Middle School Grades 6-8

Welcome to the Easton, Redding, and Region 9 Middle School Curriculum Portal.

Our middle school years (grades 6–8) represent a dynamic period of transition, exploration, and immense cognitive growth. In ER9, our curriculum is intentionally designed to meet the unique developmental needs of young adolescents by fostering environments built on academic engagement, relevance, and responsiveness.

The ER9 Schools utilize the Understanding by Design (UbD) framework, often called "Backward Design." Rather than simply moving from textbook page to textbook page, our educators plan with the end in mind. We start by identifying the core knowledge, critical thinking skills, and big ideas we want our students to master, and then build the learning experiences and assessments to get them there.

The ultimate goal of our curriculum is transfer—the ability of our students to take what they learn in the classroom and apply it authentically to real-world challenges.

In each of our middle school classrooms, learning is structured to balance challenging academic standards with social-emotional wellness:

• Rigorous & Integrative Core Studies: Deep dives into integrated language arts, mathematics, science, and social studies that encourage problem-solving and critical reflection.

• Exploratory Pathways: Opportunities in world languages, music, business, wellness, and the arts that allow students to discover new passions and take ownership of their learning.

• Responsive Teaching: A flexible, student-centered approach to pacing that allows teachers to provide both the target interventions and the advanced enrichments necessary to meet every learner where they are.

Our Mission: In partnership with our communities, ER9 aims to educate and nurture students as they grow into self-directed, knowledgeable, critical thinkers, and compassionate, engaged community members.

We invite families, students, and community members to explore our pacing guides and subject overviews below to see how we cultivate high expectations and inclusive excellence every single day.