Academics in Middle School

Milton Academy’s middle school faculty are experts in adolescent development and empower students to take academic risks and try new things while uncovering budding talents and passions. Students participate in important identity work through our Common Ground curriculum and learn valuable executive functioning and study skills, social-emotional fluency, and responsibility in our unique 360 Class. Seasoned teachers and advisors see the best in each child and support them through a rich and collaborative academic and co-curricular program. Through our rigorous and flexible curriculum, students are challenged to become critical thinkers, unafraid to share their ideas, while also listening to others. Striking the delicate balance between nurture and challenge, our program helps students develop the self-advocacy skills, independence, and confidence needed to continue on a path of lifelong learning throughout our Upper School and beyond.

Middle School Curriculum

Grade 6 Curriculum

English

Grade 6 English is a combination of literature, writing, and discussion. Students will spend each class day reading on their own and in small groups, writing across a variety of genres, and discussing their ideas with classmates and friends. Throughout the year, students will be expected to read independently inside and outside class, and keep a Reading-Writing Notebook with their reflections, thoughts, and observations. Students will read at least one novel as a full class as well as share a whole stew pot full of stories, poems, articles, photos, letters, children’s books, and more. Students will have the opportunity to write stories, informational books, essays, letters, biographies, and more!

Math

In Grade 6 math, students will study pre-algebra topics that are foundational to the study of algebra and other math concepts that build on algebra. Students will discover algebraic tools such as variables and coordinate planes. Students will learn how to use these tools to describe the relationship between two variables with new modes of storytelling, such as equations, graphs, and tables. Then, students will learn about our first, specific type of relationship, a proportional relationship. Finally, students will learn to recognize when a situation is proportional and describe the relationship using equations, tables, and graphs.

Science

In the Earth and Space Science course, students will explore Earth’s anatomy, land surfaces, natural resources (ground, water, metals, soil, and stones) as well as the impact on these resources caused by humans. In addition, students will learn about the atmosphere, water movement on or beneath continental surfaces, and the oceans and seas. Students will also review efforts that have allowed for a greater understanding of Earth’s ever-changing environments and a means for mitigating and predicting geological events such as earthquakes, floods, volcanic eruptions, and landslides.

Languages

Grade 6 French
This course will use the text Bien dit! to explore appropriate cultural greetings, how to talk and write about family, likes and dislikes, daily activities, and favorite activities. Students will also learn about geography and cultural differences among countries in the francophone world. Students will use authentic materials from online sources that will add to our understanding of the wide variety of countries with French as an official language.

Grade 6 Latin
Using Cambridge Latin Course Unit I as the primary text, students will delve into the basics of the Latin language, explore the culture and history of the Ancient World, and build our understanding of English grammar and vocabulary. The text centers on the amusing adventures of a Roman family in the city of Pompeii right before the eruption of Mt. Vesuvius in 79 CE. Through these stories, along with targeted grammar practice, we will build skill in reading Latin and in understanding both Latin and English grammar and vocabulary.

Grade 6 Spanish
Spanish 6 is the introductory course in the Middle School Spanish curriculum.  Some students in the class are just starting to learn Spanish for the first time, and others have some experience already.  No matter where students are with the language, this class will provide a strong foundation and build Spanish-speaking skills.  By the end of the year, students will have learned how to communicate about a wide variety of topics and will have a greater understanding of the Spanish-speaking world.

Social Studies

Through collaboration, group discussion, and independent research and writing across a myriad of social sciences, students will explore the concept of power. Students will think critically about how power is distributed and how it shapes the world in which they live. In tandem with this exploration, students will seek to determine what responsibilities each of us has in using our own power. Throughout the year, students will strengthen their ability to evaluate evidence, make persuasive, evidence-based arguments in written and verbal contexts, and to problem solve collaboratively and creatively. 

Computer Sciences

Grade 6 students explore the engineering design process as it relates to technology.  Students learn to use digital fabrication tools (including 3D printers), move from block-based coding languages like Scratch to Python, and investigate sensors and robotics with physical computing projects. 

