Middle School Curriculum Page 1 - saesnola.org · Overnight Environmental Science Retreat in...
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Middle School Grades 5-8 Curriculum Faculty: 5 th Grade Homeroom (Language Arts, Math) and Math Department Chair, Middle School Coordinator, Middle School Dean of Students, History Department Chair (Grades 5-8) and 7 th Grade Co-Advisor, English Department Chair (Grades 6-8) and 8 th Grade Advisor, Science Department Chair (Grades 5-8) and 6 th Grade Advisor, Math Teacher (Grades 6-8) and 7 th Grade Co-Advisor, Spanish, PE, Music, Art, Health, Religion, Library, Technology, and Life Skills Schedule: Homeroom in 5 th Grade, with Departmentalized Instruction for Science, History, Spanish, and all Enrichment courses; Fully Departmentalized in Grades 6-8, on a modified block schedule. Advisory: Advisory Program begins in 5 th Grade, with one Advisor in 5 th ,6 th ,7 th , and 8 th Grades. Advisory meets each morning at 7:50 a.m. and again for at least 30 minutes each week. Advisory is a planning and community-building time, with each Advisor responsible for the social, emotional, and academic progress of each Advisee. Extracurricular Activities: Interscholastic Athletics in Cross-Country, Flag Football, Volleyball, Soccer, Basketball, Lacrosse, Swimming and Tennis; Student Council Leadership Opportunities; Musical Performances in Vocal Ensemble and Hand Bell Choir; Service Opportunities; After-School Programs; Middle School Dance. Class Field Trips: Past trips have been 5 th Grade Day Retreat; 6 th Grade Overnight Camping; 7 th Grade Overnight Environmental Science Retreat in Dauphin Island; 8 th Grade Trip to Washington, DC and VA, Philadelphia, and Costa Rica. Standardized Test Scores: The Classes of 2014, 2015, and 2016 have outperformed, on average, 86% of public- and private-school test takers in Total Reading and 82% of public- and private-school test takers in Total Math. The class of 2016, taking the CTP 4 standardized test (published by ERB) for the very first time, outperformed 92% of their national peers in reading comprehension and 89% of their national peers in mathematics. Approximately 73% of the students of the Classes of 2016 and 2017 qualified for the Duke Talent Identification Program by scoring 95% or higher in Verbal/Social Studies or Math/Science on their standardized testing. High School Outplacement: Since 2009 St. Andrew’s has graduated 95 students from its 8 th Grade program. Of those students, approximately 60% have enrolled in Ben Franklin High School, with the remaining 40% enrolling in area high schools including Academy of Sacred Heart, Archbishop Shaw, Brother Martin, Cabrini, Darrow, De La Salle, Dominican, Holy Cross, Isidore Newman, Jesuit, Louise S. McGehee, Lusher, Metairie Park Country Day, Mount Carmel, NOCCA, Riverdale, St. Martin's Episcopal, Ursuline Academy.
Transcript of Middle School Curriculum Page 1 - saesnola.org · Overnight Environmental Science Retreat in...
MiddleSchoolGrades5-8Curriculum
Faculty:5thGradeHomeroom(LanguageArts,Math)andMathDepartmentChair,MiddleSchoolCoordinator,MiddleSchoolDeanofStudents,HistoryDepartmentChair(Grades5-8)and7thGradeCo-Advisor,EnglishDepartmentChair(Grades6-8)and8thGradeAdvisor,ScienceDepartmentChair(Grades5-8)and6thGradeAdvisor,MathTeacher(Grades6-8)and7thGradeCo-Advisor,Spanish,PE,Music,Art,Health,Religion,Library,Technology,andLifeSkillsSchedule:Homeroomin5thGrade,withDepartmentalizedInstructionforScience,History,Spanish,andallEnrichmentcourses;FullyDepartmentalizedinGrades6-8,onamodifiedblockschedule.Advisory:AdvisoryProgrambeginsin5thGrade,withoneAdvisorin5th,6th,7th,and8thGrades.Advisorymeetseachmorningat7:50a.m.andagainforatleast30minuteseachweek.Advisoryisaplanningandcommunity-buildingtime,witheachAdvisorresponsibleforthesocial,emotional,andacademicprogressofeachAdvisee.ExtracurricularActivities:InterscholasticAthleticsinCross-Country,FlagFootball,Volleyball,Soccer,Basketball,Lacrosse,SwimmingandTennis;StudentCouncilLeadershipOpportunities;MusicalPerformancesinVocalEnsembleandHandBellChoir;ServiceOpportunities;After-SchoolPrograms;MiddleSchoolDance.ClassFieldTrips:Pasttripshavebeen5thGradeDayRetreat;6thGradeOvernightCamping;7thGradeOvernightEnvironmentalScienceRetreatinDauphinIsland;8thGradeTriptoWashington,DCandVA,Philadelphia,andCostaRica.StandardizedTestScores:TheClassesof2014,2015,and2016haveoutperformed,onaverage,86%ofpublic-andprivate-schooltesttakersinTotalReadingand82%ofpublic-andprivate-schooltesttakersinTotalMath.Theclassof2016,takingtheCTP4standardizedtest(publishedbyERB)fortheveryfirsttime,outperformed92%oftheirnationalpeersinreadingcomprehensionand89%oftheirnationalpeersinmathematics.Approximately73%ofthestudentsoftheClassesof2016and2017qualifiedfortheDukeTalentIdentificationProgrambyscoring95%orhigherinVerbal/SocialStudiesorMath/Scienceontheirstandardizedtesting.HighSchoolOutplacement:Since2009St.Andrew’shasgraduated95studentsfromits8thGradeprogram.Ofthosestudents,approximately60%haveenrolledinBenFranklinHighSchool,withtheremaining40%enrollinginareahighschoolsincludingAcademyofSacredHeart,ArchbishopShaw,BrotherMartin,Cabrini,Darrow,DeLaSalle,Dominican,HolyCross,IsidoreNewman,Jesuit,LouiseS.McGehee,Lusher,MetairieParkCountryDay,MountCarmel,NOCCA,Riverdale,St.Martin'sEpiscopal,UrsulineAcademy.
FifthGrade
Curriculum
MathMasteryofthefouroperationsisanimportantmilestoneforFifthGradestudentsinpreparationfordepartmentalizedmathcoursesinGradesSixthroughEight.Readingandwritingordinalnumbersaswellaslearningtoreadandwritenumbersinstandardandexpandedformtothebillionsplacevaluearealsofoundationalskills.InFifthGradestudentsareintroducedtopowersofbase10,andtherelationshipbetweenfractions,decimals,andpercentages.Problemsolvingstrategiesareutilizedonadailybasiswithanemphasisonconnectingmathtorealworldapplications.Technologyandtheuseofmanipulativesareintegratedintodailyinstructiontoenhancecomprehensionofnewconcepts.English/LanguageArtsComprehensionstrategies,thewritingprocess,grammar,andvocabularyexpansionaremajorcomponentsofEnglishclassesinFifthGrade.Studentsreadandanalyzeshortstories,novels,andpoetry.Writtencompositionsincludecreativeandexpositorypieces.Studentsareguidedthroughthewritingprocesswhilemasteringsentenceandparagraphstructure.Studentsstudypartsofspeech,grammarusageandmechanics,andpunctuation.Vocabularywordsarederivedfromnovels,stories,andcross-curricularstudies.Technologyisutilizedforcreation,collaboration,andsharingofstudentwork.
ScienceGrades5-8Curriculum
ThegoaloftheMiddleSchoolscienceprogramistoprovideanacademicallyrigorouscurriculumwhichallowsforgrowthinresponsibility,creativeproblemsolving,andthoughtfulsharingofideasthroughtechnologyandpublicspeaking.Theprogramstrivestodeliverengagingactivitiesandinvestigationswhichsupplythemotivationnecessarytopromotethedesiretolearnwhichisinherentinusall.BythetimestudentsfinishtheMiddleSchoolscienceprogramtheyshouldbeactive,independentlearnerswhoformulatethoughtfulquestionsandareequippedtoseeksubstantiveanswers.5thGradeIn5thgrade,studentsgainanunderstandingofahealthyecosystemandareabletoidentifytheimportantrolesofdecomposers,consumers,andproducers.Theystudythegeosphere,hydrosphere,atmosphere,andbiosphereandlearnhowthesesystemsinteract.TheydevelopmodelstoexaminepatternscausedbytherelativepositionsofEarthandthesun,andidentifymatterasparticlesofmattertoosmalltobeseen.6thGrade,7thGrade,and8thGradeIn6th,7th,and8thGradestudentsutilizeinquirytoexplorescientificquestions.Theyareguidedthroughproblemsolvingmethodswithanimatedmysteries,andtheyengageinchallenge-basedlabswhichprovidetactileexperiencestoexploreconcepts.Eachunitculminateswiththeapplicationoftheirknowledgetodesignasolutiontoareal-worldproblem.InSixthGrade,studentsexploreEarthsciencetopicswhichincludegeology,meteorology,andastronomy.In7thGrade,thestudentsfocusontheexplorationofbiologytopicswhichbotany,animalbehavior,cellularbiology,genetics,ecology,andhumananatomy.In8thGradeGradethestudentsfocusontheintroductionofphysicsandchemistrytopics.Onlinearticlesaretailoredandadaptedtoeachstudent'sreadingtoensurethateachstudentischallenged,butneverdiscouraged.
