Canada · Ontario Curriculum Expectations
Grade 11 Language Arts
This course explores how diverse voices shape the Canadian and global literary landscape. Students engage with complex texts to refine their analytical writing, critical thinking, and oral communication skills while investigating the intersection of identity and society.
Indigenous Voices and Reconciliation
Students analyze First Nations, Métis, and Inuit perspectives through contemporary and traditional storytelling to understand the role of narrative in cultural preservation.
Examines how traditional oral storytelling techniques influence the structure and rhythm of modern Indigenous prose.
An exploration of how physical landscapes serve as metaphors for cultural identity and historical trauma in contemporary poetry.
Students evaluate non fiction essays and speeches regarding the Truth and Reconciliation process in Canada.
The Power of Persuasion
Focuses on the art of rhetoric in speeches, editorials, and digital media to build student proficiency in argumentative writing.
Applying Ethos, Pathos, and Logos to contemporary political and social debates.
Analyzing how word choice and framing influence public opinion in news media and opinion pieces.
Investigating how brevity and visual elements change the nature of persuasion on digital platforms.
Literary Criticism and Analysis
Students apply various critical lenses, such as feminist, Marxist, or eco-criticism, to classic and contemporary novels.
Analyzing gender roles, power dynamics, and the agency of female characters in literature.
Examining how class, wealth, and labor determine the outcomes of characters and the themes of the text.
Analyzing how literary devices like motif, irony, and symbolism contribute to the overall meaning of a work.
The Art of the Essay
Students master the structure and style of academic and personal essays, focusing on thesis development and evidence integration.
Using personal experience to explore universal themes through descriptive and reflective writing.
Learning to integrate multiple viewpoints and data points into a cohesive academic argument.
Refining sentence variety, punctuation for effect, and precise vocabulary to enhance clarity and impact.
Dramatic Works and Performance
Analyzing plays and scripts to understand how dialogue and stage directions communicate subtext and character motivation.
Investigating what characters leave unsaid and how tension is built through verbal interaction.
Comparing classical plays with modern film or stage adaptations to see how themes translate across eras.
Students perform scenes or monologues to demonstrate an understanding of tone, pace, and emphasis.
Media Literacy in the Information Age
Critically examining mass media, advertising, and documentary film to understand their influence on social values.
Evaluating how documentary filmmakers use editing and interviews to construct a specific narrative of reality.
Deconstructing the psychological triggers and visual semiotics used in global marketing campaigns.
Analyzing how global media networks shape our understanding of international events and cultures.