SELA Cycle 1

The approach to language, discourse, textand genre in the new SELA program for Cycle One is related to their social purposes and functions, so that students are aware not only of the structures and features of genre in different texts but of the inherently social messagesand meanings they carry. Being able to readbeneath the surface of the discursive and generic features of the different spoken, written and media texts we encounter in our daily lives is an essential skill.

What are other familiar elements of the new SELA program?Among those we might list are: an approach thathonours the principles of differentiation and inclusion; writing, responding to and interpreting texts as processes of making meaning; collaborative learning; spelling as a process of constructing patterns, rules and generalizations; learning-by-doing (i.e. rather than by hearing about it); and language used in contexts or situations that are relevant and developmentally appropriate.

A fundamental aspect of the new SELA program is the role of the student as an active participant in her/his literacy education that takes the form of teacher and student negotiating the curriculum. The sense of negotiation in matters of teaching, learning, assessment and evaluation is one in which the teacher plays a critical role as a highly literate individual, one who understands the connection between literacy and the student’s life-world.

The integrated profile is a concept based on the principle that the development of competency, knowledge and skills in SELA will only becomeevident over time. The integrated profile is a “moving portrait” of the student’s learning throughout Cycle One. It is “integrated” insofar as it contains evidence of the student working in contexts where the language arts are integrated, i.e. the four competencies of the SELA programare called upon in an integrated way. The actual form the profile takes is at the discretion of the teacher, but is shared with the student,insofar as s/he both organizes and maintains it, as well as draws on it in teacher-student conferences. Some forms an integrated profilemight take are, for example, reading-writing-speaking-viewing folders, a collection of integrated projects, a portfolio, a digital portfolio.As such, the integrated profile is the heart of the SELA program and is part of Competency 1(Talk) because it is a vital feature of the dialogue between the teacher as a literacy expert and the student.

Immersion into texts is a feature of the SELA program that is developed in each of the four (4) competencies. A student who has not been directly taught the structures, features, codes and conventions of different genres, in a manner that connects the text to its social purpose and intent, is unlikely to learn this independently. When teachers immerse students in different texts before and during reading, interpretation, writing and production, they take on the role of literacy teachers, moving beyond the assumption that this knowledge will just “appear” if the student is given a text to read or to produce.The SELA program for Cycle One also includes: the notion of text as serving social purposes and functions; reader’s stance; reading and writing profiles; young adult literature; and the grammars (i.e. structures,features, codes and conventions) of spoken, written and media texts. As well, the SELA program emphasizes the importance of reading and writing to develop personalinterests and for pleasure.The SELA program also includes essential strategies for making sense of spoken,written and media texts, the use of technology in producing and reading texts, classroom drama activities as strategies, and formal occasions for self-evaluation as ameans for the student to reflect on her/his learning and to set future learning goals.

Students will expect their secondary school teacher to appreciate prior experiences and to value matters of personal choice with regard to reading material, as well as topics and purposes for writing and the production of media texts. A familiar audience of family, friends andpeers was the focus for writing and production in the elementary school and remains the focus until the end of Secondary Cycle One.

Specific expectations for students are described in the first three chapters of the QEP, in the conditions for assessment and evaluation at the end of this section, and in the individual SELA competencies.

In the Secondary Cycle One classroom, the teacher plays a number of important roles, one of the most important being that of a trusted adult who models literate behaviours and practices.The teacher is instrumental in setting the “tone” of a teaching-learning environment where the focus is literacy. In the Cycle One classroom, learning language and using language to learn involves engaging the student in activities that speak to the issues, themes and experiences that mark early adolescence.

The student’s writing, production of media texts, and other language-based activities are closely connected to her/his interests and world of friends, family, school and community. The tone of teaching-learning is also interactive and collaborative.They also help the student to strike a balance between the egocentricity that marks early adolescence and the social responsibilities that are part of life in a democratic society.Since talk is central to individual and social processes of meaning-making, the student learns to extend her/his views, preferences and knowledge in dialogue with the teacher and peers. Talking through her/his initial ideas or impressions and sharing her/his writing, reading, viewing and listening experiences make dialogue an essentialresource for learning, reinforcing the sense of community in the classroom, the centrality of the meaning-making process, and the importance of exchanges with peers andteacher to the development of the student’s literacy.

