Ontario · Grade 9
English, Grade 9 (De-streamed)
- ENL1W
Ontario’s Grade 9 English course, from Literacy Connections and Applications to Composition: Expressing Ideas and Creating Texts.
- Units
- 4
- Lessons
- 12
- Skills
- 56
- Provincial exam
- Yes
- Official curriculum
- Ontario Ministry of Education
Unit by unit
Every skill in the course, with its official code.
Unit 1 · 9 skills
Literacy Connections and Applications
Your Digital Self and Staying Safe Online
Online rights, responsibilities, and your digital identity
I can weigh my rights and responsibilities online and make choices that build a positive digital identity.
Official code: A2.1
Navigating online safely and protecting your privacy
I can navigate online spaces safely and protect my privacy and well-being.
Official code: A2.2
Researching Well and Reading Media Critically
Researching with a guard against misinformation
I can research carefully and spot misinformation, disinformation, and curated information.
Official code: A2.3
Analyzing and creating digital and media texts
I can analyze the techniques of media texts and use them when I create my own.
Official code: A2.4
How form, message, context, and audience connect
I can explain how a text's form, message, context, and audience all shape each other.
Official code: A2.5
Using digital tools to solve real problems
I can choose digital tools in a design process to propose innovative solutions to real problems.
Official code: A2.6
Collaborating online safely and respectfully
I can collaborate online safely, respectfully, and with cultural awareness.
Official code: A2.7
Identity, Belonging, and First Nations, Metis, and Inuit Voices
Identity, self, and belonging in diverse texts
I can analyze identity, self, and belonging in texts by and about diverse communities.
Official code: A3.2
Themes in First Nations, Metis, and Inuit cultures
I can analyze themes in First Nations, Metis, and Inuit texts and the ways of knowing they express.
Official code: A3.3
The official wording · 9 outcomes
- A2.1
- evaluate and explain their rights and responsibilities when interacting online with appropriate permission, and make decisions that contribute positively to the development of their digital identity
- A2.2
- demonstrate an understanding of how to navigate online environments safely, manage their privacy, personal data, and security, and interact in a way that supports their well-being
- A2.3
- conduct research, considering accuracy, credibility, and perspectives, with a focus on misinformation, disinformation, and curated information, to construct knowledge
- A2.4
- evaluate the use of the various forms, conventions, and techniques of digital and media texts, consider the impact on the audience, and apply this understanding when analyzing and creating texts
- A2.5
- demonstrate an understanding of the interrelationships between the form, message, and context of texts, the intended and unintended audience, and the purpose for production
- A2.6
- select and use appropriate digital and media tools to support the design process and address authentic, relevant, real-world problems by developing and proposing innovative solutions
- A2.7
- communicate and collaborate with various communities in a safe, respectful, responsible, and inclusive manner when using online platforms and environments, including digital and media tools, and demonstrate and model cultural awareness
- A3.2
- demonstrate an understanding of the historical contexts, contributions, lived experiences, and perspectives of a diversity of individuals and communities, including those in Canada, by exploring and analyzing the concepts of identity, self, and sense of belonging in a variety of culturally responsive and relevant texts
- A3.3
- analyze themes explored in First Nations, Métis, and Inuit cultures to demonstrate an understanding of the varied identities, perspectives, relationships, legacies, truths, and ways of knowing, being, and doing
Key ideas
A digital identity is the impression other people build from everything you post, share, and react to online — and it can outlast the moment.
Misinformation is false info shared without intent to deceive; disinformation is deliberately false; curated information is real info selected to push a slant.
Identity, self, and belonging are shaped by history, community, and lived experience — and literature lets us explore them across many communities.
Rights (like privacy and free expression) come paired with responsibilities (like getting permission before sharing someone else's words or image).
Credibility is judged by evidence: who made it, when, why, and whether independent sources agree.
Watch out for
- Thinking 'private' settings make a post truly unshareable or permanent-proof.
- Treating a confident tone or professional design as proof of credibility.
- Reading a single text as if it speaks for an entire community.
Every skill’s key ideas, worked examples and checks are in MapleMind.Practise this unit
Unit 2 · 11 skills
Foundations of Language
Listening and Speaking with Skill
Effective listening skills for real conversations
I can use listening skills like paraphrasing and open-ended questions to understand better.
Official code: B1.1
Listening strategies to analyze what you hear
I can use before, during, and after strategies to analyze and comprehend what I hear.
