 | The Middle School program serves as a bridge connecting the self-contained structure of the Lower School and the departmental structure of the Upper School. The academic program is comprehensive, challenging, purposeful and integrated. Thematic teaching emphasizes the interdisciplinary relationships among subjects, helping the Middle School student to learn about one subject through another. The Middle School curriculum provides strategies tailored to each student's learning style that allow them to become critical and strategic thinkers as well as independent and confident learners. Teachers design their teaching methods around how their students learn best. They help them to absorb the material and utilize it to make connections and inferences. They use a hands-on approach and multi-sensory methods to deliver the concepts.
To ease the transition for our students to Middle School, there are two teachers for each sixth grade classroom. The curriculum is based on the Understanding by Design model which uses a thematic approach to learning based on what are called Essential Questions. The idea behind thematic learning is to teach the students how to make connections and draw conclusions, seeing the "big picture". All content areas work together to answer this question: How does where we live affect how we live?
Students focus on different countries, examining them from the point of view of each subject area. A common vocabulary is used among all subjects, allowing students to hear it in different contexts, reinforcing their understanding. The goal is to have them understand connections within each area, politically, geographically, socially and culturally, as well as to integrate information among the countries they study across the year.
In Middle School there is a dedicated Learning Specialist for each grade. The Learning Specialists have daily interaction with the students and the teachers to help enhance learning strategies. A strategic planning period is built into each child's daily schedule. This is a dedicated time for teaching and strengthening time management and organizational skills.
A course in Metacognition is offered in all three grades in Middle School so that students learn how they think. Study of the brain, how each part works and how they work together to let the body function and the person learn is part of this course. Using the methods developed by Mel Levine, MD, PhD, the text is The Mind That's Mine. Dr. Levine has led major brain research and founded Schools Attuned, a leading method for working with students who learn differently. It is thought that if students learn how they think, they will understand more about the strategies that will help them learn.
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Technology in the Curriculum Technology is an integral part of the Middle School curriculum and empowers students to develop the skills needed to become independent learners. Internet-based research and Inspiration's "Concept Mapping" skills are used in Research and Writing classes, with additional application in Social Studies. Presentation skills are developed with the use of Microsoft PowerPoint. Microsoft Word, integrated into the Writing curriculum, allow each student to submit assignments that reflect attention to detail and increasing professionalism. LOGO Programming is incorporated into Geometry, and proficiency in Microsoft Excel is fostered through application in both Math and Science classes. Microsoft Publisher is used to create subject-based newsletters, newspapers, and magazines into several subject areas. Computer classes cover additional topics such as Introduction to Web pages, working with images, and Microsoft Outlook. Computer hardware and computer programming are addressed in the 7th and 8th grade, respectively. Practice in keyboarding fosters additional technological self-sufficiency among students
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| | Reading
Writing
Math
Science
Social Studies
Art
Music
Physical Education
Computer Skills
Metacognition
Group Guidance
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Reading
Writing
Math
Life Science
Social Studies
Art
Music
Physical Education
Computer Skills
Strategic Planning
Metacognition
Group Guidance
Health
S.M.A.R.T.
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Reading
Writing
Pre-algebra
Algebra 1
Earth Science
Social Studies
Art
Music
Physical Education
Computer Skills
Metacognition
Group Guidance
Introduction to Spanish
Introduction to French
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