Ontario Secondary School Literacy Course, Grade 11 or 12, Open
| Course Title | Ontario Secondary School Literacy Course, Grade 11 or 12, Open |
| Course Code | OLC3O/4O |
| Grade | 11 or 12 |
| Course Type | Open |
| Credit Value | 1.0 |
| Prerequisite | None |
| Co requisite | None |
| Department | English |
| Name of the Department Head | Camille Dubé - Gladstone (B.Ed., OCT) |
| Course Developer or Teacher | Melissa Moreno |
| Curriculum Policy Document | |
| Course development date | January 2022 |
| Most recent revision date | January 2026 |
| Course reviser | Melissa Moreno |
This course is designed to help students acquire and demonstrate the cross-curricular literacy skills that are evaluated by the Ontario Secondary School Literacy Test. Students who complete the course successfully will meet the provincial literacy requirement for graduation. Students will read a variety of informational, narrative, and graphic texts and will produce a variety of forms of writing, including summaries, information paragraphs, opinion pieces, and news reports. Students will also maintain and manage a literacy portfolio containing a record of their reading experiences and samples of their writing.
The overall expectations are as follows:
| 1. Building Reading Skills | |
| 1.1 | Demonstrate understanding of the organizational structure and features of a variety of informational, narrative, and graphic texts, including information paragraphs, opinion pieces, textbooks, newspaper reports and magazine stories, and short fiction; |
| 1.2 | Demonstrate understanding of the content and meaning of informational, narrative, and graphic texts that they have read using a variety of reading strategies; |
| 1.3 | Use a variety of strategies to understand unfamiliar and specialized words and expressions in informational, narrative, and graphic texts. |
| 2. Building Writing Skills | |
| 2.1 | Demonstrate the ability to use the writing process by generating and organizing ideas and producing first drafts, revised drafts, and final polished pieces to complete a variety of writing tasks; |
| 2.2 | Use knowledge of writing forms, and of the connections between form, audience, and purpose, to write summaries, information paragraphs, opinion pieces (i.e., series of paragraphs expressing an opinion), news reports, and personal reflections, incorporating graphic elements where necessary and appropriate. |
| 3. Understanding and Assessing Growth in Literacy | |
| 3.1 | Demonstrate understanding of the importance of communication skills in their everyday lives – at school, at work, and at home; |
| 3.2 | Demonstrate understanding of their own roles and responsibilities in the learning process; |
| 3.3 | Demonstrate understanding of the reading and writing processes and of the role of reading and writing in learning; |
| 3.4 | Demonstrate understanding of their own growth in literacy during the course. |
| Time Allocated | Online/Offline Component | Learning Expectations | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. Reading | |||
This unit focuses on developing core reading skills through active decoding and analysis strategies. Students read a variety of self-selected and teacher-selected narrative and short fictional works to identify central themes and directly stated information. Exercises cover using context clues to interpret unfamiliar or specialized words, exploring basic paragraph layouts, and establishing initial reading logs to track vocabulary acquisition and regular reading habits. | 12hours | (6 hrs online / 6 hrs offline) | A1, A2, A3, C2, C3 |
| 2. Newspaper Writing | |||
In this unit, students learn to read, write, and analyze contemporary journalism and print media layouts. They examine how real-world news reports are organized using the inverted pyramid structure, distinct headline fonts, and strategic image placement. For the writing component, students move through the complete writing process to generate ideas, draft lead lines, and produce final polished news reports that speak effectively to a public audience. | 18 hours | (9 hrs online / 9 hrs offline) | A1, A2, B1, B2, C1, C3 |
| 3. Informational Texts + Graphic Texts | |||
In this unit, students learn to interpret and critically analyze technical informational documents and complex graphic data sources. Lessons guide students through reading and extracting hidden or indirectly stated facts from specialized formats like blueprints, graphs, transit timetables, and maps. Students analyze how design features like labels, arrows, diagrams, and legends function to transmit dense data without relying heavily on body text. | 20 hours | (10 hrs online / 10 hrs offline) | A1, A2, A3, B2, C1 |
| 4. Opinion Essays | |||
In this unit, students learn to identify persuasive structural features inside professional editorials and opinion pieces. They learn to separate clear supporting evidence from emotional bias or unverified claims. Through structured graphic organizers, students practice the stages of pre-writing to formulate personal viewpoints and build a coherent multi-paragraph essay that defends a chosen stance using explicit textual logic. | 22 hours | (11 hrs online / 11 hrs offline) | A1, A2, B1, B2, C1, C3 |