Official code: B1.2
Speaking for a purpose and audience
I can analyze my purpose and audience and adapt how I speak to be clear and coherent.
Official code: B1.3
Oral and non-verbal communication strategies
I can use and evaluate non-verbal strategies, aware they vary across cultures.
Official code: B1.4
Precise word choice and cohesive sentences when speaking
I can speak with precise word choice and cohesive sentences so my audience understands.
Official code: B1.5
Reading and Spelling Complex Words
Reading and spelling complex words with morphology
I can use bases, prefixes, and suffixes to read and spell complex words accurately.
Official code: B2.1
Understanding and using a wide vocabulary flexibly
I can understand a wide vocabulary and use new words flexibly across subjects.
Official code: B2.2
Reading complex texts fluently
I can read complex texts fluently, adjusting expression and pace for purpose.
Official code: B2.3
Sentence Structure, Grammar, and Punctuation
Building complex sentences
I can construct complex sentences that connect ideas accurately and effectively.
Official code: B3.1
Grammar and the functions of parts of speech
I can use grammar and parts of speech to communicate meaning clearly and precisely.
Official code: B3.2
Capitalization and punctuation for clear meaning
I can use capitalization and punctuation to make my meaning clear and coherent.
Official code: B3.3
The official wording · 11 outcomes
- B1.1
- evaluate and use various effective listening skills to enhance comprehension, including paraphrasing, asking open-ended questions, making relevant responses in group discussions, and reflecting on what has been said, and use these skills in formal and informal contexts
- B1.2
- select and use a variety of listening strategies before, during, and after listening to analyze and comprehend information communicated orally and non-verbally, seek clarification, and identify relevant evidence to support a response
- B1.3
- analyze the purpose and audience for speaking in formal and informal contexts, and select and adapt speaking strategies to communicate clearly and coherently
- B1.4
- identify and use oral and non-verbal communication strategies, including expression, gestures, and body language, and evaluate and compare the effectiveness of these strategies in supporting understanding or communication, including how their use may vary across cultures
- B1.5
- use precise and descriptive word choice, including domain-specific vocabulary from various subjects, and cohesive and coherent sentences during formal and informal communication, to support audience comprehension
- B2.1
- use consolidated knowledge of the meanings of words and morphemes (i.e., bases, prefixes, and suffixes) to read and spell complex words with accuracy and automaticity
- B2.2
- demonstrate an understanding of a wide variety of words, acquire and use explicitly taught vocabulary flexibly in various contexts, including other subject areas, and use consolidated morphological knowledge to analyze and understand new words in context
- B2.3
- read a variety of complex texts fluently, with accuracy and appropriate pacing to support comprehension, and when reading aloud, adjust expression and intonation according to the purpose of reading
- B3.1
- use their knowledge of sentence types and forms to construct complex sentences that connect and communicate ideas accurately and effectively
- B3.2
- demonstrate an understanding of the functions of parts of speech in sentences, consolidate and refine their understanding of grammar, and use this knowledge to support comprehension and communicate meaning clearly and precisely
- B3.3
- use and refine their understanding of the meaning and function of capitalization and punctuation to communicate meaning clearly and coherently, when reading and writing
Key ideas
Active listening skills — paraphrasing, open-ended questions, relevant responses — prove you understood and push a discussion forward.
A morpheme is the smallest unit of meaning — a base plus prefixes and suffixes builds complex words.
A complex sentence joins an independent clause with a dependent (subordinate) clause to show how ideas relate (cause, condition, contrast).
The right listening skill shifts with the context: a formal seminar and a casual chat call for different registers.
Knowing morphemes lets you read and spell unfamiliar words automatically instead of guessing.
Watch out for
- Waiting to talk instead of actually listening to what is said.
- Sounding out complex words letter by letter instead of by meaningful parts.
- Making a run-on by joining clauses with only a comma (comma splice).
Every skill’s key ideas, worked examples and checks are in MapleMind.Practise this unit
Unit 3 · 22 skills
Comprehension: Understanding and Responding to Texts
How Complex Texts Are Built
Comprehending complex texts
I can comprehend complex texts using my knowledge of language and the world.
Official code: C1.1
Analyzing text forms and genres
I can analyze and compare how different text forms and genres communicate meaning.
Official code: C1.2
Text patterns and features in expository texts
I can compare senior-level text patterns and features and evaluate how they aid understanding.
Official code: C1.3
How images and visual design create meaning
I can evaluate how images and visual design contribute to a text's meaning.
