them, and the results of their work

To view the prescribed learning outcomes for Self and Society (Working Together) in other grades click on an icon below.

SUGGESTED INSTRUCTIONAL STRATEGIES

To learn to work effectively with others, students need direct instruction and modelling as well as opportunities to participate in group activities in which they assess their own and others' contributions.

Ask students to work in groups to role-play inclusion and exclusion. Have them take turns being the odd-person-out using the following scenario: X, Y, and Z speak the same language and are playing a simple game. A wants to join them, but cannot speak their language. A tries to join in, but X, Y, and Z keep pushing A away verbally and through mime. Finally, A leaves. Have students write journal entries about their feelings when they are included and excluded.
Introduce students to a five-paragraph essay structure. Then have small groups of students write group essays, choosing topics related to pieces of literature and sharing responsibility for the essays. Have students evaluate their contributions and the group process:
- What was positive about working together?
- What would you change about the assignment?
Write out roles such as the following on headbands: "Ignore me," "I'm the smart one," "I can't speak English." Then put the headbands on a few students without allowing them to read what their own headbands say. Have students complete a simple task such as reading a short story and answering questions, treating each other according to the information on the headbands. Discuss the activity with the entire class, asking such questions as:
- How did you feel about being treated in this way?
- What kind of language did you use with each person?
- How does being treated in this way help or hinder the group effort to get the job done?

SUGGESTED ASSESSMENT STRATEGIES

At this level, students should be able to develop, refine, and monitor their own processes for working in groups. They demonstrate their skills and knowledge about collaborative work in the way they deal with problems and barriers that arise as they work together. They are also expected to describe and analyse how groups function.

When students develop group presentations, collaborate with them to develop criteria for both the process and the outcome. Assessment of the process might consider their individual and collective abilities to:
- commit to a collective goal
- respect and encourage individual voices and contributions
- deal constructively with disagreements or conflicts
- synthesize their work to produce a coherent presentation
- show insight and openness in assessing their work
Groups can gain important feedback from peer observers about their discussions and interactions. For example, assign one member in each group to observe and make notes about the different roles that group members take on or how the group deals with differences of opinion. At the end of the discussion, have the observer report to the group and have students summarize three major points about their work. Alternatively, give an entire group the responsibility for observing and reporting to another group.
To help students analyse their abilities to work effectively with others, ask them to represent in collages, posters, cartoons, or other visual formats their experiences, ideas, and feelings about working in groups. Note and respond to evidence that students are able to:
- reflect on their own roles and behaviours
- consider the perspectives of others they have worked with
- consider both strengths and weaknesses
- reach logical conclusions or generalizations about themselves

RECOMMENDED LEARNING RESOURCES

Print Materials

The 21st Century Dictionary of Quotations
3-D English
Beyond Chalk & Talk
Breaking Free
Coast To Coast
Discoveries in Non-Fiction
Global Reading Safari
The Issues Collection
"Just Talking About Ourselves": Voices of Our Youth
Literature Circles
Mini Anthologies - Grade 9/10
On Common Ground
Prism of Poetry
Speaking for Success
Stories from Asia
Touching all the Bases
The Whole Language Catalogue

Video

4 Sight
At the Gate

Laserdisc/Videodisc

In Perspective

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Revised: January 25, 1999

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