Grade 9 English Curriculum

Family-facing version of the grade 9 English curriculum

Quarterly Overview of Grade 9 English

The objectives and outcomes for each unit are common across FCPS and based on the Virginia Standards of Learning.

Grade 9 English Language Arts teachers are expected to plan using Concept-Based Curriculum (CBC). Teachers are provided sample units and assessments for this course; this information reflects those samples.

Each school and teacher teams have autonomy over which CBC units they might use from the information below. Some schools have elected to write their own.

Families are encouraged to communicate with schools and teachers to receive accurate planning and pacing guides.

Units and Details

Why Stories Matter

Students will: 

  • Use vocabulary appropriate to the topic, audience, and purpose.
  • Use a variety of strategies to listen actively and speak using appropriate discussion rules with awareness of verbal and nonverbal cues.
  • Respond thoughtfully and tactfully to diverse perspectives, summarizing points of agreement and disagreement.
  • Evaluate impact, purpose, point of view, reasoning, and use of evidence and rhetoric of presentation(s).
  • Use self-reflection to evaluate one’s own role in preparation and participation in small-group activities.
  • Determine the purpose of the media message and its effect on the audience.
  • Examine how values and viewpoints are included or excluded and how the media can influence beliefs, behaviors, and interpretations.
  • Describe possible cause and effect relationships between mass media coverage and public opinion trends.
  • Monitor, analyze, and use multiple streams of simultaneous information.
  • Demonstrate ethical use of the Internet when evaluating or producing creative or informational media messages.
  • Identify the characteristics that distinguish literary forms.
  • Explain the relationships between and among elements of literature: characters, plot, setting, tone, point of view, and theme.
  • Analyze the cultural or social function of a literary text.
  • Explain the relationship between the author’s style and literary effect.
  • Explain the influence of historical context on the form, style, and point of view of a written work.
  • Compare and contrast authors’ use of literary elements within a variety of genres.
  • Analyze how the author’s specific word choices and syntax impact the author’s purpose.
  • Make inferences and draw conclusions using references from the text(s) for support.
  • Make inferences and draw conclusions based on explicit and implied information using evidence from text as support.
  • Analyze the author’s qualifications, viewpoint, and impact.
  • Summarize, paraphrase, and synthesize ideas, while maintaining meaning and a logical sequence of events, within and between texts.
  • Analyze, organize, and synthesize information in order to solve problems, answer questions, complete a task, or create a product.
  • Analyze ideas within and between selections providing textual evidence.
  • Engage in writing as a recursive process.
  • Plan, organize, and write for a variety of audiences and purposes.
  • Objectively introduce and develop topics, incorporating evidence and maintaining an organized structure and a formal style.
  • Blend multiple forms of writing including embedding a narrative to produce effective essays.
  • Clearly state and defend a position using reasons and evidence from credible sources as support.
  • Determine the best kind of evidence to use for a claim, and effectively use fact and opinion to support a position.
  • Use textual evidence to compare and contrast multiple texts.
  • Arrange paragraphs in a logical progression, using transitions between paragraphs and ideas.
  • Revise writing for clarity of content, accuracy, and depth of information.
  • Use a variety of sentence structures to infuse sentence variety in writing.

Role in the Community

Students will: 

  • Make strategic use of multimodal tools.
  • Use vocabulary appropriate to the topic, audience, and purpose.
  • Assist with setting rules for group work including informal consensus, taking votes on key issues, presentation of alternate views and goal setting.
  • Assume responsibility for specific group tasks.
  • Share responsibility for collaborative work.
  • Use a variety of strategies to listen actively and speak using appropriate discussion rules with awareness of verbal and nonverbal cues.
  • Respond thoughtfully and tactfully to diverse perspectives, summarizing points of agreement and disagreement.
  • Evaluate impact, purpose, point of view, reasoning, and use of evidence and rhetoric of presentation(s).
  • Use self-reflection to evaluate one’s own role in preparation and participation in small-group activities.
  • Analyze and interpret special effects used in media messages.
  • Monitor, analyze, and use multiple streams of simultaneous information.
  • Demonstrate ethical use of the Internet when evaluating or producing creative or informational media messages.
  • Use context, structure, and connotations to determine meanings of words and phrases.
  • Discriminate between connotative and denotative meanings and interpret the connotation.
  • Explain the meaning of literary and classical allusions and figurative language in text.
  • Extend general and cross-curricular vocabulary through speaking, listening, reading, and writing.
  • Identify the characteristics that distinguish literary forms.
  • Explain the relationships between and among elements of literature: characters, plot, setting, tone, point of view, and theme.
  • Interpret how themes are connected across texts.
  • Analyze the cultural or social function of a literary text.
  • Explain the relationship between the author’s style and literary effect.
  • Explain the influence of historical context on the form, style, and point of view of a written work.
  • Compare and contrast authors’ use of literary elements within a variety of genres.
  • Analyze how the author’s specific word choices and syntax impact the author’s purpose.
  • Make inferences and draw conclusions using references from the text(s) for support.
  • Compare/contrast details in literary and informational nonfiction texts.
  • Use reading strategies to monitor comprehension throughout the reading process.
  • Apply knowledge of text features and organizational patterns to understand, analyze, and gain meaning from texts.

