OLC4O course is designed to help students acquire and demonstrate the cross-curricular literacy skills that are evaluated by the Ontario Secondary School Literacy Test (OSSLT). Students who complete the course successfully will meet the provincial literacy requirement for graduation. Students will read a variety of informational, narrative, and graphic texts and will produce a variety of forms of writing, including summaries, information paragraphs, opinion pieces, and news reports. Students will also maintain and manage a portfolio containing a record of their reading experiences and samples of their writing.
Prerequisites: Students who have been eligible to write the Ontario Secondary School Literacy Test (OSSLT) at least twice and who have been unsuccessful at least once are eligible to take the course.
The unit helps students in a comprehensive exploration of foundational reading skills, aiming to equip students with essential tools for effective comprehension while emphasizing diverse reading strategies, guiding students through various texts, and fostering engagement and skill development. Through active reading, annotations, and close reading students hone their reading skills. The unit also exposes students to a wide range of literary genres, promoting a nuanced understanding of language usage.Â
The unit will help students explore the fundamentals of writing and acquire a solid understanding of sentence structure, develop skills in organizing paragraphs, and write essays effectively, aiming to enhance their grammar proficiency and foster their ability to express ideas coherently.Â
The unit will expose students to a diverse range of text types and teach them to analyze and appreciate their unique features. Students will develop skills to identify and understand different text structures, such as narrative, expository, persuasive, and informational texts through close examination and exploration.Â
The unit prepares students for the literacy demands they may encounter in a professional setting and focuses on developing skills in professional communication, report writing, and email etiquette. Students will learn to communicate effectively in the workplace and draft emails, reports, and other workplace documents. The unit also focuses on practical applications, such as interpreting workplace documents to enhance their understanding of workplace literacy.
