9th Grade Curriculum

The 9th grade curriculum engages the realm of abstract thinking and objectivity. In the freshman year, students practice accurate observation and clear recollection in various contexts. Students face creative challenges in the classes. They work within restricted parameters to learn universal rules and systems of reasoning and process.

Below are classes we’ve offered recently:

Mathematics

  • This class begins with analytical geometry, looking at the Cartesian coordinate system, linear equations, and calculations of slope, midpoint, and distance. Students learn the basics of Euclidean geometry including point, line, ray, plane, and polygons. Working with polygons, students explore triangles. At the end of the year, students study circles and figures in three dimensions.

  • Students work with the concept of expected value and develop a mathematical analysis based on an area model for probability. Probabilistic thinking is often counterintuitive; for this reason, the activities in this unit model concrete experiences. The gambler's fallacy that the next roll of the dice depends on previous rolls is held with conviction even by well-informed adults. One goal of this unit is for students to recognize this fallacy, both in dice games and in real-life situations. More broadly, students come to understand theoretical probability and see how and when it can be used to model and give insight into every day situations.

Sciences

  • This class studies all aspects of agricultural practice “from farm to table”. Students compare and contrast ancient agricultural practices with modern ones and large-scale industrial food systems with local systems. They also explore the practical implications of a more sustainable food system. Moreover, students gain skills to make informed choices about their own eating habits and how they can support the food systems they believe to be best for their health and the health of the Earth.

  • This class begins with a focus on the human sensory organization. After an extensive consideration of the eye and vision, students explore the sense of balance and the kinesthetic sense. The second part of the class involves observations and reflections on the human skeleton, which include comparative studies of human and animal skulls, and how the human foot develops over time in the process of learning to stand and walk.

  • This class considers chemical aspects of major life processes that occur in plants, animals, and human beings. The goal of the class is to discover something about the chemistry of life. What chemical transformations can we attribute to life? The class focuses on developing skills and background in chemistry and provides opportunities to explore experimental methods. Subsequently, students observe or execute experiments that demonstrate aspects of important life-related processes. The class examines the nature of gases, our dependence on fossil fuels, photosynthesis and respiration, and fermentation and distillation.

  • Thermal physics addresses concepts of heat and cold. Through historical investigation, experimentation, and observation, students experience, characterize, and conceptualize the following: the expansion and contraction of solids, liquids, and gases; the three methods of heat energy transfer; the ideal gas law; Lord Kelvin's hypothesis of an absolute coldest temperature; phase diagrams; and the special thermal properties of water. Students learn the story of the development of precise thermometry and calibrate their own thermometers. Finally, students learn about technologies that use the laws of thermodynamics, including the thermostat, the four-stroke combustion engine, the steam engine, and the Stirling engine.

Humanities

  • The class explores three eras in Western theater: Ancient Greece, Elizabethan England, and twentieth century America. Students study plays from each period, examine the questions with which people wrestled, and consider how theater served as a platform for the exploration of these questions. The class introduces students to thesis-driven essays and literary analysis. For the final project, students may choose to build one of the three stages (the Greek theater, the Globe theater, or a proscenium stage), design costumes and character boards for a play, or memorize, rehearse, and perform a short scene from a play.

  • This class introduces students to the writing and research expectations of high school. They are given a variety of opportunities to conduct research, to plan and write essays and reports, and to make presentations to the class. A theme of the year is unprejudiced, accurate observation. The content is modern history and literature with the aim of giving students an understanding of issues of the present day. Units often include the Harlem Renaissance, the Civil Rights movement, the modern short story, Animal Farm by Orwell and related events of Russian history, the Cold War, and Things Fall Apart by Achebe and related events of African history.

  • This class begins with an introduction to the Modern, Post-Modern, and Classical Realist movements. After this orientation, students study the art and peoples of the Paleolithic era, continuing with the cultures of the ancient Egyptians, the Greeks and Romans, the Early Medieval art and icon painting, the sculpture and stained glass windows of the Gothic Cathedrals, and the Italian and Northern Renaissance. Students compare the lives and works of Leonardo Da Vinci, Michelangelo, Raphael, Dürer, Rembrandt, and Vermeer. Students create at least one or more drawings from each day’s study to complement their notes for the day.

  • This class addresses three political revolutions: the American, French, and Chinese. The class begins with an overview of the three-fold social organization and the idea that major imbalances in this organization are almost always at the heart of any revolution. Students study the events in the American colonies which lead directly up to the revolution, plunge right into the action of the French revolution that ends with the execution of Robespierre, and finally, examine Confucius' role in Chinese culture and consider how nineteenth-century trade relationships with powerful western countries influenced the dramatic end of the Qing Dynasty. Students create a presentation, complete with artistic element and written text, on a revolution not covered in class.

Languages

  • Students can take German I with little or no prior experience. In the first semester, the students learn basic everyday greetings, vocabulary, and grammar. By the second semester, students form more complex sentences, both ask and answer questions, and learn more advanced grammar for writing and speaking. By the end of Level I, students should have mastered basic German vocabulary, grammar, and communicative skills. Grammar concepts include pronouns, present and future tense verbs, nouns, articles, adjectives, conjunctions, negations, prepositions, and the difference between the nominative and accusative cases.

  • In the first semester of German II, students review verbs, learn more tenses, and address proper sequence and sentence structure. In the second semester, students recall past events and describe them in proper sequence, practice case prepositions and subordinate clauses, and learn colloquial phrases. By the end of Level II, students should have mastered the imperative tense and present, past, and future verb tenses. Students should also know the difference between superlatives, comparisons, subordinate clauses, conjunctions, the accusative case, and dative case. They should be able to write and tell stories in present and past tense.

