Toronto District School Board

Northern Secondary School

English Department

ENL1W Course of Study

Developed from: The Ontario Curriculum: Grades 9 and 10 English, Ministry of Education (Revised 2023)

Course Title: English, Grade 9                                        Credit Value: 1.0 Credit(s)

Course Type: De-streamed                                            Prerequisites:  None               

Course Code: ENL1W

Overall Course of Study

Goals & Course Details

• Course Description:

Grade 9 English course, 2023 (ENL1W) supersedes the two Grade 9 courses outlined in The Ontario Curriculum, Grades 9 and 10: English, 2007. This curriculum provides educators with a comprehensive guide to supporting the development and consolidation of essential knowledge and skills in every student. Vision and goals 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. The Grade 9 English course emphasizes evidence-based systematic and explicit instruction that supports students in developing and consolidating foundational knowledge and skills, including oral language, reading, writing, vocabulary, fluency, and comprehension. This curriculum was informed by recommendations in the Ontario Human Rights Commission’s Right to Read inquiry report.

The new strand structure is as follows:

• Strand A. Literacy Connections and Applications

• Strand B. Foundations of Language, including one associated learning continuum that describes the progression of mandatory learning associated with Overall Expectation B3 from Grades 1 to 9

• Strand C. Comprehension: Understanding and Responding to Texts

• Strand D. Composition: Expressing Ideas and Creating Texts

• Assessment and Evaluation of Student Achievement

The primary purpose of assessment and evaluation is to improve student learning. Assessment is the process of gathering information from assignments, demonstrations, projects, performances, and tests that accurately reflects how well a student is achieving the curriculum expectations in a course. As part of assessment, teachers provide students with feedback that guides their efforts towards improvement.

• Determining the Mark for the Final Report Card

        Semester final marks will be allocated as follows: 70% coursework  (assessment “of” learning/evaluation),

15%  course culminating project, and 15% final exam.

Determining a report card grade will continue to rely on “teachers’ professional judgement and

interpretation of evidence and should reflect the student’s most consistent level of achievement,

with special consideration given to more recent evidence” as stated in Growing Success (p.39)

Detailed information on Ministry of Education assessment, evaluation, and reporting policy is provided in Growing Success: Assessment, Evaluation, and Reporting in Ontario's Schools, Kindergarten to Grade 12

        http://www.edu.gov.on.ca/eng/policyfunding/growSuccess.pdf

• Achievement Chart

• The Provincial Report Card, Grades 9–12, shows a student’s achievement at specific points in the school year or semester. There are two formal reporting periods for a semestered course and three formal reporting periods for a non-semestered course. The reports reflect student achievement of the overall curriculum expectations, as well as development of learning skills and work habits.

In this course, the following strands of study form the basis of reporting, according to the weightings shown:

• Academic Honesty: Cheating and Plagiarism

Students are expected to submit only their own original work on evaluations done in class or out of class. Plagiarism is the representation of the ideas or writings of another as one's own. Cases of academic dishonesty (cheating and/or plagiarism) will be dealt with on a case-by-case basis, but each case will involve an investigation, communication with the student and their parent/guardian, and a mark of zero for the plagiarized work. Whether there is an opportunity to demonstrate learning in another assignment will be at the discretion of the teacher and/or principal.

• Learning Skills 

Learning Skills are skills and habits are essential to success in school and the workplace. The Learning Skills evaluated are: Responsibility, Organization, Independent Work, Collaboration, Initiative, and Self-Regulation. Teachers report achievement using letter symbols: E = Excellent, G = Good, S = Satisfactory, N = Needs Improvement.

Learning Skills clearly affect levels of achievement, but are not part of the evaluation of achievement and are not included in the final course mark.

• Contact Information

The course teacher is available by email: first name.last name@ tdsb.on.ca

OR through the teacher’s virtual learning platform (eg. Google Classroom, Brightspace).