High School Block:

Writing 110

In Writing 110, learners will have numerous opportunities to write in a variety of modes with relevant and varied purposes for real audiences, and for themselves. The process of writing has identifiable stages: prewriting, drafting, revising, editing, and publishing. The ways in which individual learners progress through these stages will vary.

During Writing 110, learners will be provided opportunities to take pieces of writing based on personal interest and writer identity through all stages of the process, but this is not always necessary depending on the purpose. Assessment of writing is not exclusively about the product – the journey is just as important. Both process and product should be valued.

In crafting their work, learners will have structured opportunities to seek feedback and assistance in conferences with their peers and their teacher. Focused discussion during conferences is one of the most important parts of the writing process and is a means of helping learners to adjust, clarify, and extend their thinking concerning specific aspects of writing. The concept of the teacher as an individual learner’s writing coach is crucial as learners work to achieve focused individual goals.

CONTEXTS AND CONCEPTS

Cultivate           

  • Writer’s Identity           
  • Explore           
  • Listen           
  • Respond           
  • Style           
  • Community           
Examine           

  • Technique           
  • Genre           
  • Structure           
  • Audience           
  • Purpose           
  • Craft           
Experiment           

  • Practise           
  • Reflect           
  • Feedback           
  • Revise           
  • Edit           
  • Showcase           
  • Publish           
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GRADE 11

Strand: Cultivate a Writer’s Life

Big Idea: Prepare

Skill Descriptor: Establish writing habits and adopt personal writing tools.

Global Competencies: SASM, CM

Achievement Indicators:

  • Develop reader and writer identity
  • Engage in writing every day
  • Identify strengths and weaknesses as a writer
  • Demonstrate commitment and perseverance
  • Develop strategies for writer’s block
  • Critically analyze writing tools and take ownership of those that are personally best suited
  • Share and compare personal writing tools with other writers/students
  • Monitor writing progress with writing goals

Skill Descriptor: Explore topics, styles, forms, and genres from a variety of diverse creators.

Global Competencies: CM

Achievement Indicators:

  • Understand that everyone has something worth writing about
  • Understand that each writer has a unique style
  • Use a writing tool (e.g., journal, notebook, list, etc.) to track ideas for potential writing topics
  • Understand the key elements of different genres and how they fit with personal writing identity

Big Idea: Support

Skill Descriptor: Collaborate with a community of writers.

Global Competencies: CM, CL, CTPS

Achievement Indicators:

  • Participate in a writing community
  • Understand the importance of listening critically and responding thoughtfully to other’s writing and ideas
  • Share with, and give effective feedback to, the writing community
  • Respect the importance of feedback throughout the writing process

Strand: Examine the Craft of Writing

Big Idea: Analyze

Skill Descriptor: Study writer’s style, voice, and technique.

Global Competencies: CM, CTPS

Achievement Indicators:

  • Examine various diverse authors’ style, voice, and techniques within particular genres
  • Identify and value personal writing voice
  • Compare and contrast style, voice, and technique of self and others

Skill Descriptor: Inspect the purposes and structures of a variety of forms.

Global Competencies: CM, CTPS

Achievement Indicators:

  • Recognize the importance of audience and purpose
  • Demonstrate a repertoire of writing forms
  • Deconstruct a variety of text forms for structure and purpose

Skill Descriptor: Examine and use well-crafted writing to inform process, choice and purpose.

Global Competencies: CM, CTPS

Achievement Indicators:

  • Examine mentor texts from a variety of genres through all stages of the writing process
  • Understand the connection between reading and writing
  • Evaluate how writers make informed choices regarding their writing
  • Analyze writing to identify crucial choices authors make to provide clarity and enhance meaning

Strand: Experiment with the Craft of Writing

Big Idea: Craft

Skill Descriptor: Create with purpose and understand the influence of the writer/creator.

Global Competencies: CM, CTPS

Achievement Indicators:

  • Develop a specific topic with a main idea/thesis that captures the purpose and audience
  • Sustain focus throughout
  • Develop original, thoughtful, and compelling ideas to support meaning

Skill Descriptor: Select an appropriate form and use an engaging introduction that includes the purpose.

Global Competencies: CM

Achievement Indicators:

  • Include purposeful paragraphing with skillful transitions between elements where required
  • Craft a purposeful structure to present details that support the main idea
  • Vary internal structure and features to enhance interest while maintaining control
  • Impact the reader with a dynamic and effective introduction and conclusion where appropriate

Skill Descriptor: Select interesting and domain-specific words and phrases to convey and enhance meaning.

Global Competencies: CM

Achievement Indicators:

  • Use vivid and varied vocabulary; make effective use of words and phrases
  • Employ literary devices to enhance meaning and impact
  • Begin to use language judiciously; attend to parallel structure

Skill Descriptor: Demonstrate evidence of author’s style, personality and experience.

Global Competencies: CM

Achievement Indicators:

  • Skillfully connect with the audience (e.g., communicate feelings, energy, individuality, sincerity, and/or convictions with appropriate tone for the task)
  • Demonstrate commitment to the topic, sometimes by organizing content in a distinctive or unique way
  • Reveal writer’s perspective as appropriate to the purpose, audience and context

Skill Descriptor: Include varied, well-crafted sentences to support meaning and readability.

Global Competencies: CM

Achievement Indicators:

  • Arrange sentences into fluid paragraphs where required
  • Vary sentence structure and length for reasons of craft, including the creation of meaning

Skill Descriptor: Demonstrate correct use of the conventions of the selected form with increasing sophistication.

Global Competencies: CM

Achievement Indicators:

  • Demonstrate control of internal punctuation, grammatical structures, capitalization, and spelling
  • Skillfully use the conventions of the selected form to enhance meaning, voice, and readability
  • Use a range of text characteristics to enhance meaning where appropriate
  • Reference all source content (including A.I.), using appropriate formatting and available technology

Big Idea: Revise

Skill Descriptor: Apply revision and editing strategies.

Global Competencies: CM

Achievement Indicators:

  • Understand that revision means to re-envision the draft
  • Recognize standard conventions and have a repertoire of tools to support the editing process
  • Consider audience, purpose, and text form or genre during revision
  • Perform close reading of personal writing to complete the writing process
  • Create personal editing and revising lists that reflect strengths and weaknesses
  • Understand that revision is an ongoing process

Big Idea: Publish

Skill Descriptor: Share published works with others.

Global Competencies: CM, CTPS

Achievement Indicators:

  • Create a personalized portfolio of works informed by writer identity
  • Determine the most effective platform to share published pieces
  • Speak to the decisions made as a writer

Skill Descriptor: Research the publishing process.

Global Competencies: CM, CL, CTPS

Achievement Indicators:

  • Examine mentor texts for publishing information
  • Locate contact information of various publishers targeting a variety of audiences
  • Search out authentic writing opportunities (e.g., contests, learning showcases, guest blog posts, etc.)
  • Understand that certain documents are required when submitting to a publisher
  • Pitch an idea which could be submitted to a publisher

Skill Descriptor: Explore ways to maintain writing community beyond high school.

Achievement Indicators:

  • Investigate post-secondary learning opportunities related to writing
  • Research writing-related careers for a variety of forms, styles and genres
  • Identify ways to connect with communities of writers (online, in person, etc.)
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