Visual Art
Manual Arts
Music
English
Modern Languages
History/Social Studies
Mathematics
Religious Studies
Science
Physical Education
Health
Arts
The purpose of the Art program is to continue to develop the student's ability to express his ideas creatively in visual form and to understand and appreciate further the aesthetic uses of the elements of Art. Skills are taught through use of a variety of materials and techniques such as drawing, painting, working in clay and other sculptural mediums.
Visual Art
Students engage in projects that encourage individual expression and reflection and foster the ability to think more creatively and broadly about the visual world. Evaluation is a key component to each art project where personal effort, engagement with the material and progress in the studio will form the basis for assessing skills and knowledge of various art forms.
Visual Art/Grade 5
Fifth grade art assignments include the pinch, coil and slab techniques of clay. Students will create pinch pot tea bowls, coil goblets (inspired by Harry Potter), slab wind chimes and Mexican clay bells. Building a robot,
learning basic observational drawings skills as well as making puppetry and monoprints are additional assignments. A Jamestown unit called the American Indian bark paintings will also coincide with the traditional trip to Williamsburg.
Through these assignments, students will develop creative thinking and artistic skills and be encouraged to solve spatial and composition problems.
Visual Art/Grade 6
Students work on assignments that include cutout collages (based on the Jazz collages of Matisse), animal pinch pot containers, coil patterned bowls, slab pocket containers and an animal container with a lid. Sixth graders will also design and construct a papier-mâché car with moveable parts, create a wire sculpture based on contour drawings, and make puppets and collagraph prints.
Through these assignments, students will develop creative thinking and artistic skills, be encouraged to solve spatial and composition problems, and train the eye and hand.
Visual Art/Grade 7
The seventh grade visual art curriculum includes classes based on basic drawing, design and sculpture. Assignments may include: basic drawing skills, a gesture wire sculpture based on a gesture drawing, designing a soda or sports drink label, selecting a favorite artist and painting a masonite painting in the style of that artist, making clay coil masks, clay slab wizard, warlock, dragons or monsters, making stick puppets and carving linoleum block prints. Collaborating with the music program, students will create a papier-mâché percussion instrument that will be incorporated into the winter and spring concerts.
Through these assignments, students will develop creative thinking and artistic skills, be encouraged to solve spatial and composition problems, train the eye and hand, and gain knowledge of concepts of art and design. Students will also gain satisfaction in the making of objects by hand.
Visual Art/Grade 8
The eighth grade visual art class is an elective that meets daily for a semester. The curriculum includes: plaster cast masks molded to student’s faces, designing your own magazine cover, metamorphosis drawings, pinch pot clay whistles, coil expression face containers and slab teapots, pitchers and containers. A highlight of the semester is a visit to the art room from the Zoomobile of the Maryland Zoo. An owl, kookaburra, turtle and reptile are positioned around the room as models. Students sketch from observation for a class period emphasizing the texture of each animal. Sculptures and linoleum block prints are created based on the animal drawings.
Through these assignments, students will students will develop creative thinking and artistic skills, be encouraged to solve spatial and compositional problems and train the eye and hand. Students will gain knowledge of concepts of art and design; creating volume, space, texture and atmosphere with line, shape and color. Eighth graders will also gain knowledge of three-dimensional design elements through their experience with clay. Students will gain further satisfaction in the making of objects by hand.
Back to Top
Manual Arts
Manual Arts/Grade 5
In the 5th grade basic woodworking skills are taught. Students learn to measure and read plans, learn to work on an abstract design and learn layout.
Manual Arts/Grade 6
Students learn to follow plans and work through a multi-step procedure.
Manual Arts/Grade 7
In the 7th grade students learn to use power tools correctly in more sophisticated projects.
Manual Arts/Grade 8
Students continue to use power tools and learn to work on a self-designed project.
Back to Top
Music
Music
Middle School Music is a general music program. Vocal and instrumental instruction is given along with music theory, note reading, musical vocabulary and appreciaton in grades 6-8. The students learn handbells in grades 6,7, and 8 as their instrumental experience. This is a sequential curriculum, building on skills previously learned in Lower School and each preceding Middle School grade. The sixth and seventh grades perform in chapel services with handbells. The Crusader Choir is an extra-curricular choir for sixth, seventh, and eight graders. This choir sings off campus in the spring and represents the Middle School in area music festivals. The St. Paul's Ringers is an auditioned group of bell ringers chosen from the Middle School. They play two concerts a year in addition to performing for Middle and Upper School graduations.
Music/Grade 6
Music classes for sixth grade will continue to develop the singing, listening and reading of standard music notation skills which were begun in Lower School. Handbells will be introduced as a new performance instrument and the Kodaly approach to rhythm study will continue to be developed. Sight reading will be emphazised to help the students become more comfortable with octave music.
