Middle School
Secondary: G6 - G8
Students advancing to our Secondary school into our middle school grades will continue on into 5-subject curricula with enrichment courses that supplement their core academic courses. The textbooks used in Grades 6-8 are as follows: Pre-Algebra, Algebra and Geometry by Glencoe, Integrated iScience (Green Level and Blue Level) by McGraw-Hill, Literature by Glencoe, and Grammar by Heinle.
Areas of Focus
G6 Academics
English Language Arts
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Move from writing opinions to writing formal, objective arguments that rely on statistics and evidence.
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When citing evidence from a text, decide whether to quote the text directly or to paraphrase it.
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Work on longer research projects as well as shorter ones, adjusting the focus or research question as needed.
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Decide on goals (what needs to be done) and roles (who will be responsible for what) when working in a group.
Mathematics
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Solve word problems with ratios and rates (ex: comparing election votes).
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Understand and use negative numbers (ex: which temperature is colder: -9 degrees or -20 degrees).
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Use variables, and write expressions and equations to solve problems.
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Understand and use language related to basic statistics.
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Solve real-world problems related to area, surface area, and volume.
Science
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Understand how fossils and rock layers tell us how the Earth has changed over long periods of time.
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Understand that different systems in the human body work together to keep a person alive.
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Understand the concept of density and explore materials’ differences in density.
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Understand that a wave has energy and is a repeating pattern with a specific length, frequency, and amplitude.
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Explain how different engineering solutions have different impacts on people and the environment.
Digital Literacy (ICT)
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Cultivate and manage their digital identity and reputation.
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Understand the permanence of their actions in the digital world.
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Engage in positive, safe, legal and ethical behavior when using technology, including social interactions online or when using networked devices.
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Demonstrate an understanding of and respect for the rights and obligations of using and sharing intellectual property.
G7 Academics
English Language Arts
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Compare different points of view in a text (ex: when two characters take turns telling a story).
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Understand how a text’s structure affects its meaning (ex: explain why an author might put a flashback in the middle of a story).
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Notice when someone’s argument is not logical. Decide whether the evidence they cite really supports their claim.
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When making an argument, acknowledge different perspectives.
Mathematics
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Solve real-world problems using ratios, rates, and proportions (ex: find how much tax will be charged on a new phone).
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Understand and use rational numbers.
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Solve problems involving a circle’s area, radius and circumference.
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Compare two sets of data (ex: compare the heights of players on two basketball teams).
Science
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Understand the roles of energy and gravity in the water cycle.
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Understand relationships between organisms and their ecosystems.
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Explain how we know that electrical, magnetic, and gravitational fields exist.
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Use models to explain how heat transfers from hotter objects to colder objects.
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Explore how transportation systems, communication systems, and structural systems work.
Digital Literacy (ICT)
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Manage their personal data to maintain digital privacy and security.
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Understand how data-collection technology is used to track their navigation online.
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Use effective research strategies to locate information and other resources for their intellectual or creative pursuits.
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Evaluate the accuracy, perspective, credibility and relevance of information, media, data or other resources.
G8 Academics
English Language Arts
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Compare different pieces of evidence for the same claim. Decide which piece of evidence is the strongest.
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Analyze the effect of specific words, sentences, and paragraphs.
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Explain how differences in point of view can make a text funny or suspenseful.
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Analyze how someone’s motives affect the way they share information.
Mathematics
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Understand and use linear equations to solve problems.
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Understand and use functions: situations where one quantity depends on another, like when the distance a train travels depends on its speed.
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Explore and use the Pythagorean Theorem for right triangles.
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Create linear equations to model real-life data.
Science
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Understand the sun-earth-moon system and the way it affects life on Earth.
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Describe and detail the cycle of energy between all living things through respiration and photosynthesis.
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Understand how environments affect the growth of living things (organisms).
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Understand how atoms combine in many ways to make the substances that make up all living and nonliving things.
Digital Literacy (ICT)
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Curate information from digital resources using a variety of tools and methods
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Create collections of artifacts that demonstrate meaningful connections or conclusions.
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Build knowledge by actively exploring real-world issues and problems, developing ideas and theories and pursuing answers and solutions.