Student and Parent/Guardian,
Welcome back. I hope you enjoyed a nice summer. I am looking forward to this year and have planned a bunch of engaging and challenging units of study.
English 5 is an exciting, interactive course focusing on the student’s literacy. Through work in literature and media, students will develop and build upon their interpretive skills, research skills, critical thinking, and creativity. Students will have opportunities to explore a wide-variety of texts, including, novels, plays, poetry, film, advertisements, graphic novels, and etcetera. At the end of the course, there is an intensive exam provided by the Ministry of Education and evaluated externally.
The course is comprised of three competencies: uses language/talk to communicate and to learn, writes a variety of genres for personal and social purposes, and reads and listens to written, spoken and media texts. More detailed information about the curriculum outcomes can be found on the ministry’s website.
You can always get a hold of me if you have any questions or concerns. The best way to contact me is through my school email: jkent@wqsb.qc.ca. You can also call the school and leave a message with Rosemarie at 819-762-2706.
I do not to overload students with homework. However, students are required to complete assigned readings at home, as well as complete assignments that they were unable to finish in class. I do my very best to post assignments on the class blog at NorandaEnglish5.blogspot.com. Occasionally, I will post handouts on drop.io/jordankent in case a student has lost a handout and requires it at home. Students can always benefit from completing extra work at home including reading a good novel, writing creative stories, completing grammar activities that I can provide, and even watching English television if they don’t normally do so.
The following is a breakdown of this year’s plans for English 5. I have provided some detail for the first two units so that you and your child know what to expect. In between units, students will complete grammar assignments, creative writing assignments, and other single-class lessons. The schedule may change or be adjusted.
| Month | Unit Description |
| September | Novel Study: We will begin the year by reading Flowers for Algernon. It is a brief novel that delves into issues of difference, bioethics, and mental disability. Through the study of the novel, we will explore debates, persuasive essays, and literary devices. |
| October | Children’s Rights: Students will study the United Nations Declaration of Children’s Rights and decide whether children’s rights are an attainable goal or wishful thinking. Part of the unit will include reading a magazine about children’s rights then writing an article for the magazine. Students will also get a chance to create short films of their own. |
| November | Shakespeare: Students’ reading skills will be challenged as they read through a Shakespeare play. As a class, students will select which Shakespeare play they wish to study. We will examine a variety of themes and literary devices. |
| December | Literary Movements: Students will research a literary movement and learn its central philosophy, key players, important works, and etc. Students will then write a descriptive essay and create a presentation that captures the essence of the literary movement they studied. |
| January | Youth Culture: Students will examine youth culture and its effect on society in general. The unit includes a short film, a short story, and a magazine. |
| February | Magazine Unit: In this independent unit, students will create their own magazine. They will need to demonstrate an acute awareness of audience, tone, and magazine conventions. Students will develop a mission statement, write an article, create a cover page using design software, and create an advertisement. |
| March | Writing Portfolio and Independent Novel Study |
| April | Ethnographic or Action Research Unit |
| May/June | Final ES (Evaluation Situation) |