SocialStudies/HistoryGrades5-8Curriculum
5thGradeStudentsbegintheyearstudyingabouttheearlycivilizationsandNativeAmericanCulturesofNorthAmerica.Theychronologicallymoveintocolonialtimes,causesandeffectsoftheAmericanRevolution,theformationofanewgovernment,thewritingoftheAmericanConstitution,andtheAmericanCivilWar.StudentsalsobrieflyexamineAmerica’sinvolvementinWorldWarIandWorldWarII.MapreadingskillsandtheidentificationofphysicalandpoliticalfeaturesoftheUnitedStatesaredeveloped.NotetakingisanimportantnewskillthatisstressedthroughoutMiddleSchool.Studentsusegraphicorganizersandoutliningfororganizingthoughts,andtoaidinunderstandingofconcepts.PowerPointpresentations,Prezies,andgroupprojectsarecreatedtosharetheirideas.6thGradeThecorecontentareafortheSixthGradehistoryisthestudyofancientworldcultures.Thisprimarilyfocusesonseveralancientcivilizations(i.e.,Mesopotamia,Egypt,India,China,Greece,Rome,Byzantine,Islamic,Africa,Japan).Studentsstudytheorigins,beliefs,andimpactofthemajorworldreligions.Astheylearntointerpretavarietyofmaps,charts,timelines,andtables,theyexaminemajorcontinents,countries,andphysicalfeaturesaroundtheworld.Studentsconductresearchindividuallyandwithpartnersfollowingstepsoutlinedinthecourse.InformationispresentedtotheclassthroughoralreportsaccompaniedbyPowerPointorPrezi.Eachunitofstudywillincludeadocumentbasedessayassignmentwhichrequiresstudentstoemployprimaryandsecondarysourcesintheirwrittenhistoricalarguments.Inthesecondortrimester,studentswilllearnhowtocompletearesearchpaperusingMLAdocumentationandformat.7thGradeTheSeventhGradecoursebeginswithastudyoftheRenaissance,theReformation,theEnlightenment,andtheAgeofExpansion,proceedstotheageofabsolutemonarchies,andcontinuestotheworldeventsleadinguptoWorldWarI.UnitedStateshistoryisinterwovenwiththeAgeofRevolution,theIndustrialRevolution,andtheAgeofReform.AnextendedcivicsunitontheU.S.Constitutionandhowourfederalgovernmentworksishighlighted.ThechangingmapofEuropeismonitored,andtherelationshipofcauseandeffect(economic,social,political)isidentifiedinthesechangesandallmajorevents.Studentsexploretopicsbyusingtextbooksandresearchingavarietyofresources.Eachunitofstudywillincludeadocumentbasedessayassignmentwhichrequiresstudentstoemployprimaryandsecondarysourcesintheirwrittenhistoricalarguments.Inthesecondortrimester,studentswilllearnhowtocompletearesearchpaperusingMLAdocumentationandformat.8thGradeFromthestudyoftheearlyinhabitantsofLouisianaandthesubsequentcolonizationoftheareafirstbyFranceandthenbySpain,EighthGradestudentslearnabouttheinvolvementofLouisianaintheAmericanRevolution,theLouisianaPurchase,theWarof1812,andtheAmericanCivilWar.Thehistoricalfocusthenshiftsto20thCenturyAmericaandmoderntimes.Mapskillsareutilizedduringthestudyoftheworldwars,andeconomicsareanalyzedduringthesegmentoftheGreatDepression.Astudyofthelastseveraldecadesgivesstudentsaclearerunderstandingofhowourcurrentpolitical,economic,andculturalissuesweredevelopednationallyandlocally.Eachunitofstudywillincludeadocumentbasedessayassignmentwhichrequiresstudentstoemployprimaryandsecondarysourcesintheirwrittenhistoricalarguments.Inthesecondortrimester,studentswilllearnhowtocompletearesearchpaperusingMLAdocumentationandformat.
