Independent reading
The independent reading tasks you have been working on are designed to support you as you progress through your independent learning. As well, completing these tasks will help you apply what you are learning.
- chapter or scene summaries
- evidence of use of reading strategies (such as asking and answering questions, making predictions, visualizing text, taking notes/annotating, and making vocabulary lists)
Your teacher may invite you to submit this work for feedback at the end of this learning activity.
Different styles of communication
Not all communication is written and not all of it even uses words.
As you may have come across in the previous learning activity, The Structure of a Photograph, pictures have power.
Perhaps you went the How do they Choose the News? route and discovered there is more to the sound of radio than just talking and music.
In this learning activity, you will be creating a non-traditional essay. Instead of writing an essay, you will create one from pictures or from sounds. You will be taken through the same creative process you used to create your Digital Footprint Guide.
Your purpose will be to introduce your topic in depth. Your audience is anyone with an interest in your topic. You might even decide to share your finished product on your social media.
Which path will you choose?
Transferable skills
Depending on how you decide to approach your non-traditional essay, you may develop competencies in Critical Thinking and Problem Solving; Innovation, Creativity and Entrepreneurship; Self-directed Learning; Collaboration; Communication; and Global Citizenship and Sustainability and Digital Literacy – all of which employers are interested in today!
Photo and sound essays
Try it!
Take a moment to explore whatever seems interesting to you here to help you decide on your path through this learning activity.
Go ahead and search online on your own for more inspiration.
Check out a variety of photo essays and soundscapes. What inspires you?
Soundscapes
Explore some soundscapes that aren’t radio news.
Sample a minute or two - or more - of each of the soundscapes here. Some of them also have pictures, but they all have an interesting mixture of voice, music and sound effects.
Soundscape 1
Soundscape 2
Access transcript (Opens in a new window)
Selecting a pathway
Choose a pathway.
Path option #1: Photo essay path
A photo essay is a group of photos that combines images and sometimes text to tell a story or explore a topic in depth.
When reading photo essays, it is important to understand the literal meaning of the photos, but also to ask questions.
Think back to the photo of Malala Yousafzai from the previous learning activity. It was a photo of a young woman receiving a Peace Prize (literal meaning) but you also wanted to know, “What did she do to receive this award?”
Questions like these will be different for different viewers, depending on each viewer’s background and beliefs.
In the previous learning activity, If you chose The Structure of a Photograph, you learned how distance and angle can create the effects the photographer wants you to experience.
If you chose How Do They Choose the News? go back to Learning Activity 1.3 for a little background on shots and angles in photography.
You will now have the chance to create or select photographs to explore a topic of your own.
Read through the following instructions and steps carefully.
Assessment Opportunity
Photo essay
In this assessment, you will apply what you have learned about shots and angles and literal meaning and questions to create a photo essay and write a reflection.
Feedback and marking
You may receive the following forms of feedback:
- Your teacher may highlight the phrases on the rubric that best describe your assignment to show you how you have done.
- Your teacher may also provide you with detailed comments about the strengths of your assignment, the areas of the assignment that need improvement, and the steps you should take before submitting another assignment like this one.
Pay careful attention to the following rubric. Your teacher will use it to assess your work. You should refer to it too, so you’ll know exactly what your finished assignment should appear like.
Rubric
Success Criteria:
- Demonstrates an understanding of the chosen topic. (M1)
- Shows an understanding of photo essays (e.g., including how the use of text and images can work together to present topics and ideas). (M1)
| Level 4 | Level 3 | Level 2 | Level 1 |
|---|---|---|---|
| With a high degree of effectiveness | With considerable effectiveness | With some effectiveness | With limited effectiveness |
Success Criteria:
- Selects compelling and complex images. (M3)
- Writes text that supports and enhances the images. (M3)
- Reflects thoughtfully on the topic choice and purpose in the artist statement. (M4)
- Provides meaningful self-assessment and advice to others in the artist statement. (M4)
| Level 4 | Level 3 | Level 2 | Level 1 |
|---|---|---|---|
| With a high degree of effectiveness | With considerable effectiveness | With some effectiveness | With limited effectiveness |
Success Criteria:
- Organizes ideas logically and with a clear purpose. (M3)
- Uses of the creative process to communicate ideas clearly and effectively. (M3)
- Uses language appropriate for purpose and audience. (W2)
- Follows the conventions of grammar, sentence structure and spelling. (W3)
| Level 4 | Level 3 | Level 2 | Level 1 |
|---|---|---|---|
| With a high degree of effectiveness | With considerable effectiveness | With some effectiveness | With limited effectiveness |
Success Criteria:
- Uses knowledge of shots and angles for maximum effect in choice of photos. (M2)
- Creates meaning by using photos for both their literal and inferred meaning. (M3)
| Level 4 | Level 3 | Level 2 | Level 1 |
|---|---|---|---|
| With a high degree of effectiveness | With considerable effectiveness | With some effectiveness | With limited effectiveness |
Your teacher will assess your work using the rubric. Before submitting your assessment, review the rubric to ensure that you are meeting the success criteria to the best of your ability.