Given the developmental realities of students of this age, information-based texts are particularly challenging, since they are often written about subjects, topics and events that are far removed from the experiences of the young adolescentand, therefore, demand a greater level of abstract thought. For this reason, information-based texts are introduced in the Talk and Media competencies, since it is in these areas that young adolescents are most able to begin to grasp some of their features and messages,as they are frequently the target audience for these kinds of texts.

Opportunities to reflect on development and toself-evaluate progress, with the teacher’s guidance and support, are frequent. A record of progress and development over the two years of the cycle is maintained in the student’s integrated profile and represents samples of thestudents’ use of language/talk to think and to learn; of their processes for interpreting, writing and producing spoken, written and media texts for familiar audiences and in different contexts, or situations; as well as samples of self- and peer-evaluations.The content for student - teacher conferences, using each student’s integrated profile as the focal point, is found in Competency 1 (Talk).

Just as the four (4) competencies of the SELA program for Cycle One work together, so too do the Evaluation Criteria and End-Of-Cycle Outcomes. Although written for each competency, they are not designed to be treated in isolation, so that reading, for example, should not be disconnected from talk and writing/production processes.To make it easier for teachers to make these connections, Evaluation Criteria and End-Of-Cycle Outcomes related to reading, writing, the media and talk include the followingcommon dimensions of learning: processes and strategies; structures, features, codes and conventions of language, discourse and text; collaborative learning; developing a repertoire of familiar texts; contributing to theclassroom community of learners; student self-evaluation; and the organization and maintenance of the student’s integrated profile. The assessment and evaluation of thestudent throughout and at the end of Secondary Cycle One is to take place within the Framework that follows in order to support teachers as they integrate and interrelatespecific Evaluation Criteria and End-Of-CycleOutcomes to produce an authentic portrait of the student as learner.

The specific conditions listed below, derived from the Integrated TLE Context, are applied in order to collect and analyze (i.e. assess), as well as to interpret and judge (i.e. evaluate) data concerning the student’s progress over a period of time throughout the cycle and at the end of the cycle. They are used when the teacher needs information for the purposes of supporting learning, as well as when s/he is reporting and involved in the decision to promote students to Cycle Two. Since the data are obtained over time, a single test or exam cannot be the only source of information collected about a student for assessing her/his learning, or for reporting and promotion purposes. In other words, assessment, evaluation and promotion must be based on the data/samples collected over a period of time to comprise an integrated profile of the student (See Competency 1–Talk: Organizing and Maintaining an Integrated Profile).The Integrated TLE Context:✔ Calls upon the relevant key features of all four (4) competencies in an integrated, balanced fashion✔ Applies the Evaluation Criteria and End-of-Cycle Outcomes specific to the competency/-ies✔ Provides the student with information about the criteria the teacher will use before the student begins to workon the assignment/project/activity/task✔ Allows for differentiation and student choice regarding the genres/text types and the topics/subjects for reading and/or writing and/or production✔ Requires response and/or writing and/or production processes as specified in the SELA program✔ Requires students to both respond to and write/produce the texts specified in the SELA program✔ Requires students to work both collaboratively and individually✔ Provides opportunities for the student to draw on prior knowledge of the texts, genres, multigenres and strategiesthat are specified in the SELA program only and with which the student is familiar✔ Asks students to communicate to a familiar audience of self, peers, or younger children only✔ Allows the teacher to see evidence of the student’s individual learning goals and development, as discussed in self-evaluation conferences between the teacher and the student at regular intervals throughout the cycle. See Competency 1 (Talk): Integrated Profile.

