Grade 9 - Communicate Ideas and Information (Presenting and Valuing)

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 their understanding of and abilities to use a variety of forms and styles of communication that are relevant to specific purposes and audiences.

It is expected that students will:

demonstrate pride and satisfaction in using language to create and express thoughts, ideas, and feelings in a variety of forms
create a variety of communications designed to persuade, inform, and entertain classroom and other audiences
create a variety of personal, literary, technical, and academic communications, including poems, stories, and personal essays; oral and visual presentations; written explanations, summaries, and arguments; letters; and bibliographies

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

SUGGESTED INSTRUCTIONAL STRATEGIES

Students need opportunities to use a wide variety of language forms and styles and to reflect on whether their written, oral, or visual communications suit their audiences and purposes.

Have groups of students develop and present a radio play based on a short story or a chapter from a novel being studied in class. Following a lesson about dialogue rules, writing conventions, and script writing, have the groups brainstorm to generate dialogue (rather than narration) to convey the story.
Ask each student to rewrite a familiar text in a new way and present it to the class. For example, have students rewrite fairy tales as instructions. (e.g., How to Have Lunch With a Wolf and Live; How to Have Seven Little Men at Your Beck and Call.) Ask the class to evaluate the "new" texts based on criteria developed in class.
Invite students to read their own work on special occasions (e.g., Remembrance Day, Awards Day) or enter them in student writing contests. Arrange to have a writers' festival with student authors reading their best works in the school library.
Have small groups of students choose a fiction or non-fiction selection to rewrite in a different genre. Remind students to consider their intended audiences and the similarities and differences of the original and new genres. Ask the groups to present their finished products to the class.
Invite groups of students to prepare and present their solutions to issues of importance to the school or community. Each presentation should include activities that will hold the interest of all students in the class.

SUGGESTED ASSESSMENT STRATEGIES

Students need to understand clearly the specific criteria used to assess particular presentations, as well as those that are common to most presentations (e.g., clarity and focus). Sample rating scales are included in Appendix D.

Work with students to ensure that they understand the criteria for effective oral, written, and other media reports. Some criteria vary from one format to another; however, effective informative presentations (including explanations, instructions, and descriptions) share the following features:
- clarity : easy to understand
- efficiency : focussed; all information is relevant; organization is easy to follow
- accuracy : information is carefully researched; sources are credible; observations are objective
- thoroughness : information is complete; relevant and interesting details are included to clarify meaning and engage the reader, listener, or viewer
When students write and present scripts, collaborate to establish criteria such as the following:
- dialogue conveys all important information
- language and speech patterns are appropriate and differ from one character to another
- characters reveal their motivation through speech
- relationships among characters are made clear by the way they talk to and about each other
- dramatic techniques, such as suspense, are used effectively
- stage directions support and enhance the dialogue
Before beginning an assignment, discuss the key features that characterize an effective product and provide examples. Ask students to develop personal definitions of what "success" on this assignment would look like. When they submit their assignments, ask students to include brief analyses of their work in terms of their definitions of success. Students can also use their definitions as the basis for eliciting peer feedback as they work.