Common Ground

In Grade 6 Common Ground, students explore identity as it relates to their lives, their community, and the world. Students develop a shared language, based on the study of social identifiers, that empowers them to have meaningful conversations around identity. Students work to build cultural competency, learn to understand different perspectives and explore ways to promote communities that celebrate empathy, understanding, and diversity, both in the Middle School and beyond. 

Grade 7 Curriculum

English

Grade 7 English guides students through an in-depth exploration of the many roles that stories play in their lives. As writers of stories, students will practice using various genres/styles (fiction, non-fiction, personal narrative, memoir, free-verse poetry) to strengthen their understanding of the thought and craft behind storytelling. As readers of stories, students will routinely determine whether they are encountering mirrors, windows, and/or sliding glass doors. In addition to identifying their personal proximity to the characters and events in each text, students will think critically about the choices that characters make and how those choices relate to the many facets of each character’s identity. Students will learn how to use the Harkness discussion method to present and unpack their observations, inferences, questions, and claims about the stories they read. Working collaboratively to locate and analyze the evidence needed to prove their claims, students will come to realize the relationship between discourse and literary analysis. The skills that students develop around the Harkness table will transfer directly to how they go about planning and writing analytical paragraphs and essays. By the end of the year, students will have a rich understanding of how stories can help them give shape and meaning to how they define themselves and how they view/treat others.

Math

In Grade 7 math, students will use units from Connected Math 3 (CMP3) as the primary course curriculum. Students will also have the opportunity to work on extension problem sets that help them think deeply about key ideas of all middle school math. These problems are intended to be difficult; confusion is essential to learning mathematics. Students will use Delta Math and IXL to practice their skills outside the classroom. Major topics will include probability, linear relationships, samples and populations, and quadratic functions.

Science

Grade 7 science introduces the principles and concepts of biology. Emphasis is on basic biological chemistry, cell structure and function, metabolism and energy transformation, genetics, evolution, classification, and other related topics. Upon completion, students should be able to demonstrate an understanding of life at the molecular and cellular levels. Laboratory exercises reinforce learned concepts and include microscope techniques, fieldwork, and virtual lab exploration.

Languages

Grade 7 French
This course will use the text Bien dit! 1B and supplementary materials, including authentic online sources, to strengthen control of the French language as students explore food, clothing, homes, cities, and vacation activities. Students will learn to express actions in the past tenses. In particular, we will explore West African and North African countries and their histories as part of the Francophone world.

Grade 7 Latin
Using Suburani: Book 1 as our primary text, we will build on the fundamentals of the Latin language that we practiced in Latin I-A. The text centers on what life might have looked like for the variety of people living in under the Roman Empire during the first century CE. As we read the tales about life in the Roman Subura just prior to the Great Fire of 64 CE, we will consider the ramifications of Roman conquest and ask how wealth, gender, citizenship, and age affected one’s life experiences in the Ancient World. Through these stories, along with targeted grammar practice, students will strengthen their skill in reading Latin and in understanding both Latin and English grammar and vocabulary.

Grade 7 Spanish
Spanish 7 is the second year in the Middle School Spanish sequence.  Students will begin the year with a review unit that covers all the material from the Spanish 6 course.  As students move on to new material, they will focus on building their proficiency with the language, learning the vocabulary and grammar needed to communicate in Spanish, and making connections to the cultures around the world where Spanish is spoken.

Social Studies

Grade 7 social studies is based on the theme of “Conflict & Resolution.” The class will start with basic content knowledge and geography. Students will use this background knowledge to contextualize the complex themes presented in 20th-century world history. From there, students will be encouraged to examine why events unfolded through primary and secondary sources. Students will be challenged to see multiple perspectives, how people are socially and politically conditioned, and examine the biases of both sources and ourselves. 