We actively construct our view of the world, and we explore both our individual and social roles through language. A necessary and critical element in these processes is social interaction and the use of the kind of collaborative discourse called talk, and an important way of making meaning through talk is inquiry-based learning. This view of language and learning is the animating principle of the competency, and a classroom characterized by a spirit of collaboration and inquiry is the appropriate setting for this kind of active learning.Learning contexts are designed specificallyso that the student may develop strategies to gain more control of the production, collaboration and inquiry processes, and to make more conscious choices to achieve her/his purposes. Also, there is a new emphasis on audience and stance in all the processes.If learning is viewed as the active interpretation and reconstruction of new information and ideas, then inquirybasedlearning is an appropriate choice for the classroom. It moves the focus from the view of knowledge as readymade and transmittable “as is” from teacher to studentor from text to reader to an exploration and demonstration of how knowledge is really produced; for example, how questions are asked, data accumulated and generalizationsmade. And collaborative talk, with its tentativeand exploratory qualities, allows for the use of questioning and hypothesizing, of searching for answers, of playing with ideas, and provides an important way for the student to assimilate and integrate new knowledge.Both inquiry and collaborative talk requirethat the student be immersed in a community of language users engaged in meaning-making processes in many different contexts and can thus serve as a bridge to a multimodal approach to learning that can accommodate a range of different abilities and learning styles.A collaborative classroom allows for different styles of learning and sees diversity as a positive resource.

Thumbnail Sketch of the Key FeaturesOne of the key features deals with the production of spoken texts for a familiar audience to communicate information, experiences, point of view and personalresponses.An important aspect of this key feature is its attention to the development of a sense of audience. In Secondary Cycle One, the student is still addressing a familiar audience of peers, younger children, teachers, parents and trusted adults, but the characteristics of the audience and the relationship between producer of text and audience are now highlighted. Over the course of the cycle, the student develops the ability to characterize the intended audience, and to interpret the audience’s expectations as these affectthe student’s choices. The student’s ability to make adjustments to a text to suit an intended audience will demonstrate growth of this ability. Also, taking a stance in the role of producer of text is now emphasized, e.g. communicating a point of view, or assuming the role of expert. Again, this ability develops over the course of the cycle.Social interaction through collaborative talk is the emphasis of another key feature. Problem solving and action research act as rich contexts for explorations of issues that have no predetermined answers, and procedural strategies for their use are detailed. As well, classroom drama activities such as improvisation and role-play arepresented as different modes of learning as ways of exploring complex issues by embodying other voices and points of view and of providing imagined possibilities forinquiry and reflection. An important aspect of this key feature is a new emphasis on stance. Here the student learns to take the stance of a reflective inquirer in problem solving and action research; and in drama activities,s/he creates different roles to represent, for example, various points of view.With teacher support, the student assumes an active role in her/his own learning by developing a metalanguage to discuss her/his own progress and by engaging in a processof self-evaluation and reflection. S/he organizes and maintains an integrated profile containing work from all the competencies, and discusses it with the teacher in regularand ongoing evaluation conferences throughout the cycle.

* Uses a communication process: examines the interplay of context, audience and purpose; chooses strategies; examines the relationship of producer, text and audience; considers code, style, register and usage conventions* Explores some of the aesthetic qualities of language

* Uses a collaborative process to develop a repertoire of communication andlearning/thinking strategies* Uses an inquiry process in problem solving,action research and classroom dramaactivities

* Organizes and maintains an integrated profile of work over the cycle* Develops a process of self-evaluation and self-reflection* Participates in regular and ongoing evaluation conferences with the teacher* Explores some of the uses of language in a democratic society

– Communication of information to a familiar audience– Adaptation of strategies to purpose and audience– Sharing of a point of view with peers– Engagement in a process of collaborative inquiry– Exploration of tentative solutions to a shared problem– Self-evaluation of her/his development as a learner

