Middle School
Overview
Middle School
Four 50 minute class periods each day with this schedule
Humanities two full days per week
Science and Math each have two half days per week
Global Language has one half day per week
PE and Spade each have one period per week
Teachers use a combination of synchronous class sessions via Zoom and asynchronous learning opportunities
There is a screen free day each week that rotates the day of the week. Students are to work on their SPADE Passion Project on this day.
Teachers have 75 minutes of “Office Hours” each day
The counselor holds a “Virtual Open House” via Zoom from 1 - 1:30 each day
Aligning End of Year Expectations for 2020
Question to be answered: What needs to be learned and/or demonstrated to fulfill this school year, and be promoted?
Tasks: Provide scope and sequence (in general terms) for the parents, superintendent, and Board
How this document was created: We used the standards as the starting point and painted with broad strokes.
Writing: The overarching standard for each genre of writing as well as the writing process.
Reading: This was the most challenging as we worked to combine literature and information text standards so the list isn’t overwhelming. For primary grades the Foundational Skills are included.
Math: The “Introduction” paragraph under each grade level directly from the CCSS
Science: Units aligned with NGSS using The Wonder of Science as our starting point
S.S.: These units are a work in progress as we at the beginning of our journey with AERO/C3. Units are listed, though standards within those units are developing.
Grade 5
WRITING
Write opinion pieces on topics or texts, supporting a point of view with reasons and information.
Write informative/explanatory texts to examine a topic and convey ideas and information clearly.
Write narratives to develop real or imagined experiences or events using effective technique, descriptive details, and clear event sequences.
With guidance and support from peers and adults, develop and strengthen writing as needed by planning, revising, editing, rewriting, or trying a new approach. (Editing for conventions should demonstrate command of Language standards 1-3 up to and including grade 5 here.)
Know where to go for information or evidence and how to utilize those and the writer’s previous experience as sources for writing
READING
Read with sufficient accuracy and fluency to support comprehension.
Determine theme/main ideas in a variety of reading genres.
Compare and contrast characters/ideas/events/structures across texts.
Read and comprehend literature and informational texts at the high end of the grades 4-5 text complexity band independently and proficiently.
MATH
In Grade 5, instructional time should focus on three critical areas: (1) developing fluency with addition and subtraction of fractions, and developing understanding of the multiplication of fractions and of division of fractions in limited cases (unit fractions divided by whole numbers and whole numbers divided by unit fractions); (2) extending division to 2-digit divisors, integrating decimal fractions into the place value system and developing understanding of operations with decimals to hundredths, and developing fluency with whole number and decimal operations; and (3) developing understanding of volume.
SCIENCE
Earth: Systems and Interactions
Matter: Structure and Properties
S.S.
Culture
Economics
Modern-Day Slavery
Grade 6
WRITING
Write arguments to support claims with clear reasons and relevant evidence.
Write informative/explanatory texts to examine a topic and convey ideas, concepts, and information through the selection, organization, and analysis of relevant content.
Write narratives to develop real or imagined experiences or events using effective technique, relevant descriptive details, and well-structured event sequences.
Know where to go for information or evidence and how to utilize those and the writer’s previous experience as sources for writing
READING
Determine theme/main ideas/point of view in a variety of reading genres.
Analyze characters/ideas/events/structures across texts.
Read and comprehend texts in the grades 6-8 text complexity band proficiently, with scaffolding as needed at the high end of the range.
MATH
In Grade 6, instructional time should focus on four critical areas: (1) connecting ratio and rate to whole number multiplication and division and using concepts of ratio and rate to solve problems; (2) completing understanding of division of fractions and extending the notion of number to the system of rational numbers, which includes negative numbers; (3) writing, interpreting, and using expressions and equations; and (4) developing understanding of statistical thinking.
SCIENCE
S.S.
Ancient Civilizations
Grade 7
WRITING
Write arguments to support claims with clear reasons and relevant evidence.
Write informative/explanatory texts to examine a topic and convey ideas, concepts, and information through the selection, organization, and analysis of relevant content.
Write narratives to develop real or imagined experiences or events using effective technique, relevant descriptive details, and well-structured event sequences.
Know where to go for information or evidence and how to utilize those and the writer’s previous experience as sources for writing
READING
Cite several pieces of textual evidence to support analysis of what the text says explicitly as well as inferences drawn from the text.
Analyze characters/ideas/themes/events/structures across texts.
Compare and contrast written texts with other mediums, analyzing how the medium impacts the delivery.
Read and comprehend literature and literary non-fiction in the grades 6-8 text complexity band proficiently, with scaffolding as needed at the high end of the range.
MATH
In Grade 7, instructional time should focus on four critical areas: (1) developing understanding of and applying proportional relationships; (2) developing understanding of operations with rational numbers and working with expressions and linear equations; (3) solving problems involving scale drawings and informal geometric constructions, and working with two- and three-dimensional shapes to solve problems involving area, surface area, and volume; and (4) drawing inferences about populations based on samples.
SCIENCE
EARTH AND HUMAN ACTIVITY
MATTER AND ITS INTERACTIONS
ENGINEERING DESIGN
S.S.
Themes of Geography
Forms of Government
Civics - Rights and Duties
Religion
Historical conflicts
Economy and Its Impact
Grade 8
WRITING
Write arguments to support claims with clear reasons and relevant evidence
Write informative/explanatory texts to examine a topic and convey ideas, concepts, and information through the selection, organization, and analysis of relevant content.
Write narratives to develop real or imagined experiences or events using effective technique, relevant descriptive details, and well-structured event sequences.
Know where to go for information or evidence and how to utilize those and the writer’s previous experience as sources for writing
READING
Cite the textual evidence that most strongly supports an analysis of what the text says explicitly as well as inferences drawn from the text.
Analyze characters/ideas/themes/events/structures across texts and text vs. other mediums.
Read and comprehend literature and literary non-fiction in the grades 6-8 text complexity band proficiently.
MATH
In Grade 8, instructional time should focus on three critical areas: (1) formulating and reasoning about expressions and equations, including modeling an association in bivariate data with a linear equation, and solving linear equations and systems of linear equations; (2) grasping the concept of a function and using functions to describe quantitative relationships; (3) analyzing two- and three-dimensional space and figures using distance, angle, similarity, and congruence, and understanding and applying the Pythagorean Theorem.
SCIENCE
BIOLOGICAL EVOLUTION
HEREDITY
MOTION AND STABILITY
EARTH AND HUMAN ACTIVITY
ENGINEERING DESIGN
S.S.
Exploration
Conflict