English 10 Course Outline

Welcome to English 10. This course continues with the skill development to which students were introduced in grade nine. As with all English courses, English 10 combines the study of both language and literature and develops skills associated with the Language Arts: reading, writing, speaking and listening. Unlike grades eight and nine though, English 10 is a transition grade to the Graduation Program: as such, there is a higher expectation placed on the quality, length and sophistication of students' work.

Students should expect to study the following genres of literature:
 
 

  • Short Stories (Inside Stories II)
    		•
  • Poetry (Poet's Craft)
    		•
  • Novels (Key Novel: To Kill a Mockingbird)
    		•
  • Media (Film and other sources/types)
    		•
  • Drama (Key play: Romeo & Juliet)
    		•
  • Non-Fiction ( essays, articles etc...)
    		•

     

    The following elements of grammar will be studied:

    Sentence Building:
     

  • sentence elements
    		•
  • sentence types (simple, compound, complex)
    		•
  • parts of speech -- recognize according to class, position; recognize features
    		•
  • choosing modifiers
    		•
  • placing modifiers
    		•
  • dangling/misplaced modifiers
    		•
  • pronoun reference and agreement
    		•
  • clauses -- noun, adverb, adjective
    		•
  • phrases -- infinitive, participial, gerundial
    		•
  • verbals -- infinitives, participles, gerunds
    		•
  • active and passive voice
    		•
  • loose & periodic sentences
    		•
  • direct and indirect speech
    		•

    Usage:
     
     

  • subject-verb agreement (review) 
    		•
  • possessives 
    		•
  • parallelism 
    		•
  • pronouns: subject/object usage/class/type 
    		•
  • using proper diction
    		•
  • Use of complete sentences
    		•
  • Run-on sentences/ comma-splice
    		•

     

    Mechanics:
     

  • colon -- salutations, time, ratio, volume, page, number, magazine
    		•
  • semi-colon -- complete use of
    		•
  • introduce Standard English
    		•
  • quotation marks -- literature, enclosed speech in quotation, setting words apart for specific reasons
    		•

    Paragraph Building:
     
     

  • making the main idea clear: avoids distracting detail, varies topic sentence 
    		•
  • narrative paragraphs 
    		•
  • descriptive paragraphs (objective/subjective description)
    		•
  • expository paragraphs (interpreting a short story)
    		•
  • persuasive paragraphs 
    		•
  • transitions 
    		•
  • multi-paragraph composition (opening, body, closing, and transition) 
    		•
  • five paragraph essay format: major requirement of this course!!!
    		•
  • combining time order and place order -- time switches, place switches
    		•
  • order of importance 
    		•
  • classification 
    		•
  • comparing//contrasting 
    		•
  • cause and effect
    		•
  • combining patterns: simple listing
    		•
  • letters: business style, letter of complaint, note of thanks, congratulations 
    		•
  • audience consideration
    		•
  • editing and proofreading
    		•
  • editing/proofreading checklist 
    		•
  • using examples/exemplars to demonstrate points 
    		•

     

    NB: Teachers will place significant emphasis on the WRITING PROCESS
     

    Vocabulary:
     
    Dictionary encyclopedia thesaurus Synonyms
    Antonyms Homonyms Spelling: ONGOING. Basic rules Descriptives
    Prefixes Roots Suffixes Connotation/denotation

    Reading:

    At Dover Bay, continuous emphasis will be made on the following reading strategies:
     

    Ongoing development of these reading strategies will be made through the study of literature and skill lessons designed to make students accomplished readers.

    Writing

    The KEY writing assignments which students will be required to demonstrate proficiency will be the multi-paragraph composition, paragraphs of the various types, journals, personal letters.

    The general writing formats of grade 10 are as follows: (Note: teachers choose from among these; not all formats will be completed:

    Letters, memoirs, diaries, feature stories (reporting) personality interviews, stories, dialogues, monologues, scripts, editorials, essays, opinion papers, opinion interviews, business reports, research reports, scientific reports. Teachers may, at their discretion, assign larger assignments like book reports, library assignments and the like.

    Oral reports/emphasis on organization and presentation (small group format). Formal, expanded class presentation. Other possibilities, as suggested in grades 8 and 9 --book talks, dramatic readings, debating, group discussion. Emphasis will be placed on voice and audience consideration.

    Literature:

    Students will study various forms of literature which range from prose (both fiction and non-fiction) to poetry. Students will learn the following literary terms:

    Prose:

    Elements of Fiction:

    (Stories/Novels)
     

    dilemma epilogue episode exposition plot
    verbal irony situational irony dramatic irony stock character setting
    nemesis point of view (4 types) prologue stereotype theme
    subplot internal conflict external conflict dynamic character static character

    Poetry/Drama:
     

             aside     blank verse     catastrophe      concealment
        euphemism          foot            idyll  iambic pentameter
         melody       meter      monologue       narrative
          oxymoron        paradox     poetic justice      poetic license
               pun      soliloquy sonnet (Elizabethan)         tragedy 

     

    Media: Mass Media and Popular Culture (Key text--mandatory unit) This unit is an extensive examination of media and is designed to provide comprehensive media literacy to students. All aspects of media are covered in-depth.


    Evaluation:
     
    Term One        40%
    Term Two        40%
    Final (Provincial Exam)        20%

    As part of the ongoing and authentic assessment, Performance Standards from the Ministry of Education (Writing), (Reading),will be employed along with other strategies and methods of evaluation.