It is understood that the outcomes for this competency are evaluated within the framework specified in the Integrated TLE Context for Cycle One.The student produces spoken texts for a familiar audience to communicate information, experiences and personal responses on topics of personal or social interest, such as explaining a familiar process to peers or recounting a personal experience.In group discussions, s/he shares a point of view on issues of personal or social significance.Using a communication process, s/he applies various strategies to generate, clarify and expand ideas, and to identify the characteristics of the intended audience, and uses thisknowledge to consciously shape the text, e.g. adjust it to the audience’s expectations.In the role of producer, s/he adopts a stance to the audience and text. S/he selects a structure that supports the function of the text, and chooses stylistic features and devices for special effect, e.g. humour to entertain the audience or emotional appeals to influence it.The student selects codes, conventions and registers which communicate the intended meaning and are expected by the audience in specific contexts, e.g. a more formal register for an audience of teachers and parents.S/he seeks and responds to peer and teacher feedback and uses it selectively.S/he evaluates the spoken texts of others, reinvesting this knowledge into her/his own texts.The student interacts through collaborative talk with peers and teacher in inquiry-basedcontexts. S/he selects from a repertoire of strategies those needed to support and extend communication and collaboration within the group, such as listening criticallyand calling on prior knowledge as needed. The student engages in a process ofcollaborative inquiry as a way of learning and thinking through talk, and participates inproblem solving, action research and classroom drama activities to explore problems and issues of personal and social interest, e.g. bullying, fads, current events. In these contexts, and with teacher support, s/he applies strategies such as making and testinghypotheses, e.g. asking “what if?”; collecting and interpreting data, e.g. constructing atheory; exploring tentative solutions to a shared problem; and dramatizing problemsthrough improvisation and role-play, e.g. two characters with opposing points of view.By participating in such activities, the student develops the ability to adopt a stance orassume another point of view on an issue.The student participates as a member of the classroom community by assuming an active role in her/his learning and by self-evaluating her/his development as a learner. S/he organizes and maintains an integrated profile of work done in all the competencies of the SELA program and presents it at regular and ongoing student-teacher conferences. S/he develops a process of self-evaluation and reflection to examine her/his progress over the cycle. S/he talks about the processes and strategies s/he uses for learning and thinking through talk, e.g. problem-solving strategies. As well, s/he explores the uses of language in a democratic society by examining how discourse is used in the classroom and in the community.

Please note that all of the resources, strategies, processes and texts that follow are compulsory for the end of Cycle One.

The spoken texts to be produced over the cycle are familiar to the student; they are the same as those given priority in the EELA program, Cycles One to Three. Now in the SELA program for Cycle One, the student works toward greater control of the production process, exercises a more conscious choice of strategies in relation toaudience and purpose, and adopts a stance in the role of producer of texts. Also, priority is given to the production of information-based texts (see also Media: Text, Audience, Producer).– Information-based texts: short explanations and eyewitness reports; presentations of plans of action, proposalsand projects; informal talks and debates;interviews (live and recorded)– Narrative-based texts: personal stories such as accounts of family life and autobiographical incidents; fictional narratives such as short stories, tall tales, myths and legends– Dramatic and interpretive texts: improvisations, roleplay, monologues, dialogues; scripts from these activities;performances of poetry; responses to spoken, written and media texts

– Uses strategies to generate, clarify and expand ideas such as brainstorming, exploratory talk, role-play, questions, drawing inferences and making predictions– Explores a structure that will help the audience to receive the intended meaning:• Selects an organizational structure suitable to function of text• If necessary, combines one or more text structures to present more complex issues or to create specific effects– Examines the relationship between context, producer of text and familiar, intended audience to identify potential problems in communication:• Interprets audience’s expectations to determine which features are most important, e.g. the level of formality expected, given the context• Analyzes the characteristics of the audience by looking at factors such as relative status of producer and audience, level of knowledge of topic, shared and conflicting social and cultural values, e.g. audience of peers and trusted adults• Adopts a stance to topic and audience, e.g. as expert on topic• Chooses a level of language or register most suitable to the context– Uses linguistic structures and features to communicate her/his meaning and to influence the audience in the manner intended:• Prepares several drafts, if the context warrants it, and rehearses with peers as a simulated audience (see Competency 4–Writing: Writing Process; and Competency 2–Media: Production Process)• Uses language with the degree of precision and semantic and syntactic awareness required by the context• Selects relevant devices such as emotional or rational appeals to influence the audience• Uses transitional words and phrases, e.g. to connect parts to the whole or to rank ideas in order of importance• Experiments with intonation patterns, pitch and volume for desired effects• Uses stylistic features and devices such as repetition, parody, exaggeration and imagery for emphasis, interest and special effect, and to create a personal style• Selects the usage conventions suitable both to the text type and to the expectations of the audience– Presents the spoken text to audience (see Competency 3–Reading: Organizing and Reporting Information)– Uses selected feedback to revise own texts– In postproduction discussions, evaluates the spoken texts of others, using agreed-upon criteria

