NINTH GRADE
CURRICULUM
In your freshman year, you’ll practice accurate observation and clear recollection in various contexts, striving to understand the world as it is, not merely how you perceive and experience it.
Below are examples of classes we’ve offered recently:
Science
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This atomic theory course introduces students to the building blocks of matter in preparation for further study in chemistry and physics. We begin by investigating properties of matter at the macroscopic level, then study the atomic theory underlying the properties we observe. Students learn how historical interpretations of matter led to modern understandings of the atom. We journey group-by-group across the periodic table, exploring how elements’ atomic structures influence their behavior in chemical reactions. In doing so, we uncover periodic properties–including reactivity, electronegativity, and radioactivity–that give the periodic table both its beauty and utility. Practical coursework includes a combination of lab work and modeling; students learn techniques essential to the high school chemistry laboratory and use a variety of materials to visualize atomic and molecular structures.
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This class explores plant life, including metabolism and physiology, anatomy and morphology, life cycles, and the many types of plant life we have around us today. Through this exploration, students will learn more about the biological systems and processes that help define life on Earth, from microscopic cells to macroscopic organisms.
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Students explore the concepts of warming up, cooling down, thermal equilibrium, temperature, thermal expansion and contraction, specific heat capacity, latent heat, and thermal conductivity. Students participate in experiences, demonstrations, and group experiments to understand the relationship of these concepts to our daily lives. Students learn how these concepts have helped to shape our planet through practical applications such as the production of energy.
Mathematics
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Students build on their work with platonic solids by drawing two dimensional plane projections of them, utilizing the graphic science of “descriptive geometry.” Plates are developed that show several 2D projections of the 3D shapes. Distances and visibility of lines and points are determined from the plates. This graphic science develops the students’ visualization skills, analytic thinking, and precision with drafting.
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Students continue to expand their knowledge of both linear equations and systems of equations, using them to crack open a wide range of applied problems. They study polynomial arithmetic and functions. This includes gaining a deeper understanding of the nature of exponents (including negative and fractional exponents) and factoring polynomials. By the end of this class, most students are not only able to perform many technical skills, like translating between applied scenarios and systems of equations, but they are also able to understand how algebra can be used to model and visualize many real world and practical problems.
Humanities
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Although The Odyssey was composed almost three thousand years ago, it exerts a powerful influence in the modern Western world. This story of travel, violence, family, and hospitality asks compelling questions about the treatment of strangers and the meaning of home. As part of this course, students embark on a 5-day rowing expedition on Lake Champlain. During the trip, students will ask questions about their own lives through the lens
of the text, including: How do I manage an ordeal? How do I manage myself? What is my
responsibility towards others? -
This main lesson begins with a look at the two fundamental human experiences of laughing and crying, and how they relate to tragedy and comedy. After studying the origins of drama, the class reads Antigone by Sophocles and uses it to explore the tensions between the needs of the individual and those of the group. We follow the history of drama in different cultures, including tragedy in Japanese Noh theater. The class finishes with a reading of Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet. This experiential and academic course includes theater games, mask making, and readers’ theater.
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This main lesson traces the development of the novel genre from the eighteenth century through the twentieth century, and the various elements that work together to create this type of literature. Students read a contemporary novel to understand the importance of such elements as setting, character, plot and theme and then each student writes a novella to experience those elements in practice.
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The ninth grade core curriculum focuses on ancient texts including The Epic of Gilgamesh and The Bible as Literature. Students develop a vocabulary with which to discuss literature and make connections between their lives and times and the ancient worlds from which these myths come. Students also practice reading and writing about non-fiction, and are oriented to the sequence of American history through the text An Indigenous People’s History of the United States.
The ninth grade writing curriculum starts with a focus on writing and revising complex sentences that explain the relationship between ideas, building up to writing well-structured paragraphs and short essays. Students work through the five stages of writing they will use for their academic career and beyond: brainstorming an idea, preparation/research, outlining and making a draft, writing, and revising to a polished final draft. The value of academic integrity and the conventions of proper citation are a focus of the class. Spelling, vocabulary, grammar and reading fluency at the high school level are also taught systematically and practiced regularly throughout the year.
