Middle School Course Offerings & Descriptions
English Language Arts (Grades 6-8)
The Middle School English Language Arts Curriculum is aligned to the New Jersey Student Learning Standards for English Language Arts and The Teachers College Reading and Writing Project (TCRWP) Units of Study in both reading and writing. It utilizes the workshop model of instruction in both reading and writing. The curricular calendar for each grade is aligned to selected TCRWP units of study and various resources to support instruction across each unit. Students read and write across a wide variety of genres as well as study the effective uses of mechanics and grammar.
The curriculum supports, encourages, and facilitates choice/independent reading that allows students to pursue topics and genres of interests. Each middle school classroom has a robust classroom library that supports student choice as independent readers. The curriculum also embeds Book Club literacy experiences that engage students in reading partnerships and deep, thoughtful discussions about such topics as characterization, theme, setting, and author’s purpose.
Curriculum Guides
Exploratory Courses (Grade 6)
Year-long courses:
Chorus (Grade 6): The chorus program is designed to develop student skills required for vocal performance, and includes ear training, basic music theory, music history, vocal production techniques of breathing, tone quality, singing in harmony and counterpoint. Students taking this course are required to perform at school recitals and evening concerts.
Instrumental Music: The band program includes the instrumental study of scales, rhythm exercises and playing techniques. Students play various types of music including marches, classical show music, popular music, etc. As individual lessons are not a part of the program, students who elect band must know how to play an instrument as well as read music. Students taking this course are required to perform in a winter concert, a spring concert, and at graduation.
Semester courses (choose two):
Hands-On Construction: This STEM course offers authentic learning experiences to prepare students for future STEM studies, fostering communication, collaboration, and reasoning through hands-on, inquiry-based learning. Students engage in individual and group work, designing products and solutions for authentic audiences, with activities tailored to various learning preferences and individual strengths.
Fine Arts 6: Fine Arts 6 fosters a collaborative studio environment for students to enhance their artistic imagination and skills through student-centered, choice-based projects using diverse art mediums. The course emphasizes authentic art experiences, active learning, and a deeper exploration of visual art language, elements, and design principles, setting the foundation for continued artistic growth in subsequent grade levels.
Technology 6: In this 6th-grade semester elective, students delve into the realm of technology, emphasizing digital citizenship principles while harnessing the power of the Google Apps for Education suite. Through interactive lessons and hands-on projects, students develop essential digital skills, fostering responsible and effective use of technology for communication, collaboration, and creativity.
Intro to Performing Arts: In this 6th-grade semester elective, students will be introduced and provided opportunities to explore the 5 aspects of performing arts: poetry, the spoken word, storytelling, theater, music, and dance. The course will engage students through performance-based assessments using rubrics to evaluate individual or group progress in achieving the course objectives.
Academic Opportunity: In order to help meet the needs of all learners in the diverse middle school student population, Academic Opportunity provides time within the school day to respond to students’ varied needs and interests, whether that be in the form of intervention, enrichment, or self-directed personalized and group learning opportunities intended to improve the overall learning experience for students. Relatively small groups of students are given the opportunity to engage in self-directed activities such as online tutorials, working with peers on cooperative group projects assigned in their classes, independent reading/writing/mathematics work, enrichment activities introduced to them by classroom teachers, passion projects, etc.
Exploratory Courses (Grade 7)
Year-long courses:
Instrumental Music: This course continues instrumental study in scales and techniques, playing selections of various types of music and the developing of sight-reading skills. Students who elect this course must know how to play an instruments as well as read music and are required to perform in a winter concert, a spring concert, and at graduation. Pre-requisite: Students who elect this course MUST play a band instrument.
Chorus: The chorus program continues to give students with vocal ability the opportunity to develop the skills required for vocal performance. The repertoire includes choral ensemble and solo material from many musical periods. Students taking this course are required to perform at school recitals and evening concerts.
Semester courses:
Forensics: In the Forensics course, students delve into crime scene investigation, exploring fingerprinting, eyewitness testimony, DNA, physical evidence, arson, blood analysis, and toxicology. Through independent and group projects, hands-on activities, and teacher resources, students apply skills, techniques, and technical tasks to comprehensively understand and construct crime scenes, demonstrating proficiency in forensic concepts.
Fine Arts 7: Fine Arts 7 prioritizes student-centered, project-based learning, providing authentic art making experiences and encouraging creative risk-taking. The course fosters communication among students, allowing them to build on skills developed in Fine Art 6 while exploring various art mediums and developing their artistic voice.
Technology 7: In this 7th-grade semester elective, students engage in a comprehensive exploration of technology, with a specific focus on digital citizenship principles. The course integrates hands-on learning using Canva, empowering students to develop essential digital skills while creating visually compelling and responsible digital content.
Drama 7: This course introduces students to backstage elements of theater production, covering various essential roles such as scenery, props, tickets, playbill, direction, lighting and sound, costumes, and makeup. Students engage in hands-on assignments, including script analysis, portfolio creation (diorama), and practical experiences, with performance-based assessments using rubrics to evaluate individual or group progress in achieving the course objectives.