– Examines the sound patterns of poetry by performing a variety of poems to explore how poetry exploits some of the aesthetic qualities of language– Discusses the use of rhyme and rhythm, alliteration, and other sound patterns such as assonance, consonance, and onomatopoeia– Experiments with special effects in spoken texts, such as choral readings, rap, performance poetry and chanting– Discusses the effect of these elements on the meaning of the poem, on the mood and tone, and on the responses of the audience– Examines other uses of language for special effects such as advertising

Here, collaboration takes on a critical role since it is the foundation for the kind of inquiry-based learning the student will be doing during the cycle. In other words, if the student has notdeveloped strategies for effective collaboration, s/he will not be able to achieve success in inquiry-based learning projects so essential to this competency and to the SELA program.

– Develops a repertoire of strategies and applies them so that these strategies become familiar and habitual:• Negotiates and assumes roles and responsibilities within group• Develops protocols for disagreeing constructively and cordially, making compromises, and encouraging and supporting the group– Listens actively and critically to interactions of others, and supports their contributions:• Records important points• Questions, supports and defends the ideas of others– Compares own responses with those of others to check their validity:• Makes connections by drawing on knowledgegained from Media, Reading and Writing activities• Generalizes from prior knowledge to new concepts– Uses feedback to encourage and extend discussion, e.g. paraphrasing, summarizing at critical points (see Competency 4–Writing: Feedback)– Revises communication strategies when necessary, e.g. if discussion reaches stalemate– Develops positive and supportive attitudes towardspeers

See Broad Areas of Learning, Chapter 2, for possible areas of exploration.The student uses collaborative talk to participate actively in the inquiry process as a way of constructing knowledge in the face of new problems and situations and applies a repertoire of collaborative strategies in specific inquiry-based contexts: problem solving, action researchand classroom drama activities.

– Selects problems or issues or tests hypotheses that are of significance to the group and that may arise from Media, Reading and Writing activities:• Identifies the problem and its context• Analyzes the context, e.g. does the situation have social implications or is it of a more limited scope?– Examines alternative points of view by using techniques such as “think aloud” protocols, making hypothetical cases (asking “what if?”), improvising, adopting a stance– Reaches a tentative solution that respects the complexity of the problem and that is agreed on or mutually acceptable to group– Tries out solution and carries out further inquiry, if necessary– Presents findings, even if tentative, to the group/class for discussion and feedback

– Initiates collaborative action research projects, i.e. uses research as a tool for social action, to inquire into issues that have personal and social significance– Defines the issue to be researched by asking questions such as: what are the questions that are critical to this issue? What should we do with what we learn? Who should we talk to or interview? What other resourcesshould we seek?– Develops a research process to collect data, e.g. researching, interviewing, videotaping, discussing, observing, connecting ideas across disciplines, and using the practical knowledge and experiences of the group (see Competency 3–Reading: Organizing andReporting Information; and Competency 4–Writing: Integrated Projects)– Analyzes the data and constructs a working theory to explain and interpret the data– Questions and challenges different points of view, e.g. by improvisation or role-play– Modifies the working theory, if necessary, and decides on a plan of action to address the issue– Presents the plan of action to the group/class for feedback and discussion– Evaluates and revises the plan of action as the project evolves over time

Uses drama to explore complex problems and to extend the range of learning contexts– Engages in on-the-spot improvisation and role-play, for example, at critical points in problem solving, in constructing hypothetical cases and responding to texts in order to:• Represent different views• Experiment with possible social roles and powerrelationships• Link several scenes to create a longer improvisation– Experiments with drama exercises such as Forum Theatre (Forum Theatre draws on storytelling and improvisation to create scenes in which a protagonist is failing to achieve what s/he needs and the audience, as “spect-actors,” enter into the scene to discover or suggest solutions.)– Uses physical movement and nonverbal language such as sounds, images, gestures, facial expressions– Experiments with register and dialect in specific situations– Responds immediately to offer feedback and suggestions for revision and follow-up

