Middle School Curriculum
Our aim in the Middle School at Krieger Schechter Day School (KSDS) is to foster each student’s love of learning as they move through pre-adolescence. We encourage our students to seek the goals of academic excellence and responsible independence.
A crucial portion of our program includes a forum for each student to develop critical and analytical thinking skills and individual expression in each discipline. Middle School academics are a critical developmental step for students, helping them form the study habits, intellectual curiosity, and love of learning that will guide them through high school, college, and beyond.
English
The Middle School English curriculum at KSDS focuses on the growth and improvement of skills and strategies in reading comprehension, vocabulary, grammar and writing. The literature curriculum encourages reading in a wide range of genres, including fiction, poetry, and nonfiction texts. Students learn to read for fluency; to understand the elements of literature; to comprehend important ideas and details; to analyze, interpret, synthesize, and expand ideas; to think critically about an author’s use of language, style, purpose, and perspective; and to gain an appreciation of literature and the shared reading experience. Grammar and vocabulary skills are developed both through targeted practice and in the context of writing assignments. The novels that are taught at each grade level focus around a broad theme and are chosen to help students examine ideas from a variety of authors’ voices and characters’ experiences. Students in 8th grade are able to take two semester-long courses that in recent years have focused on topics such as Shakespeare, coming-of-age, censorship, and gender stereotypes. When our students are guided through class novels, they are not only identifying story elements such as characterization and plot, but they are also learning about life, relationships, human conflict, and empathy as they sink their teeth into creative word choice and story-telling techniques. In our English classes a book is never just a book.
Writing skills are developed through a dedicated Writing Workshop course in 5th and 6th grades which teaches students how to structure their writing for different audiences and purposes and gives students an opportunity to move through the writing process at their own pace. In 7th grade students apply their writing skills to complete a major research paper focused on the grade-level theme of upstanders as well as to complete a cross-curricular writing project in Judaics. In 8th grade they take their writing skills even further as they complete an in-depth literary critique/analysis.
Math
Our 5th, 6th, and 7th grade students study math systems and operations at increasingly complex levels. Students are placed into classes that meet them where they are and provide pacing and challenges at appropriate levels in order to instill mastery of skills and provide opportunities for application. As students move through the curriculum each year they will stretch their mathematical thinking to solve real world problems that integrate many skills. This includes using fraction or decimal operations to calculate area or volume of geometrical figures with non-uniform dimensions. Or it could mean determining the percent increase of a set of statistics and then graphing the change, or using the formula for slope to interpret growth or decline. It may mean applying knowledge of ratios and proportions, or solving multi-step equations with positive and negative integers, or using order of operations to determine the value of a variable as they build towards the Pre-Algebra skills they will use in 7th grade which prepares them to be successful in Algebra I which they will take as 8th graders. Students at an advanced level in math are given the opportunity to take their middle school math courses at an accelerated pace which leads to completing Pre-Algebra in 6th grade, Algebra I in 7th grade, and Geometry in 8th grade at an Honors level. Participation in the accelerated math courses is based on testing and teacher recommendations. Students at all levels are encouraged to be problem solvers and mathematical communicators that are well-prepared for high school math.
Social Studies
Social Studies instruction at the middle school level aims to provide students with the skills necessary to interpret the past using maps, documents, primary sources, timelines, and more in order to ask and answer questions about how and why things in our world unfolded the way they did. Our students are taught to consider their sources and evaluate them for bias, as well as to look for perspectives missing in the historical record. Our 5th graders study World History with a focus on ancient civilizations. Our 6th graders study World Geography using the framework of the Five Themes of Geography with a focus on certain historical periods around the world, tracing how geography shapes human history. Our 7th and 8th graders engage in a two-year survey course of American History that takes them from North America’s indiginous people to today. The content provides a vehicle to ask big questions about how we got to now, and to draw conclusions about patterns in history that will help our students become engaged and knowledgeable citizens.
Science
The Science Department in Middle School at KSDS at Krieger Schechter Middle School seeks to encourage discovery while providing students with insights into the field of science. Each grade’s curriculum is supplemented with lab work that provides hands-on learning experiences using the tools of today’s scientists. Students in 5th Grade focus on the systems of the human body. 6th graders study geology and evolution, scientific method, and ecology. 7th graders study classification and cells, chemistry, and climate change. And 8th graders study physics, genetics, and bioethics. In each year of study students are guided as they use the scientific method to find answers to big questions and to understand how the current scientific body of knowledge has grown over time.