Computer Sciences

Grade 7 students explore the engineering design process and digital fabrication tools, learn the basics of web design, think about how to make digital content accessible, and create their own digital artwork and animation with Python.

Common Ground

Grade 7 Common Ground will continue to help students express authentic comfort and joy with human diversity. Through conversations, research, and assignments, students will explore pivotal historical moments and world change makers that impacted the common social identifiers students learned about during the previous course. This course will allow students to continue to grow as individuals and community members and identify changes they want to see in the world.

Grade 8 Curriculum

English

Grade 8 English focuses on analyzing and creating numerous arguments. We will treat poems, essays, short stories, speeches, novels, and articles as “arguments.” This course uses literature as a way of better understanding how writers impact readers, whether they intend to or not. Students will function as readers and writers throughout the course. Class meetings will be active times when students can expect to write, read, think, and speak on the topics and texts. Together, students aim to make sense of the arguments constantly battling for our attention. 

Math

Students will spend approximately three-fourths of the Grade 8 school year studying topics in algebra that extend from those studied in Grade 7. Students will then shift their focus to statistics. Students will use units from Connected Math 3 (CMP3) as the primary course materials.

Science

In Grade 8 science class, students will cover topics related to physical science (i.e. physics and chemistry) and make connections to climate change and other environmental justice issues.  Given the foundational importance of quantitative pursuits in several aspects of the physical sciences, students will spend a significant amount of time on measurement, calculations, spreadsheets, and graphing.  Above all, the course curriculum highlights the scientific method as a way of thinking and addressing questions or problems.  Experimental design, data collection, analysis, and interpretation are among the principle skills that students will acquire and develop in this course.

Languages

Grade 8 French
This course will use the text D’Accord 1B to strengthen and refine students’ abilities to function in French. Students will reinforce their understanding and capabilities with the present tense and extend their skills into use of the past tense, allowing them to express themselves on topics that concern their everyday lives. In addition, students will begin to develop skills of cultural comparison, as we explore these same topics in other cultures throughout the francophone world.

Grade 8 Latin
Students will explore the furthest reaches of the Roman Empire via the Suburani series. Students will learn new vocabulary, forms, and grammatical constructions, all of which are built on the base knowledge and key understandings that students have made in Latin 1-A & 1-B. Students will read authentic Latin text, study cultural artifacts, and discuss elements of Roman society as students consider the central question: “How do we know what we know about the Ancient World?”

Grade 8 Spanish
Spanish 8 is the third year in the Middle School Spanish sequence.  It is a broad-based course that covers all aspects of the study of the foreign language. Grammar, reading, writing, speaking, and listening skills are included. Emphasis is placed on conversation, vocabulary, and correct usage of the language. The classroom experience will provide an appreciation and development of cultural awareness through various readings, media resources, and authentic materials. This should prove to be an enjoyable and challenging course that rounds out the Middle School Spanish curriculum, preparing the students for Upper School Spanish.

Social Studies

Grade 8 social studies coursework focuses on local, national, and global revolutionary and social movements focusing on human and civil rights. Students will dive into thinking around non-violence, shared power, resistance, arts, advocacy, and personal accountability for change. Students will participate in ethical debates, research-based debates, Socratic seminars, multiple youth-led presentations, projects, writing assignments, critical interpretation of primary and secondary sources, and non-fiction materials.

Computer Sciences

Grade 8 students explore design thinking and digital fabrication and develop their own design processes.  Later in the year, students look at machine learning and how it shapes society. Students work in the Python programming language this year, creating their own technology tools as students create their own simple devices, animations, and games.

Common Ground

Students will continue to explore identity and leadership within themselves, the community, and the world and learn about the role of disrupters within those areas as well. Students will review and add to the shared language developed in previous Common Ground courses, allowing them to continue having meaningful conversations around identity and leadership within our communities and the greater world. Students will take a deeper dive into learning about each other and the world around them as students continue developing an ability to understand different perspectives while also learning how to apply their knowledge to the community here at Milton and the world around them.