MathGrades6-8Curriculum
6thGradeSixthGradersstrengthentheircomputationskillswithfractions,decimals,percents,integers,andrationalnumbers.Studentsutilizeskillsinoperationsandestimation,measurements,geometry,graphingratios,proportions,rateanddistance,andexponentsandintegers.Criticalthinkinganddevelopingstrategiesareemphasized.Studentslearntounderstandthelanguageandcommunicationofmathematics,toapplyformulas,andtoengageinproblemsolvingactivities.Computerapplicationsandactivitiesareintegratedthroughoutthecourse.7thGradeMathematicsinSeventhGradereinforcesstudents'understandingofmathematicalconceptsastheytransitionfromarithmetictoalgebraicthinking.StudentssolidifytheirunderstandingofmanytopicsdevelopedinSixthGrademathsuchasintegeroperations,proportion,percent,probability,andgeometry.Inaddition,studentsareexposedtoawidevarietyofabstracttopicssuchasmoreadvancedworkwithequationsandinequalities,operationsinvolvingexponents,andgraphinglinearequations.Emphasisisplacedonreasoningandproblemsolvingusingavarietyofstrategies.Computerapplicationsandactivitiesareintegratedthroughoutthecourse.8thGradeEighthGraderslearnconceptsinAlgebraI,whichincludesthestudyofnumbersandsets,propertiesofoperations,realnumbers,equationsandinequalities,verbalproblems,factoring,operationswithrationalexpressions,systemsoflinearequationsandinequalities,irrationalnumbers,andquadraticequations.Computerapplicationsandactivitiesareutilizedthroughoutthecourse.Problemsolving,criticalthinking,andreal-worldapplicationofmathematicalconceptsarepartofeachlesson.
English/LanguageArtsGrades6-8Curriculum
6thGradeSixthgradeisatransitionalyearinEnglishwhengrammarisemphasizedtogainadeepunderstandingoftheEnglishlanguagewiththegoalofapplyingtheconceptstotheirwritingin7thgrade.Inwriting,theyearbeginsbystudyingmorecomplexsentencestructuresasthestudentslearntojoinsentences,diversifytheirsentenceconstruction,andaddmoredetailstotheirwriting.Theclassprogressesfromanalyzingtheirsentencestowritingheavilysupportedparagraphstoconstructingessays.6thgradersalsobegintheprogressiontowardstudyingliteratureversusreading.Althoughreadingstrategiesareemphasized,studentsbegintoannotateatext,throughguidedpractice,notonlyforcomprehension,butalsotoanalyzeanovel,poem,orshortstoryforliterarydevices,figurativelanguage,characterization,points-of-view,andtheme.Asstudentsdiscusstheliteraturetext,theybegintolearnhowtoprovediscussionpointsbyextractingsupportdirectlyfromthetext.Eachstudentwillcontinuetodevelop,finetuneandaddtothenewconceptsintroducedin6thgradeattheirownpaceoverthecourseofthethreeyearcurriculum.7thGradeIn7thgrade,thegrammarcurriculumcontinuestoadvanceintosuchtopicsasverbalphrases,appositives,adverbialandadjectivalclauses,whichleadstoacomprehensiveunderstandingofpunctuatingandconstructingdiversesentences.AsthestudentsmasterthecomponentsoftheEnglishlanguagethroughgrammar,theyrealizehowitappliestotheirwriting.Forexample,ifwearestudyingparticipialphrases,theywillnowusethephrasestodiversifytheirsentencebeginningsandtoaddmoredetailstotheirwriting.Studentswillwritenarrative,literaryanalysis,andpersuasiveessays.Thereadinglevelprogressestotextswithmoreadvancedvocabulary,sentenceconstruction,andliterarydepthwithmorecomplexandmaturethemes.Thestudentswillindependentlyannotatetextsforfigurativelanguage,characterization,in-textconnections,text-to-textconnections,andplotdevelopment.Intheseventhgrade,thestudentslearntheconceptsofaSocraticThinkingCircleandareevaluatedondiscussionsfromtheirreading,whichtheydevelopastheyannotate.8thGradeBy8thgrade,studentsreviewgrammaratthebeginningoftheyear;however,thefocusshiftstoafullapplicationofgrammarintotheirwriting.Commaandothermechanicalrulesarereinforcedthroughdailypracticeandtheeditingprocess.Asthestudentsbegintomasterthemechanicsofwriting,theybegintostudyhowtocreativelyandeffectivelystructuretheirwritingtopromoteinterestfromareader.Theylearntoutilizesimiles,personification,hyperbole,andsymbolismandweavemetaphorsthroughoutanarrativetoaddtothecontentandmainpointoftheessay.Eachstudentwillchooseatopictodefendinapersuasiveresearchessaythatwillfocusonselectingreputableresearchsources,organizingresearch,documentingresearchwithAPAorMLAstandards,andformulatinganargument.Duringtheliteratureunits,studentswillalsowriteliteraryanalysisessaysafterdiscussingatextinsmallandlargergroupdiscussionsandSocraticThinkingCircles.TheyearculminateswithreadingaShakespeareanplayandthen,asafinalproject,creatingamoviefromoneofthescenesandalsoperformingthescenefortheschool.
