Ontario Curriculum Grade 7/8

Achievement Levels

Ontario Curriculum 9/10

Achievement Levels

Categories of Knowledge & Skills:

Knowledge & Understanding, Thinking,
Communication and Application

Categories of Knowledge & Skills:

Knowledge & Understanding, Thinking,
Communication and Application

Achievement is assessed as either Level

1, 2, 3 or 4.

Achievement is assessed as either Level

1 (50-59%), 2 (60-69%), 3 (70-79%) or
4 (80-100%).

The achievement levels, knowledge skills, and qualifiers are the same in both
documents. The only difference between them is that in The Ontario Curriculum:
Grades 9 and 10 English they add percentages to their achievement levels.
Topic Strands
Topic Strands
1. Oral Communication Focuses
1. Oral Communication Focuses
on the identification and
on the identification and
development of the skills and
development of the skills and
strategies effective listeners and
strategies effective listeners and
speakers use to understand and
speakers use to understand and
interact with others. It also
interact with others. It also
emphasizes the use of higheremphasizes the use of higherorder thinking skills to stimulate
order thinking skills to stimulate
students interests and engage
students interests and engage
them in their learning
them in their learning.
2. Reading This strand helps
2. Reading & Literature Studies students learn to read with
This strand helps students learn
understanding, to read critically,
to read with understanding, to
to become familiar with various
read critically, to become familiar
text forms and their
with various text forms and their
characteristic elements, and to
characteristic elements, and to
recognize the function and
recognize the function and
effects of various text features
effects of various text features
and stylistic devices. It helps
and stylistic devices. It helps
students understand that reading
students understand that reading
is a process of constructing
is a process of constructing
meaning and equips them with
meaning and equips them with
the strategies that good readers
the strategies that good readers
use to understand and
use to understand and
appreciate what they read
appreciate what they read
3. Writing Identify writing forms
3. Writing - Identify writing forms
and language conventions that
and language conventions that
are appropriate for instruction in
are appropriate for instruction in
the given grade.
the given grade.
4. Media Literacy Helping
4. Media Studies - Helping
students develop the skills
students develop the skills
required to understand, create,
required to understand, create,

and critically interpret media

texts. It examines how images
(moving and still), sound, and
words are used, independently
and in combination, to create
meaning. It explores the use and
significance of particular
conventions and techniques in
the media and considers the
roles of the viewer and the
producer in constructing
meaning in media texts. Students
apply the knowledge and skills
gained through analysis of media
texts as they create their own
texts.

and critically interpret media

texts. It examines how images
(moving and still), sound, and
words are used, independently
and in combination, to create
meaning. It explores the use and
significance of particular
conventions and techniques in
the media and considers the
roles of the viewer and the
producer in constructing
meaning in media texts. Students
apply the knowledge and skills
gained through analysis of media
texts as they create their own
texts.

The grade 9/10 document has the same strands as the 1-8 document, the only
difference being the addition of Literature Studies to the Reading strand. Overall
each strand covers the same over all expectations.
Learning Expectations
Grade 7 and 8
Grade 9 and 10

Specific Expectations

Specific

Expectations
Overall Expectations
Expectation Numbers

Expectation

Numbers
Language used in expectations

Language used in

expectations

When comparing the two documents I found that overall expectations across all
strands was the same in both. The differences came when looking at the specific
expectations. The language is different between both documents as well as the
expectation numbers and subtopics. Below are some examples:

The grade 8 expectations for reading:

I.
1.5 Develop and explain interpretations of increasingly complex or
difficult texts using stated and implied ideas from the texts to
support their interpretations
Where grade 9 expectations for reading state:
II.
1.5 Extend understanding of both simple and complex text by
making connections between the ideas in them and personal
knowledge, experience, and insights; other texts; and the world
around them
The grade 9/10 document expectations require more thinking and understanding
whereas the grade 7/8 document ask students to find stated evidence. This is a
common difference between the two documents. The second document
expectations build off the first documents expectations.
The second document does not always have the same amount of specific
expectations within each strand
III.
The reading strand in grade 8 has 4 subtopics under the second
overall expectation, but the grade 9 document only has 3 subtopics
under the second overall expectation (in the second document the
subtopic Text Patterns is dropped from the specific expectations)
IV.
The subtopics also differ between the two documents. The following
are subtopics in the reading strand for each document:
Grade 8: Variety of Texts, Purpose, Comprehension Strategies,
Demonstrating Understanding, Making Inferences/Interpreting
Texts, Extending Understanding, Analysing Texts, Responding to
and Evaluating Texts, and Point of View
Grade 9: Variety of Texts, Using Reading Comprehension
Strategies, Demonstrating Understanding of Content, Making
Inferences, Extending Understanding of Texts, Analysing Texts,
Evaluating Texts, and Critical Literacy
The language and subtopics taught within each overall expectation differs
between the two documents, but the overall expectations between both
documents remains the same. Another difference between them is that the Grade
9/10 curriculum introduces text from different time periods.