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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? For the 2007-2008 school year, the material will be divided into trimesters in the following way:

Trimester1: Russia and Eastern Europe
Trimester 2: India and Southeast Asia
Trimester 3: China, Japan, Korea

During each trimester, students will focus on the 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. All students meet with the School Librarian to learn the skills and parameters of research. In addition to using the Landmark Writing Program, which provides a structured approach to writing, students use The Compositor, an online organizational tool that guides students through the steps in the writing process.

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.

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.

Middle School Courses

Grade 6	Grade 7	Grade 8
Reading	Reading	Reading
Writing	Writing	Writing
Math	Math	Pre-algebra
Science	Life Science	Algebra 1
Social Studies	Social Studies	Earth Science
Art	Art	Social Studies
Music	Music	Music
Physical Education	Physical Education	Physical Education
Computer Skills	Computer Skills	Computer Skills
Strategic Planning	Strategic Planning	Strategic Planning
Metacognition	Metacognition	Metacognition
Group Guidance	Group Guidance	Group Guidance
Research Methods	Health	Intro to Spanish
	Research Methods	Intro to French
		Research Methods