Yes, it is possible to use our physics course in 9th grade, and we had many teachers do so during our field test. There are a few sections in each unit’s teacher materials that will be helpful in determining what support may be necessary for use with 9th grade students. Specifically, in the Teacher Background section of each Unit Overview, you will find the answer to these questions:
– How will I need to modify the unit if taught out of sequence?
– What are some common ideas that students might have?
– What mathematics concepts will students engage with in the unit?
– How does the unit build three-dimensional progressions across the course and the program?

If this course is taught in 9th grade, supplemental teaching of the particle model of matter may be necessary. Students will benefit from having a conceptual understanding of the nature of electrons, nuclei, and atoms. This understanding is often developed in middle school, so students should be able to draw upon that previous learning. When using units P.1 and P.5, it will be important for educators to recognize that students’ understanding will be at the particle level, and conversations about polarity and positive/negative charge interactions will need to be simplified.

Educators may find that the units take longer than described in the teacher edition when used with 9th grade students. This is expected since the students’ reading, writing, discussion, and mathematics abilities are not as developed as those of 11th grade students. For units P.1 and P.3, educators will need to provide additional scaffolds for the mathematics or adjust the priorities of the units and remove some of the calculation work.