The Grade 9 science curriculum focuses on the fundamental concepts of science and on science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) skills. It supports students in making connections between skills and concepts and the practical applications of science in their lives, and in learning about biology, chemistry, physics, and Earth and space science. This curriculum is designed to help students prepare for deeper levels of science as they continue in secondary school and beyond.
The three main goals of the Grade 9 science course are for students:
1. to develop the skills and make the connections needed for scientific investigation
2. to relate science to our changing world, including technology, society, the economy, and the environment
3. to investigate and understand scientific concepts
The course has been divided up into 10 outcomes (big ideas in the course) which can make up the 70% term mark. Within each of these outcomes, learning goals/"I can" statements have been created to help direct student learning. You can access a summarized version of the outcomes here. As resources continue to be developed, they will be added to the specific outcome pages.
Since the concepts covered in these outcomes, don't often lend themselves to a learning progression, a weighted average of assessments will likely be used. This can be done using a Markbook program such as Aspen, but the following spreadsheet has also been created and can be used to keep track of student marks: SNC 1W - Markbook Spreadsheet
This spreadsheet will allow you to enter assessments with different weightings, calculate averages within each outcome, adjust marks within each outcome using your professional judgement and it creates progress reports that can be printed for students and parents.
A rubric has also been created to help guide assessment using the outcomes: Outcome Rubrics
The videos below are intended to show you how you might use the spreadsheet.