Official code: C1.4
Elements of style in texts
I can analyze elements of style and how they create meaning appropriate to the form.
Official code: C1.5
Analyzing narrator point of view
I can analyze a narrator's point of view and suggest alternatives with reasons.
Official code: C1.6
Making meaning through Indigenous Storywork
I can make meaning through Indigenous Storywork from First Nations, Metis, and Inuit creators.
Official code: C1.7
Strategies for Making Meaning
Using prior knowledge to understand new texts
I can use prior knowledge to make connections and understand new texts.
Official code: C2.1
Setting a purpose and selecting suitable texts
I can set a purpose for reading and select suitable texts from diverse creators.
Official code: C2.2
Predicting, questioning, and refining understanding
I can predict, question, and refine my understanding as I read.
Official code: C2.3
Monitoring and fixing comprehension
I can monitor my understanding and use fix-up strategies when a complex text confuses me.
Official code: C2.4
Connecting and comparing ideas across texts
I can connect and compare a text's ideas with my life, other texts, and the world.
Official code: C2.5
Summarizing and synthesizing complex texts
I can summarize and synthesize complex texts and draw effective conclusions.
Official code: C2.6
Reflecting on comprehension strategies
I can compare which comprehension strategies helped me and set goals to improve.
Official code: C2.7
Thinking Critically About Texts
Analyzing senior-level literary devices
I can analyze devices like allusion, analogy, juxtaposition, and flashback and how they create meaning.
Official code: C3.1
Making local and global inferences
I can make local and global inferences supported by explicit and implicit evidence.
Official code: C3.2
Assessing credibility and drawing conclusions
I can assess the credibility and significance of information and formulate conclusions.
Official code: C3.3
Analyzing cultural elements in texts
I can analyze cultural elements in a text and how they contribute to its meaning.
Official code: C3.4
Analyzing perspectives and bias
I can analyze perspectives in a text, evaluate evidence of bias, and suggest ways to avoid it.
Official code: C3.5
Responding to topics like diversity and inclusion in texts
I can explain how texts address topics like diversity and inclusion and respond to their positions.
Official code: C3.6
Comparing influences on First Nations, Metis, and Inuit texts
I can compare how history and conditions shaped two or more First Nations, Metis, or Inuit texts.
Official code: C3.7
Reflecting on critical-thinking skills
I can assess my critical-thinking skills and set goals to improve them.
Official code: C3.8
The official wording · 22 outcomes
- C1.1
- read and comprehend various complex texts, using knowledge of words, grammar, cohesive ties, sentence structures, and background knowledge
- C1.2
- analyze and compare the characteristics of various text forms and genres, including cultural text forms, and provide evidence to explain how they help communicate meaning
- C1.3
- compare the text patterns, such as compare and contrast in an expository essay, and text features, such as footnotes and copyright information, associated with different text forms, including cultural texts, and evaluate their importance in helping readers, listeners, and viewers understand the meaning
- C1.4
- evaluate how images, graphics, and visual design create, communicate, and contribute to meaning in a variety of texts
- C1.5
- identify various elements of style in texts, including voice, word choice, word patterns, and sentence structure, and analyze how each element helps create meaning and is appropriate for the text form and genre
- C1.6
- analyze the narrator’s point of view, including limited, omniscient, or unreliable, in a variety of texts, explain how it is communicated, and suggest alternative points of view, giving reasons
- C1.7
- read, listen to, and view a wide variety of text forms by diverse First Nations, Métis, and Inuit creators to make meaning through Indigenous Storywork about First Nations, Métis, and Inuit histories, cultures, relationships, communities, groups, nations, and lived experiences
- C2.1
- identify and explain prior knowledge from various sources, including personal experiences and learning in other subject areas, that they can use to make connections and understand new texts
- C2.2
- identify a variety of purposes for engaging with texts, select texts from diverse creators that are suitable for the purposes, and explain why the selections are appropriate
- C2.3
- make predictions using background knowledge and textual information, pose questions to confirm or refute their predictions, and revise or refine their understanding as indicated
- C2.4
- select suitable strategies, such as rereading, using the glossary, asking questions, and consulting references and other resources, to monitor and confirm their understanding of complex texts and solve comprehension problems
- C2.5
- connect, compare, and contrast the ideas expressed in texts and their knowledges and lived experiences, the ideas in other texts, and the world around them
- C2.6
