Overview to St. Mary S Middle School Curriculum, Grades 6 Through 8

Overview to St. Mary’s Middle School Curriculum, Grades 6 through 8

Our goal at St. Mary’s Middle School is to prepare students to focus on the future, not the past.

Our middle School curriculum is designed to address not only the academic needs of adolescents, but also their social, behavioral, and spiritual needs. Research indicates that a K-8 middle school format rather than just a middle school (Grades 6-8) was most beneficial in preparing students for high school.

Focus of Middle School, at St. Mary’s, will be:

• Student-centered rather than subject-centered
• Fostering collaboration of students rather than competition
• Both affective and cognitive growth will be emphasized together

Rather than structuring our classes as a “junior version of high school” with classes changing every 43 minutes, we have chosen the more student-centered approach. Our Middle School is designed to continue our focus on inquiry learning and differentiated instruction which our students have grown accustomed to in the elementary grades.

The schedule will not be seven periods, but rather what has been found to be more conducive to learning and retention is block scheduling. So we will have daily:

1. Religion
2. Math-science block
3. Writing/literature block
4. Social studies

Also, the students will have PE/Music/Art and Foreign language

Further, we are investigating “focused intersession” projects at the end of each quarter that will complement/supplement what the students are learning in a specific year. Some suggestions we have discussed are: MOSS (Grade 6); week long trip to ScienceCenter in Portland, Life Skills (cooking, sewing, doing a budget), giving service in the parish/community, etc.

In summary, St. Mary’s Middle School is designed to meet the unique developmental needs of adolescents—at physical, cognitive, and socio-emotional levels. Excellence in both academics and behavior will always bee encouraged as the students grow and mature intellectually as well as socially.

Religion Curriculum for St. Mary’s Middle School

As adolescents grow in their journey of faith, religion integrates their spiritual, social, and intellectual (experiences/knowledge). Having time daily to read, discuss and assimilate what they are learning as well as participating in prayer services, liturgies and service projects will assist each student spiritually, socially and intellectually.

There are 7 key standards or pillars that will be covered yearly. They will deal with:

1. Catholic Doctrine (what the Catholic Church community teaches and believes)
2. Sacred Scripture (Bible)
3. Church History
4. Sacraments and Liturgy
5. Catholic Social Teaching
6. Morality
7. Spirituality and Christian Prayer

The following is a brief outline of what will be covered under these seven standards in Middle School religion classes per year.

***= connects with Social Studies areas.

1. Catholic Doctrine
Grade 6: Focus on the Nicene Creed for understanding
Grade 7: Trinity; compare and contrast differences between faiths (other religions) noting what we share in common; describe one’s responsibility of a baptized person proclaiming and witnessing to Christ and the Gospel
Grade 8: Apply Catholic principles to interpersonal relations and respect for life; teaching the logic behind the Catholic principles.
2. Sacred Scripture
Grade 6: Study Hebrew Scripture (Old Testament) as an understanding of our Jewish roots and helping them appreciate it is God’s revelation to us
***Grade 7: Trace the story of salvation as presented in the Bible; compare writings of Matthew, Mark and Luke for similarities/contrasts; study of Acts of Apostles; understanding Gospel is a living testament of faith; not a history book
Grade 8: Read and apply scripture to everyday life; recognizing the truths of faith come from Jesus’ life in scripture; call to discipleship; focus on parables of Jesus; analyze role of Holy Spirit in Hebrew and New Testaments.
3. Church History
****Grade 6: Study the major events of the first 300 years of the history of the church
***Grade 7: Focus on Councils of the Church; accomplishments of holy men and women through the ages; with a focus on the church in the USA
***Grade 8: Examine in-depth the Protestant Reformation; articulate understanding of Mary in salvation history; examine Church’s growth in the 19th century
4. Sacraments and Liturgy
***Grade 6: Review of sacraments as rooted in Jewish tradition; Study of Mass for deeper understanding; learn more in depth about the Liturgical seasons
Grade 7: Focus on the Eucharist; demonstrate understanding of the paschal mystery
Grade 8: Demonstrate an understanding of the changes in the liturgical seasons; review the sacraments of initiation as well as sacraments of healing and sacraments of commitment.
Describe the Mass as the central prayer of the church
5. Catholic Social Teaching
Grade 6: Focus on responsibility of baptized to bring peace and justice locally, communally and globally. Fulfill service projects
Grade 7: Articulate 7 major themes of Catholic Social teaching—differentiating between charity and justice. Come to understand that Jesus was a person of compassion, non-violence.
***Grade 8: Demonstrate knowledge and understanding of the Commandments and Beatitudes; identify corporal and spiritual works of Mercy; understand the Mission of the Church is to serve others; examine encyclicals and pastoral letters as they relate to Catholic social teachings.
6. Morality
Grade 6: Learn the skills of moral decision making and developing a good conscience.
Grade 7: Formation of conscience is reviewed. Internalize and incorporate Catholic Christian values into daily life
Grade 8: Demonstrate skills of good moral decision making consistent with Church teachings (Two Great Commandments and the Ten Commandments, Beatitudes); realizing morality has to do with values and Catholic values and American values are not always in accord. Discuss the three basic elements of every action for moral decision making. Relate conscience, sin and reconciliation to issues of adolescent life. Examine social nature of sin. Research the Catholic Christian understanding of sexuality and sexual moral values. Apply decision-making skills to areas of sexual moral issues. Further, the students will come to understand the origin and importance of human dignity according to the Theology of the Body teachings of Pope John Paul II.
7. Spirituality and Christian Prayer
Grade 6: Understanding of prayer in Hebrew Scripture; understanding of prayer in Jesus’ life (Our Father); called to personal and communal prayer; develop personal relation with Christ through prayer.
Grade 7: Continue to appreciate and experience different forms of prayer (meditation, silence and contemplation); develop personal relation with Christ through prayer
Grade 8: Explore and participate in devotional practices rooted in different cultures (ex. Benediction, Marian devotions, Chaplets, stations, Eucharistic adoration, litanies, etc. ); review the precepts of the church; discuss church as a praying communion; develop personal relation with Christ through prayer

