Learning Goals: What do you want students to be able to know, understand and do?

OLG1 - Reading Process: Using critical literacy, a variety of reading strategies and, knowledge of form and style, students will analyze, assess and synthesize information and ideas from a variety of texts.

OLG2 - Writing Process: Thinking critically, students will conduct research to develop ideas for writing tasks; they will organize and synthesize information to suit specific forms, purposes and audiences.

OLG3: Oral Communication Thinking critically, students will plan and prepare a variety of oral and/or multimedia texts, using effective communication skills that are organized, and that show evidence of rehearsal and revision.

OLG4: Media and Critical Literacy: By applying critical literacy and key media theory, students will analyze representations and techniques in a variety of media forms and use media techniques to create different media texts for specific audiences and purposes

OLG5: Metacognition: Students will reflect on their English knowledge and skills, and with the support of their teachers, take corrective measures to improve.

There’s a Japanese phrase that I like: koi no yokan. It doesn’t mean love at first sight. It’s closer to love at second sight. It’s the feeling when you meet someone that you’re going to fall in love with them. Maybe you don’t love them right away, but it’s inevitable that you will.

We have big, beautiful brains. We invent things that fly. Fly. We write poetry. You probably hate poetry, but it’s hard to argue with ‘Shall I compare thee to a summer’s day? Thou art more lovely and more temperate’ in terms of sheer beauty. We are capable of big lives. A big history. Why settle? Why choose the practical thing, the mundane thing? We are born to dream and make the things we dream about.

Growing up and seeing your parents' flaws is like losing your religion. I don't believe in God anymore. I don't believe in my father either.

Do you think it's funny that both of our favourite memories are about the people we like the least now?" I ask. "Maybe that's why we dislike them," she says. "The distance between who they were and who they are is so wide, we have no hope of getting them back.

1. Read the course novel and a variety of materials that explicate ideas about the central themes; select one theme from your novel that you would consider studying or that you find personally meaningful; Connect the main issues or theme in the novel to your own life, or to news events, societal problems, political events or popular trends; display your connection to the text using a creative medium. Examples: write a song connecting the protagonist’s struggles to your own personal life struggles and record the song; create a short film of the social issues in the novel in relation to the issues that teens face today; film an interview with a character answering questions about a social issue that the novel addresses and discuss how the issue is also of concern in current society (e.g. gender equality, prostitution, discrimination etc.). Or,
2. Create an investigative report/critical examination of the selected social issue. Your documentary should: describe the issue, provide some real-world context and answer the following questions:
   • Who/what is affected?
   • Why is this an important issue?
   • When/what is being done to solve the issue?
   • How are the individuals involved affected?
   • How is the social issue represented/not represented in the media
   • Discuss the idea of voice and power? Whose voice is left out? Who has a voice/power in this matter? Is the voice being heard? Why or why not?