Music/Grade 7
Music classes for seventh grade will continue to expand the student's musical vocabulary, vocal awareness, listening skills and reading notation skills with emphasis on bass clef. The changing voice will be discussed in conjunction with basic vocal technique. Sight-reading, using solfege will continue.
Music/Grade 8
Music classes for eighth grade will introduce the student to four major periods of music: Baroque, Classical, Romantic, and Twentieth Century. The class will focus on listening skills, vocal technique, handbell ringing, and sight singing.
Back to Top
English
English 5, 6, 7, and 8: Literary Foundations
Steven Sondheim rightly observed, “What I have found and what I believe is that everybody is talented. It’s just that some people get it developed and some don’t.” Thus is our task set before us. Beginning in the fifth grade year and finishing in the eighth, regardless of a boy’s language struggles or talents, we aspire to develop eager, enthusiastic, and capable writers and readers. We strive to instill in all of our boys the following:
- An attitude of doing one’s best work and taking pride in one’s academics—always;
- A deep love of writing to authentic audiences;
- A lifelong passion for reading, independent of school assignments, and a lifelong passion for the classic, contemporary and multicultural texts that shape our literary culture, through the forms of poetry, prose, drama, and essay;
- A love of words, roots, etymologies and the resource books in which they are found, including all kinds of dictionaries, thesauri, word collections, etc;
- A love for creating grammatical constructions in real life writing, via currently researched and proven methods of teaching grammar through application;
- A passion for intellectual talk and discussion, and a willingness to take risks therein;
- An excitement about the emerging potential of the connections between language and technology, including on-line reviews, anthologies, blogs, and more.
As important as the above goals for students are, all English teachers in the middle school recognize that language learning—reading comprehension, writing skills, analytic thinking, and speaking/listening—is a developmental skill evidenced in progress over a continuum irrespective of grade level. Therefore, our assessments of our students balance numeric/quantitative measurements with subjective assessments; in short, writing and reading are not measured in numbers, yet much is expected from each student. Most importantly, all Middle School English teachers aspire to excite, encourage, model, and motivate in a creative and challenging classroom environment. We commit ourselves to infusing energy into writing and reading experiences.
Back to Top
Modern Languages
Middle School Japanese
The Middle School Japanese students study both the language and the culture. During their fifth grade year, students are taught how to read and write hiragana, katakana, and basic kanji and they build on this base in the subsequent three years. Students learn how to communicate in different situations, varying from a simple self-introduction to describing their vacations. Songs, mnemonics, and other methods are used in class to help students learn the language. Students are always encouraged to be creative. Students complete projects to develop their reading, writing, listening, and speaking skills. Some of the projects the students complete are creating a video tour of the school, writing a fairy tale book, creating a family album, and creating a PowerPoint presentation of themselves in Japanese. Students also learn how to type Japanese on the computer, and learn various technological skills to incorporate in their study. Authentic Japanese artifacts are used in class to practice the language and to connect the language and the culture. The students also have an opportunity to taste Japanese food when we make rice, dumplings, and other Japanese food in class.
Middle School Spanish
fifth and sixth grades, and Standard Spanish for the seventh and eighth grades. In the fifth and sixth grades, the objective is to provide students with an introduction to the language and the rich culture of Spain and Latin America. While we introduce essential language concepts such as simple verbs, gender/number agreement and basic vocabulary, the emphasis is on exposing the students to the sounds and rhythms of the language, and to the varied aspects of Hispanic culture. In the seventh and eighth grades, these important concepts are re-emphasized, but with more of a concentration on mastering basic conversation skills. Students learn to understand and speak about themselves, their families, and their interests. Continued exposure to Hispanic culture is also an important part of the curriculum: students learn about various Spanish and Latin-American holidays and customs, prepare traditional foods, and report on artists, athletes, and historical figures. Within each grade level, students are divided according to previous exposure and proven ability, ensuring a more productive and personal learning experience.
Back to Top
History/Social Studies
Grade 5
This course surveys the development of Early American society, blending an examination of Native Americans, European exploration, the colonial era and the American Revolution with a systematic introduction to the note-taking, listening, vocabulary, writing, oral presentation and reading comprehension skills all students of history need to acquire. Several parts of the course are taught jointly with English 5 so that students get an interdisciplinary perspective and a reinforcement of the reading and writing skills that form the foundation of their studies in the humanities. Students read A Spy in Williamsburg, they organize, supply and govern their own simulated New World colony, and they engage in an independent research project on a topic of their own choosing within the Revolutionary period. They also take a two-day trip to Williamsburg in the Spring.
