Grade 9 English Language Arts
10 units matched to the Saskatchewan Curriculum. Kids see this subject as “Language Arts”.
Strands and outcomes
- Comprehend and Respond (CR9.1a–CR9.8b): View, listen to, read, comprehend, and respond to a variety of texts that address identity (e.g., The Search for… View, listen to, read, comprehend, and respond to a variety of texts that address identity, social responsibility… Select and use appropriate strategies to construct meaning before (e.g., formulating focus questions), during, and… (and 13 more outcomes)
- Compose and Create (CC9.1a–CC9.9b): Create various visual, multimedia, oral, and written texts that explore identity (e.g., The Search for Self)… Create various visual, multimedia, oral, and written texts that explore identity, social responsibility… Create and present an individual researched inquiry project related to a topic, theme, or issue studied in English… (and 15 more outcomes)
- Assess and Reflect on Language Abilities (AR9.1a–AR9.2b): Assess personal strengths and needs as a viewer, listener, reader, representer, speaker, and writer and… Assess personal strengths and needs as a viewer, listener, reader, representer, speaker, and writer and… Assess own and others' work for clarity, correctness, and impact. (and 1 more outcome)
Units
Unit 1
Close Reading
Reading original short passages and answering questions about theme, tone, word choice, structure and the author's purpose, using evidence from the text.
Outcome: CR9.6a, CR9.6b · reading and interpreting grade-level texts
Unit 2
Literary Elements
Recognizing devices such as irony, symbolism, motif, allusion and foils in short excerpts, and describing tone and mood.
Outcome: CR9.6a, CR9.6b · literary elements in fiction and poetry
Unit 3
Literary Devices
Spotting allusion (a reference to something well known), analogy, juxtaposition (contrasts side by side) and flashback in short original excerpts, and explaining why a writer chooses them.
Outcome: CR9.6a, CR9.6b · literary devices and their effects
Unit 4
Voices & Perspectives
How point of view and background shape a text, why oral traditions and the protocols around them matter, and asking whose voices are present or missing. This unit introduces ideas only; teachers and local First Peoples communities lead deeper learning.
Outcome: CR9.1a, CR9.1b · responding to a variety of voices and perspectives
Unit 5
Argument & Rhetoric
Spotting ethos, pathos and logos, common fallacies such as straw man and false dilemma, loaded language and bias, and judging whether a source or media message can be trusted.
Outcome: CR9.7a, CR9.7b · argument and rhetoric in information texts
Unit 6
Forms & Features
Knowing what each text form does, how features such as an index, footnote or caption help readers, how signal words show a text's pattern, and how images, colour and design shape meaning.
Outcome: CR9.7a, CR9.7b · forms and features of information texts
Unit 7
Word Detective
Using prefixes, suffixes and Latin and Greek bases to work out new words, choosing a meaning from the sentence around a word, and subject words like product, mass and scale.
Outcome: CR9.3a, CR9.3b · word parts and vocabulary in reading
Unit 8
Grammar & Style
Semicolons, colons, dashes, commas and apostrophes, subject-verb agreement, pronoun case, misplaced modifiers, run-ons and fragments, and choosing a formal or informal register.
Outcome: CC9.4a, CC9.4b · grammar and style in writing
Unit 9
Language & Style
How word choice shapes feeling (connotation and denotation), how English changes and borrows words, formal and informal register, concise and varied sentences, and devices such as anaphora and rhetorical questions.
Outcome: CC9.4a, CC9.4b · language choices and style
Unit 10
Revise & Edit
Making sentences more concise, choosing transitions, fixing unclear pronouns and tense shifts, catching errors a spell-checker misses, and Canadian spelling such as colour, centre, practise and licence.
Outcome: AR9.2a, AR9.2b · revising and editing for clarity, correctness and impact
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