English Grade 9, Academic (ENG1D)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Course Title : English, Grade 9 (ENG1D)
Course Name : English
Course Code : ENG1D
Grade : 9
Course Type : Academic
Credit Value : 1.0
Prerequisite : None
Curriculum Policy Document: English, The Ontario Curriculum,Grades 9 and 10, 2007 (Revised)

Course Developer:

USCA Academy

Department:

English x

Development Date:

June 2019

Most Recent Revision Date: August 2021

Course Description

English Grade 9: This course is designed to develop the oral communication, reading, writing, and media literacy skills that students need for success in their secondary school academic programs and in their daily lives. Students will analyse literary texts from contemporary and historical periods, interpret informational and graphic texts, and create oral, written, and media texts in a variety of forms. An important focus will be on the use of strategies that contribute to effective communication. The course is intended to prepare students for the Grade 10 academic English course, which leads to university or college preparation courses in Grades 11 and 12.

 

 

 

Overall Curriculum Expectations

English Grade 9

A1. Listening to Understand:

Listen in order to understand and respond appropriately in a variety of situations for a variety of purposes;

A2. Speaking to Communicate:

Use speaking skills and strategies appropriately to communicate with different audiences for a variety of purposes;

A3. Reflecting on Skills and Strategies:

Reflect on and identify their strengths as listeners and speakers, areas for improvement, and the strategies they found most helpful in oral communication situations.

English Grade 9

B1. Reading for Meaning:

Read and demonstrate an understanding of a variety of literary, informational, and graphic texts, using a range of strategies to construct meaning;

B2. Understanding Form and Style:

Recognize a variety of text forms, text features, and stylistic elements and demonstrate understanding of how they help communicate meaning;

B3. Reading With Fluency:

Use knowledge of words and cueing systems to read fluently;

B4. Reflecting on Skills and Strategies:

Reflect on and identify their strengths as readers, areas for improvement, and the strategies they found most helpful before, during, and after reading.

English Grade 9

C1. Developing and Organizing Content:

Generate, gather, and organize ideas and information to write for an intended purpose and audience;

C2. Using Knowledge of Form and Style:

draft and revise their writing, using a variety of literary, informational, and graphic forms and stylistic elements appropriate for the purpose and audience;

C3. Applying Knowledge of Conventions:

use editing, proofreading, and publishing skills and strategies, and knowledge of language conventions, to correct errors, refine expression, and present their work effectively;

C4. Reflecting on Skills and Strategies::

reflect on and identify their strengths as writers, areas for improvement, and the strategies they found most helpful at different stages in the writing process.

English Grade 9

D1. Understanding Media Texts:

demonstrate an understanding of a variety of media texts;

D2. Understanding Media Forms, Conventions, and Techniques:

identify some media forms and explain how the conventions and techniques associated with them are used to create meaning;

D3. Creating Media Texts:

create a variety of media texts for different purposes and audiences, using appropriate forms, conventions, and techniques;

D4. Reflecting on Skills and Strategies:

reflect on and identify their strengths as media interpreters and creators, areas for improvement, and the strategies they found most helpful in understanding and creating media texts.

Outline of Course Content

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Unit Titles and Descriptions Time and Sequence
Unit 1

Language and Form

Through the readings of short articles from various forms of literature including poems and plays, students are introduced to the different terms and structures of literature. As they analyse each of the narratives, they compare and contrast them in terms of purpose, structure, mood, style, tone, audience, and language and begin to understand the conventions of narrative literature and language as they develop the tools and techniques for critical literacy.

25 hours
Unit 2

Literature

Students continue to study a range of short narratives and apply appropriate strategies to read, understand, and interpret the materials. They learn to apply both reading and listening strategies for great communication clarity. As they progress through the readings, students also develop research skills as they delve into the various topics the narratives introduce. And through the exercises and discussions they demonstrate greater proficiency in both oral and written communication.

25 hours
Unit 3

Media

Students analyse the various media forms, conventions and techniques to first define their criteria for effectiveness and then to determine their ability to obtain the results wanted. A review of the elements of visual products is discussed and students develop a variety of media texts and present these in class, describing also, how their skills in listening, speaking, reading and writing have helped them to interpret and produce media texts.

25 hours
Unit 4

The English Language

This unit is integrated into the other units as students progress through the course and develop greater proficiency in the English language. Topics include influences on the English language, levels of language, vocabulary development. formal and informal language styles, parts of speech parts of sentences sentence variety spelling rules punctuation, use of capitals. A brief synopsis is held at course end of reading and researching strategies, writing skills and techniques, oral communication skills and elements of visual production.