Hope & Action

Students will: 

  • Make strategic use of multimodal tools.
  • Credit information sources.
  • Use vocabulary appropriate to the topic, audience, and purpose.
  • Use a variety of strategies to listen actively and speak using appropriate discussion rules with awareness of verbal and nonverbal cues.
  • Respond thoughtfully and tactfully to diverse perspectives, summarizing points of agreement and disagreement.
  • Evaluate impact, purpose, point of view, reasoning, and use of evidence and rhetoric of presentation(s).
  • Use self-reflection to evaluate one’s own role in preparation and participation in small-group activities.
  • Analyze the purpose of information and persuasive techniques used in diverse media formats.
  • Evaluate the motives (e.g., social, commercial, political) behind media presentation(s).
  • Evaluate sources including advertisements, editorials, political cartoons, and feature stories for relationships between intent and factual content.
  • Monitor, analyze, and use multiple streams of simultaneous information.
  • Demonstrate ethical use of the Internet when evaluating or producing creative or informational media messages.
  • Use context, structure, and connotations to determine meanings of words and phrases.
  • Identify the meaning of common idioms.
  • Extend general and cross-curricular vocabulary through speaking, listening, reading, and writing.
  • Identify the characteristics that distinguish literary forms.
  • Explain the relationships between and among elements of literature: characters, plot, setting, tone, point of view, and theme.
  • Interpret how themes are connected across texts.
  • Compare and contrast the use of rhyme, rhythm, sound, imagery, and other literary devices to convey a message and elicit the reader’s emotion.
  • Analyze the cultural or social function of a literary text.
  • Explain the relationship between the author’s style and literary effect.
  • Explain the influence of historical context on the form, style, and point of view of a written work.
  • Compare and contrast authors’ use of literary elements within a variety of genres.
  • Analyze how the author’s specific word choices and syntax impact the author’s purpose.
  • Make inferences and draw conclusions using references from the text(s) for support.
  • Use reading strategies to monitor comprehension throughout the reading process.
  • Apply knowledge of text features and organizational patterns to understand, analyze, and gain meaning from texts.
  • Make inferences and draw conclusions based on explicit and implied information using evidence from text as support.
  • Recognize an author’s intended purpose for writing and identify the main idea.
  • Identify characteristics of expository, technical, and persuasive texts.
  • Identify a position/argument to be confirmed, disproved, or modified.
  • Evaluate clarity and accuracy of information.
  • Analyze, organize, and synthesize information in order to solve problems, answer questions, complete a task, or create a product.
  • Differentiate between fact and opinion and evaluate their impact.
  • Analyze ideas within and between selections providing textual evidence.
  • Use the reading strategies to monitor comprehension throughout the reading process.
  • Engage in writing as a recursive process.
  • Communicate clearly the purpose of the writing using a thesis statement.
  • Compose a thesis for persuasive writing that advocates a position.
  • Clearly state and defend a position using reasons and evidence from credible sources as support.
  • Identify counterclaims and provide counter - arguments.
  • Use textual evidence to compare and contrast multiple texts.
  • Use a variety of sentence structures to infuse sentence variety in writing.
  • Avoid plagiarism by using own words and follow ethical and legal guidelines for gathering and using information.
  • Demonstrate ethical use of the Internet

Innovation & Progress

Students will: 

