Getting Ready for Grade 9 pre-IB

ENGLISH

• Encourage your student to read a novel of their choosing for at least 20 minutes a day if they’re not already doing so.  

MATH

• Work on memorizing their multiplication tables up to 12x12 (or further if they’d like)

• Work on quick addition and subtraction without a calculator as our math assessments are divided into two sections - one with a calculator and one without.  

• A solid knowledge base on working with fractions will also be helpful.  

• The University of Waterloo has some excellent math resources if they'd like to get ahead:  https://courseware.cemc.uwaterloo.ca/https://courseware.cemc.uwaterloo.ca/

• BHN Math is also a fantastic resource to look ahead or fill in gaps.  This link goes directly to the grade 9 math page but you can look around for gap filling resources as well:  https://www.bhnmath.ca/students/courses/mth1w1/

FRENCH 

• check out some great web sites, for example: 

• On youtube check out any web sites that have DELF A1 or A2 practice or instruction

• http://apprendre.tv5monde.com/ 

• For just listening:

• http://ici.radio-canada.ca/jeunesse/scolaire
  www.tfo.org
  
  

• for reading:
  https://lingua.com/french/reading/ (easy to more advanced)

• https://french.kwiziq.com/learn/reading (you don't need to pay, just listen and read along - level A1 is beginner French  

ALL

• Build daily work habits in a space with minimal distractions.  There will be homework most days in high school.  Plan to allocate 1-1.5 hours a day in grade 9.  This can be practice to help solidify, it can be reviewing and rewriting notes to help consolidate learning, it can be working on an individual or group assessment, it can be reading material ahead of time to prepare for an upcoming lesson, or many other iterations.  Often, students come to high school rarely having done much homework and they have trouble adjusting.  Please have them start working into a daily habit now.  If they do not have homework from their grade 8 teacher, please have them work through this independent learning Learning Strategies course provided by TVO Learn: https://tvolearn.com/collections/courses/products/gls1o-learning-strategies-1-skills-for-success-in-secondary-school-online-course.  TVO Learn has numerous other courses available at the high school level that are freely available if students want to look ahead or require additional resources in high school. 

• Practice note taking skills in their current classes (lessons on Note Taking available in the Learning Strategies course listed above).

• Create a visual block schedule where they have allocated daily time for reviewing their learning from the day and completing homework as well as their scheduled responsibilities and extra-curricular activities.

• Work on mindfulness through breathing exercises or finding ways to ground themselves when they are stressed.  There are a plethora of mental wellness links on the Monarch Park Student Services webpage: https://sites.google.com/tdsb.on.ca/mpcstudentservices/mental-health-resources