- summarize and synthesize the important ideas and supporting details in complex texts, and draw effective conclusions
- C2.7
- explain and compare how various strategies, such as visualizing, making predictions, summarizing, and connecting to their experiences, have helped them comprehend various texts, and set goals for future improvement
- C3.1
- analyze literary devices, including allusion, analogy, juxtaposition, and flashback, in a variety of texts, and explain how they help create meaning and are appropriate for the intended purpose and audience
- C3.2
- make local and global inferences, using explicit and implicit evidence, to explain and support their interpretations about various complex texts
- C3.3
- analyze complex texts, including literary and informational texts, by assessing the credibility, reliability, and significance of information and formulating conclusions
- C3.4
- analyze cultural elements that are represented in various texts, including, norms, values, social hierarchy, past times, language, and taboos, by investigating the meanings of these elements, making connections to their lived experience and culture, and considering how the inclusion of these elements contributes to the meaning of the text
- C3.5
- analyze explicit and implicit perspectives communicated in various texts, evaluate any evidence that could show bias in these perspectives, and suggest ways to avoid any such bias
- C3.6
- explain how various topics, such as diversity, inclusion, and accessibility, are addressed in texts, respond to the insights and messages conveyed, and different positions presented
- C3.7
- compare the ways in which historical periods, cultural experiences, and/or socio-political conditions and events have influenced two or more texts created by First Nations, Métis, and Inuit individuals, communities, groups, or nations, and how they relate to current lived experiences
- C3.8
- assess the effectiveness of the critical thinking skills they used when analyzing and evaluating various texts, and set goals to improve their use
Key ideas
Comprehension of complex texts draws on many systems at once: vocabulary, grammar, cohesive ties, and prior knowledge.
Prior knowledge from your life and other subjects is a lever for understanding something new.
Senior devices work by connection and contrast: allusion references something outside the text, analogy maps one idea onto another, juxtaposition places opposites side by side, flashback disrupts time for effect.
Cohesive ties (pronouns, transitions, repetition) link a text's parts so the meaning holds together.
Naming what you already know before reading primes you to connect and comprehend.
Watch out for
- Reading word-by-word without using cohesive ties to connect ideas.
- Assuming a new text stands alone and prior knowledge is irrelevant.
- Naming a device (spotting a flashback) without analyzing its effect.
Every skill’s key ideas, worked examples and checks are in MapleMind.Practise this unit
Unit 4 · 14 skills
Composition: Expressing Ideas and Creating Texts
Planning and Researching Your Texts
Choosing topic, purpose, audience, and form
I can choose a topic, purpose, audience, form, and medium and justify my choices.
Official code: D1.1
Generating and developing ideas on complex topics
I can generate and develop ideas about complex topics using varied strategies.
Official code: D1.2
Gathering, synthesizing, and citing sources
I can gather and synthesize sources, evaluate them, and cite others' content.
Official code: D1.3
Classifying and sequencing content
I can classify and sequence my content into an organized plan.
Official code: D1.4
Evaluating planning strategies and tools
I can evaluate my planning strategies and suggest improvements.
Official code: D1.5
Drafting, Voice, and Touch-Typing
Drafting complex texts in various genres
I can draft complex texts in genres like narrative, persuasive, expository, and informational.
Official code: D2.1
Touch-typing and word-processing fluently
I can touch type quickly and accurately and use word-processing tools to produce texts.
Official code: D2.2
Establishing an identifiable voice
I can establish an identifiable voice and modify language, style, and tone to suit the text.
Official code: D2.3
Handling points of view and bias in your writing
I can explain the points of view and bias in my own writing and acknowledge other perspectives.
Official code: D2.4
Revising drafts for clarity, focus, and coherence
I can revise a draft's content and structure to improve clarity, focus, and coherence.
Official code: D2.5
Editing and proofreading for accuracy and style
I can edit and proofread for spelling, punctuation, grammar, and format, using digital tools wisely.
Official code: D2.6
Publishing, Presenting, and Reflecting
Producing polished final texts
I can produce a polished final text using appropriate digital design and production tools.
Official code: D3.1
Publishing, presenting, and evaluating choices
I can publish and present my texts and evaluate how my choices communicated my message.
Official code: D3.2
Reflecting on the creative process
I can reflect on the whole creative process and set steps to improve as a text creator.