25 hours
Unit 5

Final Summative Assessment

The final summative assessments are both oral and written. The oral presentation builds on their memoir construction skills and is presented as a dramatic monologue. The exam assesses skills developed throughout the year in accordance with the provincial achievement chart and the course’s overall expectations

10 hours
  Total 110 hours

 

Assessment Plan
ENG1D

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

POC O/F/A
P = Product O = Assessment OF Learning
O = Observation F = Assessment FOR Learning
C = Conversation A = Assessment AS Learning

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Unit number

Assessment

O/F/A

Expectations

POC

K 25%

T 25%

C 25%

A 25%

Term Work 70%

1.

Poem Assignment

 

Poem Discussions

O

 

F/A

A1.1, B1.3, C1.1

 

P

25

25

25

25

 

Unit 1 Test

O

B1.6, B1.7, B2.1, B2.2

P

25

25

25

25

 

Total

 

 

 

50

50

50

150

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

2.

Novel Study

 

Thematic Discussions

O

 

F/A

B1.6, C1.2, C1.4

P

25

25

25

25

 

Unit 2 Test

O

B1.8, B2.3, B4.2, C1.4

P

25

25

25

25

 

Total

 

 

 

50

50

50

50

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

3.

Media Assignment

 

Types of media discussions

 

O

 

F/A

D1.1, D1.2, D1.3

P

25

25

25

25

 

Unit 3 Test

O

D1.5, D2.1, D2.2

P

25

25

25

25

 

Total

 

 

 

50

50

50

50

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

4.

Vocabulary Assignment

 

New Words Discussions

Observation/Conversation

O

 

F/A

O

B3.1, B3.2, B3.3

P

 

 

P/O/C

25

 

 

5

25

 

 

5

25

 

 

5

25

 

 

5

 

Unit 4 Test

O

B3.3, B4.1, C1.2

25

25

25

25

 

Total

 

 

 

55

55

55

55

Unit 5

Final Summative Assessment (30%)

O

All strands

P

25

25

25

25

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Total Marks (Assessment of Learning only)

230

230

230

230

 

 

Category Weighting

25%

25%

25%

25%

 

 

English Grade 9: Since the over-riding aim of this course is to help students use language skillfully, confidently and flexibly, a wide variety of instructional strategies are used to provide learning opportunities to accommodate a variety of learning styles, interests and ability levels. These include:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Directed Reading Activities

Seminar

Group work

Brain storming

Literature Circles

Reflections

Structured Discussions

Oral presentations

Close reading

Role play

Self assessments

Teacher Analysis

Independent Study

Peer assessments

Analysis of Exemplars

English Grade 9: Assessment is a systematic process of collecting information or evidence about a student’s progress towards meeting the learning expectations. Assessment is embedded in the instructional activities throughout a unit. The expectations for the assessment tasks are clearly articulated and the learning activity is planned to make that demonstration possible. This process of beginning with the end in mind helps to keep focus on the expectations of the course. The purpose of assessment is to gather the data or evidence and to provide meaningful feedback to the student about how to improve or sustain the performance in the course. Scaled criteria designed as rubrics are often used to help the student to recognize their level of achievement and to provide guidance on how to achieve the next level. Although assessment information can be gathered from a number of sources (the student himself, the student’s course mates, the teacher), evaluation is the responsibility of only the teacher. For evaluation is the process of making a judgment about the assessment information and determining the percentage grade or level.

Assessment is embedded within the instructional process throughout each unit rather than being an isolated event at the end. Often, the learning and assessment tasks are the same, with formative assessment provided throughout the unit. In every case, the desired demonstration of learning is articulated clearly and the learning activity is planned to make that demonstration possible. This process of beginning with the end in mind helps to keep focus on the expectations of the course as stated in the course guideline. The evaluations are expressed as a percentage based upon the levels of achievement.

English Grade 9: A variety of strategies are used to allow students opportunities to attain the necessary skills for success in this course and at the post-secondary level of study. To facilitate learning, the teacher uses a variety of activities engaging the whole class, small groups, and individual students.

The assessment will be based on the following processes that take place in the classroom:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Assessment FOR Learning Assessment AS Learning Assessment OF Learning

During this process the teacher seeks information from the students in order to decide where the learners are and where they need to go.

During this process the teacher fosters the capacity of the students and establishes individual goals for success with each one of them.

