Grade 9 Social Studies: how to help at home
What your child learns in Grade 9 social studies in the New Brunswick Curriculum, and simple things to try at home.
The Big Ideas this year
- Geography: Places and Regions. Investigate basic features of Canada’s landscape and climate.
- Geography: Human Systems and Interactions. Analyze the effect of human settlement on place over time.
- History: Events and Peoples. Analyze various perceptions of identities in Canada.
- Civics: Civic Engagement. Take age-appropriate actions that demonstrate the rights and responsibilities of citizenship (local, national, and global).
- Civics: Power and Governance. Explain the structures and operations of governance in Canada.
- Civics: Rights and Responsibilities. Investigate persistent issues involving the rights, responsibilities, roles, and status of individuals and groups in Canada.
- Wabanaki: Treaty Education. Examine key issues involving treaty relationships in Canada.
- Economics: Sustainability. Investigate living conditions for groups in Canada.
Easy ways to practise social studies at home
- Follow a current event together and ask who is affected and why people see it differently.
- Build a timeline of a family event or a historical topic they are studying.
- Use an atlas or online map to trace a trade or travel route.
- Ask “Whose voice is missing from this story?” when reading about the past.
What each unit covers
Canada's Landscapes
Canada's main landform regions, how glaciers, erosion and plate tectonics shaped them, and how landscape and resources have influenced where and how people live.
Settlement & Living Conditions
Practises the effect of human settlement on place over time and living conditions for groups in Canada. It follows the Grade 9 social studies skill descriptors on human systems and on economics and sustainability in the New Brunswick curriculum.
Identities & Migration in Canada
Practises various perceptions of identities in Canada and the impact of migration and immigration on those identities. It follows the Grade 9 social studies skill descriptors on history in the New Brunswick curriculum.
How Canada Is Governed
Practises the structures and operations of governance in Canada, from municipal and provincial to federal government, and how laws are made. It follows the Grade 9 social studies skill descriptor on power and governance in the New Brunswick curriculum.
Rights, Roles & Responsibilities
Practises the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms, the rights, responsibilities, roles and status of individuals and groups in Canada, and how citizens take part. It follows the Grade 9 social studies skill descriptors on rights, responsibilities and civic engagement in the New Brunswick curriculum.
Service Learning Projects
Practises choosing a real community need, setting goals, planning roles and timelines, working with community partners and reflecting on citizenship, as in the Engaged Citizenship strand of Nova Scotia's Citizenship 9 course.
Treaty Relationships Today
Practises key issues involving treaty relationships in Canada, including the Peace and Friendship treaties, the Numbered Treaties, modern treaties and reconciliation. The content is light, in the present tense, and needs review by Wabanaki partners. It follows the Grade 9 social studies skill descriptor on treaty education in the New Brunswick curriculum.
What the report card levels look like at home
- Working below
- Just getting started with this idea. Short, regular practice with lots of support helps most.
- Approaching
- Understands parts of it and is building confidence. Keep practising the tricky parts.
- Meeting
- Has it! Mixed review now and then keeps it strong.
- Exceeding
- Applies it confidently, even in new or harder situations. Try challenge mode and real-life problems.
Your child’s teacher decides the level on the report card. Read the New Brunswick report card guide.
Common questions
Follow a current event together and ask who is affected and why people see it differently. Build a timeline of a family event or a historical topic they are studying. Keep sessions short, about 10 to 15 minutes, and stop on a success.
The New Brunswick Curriculum Grade 9 social studies units include canada's landscapes, settlement & living conditions, identities & migration in canada, how canada is governed, rights, roles & responsibilities, service learning projects.
Free printable Grade 9 social studies practice sheet
Questions from every unit, with an answer key.