Official code: D3.3
The official wording · 14 outcomes
- D1.1
- identify the topic, purpose, and audience for various texts they plan to create; choose a text form, genre, and medium to suit the purpose and audience, and justify their choices
- D1.2
- generate and develop ideas and details about complex topics, such as topics related to diversity, equity, and inclusion and to other subject areas, using a variety of strategies, and drawing on various resources, including their own lived experiences
- D1.3
- gather and synthesize information and content relevant to a topic, using a variety of textual sources and appropriate strategies; evaluate the currency, quality, bias, and accuracy of information; verify the reliability of sources; and check copyright and cite the sources for all content created by others
- D1.4
- classify and sequence ideas and collected information, selecting effective strategies and tools, and identify and organize relevant content, evaluating the choices of text form, genre, and medium, and considering alternatives
- D1.5
- evaluate the strategies and tools used to develop ideas and organize content for texts of the chosen forms, genres, and media, explain which were most helpful, and suggest steps for future improvement as a text creator
- D2.1
- draft complex texts of various forms and genres, including narrative, persuasive, expository, and informational texts, citing sources, and use a variety of appropriate media, tools, and strategies to transform information and communicate ideas
- D2.2
- write fluently, with a personal style, touch type quickly and accurately, and select and use appropriate word-processing programs and tools to produce texts of various lengths and complexity
- D2.3
- establish an identifiable voice in their texts, modifying language, style, and tone to suit the text’s form, genre, audience, and purpose, and express their thoughts, feelings, and opinions about the topic clearly
- D2.4
- explain the explicit and implicit points of view, perspectives, and bias conveyed in their texts, evaluate how various audiences might respond, and suggest ways to acknowledge other perspectives
- D2.5
- make revisions to the content, elements of style, patterns, and features of draft texts, and add, delete, revise, and reorganize sentences to improve clarity, focus, and coherence, using various strategies and seeking and selectively using feedback
- D2.6
- edit draft texts to improve accuracy and style, checking for errors in spelling, punctuation, grammar, and format; edit digital texts using word-processing software, including spell- and grammar-checkers
- D3.1
- produce final texts using appropriate techniques and tools, including digital design and production tools, to achieve the intended effect
- D3.2
- publish and present texts they have created, using various media and tools, and evaluate how their choices helped them communicate their intended message
- D3.3
- evaluate the strategies and tools they found helpful when publishing and presenting texts, reflect on what they learned at each stage of the creative process, analyze how their texts address various topics, and suggest steps for future improvement as a text creator
Key ideas
Topic, purpose, and audience are the compass of any text — settle them first and every later choice gets easier.
Each genre has a job — narrative tells, persuasive argues, expository explains, informational reports — and its own conventions.
Producing a final text means applying design and formatting choices that achieve the intended effect for the audience.
Form, genre, and medium should be chosen to serve that purpose and audience, and you should be able to justify why.
Drafting transforms planned information into connected prose, citing sources where you draw on others.
Watch out for
- Starting to write before settling purpose and audience.
- Writing every genre the same way regardless of its purpose.
- Submitting a rough draft as if it were a finished product.
Every skill’s key ideas, worked examples and checks are in MapleMind.Practise this unit
Plan the term
Pick your term and the days you study. Each unit gets its share of the weeks and comes back a week later for a review. The last two weeks go over the whole course.
The official curriculum
This page follows Ontario’s own curriculum for English, Grade 9 (De-streamed).
Study it in MapleMind
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Course Companion
Your year in one workbook
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Questions about English, Grade 9 (De-streamed)
What is English, Grade 9 (De-streamed)?
Ontario’s Grade 9 English course: 4 units and 56 skills, from Literacy Connections and Applications to Composition: Expressing Ideas and Creating Texts.
What units are in English, Grade 9 (De-streamed)?
1. Literacy Connections and Applications, 2. Foundations of Language, 3. Comprehension: Understanding and Responding to Texts and 4. Composition: Expressing Ideas and Creating Texts.
Is there a provincial exam for English, Grade 9 (De-streamed)?
Yes. The Ontario Secondary School Literacy Test (OSSLT) is written in Ontario. Next sitting: November 3, 2026.
What comes after English, Grade 9 (De-streamed)?
English, Grade 10, Academic and English, Grade 10, Applied.
Can MapleMind help with English, Grade 9 (De-streamed)?
Yes. MapleMind teaches every skill of English, Grade 9 (De-streamed), step by step, with practice and checks, and its tutor answers questions about any of them. It’s free with daily limits, on iPhone, Android and the web.
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