Academics

Our English Language Arts classes 6 through 8 uses Expeditionary learning.  Expeditionary learning is curriculum  that is alive with discovery, inquiry, critical thinking, problem solving, and collaboration. Teachers talk less. Students talk (and think) more. Lessons have explicit purpose, guided by learning targets for which students take ownership and responsibility. Student engagement strategies and activities serve to differentiate instruction and maintain high expectations to bring out the best in all students, cultivating a culture of high achievement.

Grades 6 through 8 use enVision Math. EnVision math is a curriculum that uses problem-based learning where students are required to think critically about real world math problems using various math strategies methods and practices to to arrive at solutions. Students are taught to articulate their mathematical process as well as apply critical thinking skills when solving problems.

Amplify Science for grades 6–8 is a phenomena-based science curriculum that is designed to give students engaging, realistic experiences that mirror how scientists and engineers actually work. To do this, the Lawrence Hall of Science and Amplify created a middle school program that includes compelling hands-on investigations, print resources, and digital modeling tools and simulations that work seamlessly together to enable students’ investigations and explorations.

Passport to Social Studies is a comprehensive instructional resource for teachers in grades 6-8, organized around units of study that are guided by essential questions. The Passport helps students think like historians by raising questions, thinking critically, considering many perspectives, and gathering evidence; it also supports students making connections between history and their own lives, and seeing themselves as active members of a global community.