Laurel Heights’ English Department offers a wide range of courses and co-curricular activities. Students taking the core English courses in grades 9 through 12 will study a wide range of literature, from novels and short stories to Shakespeare and modern drama. The focus of the grade 11 University level course is Indigenous literature.
In conjunction with these courses, the English Department takes students on various field trips, depending on the scheduling and availability of plays being presented in the area. Teachers in the English Department also organize and run extra-curricular activities associated with the study of English, including a Writers’ Club and the school’s online newspaper.
Please view our English resources.
GRADE 9
ENL1WI (English, destreamed – NEW FOR 2023-2024)
This course enables students to continue to develop and consolidate the foundational knowledge and skills that they need for reading, writing, and oral and visual communication. Throughout the course, students will continue to enhance their media literacy and critical literacy skills, and to develop and apply transferable skills, including digital literacy. Students will also make connections to their lived experiences and to society and increase their understanding of the importance of language and literacy across the curriculum. NOTE – this replaces ENG1DI.
ENG1LB (English, Fast Forward)
This course provides the foundation for literacy and communication skills which prepare students for success in their daily lives, in the workplace and in the Grade 10 essential level course. The course develops a variety of important skills, including listening, talking, reading, viewing and writing. In all strands, the focus is on developing foundational literacy skills and in using language clearly and accurately in a variety of authentic contexts.
GRADE 10
ENG2DI (English, Academic)
Making connections… that is what Grade 10 Academic English is all about. The course is tied together by the Final Assessment which involves reading your choice of fiction and non fiction books and connecting them to the core texts studied in class in the Final Assessment essay. Students study and interpret challenging texts from contemporary and historical periods including plays, novels, opinion pieces and media works. Assignments include analysis, interpretation and creation in the forms of spoken, written and visual language. Prerequisite: ENG1D
Units of Study:
- Unit 1: Short Stories and Essays
- Unit 2: Poetry
- Unit 3: Novel Study
- Unit 4: Macbeth
- Unit 5: Independent Study
ENG2LB (English, Fast Forward)
In this course, students focus on extending their literacy and communication skills to prepare for success in their daily lives and in the workplace. The course is organized by strands that extend listening and talking skills, reading and viewing skills, and writing skills. In all strands, the focus is on refining foundational literacy skills and in using language clearly and accurately in a variety of authentic contexts. Students build on their strategies and engage in the processes involved in talking, listening, reading, viewing, writing, and thinking, and reflect regularly upon their growth in these areas. Prerequisite: ENG1L.
Units of Study:
- Unit 1: Teamwork and Effective Communication
- Unit 2: Short Stories
- Unit 3: Authentic Documents
- Unit 4: Novel Study
- Unit 5: Graphic Novels
- Unit 6: Summative Project
GRADE 11
NBE3EB (English -Understanding Contemporary First Nations, Métis, and Inuit Voices, Fast Forward)
This course explores themes, forms, and stylistic elements of literary, informational, graphic, oral, cultural, and media texts emerging from First Nations, Métis, and Inuit cultures in Canada, as well as some texts that relate to those cultures. In order to better understand contemporary texts, students will explore connections between traditional and contemporary text forms and cultural and community aspects of identity, relationships, and self-determination, sovereignty, or self-governance. Students will also create oral, written, and media texts focusing on the development of literacy, communication, and critical thinking skills necessary for success in the workplace and daily life. Prerequisite: ENG2LB. The course is intended to prepare students for the compulsory Grade 12 English workplace preparation course.
NBE3CI (English – Understanding Contemporary First Nations, Métis, and Inuit Voices, College)
This course explores the themes, forms, and stylistic elements of literary, informational, graphic, oral, cultural, and media text forms emerging from First Nations, Métis, and Inuit cultures in Canada, and also looks at the perspectives and influences of texts that relate to those cultures. In order to understand contemporary text forms and their themes of identity, relationship, and self-determination, sovereignty, or self-governance, students will study the use of text forms by Indigenous authors/creators from other periods in expressing ideas related to these themes. Students will also create oral, written, and media texts to explore their own ideas and understanding, focusing on the development of literacy, communication, and critical and creative thinking skills necessary for success in academic and daily life. The course is intended to prepare students for the compulsory Grade 12 English college preparation course. Prerequisite: ENG2PI or ENG2DI.
NBE3UI (English – Contemporary Aboriginal Voices, University)
This course focuses on themes, forms, and stylistic elements of a range of literary, informational, and graphic texts of First Nation, Métis, and Inuit authors in Canada. They will analyze changes in use of text forms by Aboriginal authors over time periods and within cultures when expressing themes of identity, relationships, and sovereignty in the 21st century. Students will create oral, written, and media texts to explore their own ideas and understanding focusing on the development of literacy, communication, critical and creative thinking skills necessary for success in academic and daily life. The course is intended to prepare students for the compulsory Grade 12 university preparation course (ENG4UI).
This course counts as a grade 11 compulsory English credit – REPLACES ENG3UI (no longer offered). Prerequisite: ENG2DI
GRADE 12
ENG4CI (English, College)
This course emphasizes the consolidation of literacy, critical thinking, and communication skills. Students will analyze informational texts and literary works from various time periods, countries, and cultures; write research reports, reflections, and creative assignments; analyze interactions among media forms and audiences; and complete an independent study project. Prerequisite: ENG3C or ENG3U.
Units of Study:
- Unit 1: Communication
- Unit 2: Survival
- Unit 3: People in Profile
- Unit 4: Novel Study
- Unit 5: Independent Study
ENG4EB (English, Fast Forward)
This course emphasizes the consolidation of literacy, communication, and critical and creative thinking skills necessary for success in the workplace and in daily life. Students will analyse informational, graphic, and literary texts and create oral, written, and media texts in a variety of forms for workplace-related and practical purposes. An important focus will be on using language accurately and organizing ideas and information coherently. The course is intended to prepare students for the workplace and active citizenship. Prerequisite: ENG3E.
ENG4UI (English, University)
This course emphasizes the consolidation of the literacy, communication, and critical and creative thinking skills necessary for success in academic and daily life. Students will analyze a range of challenging literary texts from various periods, countries, and cultures; interpret and evaluate informational and graphic texts; and create oral, written, and media texts in a variety of forms. An important focus will be on using academic language coherently, selecting the reading strategies best suited to particular texts and particular purposes in reading, and developing greater control in writing. Prerequisite: NBE3U or ENG3U.
- Unit 1: Essay Analysis
- Unit 2: Shakespeare
- Unit 3: Short Stories
- Unit 4: Novel Study
- Unit 5: Independent Study Project
EWC4UI (The Writer’s Craft, University)
A workshop course in creative writing which features units on writing creative non-fiction, poetry, script, and short story. Students chose their own topics in each genre and develop them through a series of writing exercises and conferences with the instructor and their classroom peers.
The culminating project is an independent study: a group magazine on a subject of the students’ choosing. The magazine features work in all the genres we have considered in class. Considerable class time is provided for writing, conferring with the instructor and editing peers’ writing. Prerequisite: ENG3U.
Units of Study:
- Unit 1: Creative Non-Fiction
- Unit 2: Poetry
- Unit 3: Script
- Unit 4: Short Story
- Unit 5: Culminating Project
OLC4OI (Literacy Course, Open)
This 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. Prerequisite: ENG3EB/ENG3CI/ENG3UI or see below.
Eligibility requirement: Students who have been unsuccessful at least once on the Ontario Secondary School Literacy Test are eligible to take the course.
