Grade Nine Curriculum Picks
Note: These Grade Nine Picks can be purchased from Homeschool Canada (order using the HCOS Curriculum Order Form). Some options may also be available to borrow from the Learning Commons Search Portal and/or via the OverDrive virtual eBook library.
Vendor websites are pick-and-choose and some optional or alternate suggestions may be listed, so select your items with care.
Overview of Grade 9 Picks
English Language Arts
- Writing Strands Advanced 1 OR Essentials in Writing 9
- The Red Badge of Courage with Progeny Press Study Guide
- They Called Me Number One by Bev Sellars
Mathematics
- Dynamic Classroom BC Grade 9 OR Crescent Beach Publishing Mathematics 9 OR Singapore Dimensions Math 8A and 8B Textbooks and Teaching Notes and Solutions
Science
- BC Science Connections 9 Textbook and Workbook
Social Studies
- Nelson Socials 9 OR World Empires, World Missions, World Wars Essentials Pack
Bible/Christian Studies
- Gospel of John Explorer’s Bible Study
Optional/Additional Resources (not detailed below)
- What Color Is Your Parachute? for Teens, Third Edition by Carol Christen (Career Education)
- Getting Things Done for Teens: Take Control of Your Life in a Distracting World by David Allen (Career Education)
- Invest in your Financial Future by Diane Dakers (Mathematics/Career Education)
- ACSI's Choices for a Winning Lifestyle - Student Textbook and Workbook (Heath Education; can also be used for Grade 10)
- Canada Map Book 6 (Social Studies; says Gr. 6-8 on the cover, but is still suitable )
- Righting Canada's Wrongs - any of the 6 books in the series by Lorimer Publications (Social Studies)
- Resource Guide for Righting Canada’s Wrongs: Residential Schools
- Heritage Collection: The Immigrant Experience by Rose Fine-Myer (Social Studies)
Detailed Information - Grade 9 Picks
English Language Arts
Select one of the following writing programs (A or B), in addition to two novel studies listed below these options.
Option A: Writing Strands Advanced 1
Type of Resource: Home education workbook
Description: Writing Strands Advanced 1 will help your junior high/high school student practice writing reports, short stories, essays, and other forms of writing and learn about literary devices, including imagery, symbolism, and rhetorical language. developed to give students advanced skills, such as recognizing and using persuasive language, writing reports, and developing character in creative pieces. Students will learn the process of giving others their thoughts in written form through three areas: creative, research and reports, and explanatory. Every exercise will guide them in the development of the communication skills they need. A suggested schedule is provided, as well as worksheets that are three-hole punched and perforated, and the addition of a reading and literature component helps students look more deeply into the Bible and other books they select.
Note from Curriculum Consultant: This resource refers to a different book/novel assigned by the teacher/parent each week over 18 lessons and provides a page with six steps for discussion regarding this book in each lesson. This may be a bit much for many students, so this page could be skipped when desired, and the novel study suggested below can be completed as an alternative to this page many of the weeks.
Website: https://www.masterbooks.com/writing-strands-advanced-1
Placement Tests: https://www.masterbooks.com/mwdownloads/download/link/id/910/
Other Optional or Supplementary Resources: Writing Strands: Teaching Companion
Table of Contents and PDF Sample Pages: https://www.masterbooks.com/mwdownloads/download/link/id/893/
Scope and Sequence: https://www.masterbooks.com/mwdownloads/download/link/id/924/
Option B: Essentials in Writing 9 Student Book and Video Component (Choose Stream Online or DVD)
Type of Resource: Homes education curriculum
Description: EIW Level 9 provides students with the writing skills needed for high school and university writing, the SAT, college application, and beyond. This curriculum contains step-by-step guidance throughout the program and is relatively self-contained between the workbook and online (or DVD) video lessons.
Placement Test (Level Wizard): http://essentialsinwriting.com/level-wizard/
Other Optional or Supplementary Resources: LEVEL 9 34-WEEK PLAN
Sample Video Lesson: https://youtu.be/N_CK73DXTa8
Table of Contents and PDF Sample HERE
Free Trial: https://essentialsinwriting.com/trybeforeyoubuy/
Novels
Note from Curriculum Consultant: Alternate novels can be chosen. The ones below are cross-curricular historical fiction selections set in the time period/area of study for Grade 9 Social Studies. Some students may wish to complete 3 or more novels.
Novel #1: The Red Badge of Courage with Progeny Press Study Guide
Type of Resource: Novel and workbook
Description: Stephen Crane’s classic novel looks at the trauma and horror of war through a young man’s eyes. Henry Fleming joins the Union army as a green recruit dreaming of glory and heroic acts on bravery on the battlefield. He wants to earn his “badge of courage.” He imagines himself "a blue determined figure standing before a crimson and steel assault, getting calmly killed on a high place before the eyes of all." Camp life, he soon discovers, is far less exciting than the army of his imagination. Henry must learn, through much mental and spiritual agony, to stand in the face of physical danger with no thought to his own heroics nor to the opinions of others. He learns to despise his earlier dreams of war and glory. Instead, he finds quiet manhood, non-assertive but of sturdy and strong blood. He has faced death and become a man.
