This week, Grade 11 students completed their first English Language & Literature Paper 1 summative assessment. The Paper 1 exam is an opportunity for students to demonstrate their ability to analyze and evaluate a previously unseen non-literary text. Exams may contain any of a wide number of text types, ranging from informative (e.g. reports, instructions, infographics, websites) to persuasive (e.g. essays, political cartoons, editorials).
In our first unit, students learned how to analyze satirical devices and illustrations by exploring a body of work by Ukrainian satirist Vladimir Kasanevsky. The curated collection of cartoons focused on critiques of the contemporary role of technology in our lives, especially artificial intelligence.
Students can best prepare for success outside of class by reading and engaging with current events, persuasive essays, and informative multimedia text types with a critical stance. Students should explore their interests outside of the classroom and read texts that they have selected themselves. Families are encouraged to engage with critical texts with their children and to model lifelong literacy by sharing their thoughts about what they have been reading as well.