The Grade 9/10 Program

The four years of high school, referred to as “The High School Program”, consists of two basic units, the 9/10 program and the 11/12 program.  The basic core of skills, knowledge, competencies and experiences necessary for future learning in the 11/12 program and beyond is the central focus of public education from kindergarten to grade 10.  The distinguishing features of grade 9 are the common curriculum, heterogeneous grouping, scheduling by classes or teams and student promotion decided by teachers/the teaching team on an all or nothing basis.  Grade 10 is defined by the opportunity for some curriculum choice, heterogeneous grouping in some subjects with the option to ability grouping in others, teaming where possible, and promotion by subject.

All courses in grade 9 are compulsory.  It is similar to grade 8; as it is a “package” deal. 

The following general descriptions outline the course of studies in each year:

ENGLISH LANGUAGE ARTS 9 (180 hours)

The curriculum focus for this course is reading, writing, speaking, listening and thinking. Students develop their ability to write clear sentences, paragraphs, and essays and provide personal responses and analyses. Short stories, novels, poetry, and drama are the genres for achieving academic outcomes. Students are introduced to the world of Shakespeare. A provincial literacy assessment is written and is a graduation requirement.

MATHEMATICS 9 / F.I. MATHEMATICS 9 (180 hours)

This is a full year course that provides the basis for high school Mathematics.  Topics covered include number theory concepts, operation principles in numeric and algebraic forms, pattern representation, measurement, geometry, data analysis and probability.

Texts:  Interactions 9 (Prentice Hall), Minds on Math 9 (Addison Wesley) & Omni Mathematics

SCIENCE 9 / F.I. SCIENCE 9 (90 hours)

This course is designed to offer students an opportunity to learn about the varied disciplines of science. The course is divided into four components. They include Atoms and Elements, Reproduction, Characteristics of Electricity and Space Exploration.

Text for Science 9: Nelson Science 9                    Text for F.I. Science 9: Sciences 9

SOCIAL STUDIES 9 (180 hours) / F.I. SOCIAL STUDIES 9 (90 hours)

In this course students investigate our Canadian identity and its personal significance for them. Within a project based approach appropriate for social studies learning, students investigate the many peoples, identities, histories and the geography that make up our diverse country. Students are exposed to a variety of different media including video and multimedia information.

Text for Social Studies 9:  Canadian Identity

Text for F.I. Social Studies 9:  Identité canadienne

CORE FRENCH 9 (90 hours)

This course will develop student’s basic conversational skills.  This is a continuation of the Middle School program.  Emphasis is placed on speaking and listening skills.  Therefore, students will be expected to participate actively in the classroom sessions (dialogues, role playing and group work).  This course covers the language skills necessary for effective communication in French in daily situations.

Texts: Ça marche (-Ma chambre, ma vie –Mission emploi), Communi-Quête (Studio créateur)

FRENCH IMMERSION LANGUAGE ARTS 9 -EARLY & LATE (180 hours)

This course is open to students who have completed the Early and Late French Immersion Programs at the Middle School level. This course will deal with the following aspects: vocabulary, oral expression, composition, literature and culture.  Early F.I. Language Arts students will delve more deeply into French vocabulary and grammar.

Texts: Language Modules, Readings from various sources, 3 novels

SPECIALITIES

Students will spend 45 hours studying each of the following:

• Visual Arts 9
• Music 9
• Health & Physical Education 9
• BBT-Broad Based Technology 9