Website: https://stores.progenypress.com/red-badge-of-courage-the-study-guide/
Table of Contents and PDF Sample Pages: https://stores.progenypress.com/content/RedBadge_smpl.pdf
Novel #2: They Called Me Number One by Bev Sellars
Type of Resource: Novel
Description: Like thousands of Aboriginal children in Canada, and elsewhere in the colonized world, Xatsu'll chief Bev Sellars spent part of her childhood as a student in a church-run residential school. These institutions endeavoured to "civilize" Native children through Christian teachings; forced separation from family, language, and culture; and strict discipline. Perhaps the most symbolically potent strategy used to alienate residential school children was addressing them by assigned numbers only—not by the names with which they knew and understood themselves.
In this frank and poignant memoir of her years at St. Joseph's Mission, Sellars breaks her silence about the residential school's lasting effects on her and her family—from substance abuse to suicide attempts—and eloquently articulates her own path to healing. Number One comes at a time of recognition—by governments and society at large—that only through knowing the truth about these past injustices can we begin to redress them.
Website: https://talonbooks.com/books/they-called-me-number-one
Math
Select one of the following math programs (A or B or C) below
Option A: Dynamic Classroom BC Grade 9
Type of Resource:Resource: Workbook
Description: Descriptionaligned: Aligned to BC's curriculum
- Detailed explanations of every topic with step-by-step guided examples with solutions.
- A series of problems for the student to practice the concept they just learned. Questions start out easy and gradually increase in difficulty. Challenging questions are provided for those students that really want to push themselves.
- Practice tests for each chapter/unit in the book.
- An answer key for all questions in the book.
- Students can get extra support through the website that provides additional worksheets and a limited selection of video lessons when you create an online account.
- A complete set of video lessons (a paid service) where you can watch a math teacher while they explain a concept and then walk you through some examples.
Website: https://www.math-help.ca/
Other Optional or Supplementary Resources
Table of Contents and PDF Sample Pages: http://resources.dynamic-classroom.ca/bookcase/qhyyw
Option B: Crescent Beach Publishing Theory and Problems for Mathematics 9 - Third Edition
Description: alignedAligned to BC's curriculum
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Written to be used as a primary teaching resource
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Contains a comprehensive explanation of the subject for each section
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Over 300 detailed example questions
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Hundreds of practise problems with answers and step by step solutions where necessary
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Space is given for each practice question to complete the problem, and keep the work organized all in one place
Website: https://www.crescentbeachpublishing.ca/math-9
Table of Contents: https://www.crescentbeachpublishing.ca/s/Math9ToC.pdf
PDF Sample Pages: https://www.crescentbeachpublishing.ca/s/Math9Sample2.pdf
Option C: Singapore Dimensions Math 8A and 8B (Optional) Textbooks and Teaching Notes/Solutions
Type of Resource: Home education/classroom curriculum
Description: The program emphasizes problem-solving and empowers students to think mathematically, both inside and outside the classroom. Pre-algebra, algebra, geometry, data analysis, probability, and some advanced math topics are included in this rigorous series. The series follows the principles outlined in the Singapore mathematics framework, including the Concrete, Pictorial, Abstract (CPA) Approach, bar modelling, and more. In the Dimensions Math program, concepts are introduced and explained in a new format with vibrant imagery, all with the progression and scope that has defined Singapore math.
Components
- Textbooks build on prior knowledge and develop familiar concepts in an accessible way.
- Workbooks offer independent practise while maintaining the careful progression of exercise variation.
- Teaching Notes and Solutions provide teaching suggestions and important information for educators to help students achieve math mastery.
- Workbook Solutions contain fully worked solutions for problems in workbooks.
Components Samples
- 8A Textbook
- 8A Teaching Notes and Solutions
- 8A Workbook
- 8A Workbook Solutions
- 8B Textbook (optional; may be too advanced for many students)
- 8B Workbook (optional; may be too advanced for many students)
Note from Curriculum Consultant: This US-based resource is rather rigorous and is advanced for BC standards. Books 6 - 8A align reasonably well (although not entirely) with BC's curriculum for grades 7 - 9. If students are just beginning to use this series in grade 9, it is recommended that they begin with level 7B (sample pages here), and students who have been using the series for a year are two could be starting 7B or be partway through 7B at the beginning of grade 9. There are sufficient exercises in the textbook for many students, and so the workbook may not be necessary (and may even be frustrating) for students who learn quickly. For students who require repetition and extra practice, the workbook (and workbook solutions) are recommended. Even though this resource does not completely align with BC's curriculum, it was chosen for its proven approach which has been a favourite with home educators for years.