The integrated profile is an essential part of the student’s learning and evaluation process over the cycle. This working collection of artifacts from all the competenciesis owned by the student and is used by her/him as a learning resource. It represents a dynamic portrait of the student over time and not simply a collection of her/his finished or final products.Contents of Integrated Profile:– Artifacts from all the competencies and from learning contexts such as media production teams, interpretive response groups, literature circles, classroom drama groups, discussion groups, writing groups for peer editing and feedback– Repertoires of texts read, viewed, written and produced, based on interests, purposes and preferences– Evidence of the student’s profile as learner in each of the competencies, e.g. in reading, how sharing responses with others contributed to own interpretation of text– Evidence of processes of selection, revision and reflection, e.g. about her/himself as a reader: explaining own changing reading preferences over timeOrganization and Use of Integrated Profile:The student:– Collects and organizes data from the above sources– Develops, with teacher support, a method ofrecording texts read, responded to and produced, e.g. a response journal or writer’s notebook– Chooses particular texts to work on further for own interest or for use in other projects– Explores ways of extending own interests to the larger school community, e.g. doing surveys of reading habits, publishing and sharing class texts, organizing and holding a student literary festival– Updates profile at regular intervals

The student presents and discusses her/his integrated profile in student-teacher evaluation conferences. These conferences are not an end-of-cycle event, but are regular and ongoing throughout the cycle.– Confers regularly with teacher and peers to discuss profile– Begins to develop a metalanguage for talking about own development– Explores a process for self-reflection and self-evaluation:• Talks about processes and strategies used to learn and appropriates own set of effectiveprocesses• Discusses the importance of self-evaluationand self-reflection for learning• Talks about self-monitoring strategies, e.g. how to manage own workload• Develops criteria to measure own sense ofaccomplishment• Sets personal learning goals• Identifies strengths and weaknesses in different contexts• Learns to transfer skills and knowledge to other learning situations– Discusses own literacy development:• Makes reading-writing-producing connectionsbetween texts in profile• Talks about the uses s/he makes of different texts, e.g. pleasure, information, escape, background noise• Talks about choices of own texts to read, view, write, listen to and produce, based on interests, purposes and preferences, and accepts and gives recommendations about texts to read/produce and topics to explore• Talks about changing attitudes and tastes over time

The student explores the public spaces/forums available in the classroom, school and community for debate anddiscussion.– Examines school public spaces by asking questions such as: Who controls these spaces? Who is allowed to use them? What kind of discourse is used in them? Who is represented and why? What importance doesthis representation have?– Examines the discourse used to present information in selected spoken, written and media texts– Examines the discourse of other disciplines, e.g. the kind of discourse scientists use to present ideas and information– Examines the characteristics of familiar dominant discourses and minority voices: whose voices are heard and whose are silenced

By reading, interpreting and producing familiar media text types, students are involved in breaking the code of how the language(s)of different media work. This process of decoding and encoding is similar to that of reading and understanding print and writing, and complements the processes and strategies in all the other competencies in this program.It is through collaborative talk that students are able to clarify their ideas and extend their understanding of how different media text types work.The production process has three recursive stages: preproduction, production and postproduction. The students, working in a collaborative group, create media texts about topics or ideas of interest that have been negotiated with the teacher.In Secondary Cycle One, students are still addressing a familiar audience of peers, younger children, teachers, parents and trusted adults, but, as in Talk, the characteristics of the audience are now emphasized. Over the course of the cycle, the students develop the ability to interpret the audience’s expectations, as these affect their production choices.

* Identifies and deconstructs codes and conventions of media texts* Becomes aware, through discussion with others, that media texts are constructed inspecific contexts for specific audiences and purposes* Considers own strategies used to read these texts

* Makes personal links* Participates collaboratively in different recursive phases of the production process: preproduction, production, and postproduction* Develops a more comprehensiveunderstanding of the media from a producer’sperspective* Reflects on strategies used to produce media texts and her/his own development as a reader and producer of media texts over time

* Investigates how the media situate texts by considering the different forms ofrepresentation and/or exclusion of various groups* Examines how producer’s stance and production decisions affect media texts • Begins to develop a profile of self as reader/producer of media texts* Considers the impact of media texts on self and on others