| 5. Summary Writing + Reading | |||
In this unit, students master the essential mechanics of processing text by learning to effectively summarize a wide variety of narrative, informational, and graphic sources. Activities train students to separate main overarching arguments from minor, non-essential details. As a culminating step, students assemble, refine, and review their compiled literacy work samples to demonstrate cross-curricular competency and evaluate their personal growth over the course duration. | 28 hours | (14 hrs online / 14 hrs offline) | A2, B1, B2, C2, C4 |
| 6. Final Evaluation | |||
Journal | 10 hours | (10 hrs online) | — |
| Total | 110 Hours | ||
| Online | Offline |
|---|---|
| Studying Lesson Presentations | Reading materials of the course |
| Communicating with the instructor | Researching topics on the internet |
| Contributing to forums | Completing assignments |
| Watching instructional videos | Completing practice activities |
| Watching additional resource videos | Reviewing for tests and exams |
| Practicing through online quizzes | |
| Reviewing peer submissions |
A variety of assessment and evaluation methods, strategies and tools are required as appropriate to the expectation being assessed. These include diagnostic, formative and summative within the course and within each unit. We strictly follow the Ministry of Education’s Growing Success document.
Assessment FOR Learning and Assessment AS Learning is obtained through a variety of means, including the following:
- Ongoing descriptive feedback
- Self-assessment
- Peer assessment
- Journals
- Quizzes
- Student/Teacher Conferences with on a regular basis to:
- verbalize observations
- ask questions
- clarify understanding
Evidence of student achievement (assessment OF learning) is collected through ongoing observations of most consistent work, with consideration given to most recent work from various sources.
Assessment and evaluation in this course will be based on the provincial Ontario Curriculum expectations. Students will be provided with numerous and varied opportunities to demonstrate the full extent of their achievement. Categories of assessment and breakdowns are as follows:
- Knowledge – 25%
- Thinking – 25%
- Application – 25%
- Communication – 25%
A final grade will be determined as follows:
- Term Work – 65%
- Assignments – 40%
- Projects – 30%
- Essays – 30%
- Journal – 25%
- Attendance & Participation – 10%
Students enrolled in this course through CHS’s Hybrid (H) program will participate in synchronous learning via live online teaching sessions, online support material, and student-to-student discussions organized throughout the semester. Conversely, students taking this course as part of CHS’s Self-Paced (S) program will learn asynchronously through recorded video lessons, presentations, online support material, and simulations. While self-paced students have up to one year to complete the course, they are encouraged to finish within five months.
A variety of strategies will be used in the online delivery of this course. Instructional strategies will include but are not limited to:
- Lesson Presentations
- Cooperative learning
- Independent research
- Peer to Peer learning
- Multimedia presentations
Learning goals will be discussed at the beginning of each assignment and success criteria be provided to students. The success criteria are used to develop the assessment tools in this course, including rubrics and checklists.
To participate fully in the society and workplace of the twenty-first century, today’s students will need to be able to use language skilfully and confidently. The Ontario curriculum recognizes the central importance of reading and writing skills in learning across the curriculum and in everyday life, and prepares students for the literacy demands they will face in their postsecondary endeavours. To ensure that they have the essential competencies in reading and writing that they will need to succeed at school, at work, and in daily life, students in Ontario must demonstrate those skills as a requirement for graduation.
Students with special needs and English Language Learners will be provided with accommodation, including additional time, assistive technology and scribe where available. Teachers who are planning a program in this subject make an effort to take into account considerations for program planning that align with the Ontario Ministry of Education policy and initiatives in a number of important areas.
Learning Skills listed below are key to student success. Learning Skills are assessed independently of achievement and are determined through observation and participation. A check list and student-teacher communication will be used to determine the level in each category.
- Responsibility
- Organization
- Independent Work
- Collaboration
- Initiative
- Self-Regulation
This course will be entirely administered online, with most resources being available for free. You may choose to purchase a hard copy of the following books:
- Merriam Webster Dictionary
- Merriam Webster Thesaurus
- Lesson Presentations
- Activities
- Online readings and resources
- Videos