Laurier English Department

Welcome to Laurier's English Department

Teachers and students have complementary responsibilities. Teachers develop appropriate instructional strategies to help students achieve the curriculum expectations, as well as appropriate methods for assessing and evaluating student learning. Teachers bring enthusiasm and varied teaching and assessment approaches to the classroom, addressing different student needs and ensuring sound learning opportunities for every student. Using a variety of instructional, assessment, and evaluation strategies, teachers provide numerous opportunities for students to develop the literacy and language skills that will allow them to participate more effectively in their communities as responsible and active citizens. The study of literature and the media provides students with an awareness and appreciation of the culture that surrounds, challenges, and nourishes them. 

The English program in Grades 9 to 12 includes compulsory courses and optional courses. 

Grades 9-10

As part of their program in Grades 9 and 10, students must take one compulsory course in English in each grade. These courses are offered in three types: academic, applied, and locally developed. 

Students choose between course types on the basis of their interests, achievement, and post-secondary goals. The course types offered in Grades 9 and 10 are defined as follows:

Destreamed courses (Garde 9 & 10) develop students’ knowledge and skills through the study of theory and abstract problems. These courses focus on the essential concepts of a subject and explore related concepts as well. They incorporate practical applications as appropriate. 

Applied course (Grade 10) focus on the essential concepts of a subject, and develop students’ knowledge and skills through practical applications and concrete examples. Familiar situations are used to illustrate ideas, and students are given more opportunities to experience hands-on applications of the concepts and theories they study. 

Locally developed courses are designed to provide students with foundational literacy and communication skills for success in their daily lives and in the workplace. 

Grades 11-12

As part of their program in Grades 11 and 12, students must take one compulsory course in English in each grade. They may choose their compulsory courses from three types of courses in Grades 11 and 12: university preparation, college preparation, and workplace preparation.

Optional courses provide students with opportunities to explore individual interests and to deepen or extend some of the knowledge and skills acquired in the compulsory courses. Optional courses may be taken to fulfil optional credit requirements or the Group 1 additional compulsory credit requirement for the Ontario Secondary School Diploma (OSSD). An optional course may also be used, at the principal's discretion, as a substitution for a compulsory credit required in English. Four types of optional courses are offered: university preparation, university/college preparation, college preparation, and open. Students choose between course types on the basis of their interests, achievement, and post-secondary goals. The course types offered in Grades 11 and 12 are defined as follows: 

University preparation courses are designed to equip students with the knowledge and skills they need to meet the entrance requirements for university programs. 

University/college preparation courses are designed to equip students with the knowledge and skills they need to meet the entrance requirements for specific programs offered at universities and colleges.

College preparation courses are designed to equip students with the knowledge and skills they need to meet the requirements for entrance to most college programs or for admission to specific apprenticeship or other training programs. 

Workplace preparation courses are designed to equip students with the knowledge and skills they need to meet the expectations of employers, if they plan to enter the workplace directly after graduation, or the requirements for admission to many apprenticeship or other training programs. 

Open courses are designed to broaden students‘ knowledge and skills in subjects that reflect their interests and to prepare them for active and rewarding participation in society. They are not designed with the specific requirements of universities, colleges, or the workplace in mind