OLC4O course guide
for teachers
OLC4O, the Ontario Secondary School Literacy Course, is the Grade 12 course that lets students meet the literacy requirement for graduation without passing the OSSLT. This guide sets out what the Ministry curriculum asks for, who can take the course, how it is evaluated and one way to plan the semester.
The Ministry describes the course this way: students read informational, narrative and graphic texts, write summaries, information paragraphs, opinion pieces and news reports, and keep a portfolio of their reading and writing. It builds the same cross-curricular literacy skills the OSSLT measures.
Three strands, ten overall expectations
Building Reading Skills
- A1Reading and responding to texts
- A2Understanding the forms of texts
- A3Using reading strategies to understand texts
- A4Understanding new words and building vocabulary
Building Writing Skills
- B1Using the writing process, from ideas to a polished final piece
- B2Using knowledge of forms: summaries, information paragraphs, opinion pieces, news reports and personal reflections
Understanding and Assessing Growth in Literacy
- C1Why communication skills matter at school, at work and at home
- C2Their own role in the learning process
- C3The reading and writing processes
- C4Using the portfolio to assess their growth
Overall expectations as listed in the Ministry’s OLC4O curriculum, issued in 2003. The specific expectations under each one are on the Ministry’s curriculum site.
A suggested course outline
| When | Unit | What students do | Expectations |
|---|---|---|---|
| Weeks 1–2 | Literacy in your life | Reading and writing inventory, personal goals, and setting up the portfolio. | C1, C2 |
| Weeks 3–6 | Reading to learn | Informational and graphic texts: textbooks, newspaper reports, schedules and charts. Main idea, supporting details and summaries. | A1–A4, B2 |
| Weeks 7–8 | Reading stories | Short fiction and magazine stories: inference, character and the writer’s choices, with personal reflections. | A1–A3, B2 |
| Weeks 9–11 | Writing to inform | Information paragraphs and news reports, drafted, revised and polished. | B1, B2 |
| Weeks 12–15 | Writing an opinion | A series of paragraphs expressing an opinion, supported with reasons and specific details. | B1, B2 |
| Weeks 16–18 | Portfolio and final evaluation | Portfolio review, a written reflection on growth, and the final evaluation. | C3, C4 |
The expectations come from the Ministry curriculum. The unit order and timing are Litguide’s suggestion for an 18-week semester; adjust them to your school calendar and your students.
Who can take OLC4O?
Students who have been eligible to write the OSSLT at least twice and have been unsuccessful at least once can take the course.
A principal can let a student enrol sooner when that is in the student’s best interest, and mature students can enrol directly. Under special circumstances, a principal can also allow a student who has already met the literacy requirement to take it.
Does OLC4O count as a credit?
Yes. Passing the course meets the provincial literacy requirement for graduation, and it counts as one credit: the Grade 11 or Grade 12 compulsory English credit, or a Group 1 credit.
Is there a final exam in OLC4O?
OLC4O follows the same evaluation policy as every Ontario secondary course. Seventy per cent of the grade comes from evaluation through the course, and thirty per cent from a final evaluation near the end, which can be an exam, a performance, an essay or another method that suits the course.
The portfolio expectation (C4) gives the final evaluation a natural shape: students select their strongest work and reflect on how their reading and writing have grown.
What writing does the course ask for?
Strand B names five forms: summaries, information paragraphs, opinion pieces written as a series of paragraphs, news reports and personal reflections, each taken through the writing process from first draft to final copy.
The opinion piece is the same kind of writing students meet on the OSSLT, so practice on it serves both.
Reading and writing practice, marked in seconds
Ontario teachers already use Litguide in OLC4O classes. It gives the class lessons and practice for the reading and writing the course asks for, and marks every piece of writing against the OSSLT rubrics.
Lessons that build the skills
66 lessons across two booklets, from literacy foundations to full OSSLT-style practice.
Writing marked in seconds
Every draft is marked against the OSSLT rubrics with feedback students can use on the next one, which fits the writing process in strand B.
A record of growth
Each student’s work and results stay in one place, ready to draw on for the portfolio in strand C.
See who needs help
The teacher view shows who is keeping up and which skills the class needs to revisit.
Quick answers about OLC4O
What does OLC4O stand for?
It is the Ministry course code for the Ontario Secondary School Literacy Course: OLC names the course, 4 means Grade 12 and O means open.
Is there a prerequisite for OLC4O?
No. Instead there is an eligibility rule: students who have been eligible to write the OSSLT at least twice and have been unsuccessful at least once can take it.
Does passing OLC4O mean a student doesn’t need the OSSLT?
Yes. Students who complete the course successfully meet the provincial literacy requirement for graduation.
Can a student take OLC4O before writing the OSSLT twice?
Yes, if the principal decides it is in the student’s best interest. Mature students can enrol directly.
Is there a final exam in OLC4O?
Thirty per cent of the grade comes from a final evaluation, which can be an exam, a performance, an essay or another suitable method. The rest comes from work through the course.
What is the OLC4O portfolio?
Students keep a record of their reading and samples of their writing through the semester, and use it to show and assess their growth in literacy.
- OSSLT vs OSSLCThe test, the literacy course, and how each meets the requirement
- Free OSSLT practice testA news report, seven reading questions and an opinion essay prompt, with every answer explained
- What your OSSLT score meansThe 200 to 400 scale, the 300 pass mark, the student report and when results arrive
- Failed the OSSLT? What happens nextYour options after a not yet successful result, and how to plan a retake
- OSSLT marking guideEQAO’s scoring codes and how the 200 to 400 scale works
- What is the OSSLT?The OSSLT explained: who writes it, what’s on it and how it’s scored