Website: https://www.singaporemath.com/programs/dimensions-6-8/
Scope and Sequence: https://www.singaporemath.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/01/SS_DM6-8.pdf
Brochure: https://www.singaporemath.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/03/DM_6-8_BROCHURE.pdf
Science
BC Science Connections 9 Textbook and Workbook
Type of Resource: Secular classroom Student Edition textbook and workbook
Description: The BC Science Connections program is 100% Curriculum aligned and supported inquiry-based learning. It leverages students' natural sense of curiosity and wonder so they learn by actively engaging in activities while having access to clear, concise, and highly visual curriculum-specific content to support knowing, doing and understanding.
Key Features:
- Support for place-based learning and integrates First Peoples' ways of knowing.
- Builds students confidence with solid science content that is easy to understand and provides the background necessary for personalized inquiry.
- Engages students with relevant science content, dynamic visuals and intriguing labs.
- Develops and supports scientific literacy, engages students with dynamic content, lab experiences and a rich array of resources to ensure students understand the big idea.
Website: https://school.nelson.com/bc-science-connections-grade-9
Social Studies
Option A: Nelson Socials 9 Student Resource and eBook
Type of Resource: Student textbook and eBook
Description: A comprehensive resource aligned to BC’s curriculum that helps students become active, engaged citizens with the ability to think and communicate critically, historically and geographically. Includes rich and engaging primary sources and inquiry-focused questions. The Student Resource includes a print textbook with built-in activity cards and lifetime access to an online student centre.
Website: https://school.nelson.com/bc-nelson-socials/
Table of Contents and Sample pages: https://www.nelson.com/assets/pdf/Grade9SampleMaterial.pdf
Option B: World Empires, World Missions, World Wars Essentials Pack
It is recommended that students complete an inquiry/research project that addresses an area of Canadian content within the curriculum in addition to the resource below. Sample topics include the impact of treaties on First Peoples; the role imperialism and colonialism have on events in present-day Canada; and the influences of immigration on Canada’s identity. There are many other topics as well; please consult with your support teacher.
Type of Resource: Home education curriculum
Description:
- Idea packed, multi-disciplinary, family-style study guide from the Napoleonic Wars to the Korean War
- Explore this era of history with an integrated inclusion of the Modern Missions movement, revivals, and other Church history events
- Discover kings, politicians, artists, musicians, scientists, inventors, and most importantly the fingerprints of God in history
Key Features:
- Quick Start Guide to help you easily navigate through the 4-Phase structure
- Basic Lesson Plan to give you confidence for each week’s activities
- Teacher Guide to provide helpful background information suggested resources, motivating suggestions, and much more
- Student Manual to introduce each era, offer multiple topics for further exploration, encourage hands-on participation, and invite creative expression
- What in the World Vol 3 CD set to bring history to life through audio instruction and stories
- Rubrics Set to help the student know what is expected and to help parent/teacher evaluate the student’s creative work (qualitative assessment)
- Test Kit to allow students to demonstrate what they’ve learned (quantitative assessment).
The Essentials Pack includes: Teacher Guide, Student Manual, What in the World Volume 3 CD Set, Test Kit, Rubric Set, Quick-Start Guide and Basic Lesson Plan
Note from Curriculum Consultant: Assignments could possibly be applied for credit in English Language Arts, and Arts Education as well, depending on which activities students choose. This resource may seem daunting at first, but many of the assignments are pick and choose, and students can select activities that are appealing to them. I recommend listening to a sample of the audio lessons online here, as this makes up a large portion of the teaching.
Website: https://www.dianawaring.com/store/world-empires-world-missions-world-wars/
Other Optional or Supplementary Resources
- Online Resources
- Lesson Planner
- Elementary Activity Book
- True Tales Vol 3 Audio Set
- Digging Deeper Vol 3 Audio Set
- Darwin and Scopes CD or Mp3
PDF Samples
- Student Manual (Grades 5-12) Sample
- Teacher Guide Sample
- Elementary Activity Book (grades K-4) Sample
- Lesson Planner Sample (with Introduction)
Additional Support: Video Introduction (highly recommended): https://youtu.be/4fGpzXMiK7A
Bible/Christian Studies
Explorer’s Bible Study: The Gospel of John
Type of Resource: Workbook
Description: John focuses on the spiritual significance of what Jesus did and said rather than just reporting the events of His life. He begins the gospel with a declaration of the deity of Jesus, His pre-existence, and His direct involvement in creation. As you study, you will discover that John has a very penetrating gaze into eternal truth and into the very heart and mind of God. But John gives us more than just information; he reveals an invitation – to an abundant life in Jesus, the True Vine. May this study help you find “life in His name” and bear much fruit from (and for) Him.
Website: https://ebshome.org/store/product/qgoj/
Other Optional or Supplementary Resources: Answer Key
PDF Sample Lesson: https://ebshome.org/store/wp-content/uploads/2019/06/Quest-John-Lesson-1.pdf