Curriculum Overview

The Middle School Program

Core

Core is an integration of English and History, based on the California State Frameworks for both of these disciplines. Students meet for a double period four times each week to explore key historical themes and events. In doing so, students learn how to read and understand non-fiction texts, explore primary sources, develop research skills, and complete hands-on projects to convey their understanding. The course of study for each grade level is as follows:

  • 6th Grade: Ancient Civilizations
  • 7th Grade: World Cultures
  • 8th Grade: American history from 1850 to 1950

Within the context of their history studies, students also develop their reading and writing skills. Students read a wide range of historical fiction and personal narratives to enrich their understanding of the time period. They develop their vocabulary by studying words found in the context of their history studies. They practice grammar skills on a weekly basis and develop a sound understanding of sentence structure. Students also focus on essay-writing skills. In sixth grade, students focus on developing topic sentences with strong supporting details; by eighth grade, students are able to write a traditional five-paragraph essay with thesis statement and supporting body paragraphs.

Latin

All students in the Middle School study Latin. We have three main goals in requiring our students to explore this classic language:

  • to provide students a strong foundation for studying Romance languages in the future<
  • to build English vocabulary by developing an understanding of Latin roots
  • to develop students' understanding of how the history and culture of ancient Rome affects our every aspect of our own culture, from literature, to science, to our system of government – Students explore Latin grammar and vocabulary using the Oxford Latin Course. Students are encouraged to make connections to English grammar and vocabulary in order to give their studies relevance and a meaningful context.

Students enrich their language learning with an in-depth exploration of ancient Roman history and culture. Their studies include the following components:

  • 6th grade: the Roman monarchy
  • 7th grade: the Roman republic
  • 8th grade: the Roman empire

Hands-on projects, historical fiction, and non-fiction readings also serve to make this historical period come alive for students.

Science

All sciences in the Middle School are lab sciences: our goal is for our students to be “elbow-deep ” in science, with hands-on activities and experiences that will make concepts relevant and meaningful. From the sixth grade on, students use materials in the science lab to become experts in the scientific process, developing questioning skills and learning how to break an experiment down into its component steps. Students learn to write traditional lab reports in which they break their thinking down into logical steps. But they also explore and express their knowledge using other, more non-traditional methods. For example, a student may be challenged to write a creative paper that draws an analogy between cell structure and another object (if basketball team is the cell, then the coach is the nucleus). Or a student may choose to show his or her understanding of molecular structure by building a model using straws and Styrofoam balls. – The course of study for each grade level is as follows:

  • 6th Grade: the scientific process, Earth Science
  • 7th Grade: Life Science
  • 8th Grade: Physics and Chemistry

Mathematics

The Willows Middle School math program is unique in that we have chosen to divide students by gender for this part of their day. Research has shown that, for the most part, boys and girls do learn in different ways; our choice to divide by gender allows us to speak to students' needs more effectively. We have found that all students progress at about the same pace, and our boys and girls have been equally successful both in terms of mastering concepts and performing well on standardized testing. – Middle school students are also divided by skill level rather than age. This enables students to progress at their own pace: students who need additional support may find themselves in a smaller, more slow-paced class with more one-on-one attention; students who master math concepts easily have the opportunity to learn at a pace that works best for them. These groups are fluid; as the year progresses, teachers may choose to move students into a different group that will best serve their needs.

We currently offer five courses of study in the Middle School:

  • General Mathematics
  • Accelerated General Mathematics
  • Pre-Algebra
  • Pre-Algebra/Beginning Algebra
  • Algebra I

All students use textbooks published by McDougall-Littel, though teachers complement the books with additional hands-on activities and projects. In some years, students have completed the Algebra I course before the end of 8th grade; we have been able to provide an independent study for those students who want to continue in their math explorations

Electives

The Electives program is designed to give middle schoolers a beginning opportunity to make their own academic choices. Electives meet once each week, on Wednesday, for 50 minutes; each student selects two electives per 11-week trimester.

The Middle School offers electives that range across many disciplines, from science, to language arts, to technology. Previous offerings have included:

  • Museum Science
  • Building a Bridge
  • Flash Animation
  • Photography
  • Cinematography
  • Creative Writing
  • Silkscreening
  • Rock Band
  • Start Your Own Business
  • Certamen (competitive Latin team)
  • Yearbook

Electives are presented in a fun and casual manner: there are no grades or homework for these classes. Rather, these classes are designed to introduce students to other courses of study that they may want to pursue more seriously in high school.

Life Skills

The goal of The Willows' Life Skills Program is to help students develop and strengthen their skills in communication, problem solving, and decision-making. Students explore the issues of making good behavioral choices, in school, off campus, and online. We address issues of drug and alcohol use, smoking, and human development. Our goal is to provide students with age-appropriate information so they can make intelligent decisions that will keep them safe. – Students meet every other week for Life Skills classes. They meet with their homeroom teacher, who moderates the activity. Occasionally we divide students within a grade level by gender, so girls and boys can address specific issues. – Some of our Life Skills curriculum springs from the day-to-day needs of the student body. More often, however, we follow a curriculum that we have designed to be age-appropriate for each grade level. Some of the major topics addressed in each grade include:

  • 6th grade: independence, organization and study skills, popularity and peer relations, personal goals and self-esteem, managing stress
  • 7th grade: social groups and cliques, nutrition and body image, human anatomy and reproduction
  • 8th grade: social groups and cliques, gender issues, drug and alcohol education, decision-making and the media, reproduction and sex education, making good choices after leaving The Willows