History
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This course is an interdisciplinary study of the United States, focusing on the West, Midwest, South, and Northeast in turn. Students learn about the history, geography, politics, culture, and literature of each area of the United States, with a focus on how regional events impacted the development of the country as a whole. For each main lesson, students complete a large paper, presentation, or artistic inquiry driven by a topic of their choice, with increasing expectations for complexity of research and presentation in later grades. Students will take a multi-day trip to an important cultural region of the United States in one of their American Studies blocks.
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In this main lesson, students will develop a critical understanding of the U.S. Constitution and the legal system. Students will read and discuss the text of the Constitution while also engaging in debates about significant Supreme Court cases that relate to civil rights, racial justice, and social equity. In addition to this, we cover different philosophical orientations towards law, order, and freedom. Outside of class, students will compose a lengthy essay on an important supreme court case of their choice. Ultimately, students will reflect on the fact that we cannot choose the historical circumstances we are born in, and ask: How do we work within a set of laws that we may disagree with?
Languages
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Spanish classes build on the foundation laid in Middle School, introducing complex tenses and grammatical structures, and deepening the study of cultures throughout the Spanish-speaking diaspora.
Arts
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Students explore the expressive qualities of black and white drawing in the visual arts. They expand their capacities of visual perception and creativity and continue the development of drawing skills, working with mass, contour, gesture and shading. They strive to create strong compositions that balance light and shadow with an eye toward balance of proportion, mass and volume. Working with pencils, crayon, charcoal, eraser, ink and wash, students practice drawing techniques culminating in an extended still-life study.
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Woodworking courses offer students continued practice in shaping wood while introducing new concepts in how separate components are joined together. The course focuses on the fabrication of a single project, a three-legged painter’s easel with lap joint construction. A focus of the course is developing a deeper understanding of functional objects, and the relationship between three-dimensional shapes. In 11th and 12th grades, students learn to work with power tools to design and complete two major projects of their choosing.
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Starting out with an observation exercise, students analyze how baskets are constructed, then begin creating small baskets using traditional weaving skills such as twining. Students consider the question: “What is a vessel?” and work with a variety of materials. The historical and cultural richness of basketry around the world is examined, and students complete at least one well-conceived piece.
Music
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Students in grades nine through twelve can participate in weekly instrumental music classes. Ensembles perform at school festivals, community events, and the formal Spring Benefit, a culminating performance of their year’s work. These performances give students the opportunity to share their hard work and experience a sense of service to others. Working as an ensemble supports the students’ understanding of how individual parts come together to achieve a collective accomplishment.
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Students experience choral music from many cultures, times, and places, and in different musical genres. Through weekly classes, they improve their vocal technique, learning to sing together with a sense of commitment and responsibility to themselves and one another.
Physical Education
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Our daily movement program is in many ways preparation for our larger Outdoor Education days and expedition trips. Each school day starts with 30 minutes of activity to “warm up” for academics. Depending on the season, the classes may walk, bike, or snowshoe, or play invigorating outdoor games.
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Weekly classes feature seasonal sports like hiking, cross-country skiing, and basketball, as well as strength- and coordination-building exercises, spatial dynamics, yoga and team-building games.
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Each of our outdoor trips starts by building and tending the sense of community within the group, teaches sequenced skills, and culminates in an experience in which you will practice what you have learned—often without the help of your teachers and guides. Wilderness survival skills are taught during our outdoor education classes and then directly applied by students working together on their outdoor education trips. We find that class communities are always strengthened by the outdoor experience that carries back into day-to-day life.
Natural history and environmental science lessons are taught in the field, and you will learn to discern, observe and draw conclusions coming out of your physical senses. This experiential learning is central to our curriculum.