Math Curriculum for St. Mary’s Middle School

Since Students in middle grades are growing in their ability to reason abstractly and are becoming capable of generalization, abstraction, and argument in mathematics it is important that the math curriculum give “students the opportunity to expand their experiences with ‘doing mathematics,’ with controlling variables and examining the consequences, with experimenting, making conjectures, and developing convincing arguments to support or disconfirm a conjecture (Glenda Lappan).

Therefore, it follows that algebraic thinking should be considered a basic skill for middle school students because it is compatible with their changing, maturing intellectual capabilities. This will be a key focus for our students in grades 6 through 8.

Also, along with the learning and practicing of new mathematical concepts, students will be asked to apply higher level thinking skills to problem solving scenarios. Problem solving is the fundamental component of all that we do in mathematics. Throughout the math curriculum, there’s a focus on solving complex, multi-step problems that have practical applications. This serves to enrich the curriculum and make mathematics relevant to each student’s everyday life.

Sixth Grade Math: Course work at this level will include:

Place value

Exponents

Comparing and ordering whole numbers

Rounding whole numbers

Estimation

Order of operations

Properties of operations

Mental math strategies

Variables and expressions

Properties of equality

Solving equations with whole numbers

Labeling of all parts of operations: addends, sum, difference, factors, product, dividend, divisor, and quotient

Decimals: basic concept, comparing and ordering, rounding ,and estimating, adding and subtracting, multiplying, dividing, multiply and divide by powers of 10, scientific notation, and solving equations with decimals

Factors, multiples, and divisibility

Prime and composite numbers

Greatest common factor

Least common multiple

Fractions: basic concept, equivalent fractions, improper fractions and mixed numbers, estimating, connecting fractions and decimals, and comparing and ordering

Adding, subtracting, multiplying, and dividing fractions and mixed numbers

Ratio, rates, and proportion

Percent

Algebra: Integers and graphing ordered pairs

Geometry: angles, polygons, triangles, quadrilaterals, circles, congruent and similar figures, transformations, symmetry, and tessellations

Customary and metric measurement

Perimeter, area, circumference, and area of a circle

Solid figures, surface area, and volume

Interpreting data: mean, median, mode, range, frequency tables, line plots, stem and leaf plots, bar/circle/line graphs, misleading graphs, probability

Algebra: Inequalities, equations, and graphs

Seventh Grade Math:

Seventh grade mathematics is a bridge between arithmetic and algebra. As research has proven, math concepts are built upon the math learned from previous experience. Most students will benefit from a step-by-step approach. Some students are mathematically gifted, and though steps are not skipped, their need to be challenged is addressed. Assessment is on going in all areas. St. Mary's School has the following Accelerated Math (AM) programs on-site to reach students at all levels of achievement, and the school has a profound commitment to giving all students the resources to “Be the best they can be.” AM libraries for middle school: Grade 7 Standard Library, Pre-Algebra, Algebra.

Another emphasis of the block scheduling of the middle school is that science and math are closely linked and many concepts are practiced throughout the year, not just as a math class separate from all other areas.

The focus at 7thgrade will be on pre-algebra requirements which will cover the following items:

Whole number concepts, including but not limited to, prime and composite numbers, factors, divisibility rules, prime factorization, GCF, LCM, exponents, multiplication of exponents, square roots, order of operation, simplify algebraic equations.

Decimal study. Review rounding, use in word problems. Scientific notation, use decimals in all operations.

Fraction study. Comparisons, Simplification and renaming fractions, use fractions in all operations, need for mixed fractions

Intermingled with these is a constant attention to problem solving using hands on materials and internet sites for use on the Smart Board.

Measurement using customary and metric units

Geometry, covering classification of angles, supplementary, complementary, and adjacent angles, identification of polygons, plane and solid figures, plotting in all four quadrants, exploration of translations, reflections, rotations, intersecting lines and transverals, and circles.

Perimeter, area, and volume of circles, triangles, trapezoids, parallelograms, prisms, cubes, cones, etc.

Although graphs are ongoing in both problem solving and science, they will be looked at in depth, especially within the confines of probability and statistics.