  • Make strategic use of multimodal tools.
  • Credit information sources.
  • Use vocabulary appropriate to the topic, audience, and purpose.
  • Use a variety of strategies to listen actively and speak using appropriate discussion rules with awareness of verbal and nonverbal cues.
  • Respond thoughtfully and tactfully to diverse perspectives, summarizing points of agreement and disagreement.
  • Evaluate impact, purpose, point of view, reasoning, and use of evidence and rhetoric of presentation(s).
  • Use self-reflection to evaluate one’s own role in preparation and participation in small-group activities.
  • Analyze the purpose of information and persuasive techniques used in diverse media formats.
  • Evaluate the motives (e.g., social, commercial, political) behind media presentation(s).
  • Evaluate sources including advertisements, editorials, political cartoons, and feature stories for relationships between intent and factual content.
  • Monitor, analyze, and use multiple streams of simultaneous information.
  • Demonstrate ethical use of the Internet when evaluating or producing creative or informational media messages.
  • Use context, structure, and connotations to determine meanings of words and phrases.
  • Identify the meaning of common idioms.
  • Extend general and cross-curricular vocabulary through speaking, listening, reading, and writing.
  • Identify the characteristics that distinguish literary forms.
  • Explain the relationships between and among elements of literature: characters, plot, setting, tone, point of view, and theme.
  • Interpret how themes are connected across texts.
  • Compare and contrast the use of rhyme, rhythm, sound, imagery, and other literary devices to convey a message and elicit the reader’s emotion.
  • Analyze the cultural or social function of a literary text.
  • Explain the relationship between the author’s style and literary effect.
  • Explain the influence of historical context on the form, style, and point of view of a written work.
  • Compare and contrast authors’ use of literary elements within a variety of genres.
  • Analyze how the author’s specific word choices and syntax impact the author’s purpose.
  • Make inferences and draw conclusions using references from the text(s) for support.
  • Use reading strategies to monitor comprehension throughout the reading process.
  • Apply knowledge of text features and organizational patterns to understand, analyze, and gain meaning from texts.
  • Make inferences and draw conclusions based on explicit and implied information using evidence from text as support.
  • Recognize an author’s intended purpose for writing and identify the main idea.
  • Identify characteristics of expository, technical, and persuasive texts.
  • Identify a position/argument to be confirmed, disproved, or modified.
  • Evaluate clarity and accuracy of information.
  • Analyze, organize, and synthesize information in order to solve problems, answer questions, complete a task, or create a product.
  • Differentiate between fact and opinion and evaluate their impact.
  • Analyze ideas within and between selections providing textual evidence.
  • Use the reading strategies to monitor comprehension throughout the reading process.
  • Engage in writing as a recursive process.
  • Communicate clearly the purpose of the writing using a thesis statement.
  • Compose a thesis for persuasive writing that advocates a position.
  • Clearly state and defend a position using reasons and evidence from credible sources as support.
  • Identify counterclaims and provide counter - arguments.
  • Use textual evidence to compare and contrast multiple texts.
  • Use a variety of sentence structures to infuse sentence variety in writing.
  • Avoid plagiarism by using own words and follow ethical and legal guidelines for gathering and using information.
  • Demonstrate ethical use of the Internet.

Journeys

This unit is currently being revised. Unit standards will be updated once completed.

Reflection

Students will: 

  • Make strategic use of multimodal tools.
  • Use vocabulary appropriate to the topic, audience, and purpose.
  • Share responsibility for collaborative work.
  • Use a variety of strategies to listen actively and speak using appropriate discussion rules with awareness of verbal and nonverbal cues.
  • Respond thoughtfully and tactfully to diverse perspectives, summarizing points of agreement and disagreement.
  • Evaluate impact, purpose, point of view, reasoning, and use of evidence and rhetoric of presentation(s).
  • Use self-reflection to evaluate one’s own role in preparation and participation in small-group activities.
  • Analyze and interpret special effects used in media messages.
  • Determine the purpose of the media message and its effect on the audience.
  • Demonstrate ethical use of the Internet when evaluating or producing creative or informational media messages.
  • Extend general and cross-curricular vocabulary through speaking, listening, reading, and writing.
  • Explain the relationships between and among elements of literature: characters, plot, setting, tone, point of view, and theme.
  • Analyze the cultural or social function of a literary text.
  • Explain the relationship between the author’s style and literary effect.
  • Make inferences and draw conclusions using references from the text(s) for support.
  • Use reading strategies to monitor comprehension throughout the reading process.
  • Apply knowledge of text features and organizational patterns to understand, analyze, and gain meaning from texts.
  • Make inferences and draw conclusions based on explicit and implied information using evidence from text as support.
  • Summarize, paraphrase, and synthesize ideas, while maintaining meaning and a logical sequence of events, within and between texts.
  • Use the reading strategies to monitor comprehension throughout the reading process.
  • Engage in writing as a recursive process.
  • Avoid plagiarism by using own words and follow ethical and legal guidelines for gathering and using information.
  • Demonstrate ethical use of the Internet.

Virginia Department of Education Resources

Assessments

Student assessments are part of the teaching and learning process.

  • Teachers give assessments to students on an ongoing basis to
    • Check for understanding.
    • Gather information about students' knowledge or skills.
  • Assessments provide information about a child's development of knowledge and skills that can help families and teachers better plan for the next steps in instruction.

For testing questions or additional information about how schools and teachers use test results to support student success, families can contact their children's schools.

In Fairfax County Public Schools (FCPS), ninth grade tests focus on measuring content knowledge and skill development.

Other High School Information