Grade 9

English Language Arts

In our 9th Grade English Language Arts curriculum, students explore the theme of personal identity through diverse, rigorous, and relevant texts. Students will consider how factors like race and gender as well as the social and political context of characters’ lives impact who they are, how they experience the world, and how they use their voices to effect change for themselves and others. Across the units, students deeply engage with rich texts through both independent reading and guided Close Reading, prepare for and engage in longform whole class discussions including Socratic Seminars, and write multi-paragraph responses to Essential Questions by gathering evidence and effectively communicating their thoughts.

Our three focal units for 9th grade are:



Math

Ninth grade students enrolled in Algebra 1 will develop their math content knowledge with a problem-based approach using the Illustrative Mathematics curriculum. Each day's lesson is organized around a larger theme for the unit, and Algebra 1 students will study the following units:


• One-variable Statistics

• Linear Equations, Inequalities, and Systems

• Two-variable Statistics

• Functions

• Introduction to Exponential Functions

• Introduction to Quadratic Functions

• Quadratic Equations


Family materials with unit narratives, videos of lesson summaries, and sample problems can be viewed here. 

Science

Students in high school will be working to complete a sequence of required laboratory science classes aligned with the a-g requirements. These typically include a sequence of biology, chemistry, and physics, as well as one or more science electives such as biotechnology or physiology. Your student's counselor will help them identify a sequence that is aligned with college requirements as well as their individual interests. 

Social Studies

In social studies, students ninth grade students will be taking an ethnic studies course, which will include the following units of study:

You can read more about the details of each unit, such as the overarching questions that frame each, as well as highlighted projects and performance tasks here.