Social Studies
Social Studies instruction at the middle school level aims to provide students with the skills necessary to interpret the past using maps, documents, primary sources, timelines, and more in order to ask and answer questions about how and why things in our world unfolded the way they did. Our students are taught to consider their sources and evaluate them for bias, as well as to look for perspectives missing in the historical record. Our 5th graders study World History with a focus on ancient civilizations. Our 6th graders study World Geography using the framework of the Five Themes of Geography with a focus on certain historical periods around the world, tracing how geography shapes human history. Our 7th and 8th graders engage in a two-year survey course of American History that takes them from North America’s indiginous people to today. The content provides a vehicle to ask big questions about how we got to now, and to draw conclusions about patterns in history that will help our students become engaged and knowledgeable citizens.
Science
The Science Department in Middle School at KSDS at Krieger Schechter Middle School seeks to encourage discovery while providing students with insights into the field of science. Each grade’s curriculum is supplemented with lab work that provides hands-on learning experiences using the tools of today’s scientists. Students in 5th Grade focus on the systems of the human body. 6th graders study geology and evolution, scientific method, and ecology. 7th graders study classification and cells, chemistry, and climate change. And 8th graders study physics, genetics, and bioethics. In each year of study students are guided as they use the scientific method to find answers to big questions and to understand how the current scientific body of knowledge has grown over time.
Hebrew
The Hebrew Language curriculum features an “Ivrit B’Ivrit” approach, teaching in the target language. The curriculum systematically builds listening, speaking, reading and writing skills. The goal is to equip the student with the appropriate skills and stimulation to enable each student to:
• Read, comprehend, and enjoy original Hebrew prose, poetry, fiction, and nonfiction as well as sacred texts.
• Communicate successfully using the Hebrew Language orally and in writing.
• Be familiarized and engaged with Israeli culture, Jewish tradition and general world knowledge.
Students at each grade level are placed into classes that are best fits for their proficiency with the language, something that is routinely evaluated. KSDS has a long history of bringing new students at all levels into the Hebrew program and helping them find success with the language.
Judaics
The Middle School Judaics curriculum seeks to expand on the foundation provided in the Lower School years, providing content and creating an environment where students are encouraged to struggle with the questions Jews have asked for thousands of years. Through full class discussions, individual assignments, and especially traditional hevruta (partner) learning students question, debate, challenge, and add to their peers’ understanding of traditional Jewish texts and Jewish history. In 5th grade there is a focus on careful reading of the Tanakh (Bible), in both Hebrew and English, as well as competing narratives about Israel. In 6th grade learning centers on our personal responsibilities as Jews, and the students delve into the Book of Judges, the Book of Esther, the Book of Ruth and sections from Leviticus. Students also examine key moments in Jewish history from ancient Jerusalem to the Spanish Inquisition. In 7th and 8th grade Judaics is broken down into semester-long courses on Bible, Rabbinics, and Jewish history which allow for even more in-depth, focused learning. Certain highlight projects such as the Family History project and the Zinz Essay contest allow students to better make connections from their learning to their own lives. The students’ Judaics curriculum also ties into special experiences outside of the classroom, including visiting the Holocaust Memorial Museum and studying the history of modern Zionism in preparation for the 8th grade Israel trip. Instruction in prayer and rituals grows over the years so that our students are able to participate in all areas of Jewish life comfortably and even serve as leaders in their communities. The goal is always to provide knowledge and background while also helping each student to develop a strong, personal Jewish identity that will stay with them long after they graduate.
Spanish
Spanish is taught to 7th and 8th graders as a third language and a pathway to connect with the Spanish speaking world. Classes are taught with a comprehensive approach in order to foster growth in all the aspects of language, reading and writing, listening and speaking. On Day 1 they learn the alphabet and as they acquire more skills the content grows deeper to where they are able to engage in rich dialogue about their lives in an immersion environment. Students also spend time exploring the history and culture of the Spanish-speaking world and have opportunities to read stories and learn songs in Spanish.
Special subjects and electives include Art, Music, Drama, Physical Education, Woodshop, Independent Living Skills, Makerspace, Sewing, Digital Photography, Study Skills, Digital Citizenship, Cooking, Podcasting, and more.