It is understood that the outcomes for this competency are evaluated within the framework specified in the Integrated TLE Context for Cycle One.The student participates in a classroom community of readers and producers of the media. S/he collaborates with peers to produce media texts for familiar audiences by negotiating the texts to be produced, assuming production roles within the group, and giving and seeking feedback from peers.During the production process, the student draws on preproduction strategies such as immersion into texts to understand their structures; calling on prior experiences with media in many contexts both in and out of school; and accessing resources, such as group expertise and technology.S/he selects textual elements and other resources to produce her/his text.Throughout the production process, s/he revises the text under production, such as checking the coherence between text and image, and clarifies and confirms the needs of her/his audience, e.g. by sharing drafts with classmates and intended audience.Through her/his productions, the student demonstrates what s/he knows about how written and visual language and the uses of sound work together to create meaning.The student interprets meaning(s) /message(s) of familiar media texts, drawing on knowledge of known genres and production experiences. S/he identifies some of thecommon codes and conventions (e.g. news programs have a newscaster, weather-person,reporters) used to construct familiar texts. S/he identifies the way images, signs, symbols, pictures and printed text interrelate to communicate meaning(s) and message(s), such as techniques used in fast-food commercials to appeal to children. S/he identifies the characteristics of target audiences such as age, gender and interests, and describes how the media create texts for a specific audience such as toy commercials during Saturday morning cartoons. In small group discussions, s/he identifies and talks about the stance of different media texts toward issues and concerns of interest to young adolescents, such as current local events, matters of health and well-being, or well-known environmental problems. S/he identifies the stance taken in popular issues, for example, how an anti-smoking public service announcement and a cigarette advertisement each represent smoking, as well as how smoking is viewed in our society at this time.Throughout the cycle, the student organizes and maintains an integrated profile of spoken, written and media texts that show her/him in the roles of reader, interpreter and producer of media texts, and as a member of a collaborative team. The student self-evaluates her/his growth as a reader and producer of media texts by presenting her/his profile in student-teacher conferences that take place regularly throughout the cycle, as well as at the end of the cycle. During these conferences, the student is asked to describe current media text preferences and to report changes over time in her/his interests, attitudes and tastes. S/he also explains how the media texts in her/his profile (collected over time) are shaped by purpose and context, as well as by the specific, familiar audiences to whom they are directed. Finally, s/he reflects on the contribution s/he made to a team production.

Please note that all of the resources, strategies, processes and texts that follow are compulsory for the end of Cycle One.

Since media texts are abundant and varied, and new ones are constantly being produced, we have not included specific texts to be read and/or produced. Teachers should consult the four (4) required media text types listed below, as well as those listed in the Reading competency, and adapt specific texts to theinterests and experience levels of their students.– Print texts such as: magazine for peers, class or school newspaper, pamphlet– Visual texts such as: poster, comic strip, photo story, advertisement, spoof ad– Digital texts such as: computer-assisted presentation, Web page, graphic reproduction– Audio-visual texts such as: television commercial, interview, news reportFor ease of reference, the texts listed above have been categorized. However, it should be noted that several of these texts are, in fact, multimodal, i.e. they integrate elements of spoken, print and/or visual modes.

It is understood that the production process is done in small groups, under the guidance of the teacher.Preproduction– Negotiates text type to be produced– Manipulates visual elements to build skills for later production activities, e.g. framing and sequencing of photographs, adding sound to still photos, learning to storyboard– Immerses self in the text type to be produced in order to deconstruct some of its textual features, codes and conventions• Analyzes samples of text type• Carries out a content analysis or inquiry intosome aspect of media text– Rehearses production process:• Creates criteria for guiding production, e.g. features of an effective poster or advertisement• Discusses the purpose, context, target audience and their needs• Decides about medium, mode and code• Writes script, storyboard or rough draft• Shares draft with classmates and intended audience• Gives and seeks specific feedback from others in the classProduction– Communicates information, experiences, points of view and personal responses to a familiar audience– Interrelates the characteristics of media text in a specific context drawing on:• Specific communication strategies and resources• Images, symbols, signs, logos and/or words to communicate meaning(s)/message(s)• Knowledge of structures and features of other media texts brought into own productions– Reviews and edits text to focus on meaning(s)/ message(s)Postproduction– Presents text to intended audience– Evaluates production process and text produced, with group and individually– Participates in teacher-student and peer conferences with an explicit focus:• Discusses techniques used and decisions made to produce texts• Talks about how own media productions reflect understanding of other media texts• Makes reading-writing-producing connectionsbetween texts in own integrated profile• Sets attainable individual goals for future projects based on experiences producing, reading and interpreting textsInformation and CommunicationsTechnologies (ICT)– Uses different available technologies in order to construct own texts– Uses mixed media and multimedia resources to locate information, do research and communicate with others