  • Students learn basic everyday greetings, vocabulary, and grammar. By the end of the class, students form more complex sentences, both ask and answer questions, and learn more advanced grammar for writing and speaking. Students should master basic vocabulary, grammar, and communicative skills. Grammar concepts include pronouns, present and future tense verbs, nouns, articles, adjectives, conjunctions, negations, prepositions, and the difference between the nominative and accusative cases.

  • The focus of this course is on the systematic review of basic grammar: gender and number of nouns, adjectives, and the present and past tenses of regular and irregular verbs. For the second semester, new grammar topics include comparison of adjectives and prepositions. The students also work on more verb tenses (such as the imperfect), begin to learn the future and conditional tenses, learn new vocabulary, and read short stories from different Latin American authors. The project for the first semester is on a renowned Latin American destination. For the second semester, students present the life and work of a Latin American painter or sculptor.

Arts

  • Students learn how tones of light and dark reveal form. They draw each other's portraits in profile, 3/4 profile, and full face. They work in both charcoal and graphite on white paper, and white chalk and pencils on black paper. Students draw from imagination and work out tonal plane relationships. Many of the skills are used again in block printing.

  • Students design individual pieces from observation and from imagination to illustrate a theme. The class engraves both rubber and linoleum blocks and, time permitting, woodblocks. Students complete at least two designs and print ten consistently-inked copies for each. Students are evaluated on design, line quality, printing consistency, and class participation.

  • This class begins with the study of skeleton letters and the Black Letter hand. After working in pencil, students progress to pen and ink. They learn to find the correct height for each hand using the width of the pen nibs. Using triangles, t-squares, and protractors, students rule out their own practice sheets and find the correct pen angle for each hand. The final project is to produce a large page with a quotation chosen by the student in Black Letter, with illuminated block letters incorporating two colors, plus black. Students add an illustration related to the verse to fit around the lettering.

  • Using clay introduces the class to the basic elements of sculpture: concavity, convexity, double bent curves, and the interaction between flat and curved planes. Students work with additive and reductive approaches. Focus themes are selected based on the needs and interests of the class, but polarity is always one of the foci.

  • In the Introduction to Drama & Acting, students work on the building blocks of creating a character for performance. Through objective observation of human movement and behavior, analysis of text and language, and improvisation, students learn how to build characters and character relationships. Practicing flexibility, kindness, and active listening develop an ensemble ethic within the class. Through voice work, students learn how to take their space, speak clearly, and with confidence. The 9th grade Drama block concludes with performances of a variety of scenes for the high school. Recent material has included Much Ado About Nothing, The Tempest, and a collection of contemporary scenes.

  • Handwork includes learning manual skills in felting, crocheting, knitting, sewing, basketry, weaving, dyeing, and bookbinding. These skills are taught to aid students' dexterity, focus, motor-coordination and integrative capacities. Many studies have shown that such kinesthetic learning amplifies cognitive skills: so the patterning works aids in the conception of mathematical patterns and systems operations in higher order mathematics. Similarly, experimentation with materials and transformative processes connect the students to scientific exploration and enhance their understanding of the physical properties and chemical underpinnings of our world.

Music

  • Students develop technique, hand coordination, and traditional rhythms in an ensemble. Additionally, students investigate the cultural and historical significance of the djembe drum, the oral history of each rhythm and song, and the geography of regions specific to the tradition of the djembe as well as Africa in general.

  • Chamber Ensemble is for those students who wish to continue the study and performance of music on classical instruments. The students study and perform standard orchestral works arranged for small ensemble and also continue playing both by rote and by improvisation. Listening – melody, harmony, accompaniment – is emphasized, as is technique.

  • Students learn basic musical concepts and skills with an emphasis on how they apply to guitar as well as to singing. Students learn to play chords, scales, and full songs and attain a basic proficiency in reading music.

  • Students who have a basic level of guitar skill play a range of parts (according to level of ability) that when combined, create a cohesive whole, as in an orchestra. Moving beyond unison chords, students will learn to play single line melodies and two or more notes simultaneously, in addition to broken or block chords. Students also sharpen their listening and collaboration skills. The class takes up different genres – classical, folk, rock, jazz – over the course of the year.

  • The Jazz Band plays many different styles of jazz including Dixieland, Bebop, Bossanova, Swing, and Standards. The students play at a high level on their instruments, study music theory, and improvise as part of the ensemble.

  • Vocal Ensemble is both a performance-driven chamber choir focused on the rehearsal and performance of choral and vocal music, and a supportive environment to try new things, experiment with improvisation, and have fun creating music together. The class places emphasis on vocal development, independence in part-singing, stylistic understanding, and performance technique. Time is spent on reinforcing and developing an understanding of musical notation and conducting patterns.

MOvement

  • Eurythmy is a performing art that engages aspects of dance, music, poetry, speech, and kinesthetic expression. A feature unique to Waldorf education, the beautiful, spiritual, and emotional art of eurythmy introduces students to the frameworks underlying speech and music through movement. The study of Eurythmy develops concentration, spatial orientation and dexterity, and engages students in the study of enhanced rhythms of speech and music as experienced and interpreted through the whole body.

  • At the Chicago Waldorf School, we believe every student is a mathematician, scientist, artist and athlete. In our gym program and extra programming we strive to offer a rich variety of athletic activities designed for students to explore physicality in all its aspects. Students learn fundamental movement skills through sport lead-up games, then participate in team and individual sports. From aerial circus arts to javelin to football to parkour, our students have ample opportunity to discover their interests and to develop mastery.

10th Grade Curriculum >