The first thing to do is think of a topic for your photo essay. Do you want to entertain, inform, persuade or inspire? Is your audience for the essay your peers or a particular interest group? Keep these questions in mind as you work through the “Question” step of your process.
- If you don’t want to take the photos yourself, go to Option 2 - Finding photos. If you don’t want to take the photos yourself, you can find what you are searching for online.
- If you’d like to take the photos yourself, some ideas:
Caution!
Even though this is only a school assignment, you need to have permission of any people you are photographing and show courtesy to them.
Option #1 – Taking photos
Do you know someone who would allow you to shadow them at their work for a day? Even if their job is not that unusual, there could be lots of variety in their day. How do they prepare to work, what do they do, who do they interact with? How does their work day come to its end?
You may live in an unusual or ordinary neighbourhood, but it’s not the same as everyone else’s. Take your reader on a tour of your familiar ground, or visit somewhere new, or somewhere that has special meaning.
A day in the life of you! What you experience and do in a typical or special day. Or fill it out to include your family or whoever you happen to live with. Or you could do a family tree with old family photos if you have them.
Option #2 – Finding photos
These are a few ideas to get you thinking, but if you think of something not listed here, just check with your teacher before getting started.
Got an idea? Start planning in the next step.
Research and explore a period in history that you are interested in or that has impacted you or your family.
Choose an area of pop culture and show changes over time. Choose one area that interests you from something like toys, fashion, technology, transportation or music to keep your photo essay focused.
Choose an area of activity that interests you. You could make your photo essay about a specific athlete, or you could choose an activity such as skateboarding or a style of dance.
Choosing this option now makes this a research project, and you will have to cite your sources. Make sure that you collect your source information, like you did in Learning Activity 1.2, and add a slide at the end of your photo essay that contains the information.
Changed your mind? Choose the Soundscape Essay.
If you’re taking the photos yourself:
Your plan will depend on what your photo essay is about, but may include
- Choosing a date
- Arranging a suitable time and place for taking photos of others
- Asking your subject ahead of time what to expect
- Checking the weather forecast
- Finding the old family albums
Make a to do list.
If you’re searching for photos online:
How many pictures?
- The internet has endless pictures. Search for a lot of pictures and choose the 5 to 10 best ones. Make sure you choose a variety of distances and angles. (Tip: ”Preparing for the big game“ was created this way.)
- (Psst! It’s okay to use the ones that have a “watermark” on them, as long as you credit your source. You won’t lose marks for the watermark.)
Take note of your sources so that you can cite them later.
How many pictures?
What kind of pictures do I need?
The best ones will:
- tell your story in a focused way
- be interesting
- show a variety of distance and angle
- work best for your purpose and audience
Assessment Opportunity
Before proceeding to the next step, you’ll want to receive some feedback from your teacher. Present a brief plan for your teacher to review. The plan should include:
- Your topic
- A paragraph explaining how you will use pictures to develop this topic
- A paragraph explaining how you will obtain these pictures
When you are ready, submit your assessment for feedback by pressing the "Submit Your Work” button and follow the submission directions.
How many pictures?
- It’s free to take pictures with a camera or phone, so take lots of pictures and make sure to vary your distance and angles.
- Afterwards, you can review all the pictures and choose the 5 to 10 best ones.
Captions
Now it’s time to write captions for at least five of the photos. Decide on a pleasing arrangement for your photos and which ones would improve with captions. You might decide to caption up to ten photos.
This is a good time to create your citation list if you have used photos taken by others.
(Note: If you have used a family photo that belongs to your family, you do not need to create a citation, although it might be nice to include in a caption something like: “My Uncle Mark took this picture of my mom waterskiing at Cameron Lake when they were teenagers.”)
Artist’s statement
Now it’s time to write your artist’s statement. Once you have your photo essay completed, answer the following questions:
- Why did you decide on this topic?
- Were you hoping to entertain, inform, persuade or inspire?
- List at least two decisions you made to help you reach your goal.
- How successful do you feel your photo essay is in reaching your goal and audience?
- What advice would you give to another student doing this assignment in future?
Before you complete your final self-assessment before submission, exchange your work with a classmate. Provide your classmate with two areas of strength and two areas of improvement for their work.
Now, check over your work and make any corrections necessary. First, check the big stuff.
When you are confident that you have done these things, go to the next slide.
Now, check the details.
When you are ready you should submit the following items:
- Photo essay with captions
- Photo essay artist statement
Your teacher will assess your work using the rubric. Before submitting your assessment, review the rubric to ensure that you are meeting the success criteria to the best of your ability.
