Big Ideas
Big Ideas
Language and story
narrative texts, whether real or imagined, that teach us about human nature, motivation, and experience, and often reflect a personal journey or strengthen a sense of identity. They may also be considered the embodiment of collective wisdom. Stories can be oral, written, or visual, and used to instruct, inspire, and entertain listeners and readers.
can be a source of creativity and joy.
Stories
narrative texts, whether real or imagined, that teach us about human nature, motivation, and experience, and often reflect a personal journey or strengthen a sense of identity. They may also be considered the embodiment of collective wisdom. Stories can be oral, written, or visual, and used to instruct, inspire, and entertain listeners and readers.
and other textsText and texts are generic terms referring to all forms of oral, written, visual, and digital communication:
connect us to ourselves, our families, and our communities.
- Oral texts include speeches, poems, plays, and oral stories.
- Written texts include novels, articles, and short stories.
- Visual texts include posters, photographs, and other images.
- Digital texts include electronic forms of all the above.
- Oral, written, and visual elements can be combined (e.g., in dramatic presentations, graphic novels, films, web pages, advertisements).
Everyone has a unique story
narrative texts, whether real or imagined, that teach us about human nature, motivation, and experience, and often reflect a personal journey or strengthen a sense of identity. They may also be considered the embodiment of collective wisdom. Stories can be oral, written, or visual, and used to instruct, inspire, and entertain listeners and readers.
to share.
Through listening and speaking, we connect with others and share our world.
Playing with language helps us discover how language works.
Curiosity and wonder lead us to new discoveries about ourselves and the world around us.
Content
Learning Standards
Content
Story/text
- elements of storycharacter, plot, setting, structure (beginning, middle, end), and dialogue
- literary elements and deviceslanguage, poetic language, figurative language, sound play, images, colour, symbols
- text featureshow text and visuals are displayed (e.g., colour, arrangement, and formatting features such as bold, underline)
- vocabulary associated with textsbook, page, chapter, author, title, illustrator, web page, website, search box, headings, table of contents, pictures, and diagrams
Strategies and processes
- reading strategiesusing illustrations and prior knowledge to predict meaning; rereading; retelling in own words; locating the main idea and details; using knowledge of language patterns and phonics to decode words; identifying familiar and “sight” words; monitoring (asking: Does it look right? Sound right? Make sense?); self-correcting errors consistently using three cueing systems: meaning, structure, and visual
- oral language strategiesasking questions to clarify, expressing opinions, speaking with expression, taking turns, and connecting with audience
- metacognitive strategiestalking and thinking about learning (e.g., through reflecting, questioning, goal setting, self-evaluating) to develop awareness of self as a reader and as a writer
- writing processesmay include revising, editing, considering audience
Language features, structures, and conventions
- features of oral languageincluding tone, volume, inflection, pace, gestures
- word patterns, word families
- letter formationlegible printing with spacing between words
- sentence structurethe structure of compound sentences
- conventionscommon practices in punctuation (e.g., the use of a period or question mark at end of sentence) and in capitalization (e.g., capitalizing the first letter of the first word at the start of a sentence, people’s names, and the pronoun I)
Curricular Competency
Learning Standards
Curricular Competency
Comprehend and connect (reading, listening, viewing)
Read fluently at grade level
reading with comprehension, phrasing, and attention to punctuation
Use sources of information and prior knowledge
personal stories and experiences
to make meaning
Use developmentally appropriate reading, listening, and viewing strategies
examples include making predictions, making connections, making simple inferences, asking questions, engaging in conversation with peers and adults, showing respect for the contribution of others
to make meaning
Recognize how different text structures
examples include letters, recipes, maps, lists, web pages
reflect different purposes.
Engage actively as listeners, viewers, and readers
being open-minded to differences; connecting to personal knowledge, experiences, and traditions; participating in community and cultural traditions and practices; asking meaningful questions; using active listening; and asking and answering what if, how, and why questions in narrative and non-fiction text
, as appropriate, to develop understanding of self, identity, and community
Demonstrate awareness of the role that story
narrative texts, whether real or imagined, that teach us about human nature, motivation, and experience, and often reflect a personal journey or strengthen a sense of identity. They may also be considered the embodiment of collective wisdom. Stories can be oral, written, or visual, and used to instruct, inspire, and entertain listeners and readers.
plays in personal, family, and community identity
Use personal experience and knowledge to connect to stories
narrative texts, whether real or imagined, that teach us about human nature, motivation, and experience, and often reflect a personal journey or strengthen a sense of identity. They may also be considered the embodiment of collective wisdom. Stories can be oral, written, or visual, and used to instruct, inspire, and entertain listeners and readers.
and other textsText and texts are generic terms referring to all forms of oral, written, visual, and digital communication:
to make meaning
- Oral texts include speeches, poems, plays, and oral stories.
- Written texts include novels, articles, and short stories.
- Visual texts include posters, photographs, and other images.
- Digital texts include electronic forms of all the above.
- Oral, written, and visual elements can be combined (e.g., in dramatic presentations, graphic novels, films, web pages, advertisements).
Recognize the structure and elements of story
narrative texts, whether real or imagined, that teach us about human nature, motivation, and experience, and often reflect a personal journey or strengthen a sense of identity. They may also be considered the embodiment of collective wisdom. Stories can be oral, written, or visual, and used to instruct, inspire, and entertain listeners and readers.
Show awareness of how story in First Peoples cultures
Traditional and contemporary First Peoples stories take many forms (e.g., prose, song, dance, poetry, theatre, carvings, pictures) and are told for several purposes:
connects people to family and community
- teaching (e.g., life lessons, community responsibilities, rites of passage)
- sharing creation stories
- recording personal, family, and community histories
- “mapping” the geography and resources of an area
- ensuring cultural continuity (e.g., knowledge of ancestors, language)
- healing
- entertainment
- (from In Our Own Words: Bringing Authentic First Peoples Content to the K–3 Classroom, FNESC/FNSA, 2012)
Create and communicate (writing, speaking, representing)
Exchange ideas and perspectives
taking turns in offering ideas related to the topic at hand, engaging in conversation with peers and adults, and showing respect for the contributions of others
to build shared understanding
Create stories
narrative texts, whether real or imagined, that teach us about human nature, motivation, and experience, and often reflect a personal journey or strengthen a sense of identity. They may also be considered the embodiment of collective wisdom. Stories can be oral, written, or visual, and used to instruct, inspire, and entertain listeners and readers.
and other textsText and texts are generic terms referring to all forms of oral, written, visual, and digital communication:
to deepen awareness of self, family, and community
- Oral texts include speeches, poems, plays, and oral stories.
- Written texts include novels, articles, and short stories.
- Visual texts include posters, photographs, and other images.
- Digital texts include electronic forms of all the above.
- Oral, written, and visual elements can be combined (e.g., in dramatic presentations, graphic novels, films, web pages, advertisements).
Plan and create a variety of communication forms
examples include personal writing, letters, poems, multiple-page stories, simple expository text that is non-fiction and interest-based, digital presentations, oral presentations, visuals, dramatic forms used to communicate ideas and information
for different purposes and audiences
Communicate using sentences and most conventions of Canadian spelling, grammar, and punctuation
Explore oral storytelling processes
creating an original story or finding an existing story (with permission), sharing the story from memory with others, using vocal expression to clarify the meaning of the text