Page 5 - THE ONTARIO CURRICULUM, GRADES 9 AND 10 | Canadian and World Studies

This document replaces The Ontario Curriculum, Grades 9 and 10: Canadian and World Studies, 2013. Beginning in September 2018, all Canadian and world studies courses for Grades 9 and 10 will be based on the expectations outlined in this document.
This edition of the curriculum includes a revision of the history curriculum,1 developed in collaboration with First Nations, Métis, and Inuit educators, community members, and organizations. The revision was undertaken in response to the Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada’s calls to action numbers 62 and 63.
SECONDARY SCHOOLS FOR THE TWENTY-FIRST CENTURY
The goal of Ontario secondary schools is to support high-quality learning while giving individual students the opportunity to choose programs that suit their skills and interests. The updated Ontario curriculum, in combination with a broader range of learning options outside traditional classroom instruction, will enable students to better customize their high school education and improve their prospects for success in school and in life.
The revised curriculum recognizes that, today and in the future, students need to be critically literate in order to synthesize information, make informed decisions, communicate effectively, and thrive in an ever-changing global community. It is important that students be connected to the curriculum; that they see themselves in what is taught, how it is taught, and how it applies to the world at large. The curriculum recognizes that the needs of learners are diverse, and helps all learners develop the knowledge, skills, and perspectives they need to be informed, productive, caring, responsible, healthy, and active citizens in their own communities and in the world.
SUPPORTING STUDENTS’ WELL-BEING AND ABILITY TO LEARN
Promoting the healthy development of all students, as well as enabling all students to reach their full potential, is a priority for educators across Ontario. Students’ health and well-being contribute to their ability to learn in all disciplines, including Canadian and world studies, and that learning in turn contributes to their overall well-being.
Educators play an important role in promoting children and youth’s well-being by creating, fostering, and sustaining a learning environment that is healthy, caring, safe, inclusive, and accepting. A learning environment of this kind will support not only students’ cognitive, emotional, social, and physical development but also their sense of self and spirit, their mental health, their resilience, and their overall state of well-being. All this will help them achieve their full potential in school and in life.
1. This revision focused only on the two history courses. Consequently, there may be differences in terminology and style between the revised courses and the balance of the document.
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PREFACE