During this process the teacher reports student’s results in accordance to established criteria to inform how well students are learning.

Conversation Conversation Conversation

Classroom discussion Self-evaluation Peer assessment

Classroom discussion Small group discussion Post-lab conferences Presentations of research Debates
Observation Observation Observation
Drama workshops (taking direction) Steps in problem solving Group discussions Presentations Group Presentations
Student Products Student Products Student Products
Reflection journals (to be kept throughout the duration of the course)
Check Lists
Success Criteria
Practice sheets
Socrative quizzes
Projects
Poster presentations Tests
In Class Presentations

 

Some of the approaches to teaching/learning include

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Strategy

Who

Assessment Tool

Class discussion

Teacher

Observation Checklist

Response Journal

Teacher

Anecdotal Comments

Student Chosen Song

Teacher

Observation Checklist

Narrative Poem/Song

Teacher

Rubric and Anecdotal Comments

Character Sketch

Self

Checklist

Journal Responses

Self/teacher

Anecdotal comments

Short Story Analysis

Teacher

Rating scale

Short Story Outline

Teacher

Rating scale

Anecdote

Teacher

Direct Observation

Found poem

Teacher

Direct Observation

Journal Entries

Teacher

Anecdotal

Research Notes

Self/Teacher

Checklist

Non-fiction Report/Presentation

Teacher

 Rubric

Presentation to group

Self/Peer

Self and peer assessment rubric

Sight passage

Teacher

Marking scheme

Narrative piece

Teacher

Rubric

English Grade 9: The evaluation of this course is based on the four Ministry of Education achievement categories of knowledge and understanding (25%), thinking (25%), communication (25%), and application (25%). . The evaluation for this course is based on the student’s achievement of curriculum expectations and the demonstrated skills required for effective learning.

The percentage grade represents the quality of the student’s overall achievement of the expectations for the course and reflects the corresponding level of achievement as described in the achievement chart for the discipline.

English Grade 9: A credit is granted and recorded for this course if the student’s grade is 50% or higher. The final grade for this course will be determined as follows:

 

    • 70% of the grade will be based upon evaluations conducted throughout the course. This portion of the grade will reflect the student’s most consistent level of achievement throughout the course, although special consideration will be given to more recent evidence of

 

    • 30% of the grade will be based on final evaluations administered at the end of the course. The final assessment may be a final exam, a final project, or a combination of both an exam and a

Textbook

 

    • Live Ink: Print and Digital Student Kit A, Karen Hume, Sharon Jeroski, Rich MacPherson, et al Pearson Education

Potential Resources

 

    • Novel: Skud by Dennis Foon or The Chrysalids by John Wyndham

    • OSSLT Practice Materials (www.eqao.com)

Teachers who are planning a program must take into account a number of considerations in a number of important areas. Essential information that pertains to all disciplines is provided in Program Planning and Assessment, 2000. The areas of concern to all teachers include the following:

 

    • types of secondary school courses

    • education for exceptional students

    • environmental Education

    • program consideration for English Language Learners

    • career education

    • cooperative education and other workplace experiences

    • health and safety

Considerations relating to the areas listed above that have particular relevance for program planning in French are noted here.

It is important to ensure that all students, especially those with special education needs, are provided with the learning opportunities and supports they require to gain the knowledge, skills, and confidence needed to succeed in a rapidly changing society. The context of special education and the provision of special education programs and services for exceptional students in Ontario are constantly evolving. Provisions included in the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms and the Ontario Human Rights Code have driven some of these changes. Others have resulted from the evolution and sharing of best practices related to the teaching and assessment of students with special educational needs. Accommodations (instructional, environmental or assessment) allow the student with special education needs access to the curriculum without changes to the course curriculum expectations.

Environmental education teaches students about how the planet’s physical and biological systems work, and how we can create a more sustainable future. Good curriculum design following the resource document. This ensures that the student will have opportunities to acquire the knowledge, skills, perspectives and practices needed to become an environmentally literate citizen. The online course should provide opportunities for each student to address environmental issues in their home, in their local community, or even at the global level.

USCA helps students to become environmentally responsible. The first goal is to promote learning about environmental issues and solutions. The second goal is to engage students in practicing and promoting environmental stewardship in their community. The third goal stresses the importance of the education system providing leadership by implementing and promoting responsible environmental practices so that all stakeholders become dedicated to living more sustainably. Environmental education teaches students about how the planet’s physical and biological systems work, and how we can create a more sustainable future.

