English Language Arts 7

Core Competencies

Communicating
 
Collaborating
Critical and Reflective Thinking
 
Creative Thinking
Personal Awareness and Responsibility
 
Positive Personal and Cultural Identity
 
Social Awareness and Responsibility

Students are expected to know the following:

Using oral, written, visual, and digital texts, students are expected individually and collaboratively to be able to:

Big Ideas

Big Ideas

Language and text
Text and texts are generic terms referring to all forms of oral, written, visual, and digital communication:
  • Oral texts include speeches, poems, plays, and oral stories.
  • Written texts include novels, articles, and short stories.
  • Visual texts include posters, photographs, and other images.
  • Digital texts include electronic forms of all the above.
  • Oral, written, and visual elements can be combined (e.g., in dramatic presentations, graphic novels, films, web pages, advertisements)
can be a source of creativity and joy.
Exploring stories
narrative texts, whether real or imagined, that teach us about human nature, motivation, and experience, and often reflect a personal journey or strengthen a sense of identity. They may also be considered the embodiment of collective wisdom. Stories can be oral, written, or visual, and used to instruct, inspire, and entertain listeners and readers.
and other texts
Text and texts are generic terms referring to all forms of oral, written, visual, and digital communication:
  • Oral texts include speeches, poems, plays, and oral stories.
  • Written texts include novels, articles, and short stories.
  • Visual texts include posters, photographs, and other images.
  • Digital texts include electronic forms of all the above.
  • Oral, written, and visual elements can be combined (e.g., in dramatic presentations, graphic novels, films, web pages, advertisements).
helps us understand ourselves and make connections to others and to the world.
Exploring and sharing multiple perspectives extends our thinking.
Developing our understanding of how language works allows us to use it purposefully.
Questioning what we hear, read, and view contributes to our ability to be educated and engaged citizens.

Content

Learning Standards

Content

Story/text
  • forms
    such as narrative, exposition, report
    , functions
    purposes of text
    , and genres
    literary or thematic categories such as fantasy, humour, adventure, biography
    of text
    Text and texts are generic terms referring to all forms of oral, written, visual, and digital communication:
    • Oral texts include speeches, poems, plays, and oral stories.
    • Written texts include novels, articles, and short stories.
    • Visual texts include posters, photographs, and other images.
    • Digital texts include electronic forms of all the above.
    • Oral, written, and visual elements can be combined (e.g., in dramatic presentations, graphic novels, films, web pages, advertisements).
  • text features
    how text and visuals are displayed
  • literary elements
    narrative structures, characterization, and setting
  • literary devices
    sensory detail (e.g., imagery, sound devices) and figurative language (e.g., metaphor, simile)
  • argument
Strategies and processes
  • reading strategies
    using contextual clues; using phonics and word structure; visualizing; questioning; predicting; previewing text; summarizing; making inferences
  • oral language strategies
    focusing on the speaker, asking questions to clarify, listening for specifics, expressing opinions, speaking with expression, staying on topic, taking turns
  • metacognitive strategies
    talking and thinking about learning (e.g., through reflecting, questioning, goal setting, self-evaluating) to develop one’s awareness of self as a reader and as a writer
  • writing processes
    may include revising, editing, considering audience
Language features, structures, and conventions
  • features of oral language
    including tone, volume, inflection, pace, gestures
  • paragraphing
    developing paragraphs that are characterized by unity, development, and coherence
  • language varieties
    regional dialects and varieties of English, standard Canadian English versus American English, formal versus informal registers, and situational varieties (e.g., texting versus essay writing)
  • syntax and sentence fluency
    use of a mix of simple, compound, and complex sentences; correct pronoun use; subject-verb agreement; use of transitional words; and awareness of run-on sentences and sentence fragments
  • conventions
    common practices in all standard punctuation use, in capitalization, and in Canadian spelling
  • presentation techniques
    Any presentation (in written, oral, or digital form) should reflect an appropriate choice of medium for the purpose and the audience, and demonstrate thought and care in organization.

Curricular Competency

Learning Standards

Curricular Competency

Comprehend and connect (reading, listening, viewing)

