English Curriculum

Adapted from the Ministry curriculum document: The Grade 9 English course is grounded in the belief that all students can succeed when they develop knowledge and skills in language and literacy, and enables students to continue to develop and consolidate the foundational knowledge and skills for reading, writing, and oral and visual communication. Throughout the course, students will continue to enhance their media literacy and critical literacy skills , and to develop and apply transferable skills, including digital literacy . Students will also make connections to their lived experiences and to society and increase their understanding of the importance of language and literacy across the curriculum.

Literacy is essential for success: it affects all academic achievement and is associated with social, emotional, economic, and physical health. The Grade 9 English course is designed to support students in developing and consolidating the literacy knowledge and skills they need to succeed in education and in life, and to encourage students to experience the joy and possibility that literacy learning can ignite.

Our program represents the compulsory Grade 9 English course, 2023 (ENL1W). This course supersedes the two Grade 9 courses outlined in The Ontario Curriculum, Grades 9 and 10: English, 2007. 

In our pre-Baccalaureate grade 9 program, the new curriculum focus is still our priority (as above), but there are enriched experiences with an emphasis on content that will help students to eventually be successful with English at the Diploma Program level. This means emphasizing skills, content and ideas that students will encounter in the IB curriculum.  An emphasis is put on studying literature in a greater breadth and depth, and beginning the practice of stylistic analysis that is a feature of English throughout the I.B. and Pre-Bac level.  Possible sample texts at the grade 9 level include: world myths and an introduction to "The Hero's Journey", The Marrow Thieves by Cheri Dimaline, Annie John by Jamaica Kincaid, and Shakespeare studies (either Romeo and Juliet or A Midsummer Night's Dream).

• Informational hand-out for more information on ENL1W at Parkdale
• Access to the Complete Curriculum and Resource for ENL1W (Grade 9 English)

The ACL of English and Languages is Ms. Rebecca Ryoji 

 ELL/ESL

THE GOALS OF THE ESL AND ELD CURRICULUM

From the ministry curriculum document: The ESL curriculum is based on the belief that broad proficiency in English is essential to students’ success in both their social and academic lives, and to their ability to take their place in society as responsible and productive citizens. The curriculum is designed to provide English language learners with the knowledge and skills they need to achieve these goals. Its aim is to help students become successful English language learners who can:

• use English to communicate effectively in a variety of social settings; 

• use English to achieve academically in all subject areas;
   
• take charge of their own learning, independently and in groups; 

• select and use effective learning strategies;

• integrate confidently into mainstream courses;
• use English effectively to advocate for themselves in all areas of their lives;

• make a successful transition to their chosen postsecondary destination (work, apprenticeship, college, university);

• function effectively in a society increasingly committed to the use of information technology;

• use critical-literacy and critical-thinking skills to interpret the world around them;

• participate fully in the social, economic, political, and cultural life of their communities and of Canada. 

This culminating vision of successful English language learners identifies the language skills and capabilities required for success in Ontario’s education system and for full participation in Canadian society. The expectations outlined in the ESL and ELD curriculum are designed to enable students to develop these important skills and capabilities.