When you are ready, submit your assessment by pressing the “Submit Your Work” button and follow the submission directions.
Path option #2: Soundscape essay
In the previous learning activity, if you chose How Do They Choose the News? you learned that sound is more than just speaking and music. You might have imagined sounds of fire engines, water, music or voices speaking when you created your news lineup.
If you chose The Structure of a Photograph, go back to Learning Activity 1.3 to explore the mini-news broadcast.
You will now have the chance to record and select soundbites and effects to create a soundscape of your own.
Read through the following instructions and steps carefully.
Assessment Opportunity
Non-traditional essay
In this assessment, you will apply what you have learned about non-traditional essays and write a reflection.
Feedback and marking
You may receive the following forms of feedback:
- Your teacher may highlight the phrases on the rubric that best describe your assignment to show you how you have done.
- Your teacher may also provide you with detailed comments about the strengths of your assignment, the areas of the assignment that need improvement, and the steps you should take before submitting another assignment like this one.
Pay careful attention to the following rubric. Your teacher will use it to assess your work. You should refer to it too, so you’ll know exactly what your finished assignment should appear like.
Rubric
Success Criteria:
- Demonstrates an understanding of the chosen topic. (M1)
- Shows an understanding of the use of a variety of sounds to evoke an idea or feeling. (M2)
| Level 4 | Level 3 | Level 2 | Level 1 |
|---|---|---|---|
| With a high degree of effectiveness | With considerable effectiveness | With some effectiveness | With limited effectiveness |
Success Criteria:
- Selects compelling and complex sound bites. (M3)
- Reflects thoughtfully on the topic choice and purpose in the artist statement. (M4)
- Provides meaningful self-assessment and advice to others in the artist statement. (M4)
| Level 4 | Level 3 | Level 2 | Level 1 |
|---|---|---|---|
| With a high degree of effectiveness | With considerable effectiveness | With some effectiveness | With limited effectiveness |
Success Criteria:
- Organizes ideas logically and with a clear purpose. (M3)
- Uses of the creative process to communicate ideas clearly and effectively. (M3)
- Uses language appropriate for purpose and audience. (W2)
- Follows the conventions of grammar, sentence structure and spelling. (W3)
| Level 4 | Level 3 | Level 2 | Level 1 |
|---|---|---|---|
| With a high degree of effectiveness | With considerable effectiveness | With some effectiveness | With limited effectiveness |
Success Criteria:
- Demonstrates structure through the choice and order of sound bites (M2)
- Demonstrates creativity through the use of a variety of sound bites. (M3)
| Level 4 | Level 3 | Level 2 | Level 1 |
|---|---|---|---|
| With a high degree of effectiveness | With considerable effectiveness | With some effectiveness | With limited effectiveness |
Your teacher will assess your work using the rubric. Before submitting your assessment, review the rubric to ensure that you are meeting the success criteria to the best of your ability.
The first thing is to think of a topic for your non-traditional essay. Do you want to entertain, inform, persuade or inspire? Is your audience for the essay your peers or a particular interest group? Keep these questions in mind as you work through the “Question” step of your process.
Caution!
Even though this is only a school assignment, you need to have permission of any people you are recording and show courtesy to them.
Essay options
Do you know someone who would allow you to shadow them at their work for a day? Even if their job is not that unusual, there could be lots of variety in their day. Do they use machines with particular sounds? Who do they interact with? Are there different sounds they might associate with certain moments in their day?
You may live in an unusual or ordinary neighbourhood, but it’s not the same as everyone else’s. Do you encounter car horns, birds or construction workers? Take your reader on a tour of your familiar ground, or visit somewhere new, or somewhere that has special meaning. What about your own workplace or a day by the water?
A day in the life of you! What do you experience and do in a typical or special day? Or fill it out to include your family or whoever you happen to live with. Or, if you have family around you, you could interview the people about something that’s important to your family.
These are a few ideas to get you thinking, but if you think of something not listed here, just check with your teacher before getting started.
Got an idea? Start planning in the next step.
Your plan will depend on what your soundscape is about.
What kind of soundscape do you have in mind?
If it’s something like A Day in the Life, you will probably want to have your sounds go in the order of the day.
Your to-do list may include:
- Choosing a suitable date to make your recordings. If you are following someone else, you’ll have to coordinate with your subject
- Asking your subject ahead of time what to expect
- Making a list of sounds you want to include
- Checking the weather forecast, if necessary
If it’s something more moody that you’re working on, it might not matter what order the sounds are in.
Your to-do list may include:
- Choosing a suitable date to make your recordings
- Thinking ahead about what you think you’ll experience
- Making a list of sounds you want to include
- Checking the weather forecast, if necessary
Where are you going to get these sounds?
- Record them yourself. Cellphones and computers all have microphones. If you are interviewing someone, you can capture the sound that way. You can also record “ambient” sound – barking dogs, traffic, waves - at the locations you experience them.