Examines the constructed nature of the media by exploring, through discussion or inquiry,22 the discourse of texts that communicate information, tell a story, advertise orpersuade:Textual Features, Codes and Conventions– Identifies and deconstructs codes:• Captions, credits and titles• Dialogue and voiceovers, e.g. how dialectsenhance our understanding of character• Lighting and sound, e.g. dark lighting or music used to convey a particular mood• Camera language, e.g. importance of angles, composition of shots in conveying character or setting• Symbolic, e.g. diamond ring as portraying wealth• Narrative, e.g. turning point, development, resolution• Sequencing, e.g. implied chronological order, passage of time• Colour, e.g. what colours symbolize, how they are used to create a specific atmosphere– Interprets media texts:• Uses media strategies to focus understanding: freezing frames, replaying the text, watching only the images, isolating sound• Draws on knowledge of production process and codes and conventions of texts produced• Explores the codes that construct media texts, e.g. headlines, captions and photographs in newspapers• Constructs message(s) and meaning(s) using familiar codes from media texts• Compares codes of familiar media text types, e.g. how codes of television news (reporter, anchor, camera footage) and newspapers (framed photo, captions, lead paragraph) impact the coverage of a local issue• Identifies functions of media discourse: to entertain, to persuade, to promote, to inform• Makes connection(s) between images, signs, symbols, pictures and printed text and meaning• Confirms, by talking with peers and teacher, that a media text can contain more than one message• Identifies and discusses some of the ways in which pictures, illustrations, symbols and images enhance the message• Explores the use of “formulas,” e.g. situation comedies and series literature both use predictableplot structures, stylistic devices, characters• Recognizes purpose and function of stereotypes, e.g. why do we often find similar stereotypes of teenagers in advertisements?• Examines ways in which bias occurs in various media textsRepresentation– Analyzes the functions of familiar photographs (of self, family and community) to record events and memories– Identifies some aspects of representation and exclusion, i.e. deconstructs:• Age, gender, family, culture, race, location, such as: portrayals of teens, depictions of a student’s neighbourhood in local news• Local news reporting in newspapers, TV and radio such as: role of the reporter/interviewer; treatment of same event, incident, issue, topic or person by different media• Heroes, heroines and idols such as: role(s) in popular culture and how they are constructed, publicized and exploited by the mediaAudience and Producer– Explores self as individual member of audience (use, personal biases, prior experiences) and as part of a larger target audience– Chooses texts to read, interpret and produce based on interest(s), purpose(s), preference(s)– Accepts and gives recommendations from/to peers and teacher about media texts to read or topics to explore– Compares:• Own values with those presented in media texts• Different uses s/he makes of media texts, e.g. entertainment, information, escape, personal expression• Interests, attitudes, personal biases and tastes over time through survey of own reading habits• Own responses, reactions and consumption of media texts with those of peers and other age groups– Examines how media target specific audiences:• Identifies ways that different familiar audiences use the media, e.g. entertainment, escape, information• Identifies and generalizes aspects of familiar audiences• Identifies subjects of interest for specific audiences, i.e. indicates the target audience• Explores how the structures and features of texts shape meaning for an audience, e.g. What do commercials do to make me want the product? How do colour and music affect my response?• Explains how own productions are adapted to interests of familiar audience chosen– Discusses characteristics of producer:• Explores where, when, why and by and for whom texts are produced• Considers the stance of different media texts on issues and concerns of interest to young adolescents• Identifies connections made by producers between media texts, e.g. references to Disney in fast-food commercials• Identifies aspects of media industry related to marketing and promotion, e.g. how toys are marketed through cartoons, breakfast cereal, commercials, etc.• Examines the impact of marketing on common social concepts such as childhood, e.g. through inquiry explores the context and production of fads for different age groups; compares how current and past fads (from own childhood) reflect changing values, interests and tastes• Explores production choices made in own texts