Access information and ideas for diverse purposes
such as to inquire, to explore, to inform, to interpret, to explain, to take a position, to propose a solution, to entertain
and from a variety of sources
includes digital sources; students need to develop the language and tools to successfully navigate digital media (e.g., be familiar with terms and concepts such as browser, cookie, browsing history, hyperlinked text, thread, URL, posting etiquette, following social media, tweeting, privacy, digital identity)
and evaluate their relevance
Students should be prompted to ask: Does it meet the purpose? Is it current? Does it add new information?
, accuracy
Students should be prompted to distinguish fact from opinion and to consider the source of the information.
, and reliability
Students should be prompted to consider the authority of the source and whether it is a primary or secondary source.
Apply appropriate strategies to comprehend written, oral, and visual texts
Text and texts are generic terms referring to all forms of oral, written, visual, and digital communication:
  • Oral texts include speeches, poems, plays, and oral stories.
  • Written texts include novels, articles, and short stories.
  • Visual texts include posters, photographs, and other images.
  • Digital texts include electronic forms of all the above.
  • Oral, written, and visual elements can be combined (e.g., in dramatic presentations, graphic novels, films, web pages, advertisements).
, guide inquiry
asking creative and critical questions supported and inspired by texts
, and extend thinking
questioning and speculating, acquiring new ideas, analyzing and evaluating ideas, developing explanations, considering alternative points of view, summarizing, synthesizing, problem solving
Synthesize ideas from a variety of sources to build understanding
Recognize and appreciate how different features, forms, and genres of texts
vary depending on the purpose and audience of the text; students should be encouraged to focus on the relationship between form and function (e.g., considering the role in various texts of elements such as illustration in graphic novels; advertisements on websites; lighting in film and photography; use of music, paragraph length, line breaks in poetry; pause and pace in spoken word; symbolic and emotional use of colour)
reflect different purposes, audiences, and messages
Think critically, creatively, and reflectively
questioning, interpreting, comparing, and contrasting a range of texts (e.g., narrative, poetry, visual texts); students should be encouraged to think outside the box, moving beyond the text and comparing texts; useful strategies include “exit slips,” “one star, one wish,” and quick activities to identify thinking
to explore ideas within, between, and beyond texts
Recognize and identify the role of personal, social, and cultural contexts, values, and perspectives
Students should be prompted to consider the influence of family, friends, activities, education, religion, gender, age, and place; to develop awareness that authors write from a perspective or point of view; and to consider the relationship between text and context.
in texts
Text and texts are generic terms referring to all forms of oral, written, visual, and digital communication:
  • Oral texts include speeches, poems, plays, and oral stories.
  • Written texts include novels, articles, and short stories.
  • Visual texts include posters, photographs, and other images.
  • Digital texts include electronic forms of all the above.
  • Oral, written, and visual elements can be combined (e.g., in dramatic presentations, graphic novels, films, web pages, advertisements).
Recognize how language constructs personal, social, and cultural identity
Our sense of individuality and belonging is a product of the language we use; oral tradition, story, recorded history, and social media; voice; cultural aspects; and register. Students should recognize the impact of language in their lives.
Construct meaningful personal connections between self, text
Text and texts are generic terms referring to all forms of oral, written, visual, and digital communication:
  • Oral texts include speeches, poems, plays, and oral stories.
  • Written texts include novels, articles, and short stories.
  • Visual texts include posters, photographs, and other images.
  • Digital texts include electronic forms of all the above.
  • Oral, written, and visual elements can be combined (e.g., in dramatic presentations, graphic novels, films, web pages, advertisements).
, and world
Respond to text
Text and texts are generic terms referring to all forms of oral, written, visual, and digital communication:
  • Oral texts include speeches, poems, plays, and oral stories.
  • Written texts include novels, articles, and short stories.
  • Visual texts include posters, photographs, and other images.
  • Digital texts include electronic forms of all the above.
  • Oral, written, and visual elements can be combined (e.g., in dramatic presentations, graphic novels, films, web pages, advertisements).
in personal, creative, and critical ways
for example, students should be prompted to analyze their personal connection to text, explain their responses (rational and emotional), and consider texts from different points of view.
Understand how literary elements, techniques, and devices enhance and shape meaning
for example, metaphor brings a fresh perspective to the common; diction influences emotional response, persuasiveness, and meaning; hyperbole exaggerates for emphasis; sound devices can add to or disrupt the aesthetics of a text; imagery evokes sensory experiences in response to text
Recognize an increasing range of text
Text and texts are generic terms referring to all forms of oral, written, visual, and digital communication:
  • Oral texts include speeches, poems, plays, and oral stories.
  • Written texts include novels, articles, and short stories.
  • Visual texts include posters, photographs, and other images.
  • Digital texts include electronic forms of all the above.
  • Oral, written, and visual elements can be combined (e.g., in dramatic presentations, graphic novels, films, web pages, advertisements).
structures and how they contribute to meaning
Recognize and appreciate the role of story
narrative texts, whether real or imagined, that teach us about human nature, motivation, and experience, and often reflect a personal journey or strengthen a sense of identity. They may also be considered the embodiment of collective wisdom. Stories can be oral, written, or visual, and used to instruct, inspire, and entertain listeners and readers.
, narrative, and oral tradition in expressing First Peoples perspectives, values, beliefs, and points of view
Recognize the validity of First Peoples oral tradition
Students should be prompted to recognize the similarities and differences between oral and written records, and to understand that oral tradition has the same validity, importance, and permanence for First Peoples as written texts do for other cultures.
for a range of purposes

Create and communicate (writing, speaking, representing)

Exchange ideas and viewpoints
collaborating in large and small groups through activities such as think-pair-share, debates, four corners, quiet conversation, and lit circles (in which students take on new roles); using active listening skills and receptive body language; paraphrasing and building on others’ ideas; disagreeing respectfully; and extending thinking (e.g., shifting, changing) to broader contexts (social media, digital environments)
to build shared understanding and extend thinking
Use writing and design processes to plan, develop, and create engaging and meaningful literary and informational texts
examples include opinion pieces; poetry; short stories; narrative; slams; spoken word; storyboards and comic strips; masks; multimedia and multimodal forms
for a variety of purposes and audiences
 Students at this level expand their understanding of the range of audiences to include peers, authorities, and professional audiences.
Assess and refine texts
using techniques such as adjusting diction and form according to audience needs and preferences, using verbs effectively, using repetition and substitution for effect, using active instead of passive voice, maintaining parallelism, adding modifiers, replacing be verbs with stronger verbs, varying sentence types, using precise diction, and eliminating wordiness
to improve their clarity, effectiveness, and impact according to purpose, audience
Students at this level expand their understanding of the range of audiences to include peers, authorities, and professional audiences.
, and message
Use an increasing repertoire of conventions of Canadian spelling, grammar, and punctuation
Use and experiment with oral storytelling processes
creating an original story or finding an existing story (with permission), sharing the story from memory with others, using vocal expression to clarify the meaning of the text, using non-verbal communication expressively to clarify the meaning, attending to stage presence, differentiating the storyteller’s natural voice from the characters’ voices, presenting the story efficiently, keeping the listener’s interest throughout, using an expanding repertoire of techniques to enhance audience experience
Select and use appropriate features, forms, and genres according to audience, purpose, and message
Transform ideas and information to create original texts