Fractions, percents, and decimals in relation to each other

Percents, ratios, and proportions

Integers, positive and negative, absolute value, involved in all operations

Patterns, expressions and equations leading into algebra with multi-step equations

Algebra emphasis on solving and graphing linear equations, deductive reasoning, and math related career options

As mentioned above, the emphasis is on practice of each concept in multiple settings. Problem solving is heavily infused throughout all objectives, having students worked collaboratively and independently to understand the relationship of math in their world.

Eighth grade mathtypically will center on algebra for those who are capable and able to pursue this course of studies. The following items will be covered:

Real Number Operations

First Degree Equations

Solving Linear Inequalities

Cartesian Plane

Systems of Equations

Polynomial Operations

Factoring Polynomials

Radicals

Solving Quadratic Equations

All students will be prepared for ninth grade level math at least, if not beyond minimum requirements.

Language Arts/Literature for St. Mary’s Middle School

The needs of early adolescents are a fundamental concern to middle-level language arts teachers. Teachers attempt to meet the unique needs of these students by using curriculum concepts such as thematic organization, teaming among teachers, appropriate grouping, and interdisciplinary efforts.

Standard English grammar is taught and integrated into the Language Arts curriculum as well as other content areas. The eighth-grade level requires intensive formal instruction in reading comprehension strategies as well as comprehensive instruction in writing process. The curriculum continues to support the development of listening and speaking skills in informal situations, and introduces limited formal speech. Well-trained language arts instructors clearly understand that none of these skills, either the receptive skills of reading, listening and viewing, or the expressive skills of writing, speaking, and presenting, are used in isolation from the other skills. They must be taught in an integrated, holistic curricular environment.

CROSS CURRICULAR CONNECTIONS:

Language arts teachers think of themselves as teachers of process more than dispensers of content. It is often helpful, and certainly reasonable, to take the content of the various papers and presentations that students will create in language arts classes, content from other classes in the core curriculum and elsewhere. The language/literature teachers will connect with other teachers cross curriculum for meaningful assignments that will supplement/complement what is being taught in the language arts curriculum.

In summary, our goal is to build effective lifelong communication skills (listening, speaking, reading, writing, thinking, and comprehending).

6th Grade Literature/Language Arts: The sixth grade curriculum includes the study of literature, writing, grammar, spelling and speaking skills. In literature we will study the various characteristics of fiction, nonfiction, folklore, drama, and poetry.
Writing experiences will be focused on writing complete sentences, developing organized paragraphs, clearly communicating ideas, and using good grammar. The eight parts of speech will be reviewed in grammar, and students will practice using them effectively in their writing. In the course of the year, the students will read books and write on topics that we will be covering in Social Studies as well. There will be informal and formal experiences in speakingeffectively in front of the class.Supplementary materials will be used including various trade books, spelling/vocabulary words from geography and social studies.

7th Grade Literature/Language Arts: The seventh grade curriculum includes the study of grammar, composition, spelling, literature and speaking. Students will learn the parts of speech with the emphasis on correct usage. Narrative, expository, and letter writing will be covered. In the affinity unit, students will use the computer to research a topic of their choice and write papers on one aspect of the topic. We will read short stories, novels, poetry, and plays to strengthen literary analysis skills.

Spelling worksheets are given weekly, as are spelling quizzes. Tests will generally be given after each unit is completed.
Supplementary materials will be used including various trade books, spelling/vocabulary words from geography and social studies.

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8th Grade Literature/Language Arts: Students in eighth grade language arts will complete units that complement the social studies curriculum. The last quarter will be used to cover various forms of literature and writing in order to prepare students for the rigors of high school.
Supplementary materials will be used including various trade books, spelling/vocabulary words from geography and social studies. Greek and Latin roots/morphemes will be covered.

At both the Seventh and Eighth Grade Humanities/Language Arts/Social Studieslevels, the students continue to refine their skills in reading, writing, and communication. They will read relevant cultural and historical works, including classics and write in a variety of modes and forms, including narrative, expository, poetry and research papers. Literature includes novels relating to themes in social studies, science, and health and fitness. Through engagement in various classroom activities and projects, students develop the skills of critical thinking and making sound judgments. It is our goal that students will learn to approach past and current events in a scholarly and empathetic manner.

Social Studies Curriculum for St. Mary’s Middle School

Overview: History is a series of stories that trace our roots. Stories capture the emotions of the times and explain much of the customs and culture of the time. Hebrew and Christian stories are necessary in the study of history. Often they are some of the only written records. As we looked for textbooks to use in our newly added 7th and 8thgrades, we came across the Catholic Schools Textbook Project that celebrates the Jewish/Catholic influences throughout time.

“The Catholic Schools Textbook Project is producing a 12-volume series of history/social studies textbooks and supporting materials specifically for Catholic schools and students. Such textbooks are urgently needed. We need textbooks that bring history alive – in the heart as well as the mind. The need is urgent because the story of human civilization cannot be told unless the essential contribution of Catholics and the Faith that inspired them is included - and it is just this Faith that is left out of every textbook available to Catholic schoolchildren today. This project will change that situation.” (Taken from their web-site)