Academic Opportunity: In order to help meet the needs of all learners in the diverse middle school student population, Academic Opportunity provides time within the school day to respond to students’ varied needs and interests, whether that be in the form of intervention, enrichment, or self-directed personalized and group learning opportunities intended to improve the overall learning experience for students. Relatively small groups of students are given the opportunity to engage in self-directed activities such as online tutorials, working with peers on cooperative group projects assigned in their classes, independent reading/writing/mathematics work, enrichment activities introduced to them by classroom teachers, passion projects, etc.
Exploratory Courses (Grade 8)
Year-long courses:
Instrumental Music: This course continues instrumental study in scales and techniques, playing selections of various types of music, and developing of sight-reading skills. Students taking this course are required to perform in a winter concert, a spring concert, and at graduation.
Pre-requisite: Students who elect this course MUST play an instrument.
Chorus (Grade 8): The chorus program continues to give students with vocal ability the opportunity to develop the skills required for vocal performance. The repertoire includes choral ensemble and solo material from many musical periods. Students taking this course are required to perform at school recitals and evening concerts.
Semester courses:
Entrepreneurship & Careers: In this 8th-grade semester elective, students immerse themselves in entrepreneurship and careers. Through hands-on projects and practical insights, students explore key aspects of business development, fostering skills and knowledge crucial for future endeavors in the dynamic realm of entrepreneurship and various career paths.
Fine Arts 8: Fine Art 8 students will continue to build skills with more advanced art processes and mediums in a studio art environment that encourages student choice, collaboration, and increased independence. In addition to a traditional fine art focus, this course curriculum will expose students to commercial art and functional design processes and techniques, including more advanced printmaking, ceramics, perspective drawing, and graphic design. Students will further develop skills in two-dimensional and three-dimensional art and design which are foundational to future visual arts coursework and careers in the field.
Technology 8: In this 8th-grade semester elective, students immerse themselves in the world of coding using Code.org. Through hands-on activities and interactive lessons, they develop fundamental coding skills, explore computational thinking, and gain a solid foundation in programming concepts, setting the stage for further exploration in the field of computer science.
Drama 8: This course introduces students to acting, scene study, and live performance, aiming to develop individual voice, risk-taking, and group collaboration. Students gain experience in public speaking, creative expression, scene study, and theater history, preparing them for future coursework and careers in the field.
Academic Opportunity: In order to help meet the needs of all learners in the diverse middle school student population, Academic Opportunity provides time within the school day to respond to students’ varied needs and interests, whether that be in the form of intervention, enrichment, or self-directed personalized and group learning opportunities intended to improve the overall learning experience for students. Relatively small groups of students are given the opportunity to engage in self-directed activities such as online tutorials, working with peers on cooperative group projects assigned in their classes, independent reading/writing/mathematics work, enrichment activities introduced to them by classroom teachers, passion projects, etc.
PHYSICAL EDUCATION
The middle school Physical Education curriculum reflects a diversity of experiences based on building skill competencies with an emphasis on safety. Cooperative learning activities, competitive games, and highly structured skill-based units provide opportunities for students to build self-esteem while starting to discover their athletic potential.
HEALTH
The middle school Health curriculum, building upon the elementary Health curriculum, continues to lay a foundation of knowledge that encourages students to choose a healthy lifestyle. The curriculum includes the following basic units of study: “Health and Wellness”, “Decision Making and Goal Setting”, “Nutrition”, “Substance Abuse Prevention”, “First Aid/CPR”, and “Relationships and Sexuality.”
Mathematics (Grades 6-8)
Building on the foundation in whole numbers, fractions and decimals that students gained in elementary school, the middle school mathematics curriculum includes more in depth study of topics from geometry, algebra, and probability and statistics. The curriculum includes content from the following domains in all three grades of the middle school mathematics curricula: ratios and proportional relationships, the number system, expressions and equations, geometry, and statistics and probability. In eighth grade, the students are also introduced to the concept of a function.
The following K-12 mathematical practices are fostered further in middle school in preparation for their extended use in high school: make sense of problems and persevere in solving them, reason abstractly and quantitatively, construct viable arguments and critique the reasoning of others, model with mathematics, use appropriate tools strategically, attend to precision, look for and make use of structure, and look for and express regularity in repeated reasoning. Students are given experience with open-ended problems that can be solved in a variety of ways and are required to explain their reasoning on a regular basis.
Math 6: The sixth grade students study number system, ratio, rates, and percents, as well as an introduction to algebraic expressions and equations, geometry, integers and inequalities, and statistics and data displays.
Math 7: In seventh grade, content from sixth grade is extended and reinforced and additional concepts related to rational numbers, percents, probability, angles, circles, and three-dimensional shapes are included.
Math 7 Accelerated (Formerly Math 7/8): This honors level course accelerates through both the 7th and 8th grade math curriculum in order to provide a smooth transition to algebra for those students who are determined to be ready to handle this level of work and more abstract thinking. Students are selected for this course based on district assessments, marking period grades in Mathematics and English Language Arts, and teacher recommendation.
