Literary Studies 11

Unit 1: Reading & Comprehension

The receptive spine: applying reading, oral-language, and metacognitive strategies to make sense of a text; distinguishing literal from inferential meaning; and reading First Peoples texts and their protocols with genuine understanding — their distinct narrative structures, the ownership rules around oral texts, and the role story and oral tradition play in expressing First Peoples perspectives and the influence of land and place.

• Narrative structures found in First Peoples texts

• Protocols related to the ownership of First Peoples oral texts

• The role of story, narrative, and oral tradition in First Peoples texts

• The influence of land/place in First Peoples and other Canadian texts

• Reading strategies for making sense of a text

• Metacognitive strategies — thinking about your own thinking

• Literal meaning and inferential meaning

• Comprehending written, oral, visual, and multimodal texts to extend thinking

Unit 2: Critical Reading

The critical-literacy strand: evaluating whether a source can be trusted, thinking critically and creatively about ideas within, between, and beyond a text, and recognizing the personal, social, and cultural contexts, values, and perspectives — including culture, gender, sexual orientation, and socio-economic factors — that shape a text.

• Evaluating the relevance, accuracy, and reliability of a source

• Thinking critically and creatively about ideas within, between, and beyond texts

• Recognizing contexts, values, and perspectives in a literary text

Unit 3: Literary Analysis

The literary-analysis spine — the heart of a literary-studies course: how a text's form, function, and genre shape it; the grammar of visual and graphic texts; the elements of an author's style; literary elements and devices including figurative language; how text structures and forms enhance and shape meaning; evaluating how devices shape meaning and impact; and discerning nuance in word meanings across social, political, historical, and literary contexts.

• Form, function, and genre of literary texts

• Elements of visual and graphic texts

• Elements of style — diction, vocabulary, sentence structure, tone

• Literary elements and devices, including figurative language

• How text structures and forms enhance and shape meaning

• Evaluating how literary elements and devices shape meaning and impact

• Discerning nuances in word meanings across contexts

Unit 4: Composing & Responding

The productive strand: oral-language strategies for discussing literature; the writing and design processes that produce a finished text; the two bodies of usage and conventions; citation techniques and the ethics of acknowledging sources and intellectual property; composing meaningful texts for real audiences; refining drafts for clarity and impact; and transforming ideas into original texts across genres.

• Oral language strategies for discussing literature

• Formal speaking and listening — delivery, presentation, debate — for a range of purposes

• Writing processes — from gathering ideas to editing

• Design processes for shaping a text's layout and format

• Usage — avoiding double negatives, mixed metaphors, malapropisms, and word misuse

• Conventions — standard punctuation, capitalization, quoting, Canadian spelling

• Citation techniques for acknowledging sources

• Acknowledgements and citations — avoiding plagiarism, respecting IP rights

• Composing meaningful texts for real purposes and audiences

• Express and support an opinion with evidence — build an evidence-based argument

• Revising and refining writing for clarity, effectiveness, and impact

• Transforming ideas into original texts across genres and forms