What your child learns in Grade 9 in Nova Scotia
Grade 9 is the last year of junior high. Students work with powers, rational numbers, polynomials and linear relations, and study reproduction, atoms and elements, electricity and space. Citizenship 9 looks at rights, governance, finances and global issues.
Grade 9 subjects in the Nova Scotia Curriculum
Math
Big Ideas
- Number: Develop number sense.
- Patterns and Relations: Use patterns to describe the world and solve problems.
- Geometry: Describe the characteristics of 3-D objects and 2-D shapes, and analyse the relationships among them.
7 units, including exponents & powers, rational numbers, linear relations, multi-step equations.
English Language Arts
Big Ideas
- Speak and listen to explore, extend, clarify, and reflect on thoughts, ideas, feelings, and experiences.
- Communicate information and ideas effectively and clearly, and respond personally and critically.
- Interact with sensitivity and respect, considering the situation, audience, and purpose.
11 units, including word detective, forms & features, close reading, literary elements.
Science
Big Ideas
- Reproduction. Students examine the fundamental processes of reproduction, heredity, and the transmission of traits from one generation to the next. Implications of reproductive technologies are also explored.
- Atoms and Elements. Students use the Periodic Table to explore atoms and molecules, chemical symbols, and common elements and compounds.
- Characteristics of Electricity. Students explore electrostatics and electric circuits, power consumption, efficiency of appliances, and informed decisions about electricity and energy.
11 units, including reproduction, cells from cells, atoms & electrons, inside the atom.
Social Studies
Big Ideas
- Engaged Citizenship. Learners will construct a collaboratively-designed service learning project which addresses a need in the school or larger community.
- Who Am I as a Citizen?. Learners will evaluate evolving concepts and attributes of citizenship as members of different kinds of communities.
- Who Am I as a Citizen?. Learners will evaluate key changes in the citizenship rights of Mi’kmaw and other traditionally disempowered people.
6 units, including who am i as a citizen?, governance, digital citizenship, financial citizenship.
French Immersion
Big Ideas
- French Immersion is first and foremost a language program: French is both the language students learn in and the language they learn.
- Early French Immersion begins in Primary and Late French Immersion in Grade 7, and both follow Français arts langagiers.
- Students listen, speak, read and write in French for real purposes and audiences.
9 units, including registres et exposés oraux, la fable, le roman et ses personnages, les figures de style.
Core French
Big Ideas
- Oral communication. Learners will communicate orally in French in a variety of authentic situations.
- Reading. Learners will determine the meaning of a range of French texts representing a variety of cultures and diverse abilities, in authentic situations.
- Writing. Learners will create texts in French (including in electronic format) in a variety of authentic situations.
11 units, including past, present, future, asking questions, putting events in order, needs and opinions.
What to look for on the report card
Look for comments on planning ahead for course choices, explaining reasoning in math and weighing perspectives in social studies and English.
Nova Scotia report cards describe learning with Minimal, Satisfactory, Good, Very good to excellent. See what each level means.
The Essential Graduation Competencies grow through every subject from Primary to Grade 12. Read about graduation competencies.
Ready for Grade 9?
Grade 9 builds on what your child practised in Grade 8. If a skill feels shaky, a few short practice sessions before or early in the year can help:
- Math: squares, cubes & roots, pythagorean theorem, integer operations, fraction operations, percents & money
- English Language Arts: voices & cultural expressions, word study, reading detective, forms, patterns & visuals, close reading
- Science: cells & life processes, particles & matter, viscosity & flow, density & buoyancy, pressure & pascal's law
- Social Studies: conflicts that shaped canada, world war ii & canada, taking action
- French Immersion: les registres de langue, parler et se faire comprendre, la légende, le théâtre, le schéma narratif
- Core French: past, present, future, asking questions, how often?, opinions and reasons, comparing and contrasting
Common questions
Grade 9 covers math, english language arts, science, social studies, french immersion, core french in the Nova Scotia Curriculum. Grade 9 is the last year of junior high. Students work with powers, rational numbers, polynomials and linear relations, and study reproduction, atoms and elements, electricity and space. Citizenship 9 looks at rights, governance, finances and global issues.
Nova Scotia report cards describe learning with Minimal, Satisfactory, Good, Very good to excellent.
Short, regular practice works better than long sessions: 10 to 15 minutes a few times a week, on the skills your child's teacher flags. Read together, use math in real life, and praise effort.
Practise Grade 9 skills with Gradelings
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