- Create them yourself and record them. There are lots of resources online with suggestions of how to create sounds you might not easily get in real life – like breaking a bone (dry pasta) or a roaring lion (drawing on the outside of a corrugated box with the microphone inside).
- There are plenty of free sound effects to be found online. Upload them to your computer.
Assessment Opportunity
Before proceeding to the next step, you’ll want to receive some feedback from your teacher. Present a brief plan for your teacher to review. The plan should include:
- Your topic
- A paragraph explaining how you will use sounds to develop this topic
- A paragraph explaining how you will obtain these sounds
The teacher will assess your work using the rubric. Before submitting your assessment, review the rubric to ensure that you are meeting the success criteria to the best of your ability.
When you are ready, submit your assessment for feedback by pressing the "Submit Your Work” button and follow the submission directions.
Did you know?
When directors make films, they try to record the actors’ lines as “clean” as possible. Many of the sounds you experience in a film are added afterwards, and might not be what you think they are.
This added sound is called “foley” after Jack Foley, a sound effects artist in the early days of sound films.
During editing a scene for the movie Spartacus, the director felt that a scene needed more sound of Roman armour and worried he might have to refilm it. Jack Foley pulled out his keychain and clanked it. No need to reshoot!
How many sounds?
You have learned that there are many styles of soundscapes and many elements that can be combined, such as
- narration
- choral speaking
- interviews
- ambient voices
- sound effects
- music
How you choose to combine them is up to you. Your finished soundscape should be one to two minutes long.
You will want to have variety in the sounds in order to create your story or mood.
It’s free to record with your phone or computer, so get lots of recordings of different kinds.
Afterwards, you can listen to your recordings and decide what will work best together.
If you have not put together a soundscape before, search online for more information.
Artist’s statement
Now it’s time to write your artist’s statement. Once you have your soundscape essay completed, answer the following questions:
- Why did you decide on this topic?
- Were you hoping to entertain, inform, persuade or inspire?
- List at least two decisions you made to help you reach your goal.
- How successful do you feel your photo essay is in reaching your goal and audience?
- What advice would you give to another student doing this assignment in future?
This is a good time to create your citation list if you have used sound effects uploaded from websites.
If you are using sound effects that you have uploaded from websites, take note of your sources so that you can cite them later.
Before you complete your final self-assessment before submission, exchange your work with a classmate. Provide your classmate with two areas of strength and two areas of improvement for their work.
Now, check over your work and make any corrections necessary.
First, check the big stuff.
Now, check the details.
Review everything one last time. Is the soundscape one to two minutes long? Is there an artist’s statement? If needed, are there citations? Do you want to add a title?
When you are ready, you should submit the following items:
- Soundscape
- Soundscape artist statement
When you are ready, submit your assessment by pressing the “Submit Your Work” button and follow the submission directions.
Notebook
In your notebook, record your thoughts on the following:
- What was the most challenging aspect of preparing this non-traditional essay?
- How did you overcome the challenges?
- How do the choices you made and the ways you handled challenges reflect on you and your views of the world?
Hurray! You have successfully completed the final learning activity of this unit. Now that you have explored various elements of non-traditional essays, consider the following questions when building your ideas on using images in social media:
Take a dive into your creativity! Explore books, songs, videos, or speak with a few people to further develop your thoughts and ideas on how to express your thoughts and ideas towards using photo essays or a soundscape. Next, consider how you could include photo essays or soundscape into personal projects, goals, or presentations. Take note of your thoughts and ideas.
Before you proceed to the next unit, be sure to check in with your independent reading by exploring the prompts below. Then, proceed to take the transferable skills survey.
Assessment Opportunity
Independent reading work for Unit 1
Because you’ve reached the end of Unit 1, it is time to submit the work you did as part of your independent reading study in this unit. You will receive feedback on your progress and you will be able to set next steps for your independent reading study.
Compile your work related to the first third of your novel. Select two of your best pieces of writing in your notes and write a short reflection on why you think those represent good writing. Be sure to also include the following items:
- chapter summaries
- notes about the main character and others
- questions you have about what you are reading
- assignments at the end of each learning activity
- evidence of use of reading strategies (Tips for independent reading study (Opens in new window))
When you are ready, submit your assessment for feedback by pressing the "Submit Your Work” button and follow the submission directions.
Join the discussion
Engage in a discussion with your classmates on the following questions:
At this point in your reading, think about some connections you can make to your reading:
- Is there anyone in your novel that you relate to?
- Is there anyone in your novel that is similar to someone you know?
Transferable skills survey
Having completed the unit, take the opportunity to review your demonstration of Ontario's Transferable Skills, introduced in 1.1. Complete the Unit 1 Transferable Skills Survey to share your assessment and specific evidence for that rating.