Grade 6
The sixth grade history course continues the study of the United States begun in fifth grade, combining a survey of the major periods of our nation’s history since the American Revolution with further development of the skills necessary for a thorough understanding of how to gather, assimilate, analyze and present historical information. The year begins with an investigation of the Constitution and the War of 1812, continues with the antebellum period, the Civil War, Reconstruction and the development of nineteenth century farming and industry, and finishes with a look at migration and immigration, the World Wars, and the Cold War. Throughout, the courses places an emphasis on social history, examining civil rights, women, and socio-economic issues, and independent thinking, pushing the students to connect cause and effect, fashion and defend their own conclusions and interpretations and pursue questions of personal interest. Students are introduced to primary documents and their value to historians, and they participate in several creative projects including a political cartoon/editorial project on the Articles of Confederation, a group presentation on a battle of the Civil War and a World War II propaganda video presentation.
Geography
The seventh grade course introduces students to general aspects of physical and cultural geography through the study of the interplay between the environment, natural resources and man on each of the planet’s five continents. The five themes of geography--location, place, human-environmental interaction, movement, and region--are the primary guidelines of investigation; throughout the year, students are asked to assess and evaluate how man’s presence on earth influences and is influenced by these themes. Students connect their examinations of different areas of the world with environmental issues impacting those areas, including oil, pollution, population and global warming. Students work with maps systematically throughout each unit, and they are asked to make several presentations on their work. The course seeks to inculcate in each student not only an awareness of the dynamism and diversity of physical and cultural geography, but an understanding of the challenges that man’s habitation on earth presents to current and future generations.
Grade 8
The eighth grade history course examines the world’s earliest civilizations in building on the skills developed in fifth through seventh grades. The course draws on the extensive investigation of man’s interaction with the environment in seventh grade Geography and lays the foundation for the exploration of the medieval and modern world in ninth grade World History. Students study the beginnings of man in Africa and the Egyptian and Chinese river civilizations before examining the Israelites, Babylonians and Assyrians, and they go on to examine ancient Greece and Rome, West African Kingdoms, the Indian empires and the great Chinese dynasties. A heavy influence is placed on the emergence of different forms of government and religion, and students compare the varying factors determining the rise and decline of civilizations across the world. Students take a guided tour of the ruins of ancient Harappa on the Internet, they complete a research project on ancient Greece and they compare cultural similarities between ancient Rome and the contemporary United States.
Back to Top
Mathematics
Each mathematics course is designed to help students develop the traits of creativity, imagination, and curiosity. The mathematics department believes that each student needs to be an active learner so students are encouraged to speak and write about mathematics as they acquire knowledge and understanding of mathematical processes, facts, and concepts
In the middle school, mathematical concepts are taught in a spiral curriculum and emphasis is placed on the connections between ideas from arithmetic, algebra, geometry, and discrete mathematics. Students are encouraged to be active learners who investigate problems and use concrete examples of concepts wherever possible. There is an honors section in each grade level in which the mathematical ideas are investigated more deeply and with a much greater degree of abstraction.
Mathematics 5 and 6
Students investigate mathematical structures beginning with a relatively concrete approach in grade 5 and a more abstract approach as they develop their mathematical understanding in grade 6. Concepts from arithmetic, algebra, geometry, probability, and statistics are integrated into the solution of problems of many different kinds. As students are able to handle more abstract concepts they are exposed to the idea of mathematical proof. The honors classes will investigate the above concepts in more depth.
Mathematics 7
Geometry and Algebra are introduced as tools for solving problems. Students call on their visual thinking and inductive reasoning skills to conduct simple analysis of geometric figures. Geometer's Sketchpad is used extensively for students to observe patterns and make generalizations leading to discoveries. These discoveries are verified logically and used to solve problems. The honors class performs informal deductive reasoning and tackles other advanced geometric concepts.
Mathematics 8
Students continue their study of Geometry, using Algebra as a primary tool for solving problems. Inductive reasoning skills learned in grade 7 are utilized heavily as advanced geometric concepts are investigated and analyzed. Geometer's Sketchpad continues to be an important tool for students to observe patterns and make generalizations leading to discoveries. Number patterns, transformations, tessellations, area, volume, Pythagorean Theorem, similarity and number theory are all studied in depth.
Mathematics 8 Honors
The honors level math course focuses on algebraic and graphing skills which have traditionally formed the algebra 1 course, but ideas from other areas of mathematics are integrated into the program as well.
Algebraic and geometric skills are learned in the context of manipulating realistic information and solving problems using real world data. Through their use of fundamental mathematical ideas and methods to reason about important applied problems, students develop an understanding of variables, functions, relations, systems, and equivalence. Graphing calculators will be used extensively to provide graphical, numerical, and algebraic illustrations and solutions for the problems.