USCA provides a number of strategies to address the needs of ESL/ELD students to accommodate the needs of students who require instruction in English as a second language or English literacy development. Our teacher considers it to be his or her responsibility to help students develop their ability to use the English language properly. Appropriate accommodations affecting the teaching, learning, and evaluation strategies in this course may be made in order to help students gain proficiency in English, since students taking English as a second language at the secondary level have limited time in which to develop this proficiency. School determines the student’s level of proficiency in the English Language upon registration. This information is communicated to the teacher of the course following the registration and the teacher then invokes a number of strategies and resources to support the student in the course.

Throughout their secondary school education, students will learn about the educational and career opportunities that are available to them; explore and evaluate a variety of those opportunities; relate what they learn in their courses to potential careers in a variety of fields; and learn to make appropriate educational and career choices. The skills, knowledge and creativity that students acquire through this course are essential for a wide range of careers. Being able to express oneself in a clear concise manner without ambiguity in a second language, would be an overall intention of this French course, as it helps students prepare for success in their working lives.

By applying the skills they have developed, students will readily connect their classroom learning to real-life activities in the world in which they live. Cooperative education and other workplace experiences will broaden their knowledge of employment opportunities in a wide range of fields. In addition, students will increase their understanding of workplace practices and the nature of the employer-employee relationship. Teachers of French should maintain links with community-based businesses to ensure that students have access to hands-on experiences that will reinforce the knowledge they have gained in school.

Every student is entitled to learn in a safe, caring environment, free from violence and harassment. Students learn and achieve better in such environments. The safe and supportive social environment at USCA is founded on healthy relationships between all people. Healthy relationships are based on respect, caring, empathy, trust, and dignity, and thrive in an environment in which diversity is honoured and accepted. Healthy relationships do not tolerate abusive, controlling, violent, bullying/harassing, or other inappropriate behaviours. To experience themselves as valued and connected members of an inclusive social environment, students need to be involved in healthy relationships with their peers, teachers, and other members.

Critical thinking is the process of thinking about ideas or situations in order to understand them fully, identify their implications, make a judgement, and/or guide decision making. Critical thinking includes skills such as questioning, predicting, analysing, synthesizing, examining opinions, identifying values and issues, detecting bias, and distinguishing between alternatives. Students who are taught these skills become critical thinkers who can move beyond superficial conclusions to a deeper understanding of the issues they are examining. They are able to engage in an inquiry process in which they explore complex and multifaceted issues, and questions for which there may be no clear-cut answers.

The school library program in USCA can help build and transform students’ knowledge in order to support lifelong learning in our information- and knowledge-based society. The school library program of these schools supports student success across the curriculum by encouraging students to read widely, teaching them to examine and read many forms of text for understanding and enjoyment, and helping them improve their research skills and effectively use information gathered through research. USCA teachers assist students in accessing a variety of online resources and collections (e.g., professional articles, image galleries, videos, databases). Teachers at USCA will also guide students through the concept of ownership of work and the importance of copyright in all forms of media.

Information literacy is the ability to access, select, gather, critically evaluate, and create information. Communication literacy refers to the ability to communicate information and to use the information obtained to solve problems and make decisions. Information and communications technologies are utilized by all Virtual High School students when the situation is appropriate within their online course. As a result, students will develop transferable skills through their experience with word processing, internet research, presentation software, and telecommunication tools, as would be expected in any other course or any business environment. Although the Internet is a powerful learning tool, there are potential risks attached to its use. All students must be made aware of issues related to Internet privacy, safety, and responsible use, as well as of the potential for abuse of this technology, particularly when it is used to promote hatred.

USCA provides varied opportunities for students to learn about ethical issues and to explore the role of ethics in both public and personal decision making. During the inquiry process, students may need to make ethical judgements when evaluating evidence and positions on various issues, and when drawing their own conclusions about issues, developments, and events. Teachers may need to help students in determining appropriate factors to consider when making such judgements. In addition, it is crucial that USCA teachers provide support and supervision to students throughout the inquiry process, ensuring that students engaged in an inquiry are aware of potential ethical concerns and address them in acceptable ways. Teachers will ensure that they thoroughly address the issue of plagiarism with students. In a digital world in which there is easy access to abundant information, it is very easy to copy the words of others and present them as one’s own. Students need to be reminded, even at the secondary level, of the ethical issues surrounding plagiarism, and the consequences of plagiarism should be clearly discussed before students engage in an inquiry. It is important to discuss not only dishonest plagiarism but also more negligent plagiarism instances.