Pre-Algebra (Grade 8): In eighth grade, work with number concepts is reinforced from previous grades, irrational numbers are introduced, and geometry is extended to include concepts such as congruence, similarity, and the Pythagorean Theorem. In addition, algebraic concepts of equations and expressions are reinforced and extended to include exponents and scientific notation as well as introducing systems of equations, linear, and nonlinear functions, and topics from statistics including scatter plots and additional data displays are studied.
Algebra 1 (Honors): This honors level course provides a more formal introduction to the techniques of elementary algebra and its logical structure. It emphasizes algebra as a means of representation (in translating quantitative relations to equations, tables, or graphs) and algebraic methods of problem solving using both pencil-and-paper exercises and activities involving the graphing calculator. Topics included are: properties of real numbers; solving linear equations; graphing linear equations and their functions; writing linear equations; solving and graphing linear inequalities; systems of linear equations and inequalities; exponents, exponential functions, and sequences; quadratic equations and functions; polynomials and factoring; data analysis and displays; and radicals and connections to geometry.
Students who qualify for this course are notified during the first week of June. A minimum grade of 80 in Algebra I is required by the high school to be considered for placement in the honors mathematics program in ninth grade.
Written in conjunction with the College, Career, and Civic Life (C3) Framework for Social Studies, the curriculum places a strong emphasis on student inquiry, investigation, and self-discovery. Students learn how to pose questions and formulate opinions on past events in order to build their capacity to analyze events that are currently taking place. They develop the skills needed in order to be knowledgeable active American citizens.
The 6th grade Social Studies curriculum encompasses World History from the “Dawn of Civilization” through the “Ancient Period”, concluding with the “Middle Ages”. The 7th grade Social Studies course is a survey of European and early American History beginning with the Protestant Reformation and continuing through to the American Civil War. The 8th grade Social Studies course is a survey of American History beginning with Reconstruction and continuing through to the end of the Cold War.
Geography and Civics are embedded in grades six through eight curriculum. Students study the major physical and natural resources of a region as well as the landscapes, waterways, and climate of all the continents. They also examine the locations of countries and major cities around the world with regard to the effect of the geography of an area on the economy and population of a region. In Civics, students begin with the study the early foundations of government in the ancient world, concluding with the writing of the United States Constitution. There is a strong focus on the function of the federal, state, and local governments, the electoral process, the separation of powers, and responsible citizenship.
World Languages
Spanish 6 and French 6: This course integrates culture with all four language skills--listening, reading, writing, and speaking. Students are introduced to both the French and Spanish languages through engagement in meaningful conversation to help them develop the ability to interpret spoken and written language. Utilizing a student-centered approach including activities such as role-playing, students are expected to work together to present information, concepts, and ideas, while also gaining an understanding of the perspectives of other cultures.
American Sign Language IA (ASL IA): This course introduces students to communication in American Sign Language. Themes utilized in learning the language may include topics such as: Greetings and Introductions, Asking for Directions, Making/Responding to Requests, People and Things, Transportation, Feelings, Time, Food, and Family.
American Sign Language IB (ASL IB): This course introduces students to communication in American Sign Language. Themes utilized in learning the language may include topics such as: Greetings and Introductions, Asking for Directions, Making/Responding to Requests, People and Things, Transportation, Feelings, Time, Food, and Family.
Spanish 7 or French 7: Students continue to develop their spoken and written language skills and knowledge of culture in either French or Spanish while also being exposed to beginning grammar concepts, sentence structure, and new vocabulary.
Pre-requisite: 6th grade World Language teacher recommendation
Spanish 8 or French 8: Students continue to develop their spoken and written language skills and knowledge of culture in either French or Spanish as well as further expanding their ability to utilize grammar concepts, sentence structure, and vocabulary. Successful completion of this course prepares students for enrollment in level II of the language in high school.
Pre-requisite: French 7 or Spanish 7
Accelerated French or Spanish: Using the same curriculum as is used in high school second year world language, this rigorous course emphasizes higher level communication skills in the target language. The expectation is that successful completion of this course will result in enrollment in French III or Spanish III upon entering high school.
Pre-requisite: grades & teacher recommendation in World Language as well as performance in English Language Arts
Science (Grades 6-8)
Science at the middle school level is an integrated program and incorporates topics from earth, life, and physical science each year as specified in the Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS) adopted by the state of New Jersey. Students are guided through lab activities, engineering challenges, and independent projects to acquire the knowledge and reasoning skills necessary to understand scientific explanations, generate scientific evidence through active investigation, reflect on scientific knowledge, and participate productively in science.
The eight practices of science and engineering, specified in the NGSS, are essential for all students to learn and are incorporated throughout: Asking questions (for science) and defining problems (for engineering), developing and using models, planning and carrying out investigations, analyzing and interpreting data, using mathematics and computational thinking, constructing explanations (for science) and designing solutions (for engineering), engaging in argument from evidence, and obtaining, evaluating, and communicating information. Students learn the engineering design process through the science curriculum, culminating with an independent project done at the end of eighth grade.