Back to Top
Religious Studies
Grade 6: The Character Connection: Exploring in a Biblical World
This course introduces sixth grade students to important spiritual themes. Discussion of these themes enables the students to express their diverse viewpoints, and encourages them to think about themselves as children of God within the context of the greater community. Furthermore, students enjoy participating in hands-on exercises such as designing collages, drawing and studying maps of the Holy Land, and acting out plays based on the lives of famous, Biblical heroes. Every aspect of this course aims to assist the students in making connections: between the past and the present, between the individual and the communal, between the student's education and his spiritual development while enhancing their knowledge of the Bible.
Grade 8: In the Beginning, You: Theological Beginnings
This course takes students on a journey through time, from the first moments of creation to the current time in the St. Paul's chapel. By examining the first twenty chapters of Genesis, this course challenges students to begin to think theologically about basic aspects of our human nature: Who am I? What is sin? What is alienation? What is faith? And what does God have to do with any of this? While the Bible is the main text for this course, the instructor draws on other resources, including the students' lives, in order to paint a broad theological picture. In addition to their Genesis study, every student will be expected to give a speech in chapel to the Middle School. Class time will be set aside in their preparation for this important event.
Back to Top
Science
Grade 5
Students are exposed to the Plant and Animal Kingdoms with a strong emphasis on the invertebrates. Topics covered include Porifera (sponges), Cnidarians (jellyfish), Annelids (earthworms), Echinoderms (star fish and sand dollars), Mollusks (snails, oysters, octopus), and Arthropods (insects, spiders, crustaceans). Vertebrates studied are fish, amphibians, reptiles and birds. Plant parts and processes are also examined and students identify the most common trees on campus. Content from readings and internet web sites is reinforced with lab investigations.
Grade 6: Health Science
The sixth grade year in health science (a year long course that meets five times per week) begins with an understanding that these students are entering a stage of development where they are beginning to have more and more control over their lives. Healthy decisions and habits can be responsible for a higher quality of life. With this understanding students begin to explore the major systems of the body from a health perspective. “What can I do to promote maximum health for this body system?” is the question posed as students learn about how the overall wellness of the human organism is dependent upon good, knowledge-based choices. Nutrition, fitness, stress management, and human sexuality are just a few of the important health issues that are explored.
Grade 7: Earth Science
The 7th grade curriculum exposes students to a variety of topics that include weather and climate (and the factors that determine these), geology (rock cycle and plate tectonics), astronomy (solar system, exploring the universe), and environmental issues such as deforestation, pollution and erosion. Textbook readings, projects, oral reports, videos, field trips, and lab activities are used to develop students’ knowledge and skills during the year.
Grade 8: Physical Science
This course introduces students to basic principles of chemistry and physics and seeks to instill a thorough understanding of the scientific method. Topics covered include Newtonian physics, work and machines, energy and power, sound, light, electricity, and magnetism as well as basic atomic theory and the fundamentals of chemical reactions. Content from reading and lecture is reinforced by frequent demonstrations, lab exercises, guided and open-ended investigations.
Back to Top
Physical Education
In the Middle School, the emphasis is on lifetime fitness, skill development, enjoyment of physical activity, and positive social interaction in an athletic setting. Fifth and Sixth grade students focus on learning fundamental skills, rules, and strategies of different sports. Activities focus on learning and practicing sport-specific skills, learning game rules, procedures and etiquette. Within the framework of daily classes students are pushed to improve their physical fitness. In class, students spend time practicing individual skills and engaging in practice games that help prepare students for the mental and physical challenges that exist in team sports.
The Seventh and Eighth grade curriculum reviews the basic fundamental skills students learned in fifth and sixth grades before teaching sport-specific group skills. The group skills include two-on-one breaks, three- on-two breaks, zone and man defensive techniques, understanding passing lanes as well as offensive and defensive strategies. A unit on heart rate is included in which students use heart rate monitors to assist them in understanding key training principles.
Back to Top
Health
5th Grade
The Middle School health and wellness emphasis begins in the 5th grade with a year long course that meets one day per week. When we think about the six dimensions of health (mental, spiritual, physical, emotional, environmental, and social), most young adolescents are in the throes of social adjustment. How do I make friends? How do I keep my friends? What are the qualities of a true friend? How do friends solve problems? Is it possible to manage my anger? How do I help a classmate who is on the verge of making a bad decision? All of the above are examples of the types of issues that are addressed in this class. Movies, film clips, and short stories are just a few of the vehicles used to promote lively discussions.
Back to Top