Middle School Program

List of 12 items.

• Curriculum Overview

  The Middle School program features:

  • English, social studies, and science classes by grade level
  • Math and language classes (placement by skill level)
  • World language choices: Spanish, French or Chinese
  • Art and music classes
  • Computational thinking classes (logic, problem solving, programming, and robotics)
  • Physical Education
  • Life skills and human development classes
  • Class trips to Pinnacles National Monument (Sixth Grade), California coastal regions (Seventh Grade) and Washington D.C. and New York City (Eighth Grade)
  • Weekly advisory meetings, 当学生与老师带领的一小群人见面时，他们会玩得很开心，并在中学的社会情感环境中畅游.
  • Participation in orientation, all-school meetings, and other community activities.
  • Note: Language, art, and physical education classes occur with the same frequency as classes in English, social studies, math, and science.

• Art & Music

  Athenian’s Middle School arts program encourages students to feel 自信和成功的创造性努力和承担风险，犯错误，再试一次.
  
  

  All sixth grade students take visual art. 视觉艺术课程中的活动探索塑造艺术表达的基础:线, color, texture, shape, and volume. Students employ a wide variety of media and techniques. Projects involve drawing, painting, sculpture, clay, and conceptual creations.

  
  六年级音乐是一门为期三个月的课程，向学生介绍各种音乐技巧和概念，包括键盘演奏, drumming, stringed instruments, and music theory. 学生在一些音乐选择上工作，重点是创造性的策略和解决问题的能力. In small ensembles, students collaborate with their peers to select, prepare, and perform a piece of their choosing for a school recital.
  
  

  Seventh and eighth grade students can choose between music and visual arts classes. Students have the opportunity to learn new instruments in band, develop their voice in choir, or cultivate their artistic talents in visual art. 

• Computational Thinking

  In required computational thinking classes at each grade level, students learn the foundations of logical processing and computational problem solving. 
  
  

  In sixth grade, students participate in a First Lego League (FLL) Robotics class once a week for half the year. This class culminates in a Sumo Bot Focus Day. 

  
  七年级学生参加一个学期的CodeCombat选修课. Through CodeCombat, students learn how to code in Python, one of the most popular programming languages. 全面的课程包括计算机科学单元，并通过基于项目的游戏开发和web开发单元加强学习, students will progress on a journey from basic syntax to recursion.

  
  In eighth grade, 学生将六年级和七年级发展的技能结合到基于项目的体验中. Through the use of small circuit boards, sensors, motors, and coding, students will design and program their own robot. 项目挑战包括编码对不同环境刺激的适当反应. The final project is to build a line-following car.
  
  

  In addition to the required electives in computational thinking, 学生们在秋季有机会参加我们竞争激烈的FLL机器人团队，以及全年的各种机器人和计算思维选修课. 

• Electives

  In addition to your required courses, 你每年将有机会选择三门不同的选修课. Free choice electives include classes such as:

  • Leadership
  • Archery
  • Robotics
  • Ceramics
  • Music jam sessions
  • Theatrical improvisation
  • Photography
  • Team sports

  Other elective classes are required, and include computational thinking, innovating in the Carter Innovation Studios, and life skills.
  
  

• English

  学生探索文学的多样性，同时发现他们的声音在英语课，旨在补充社会研究课程.
  
  

  Sixth grade reading selections focus on identity and community. Seventh grade literature includes Western Civilization-themed texts, such as the Trojan War and the plays of Aeschylus. In eighth grade English, you will explore American literature, with texts such as To Kill a Mockingbird and The Joy Luck Club. English classes also include public speaking and performance. 
  
  

  In addition to exploring literature, 通过参与写作和编辑过程，你将学会清晰、简洁地表达你的想法. Students read, write and edit at every grade level, focusing on literary analysis, English grammar and writing conventions, language and vocabulary development, and various genres of writing, including creative, analytical, and autobiographical forms. Over the course of middle school, the depth and sophistication of students' writing develops and improves.

• Life Skills and Advisory

  每个学生都是一个由9-10名不同年级学生组成的顾问团的一部分，顾问团由一名中学老师领导. Advisory groups meet weekly with their advisor. This is a time to check in with a caring adult who knows them well, get advice from peers, discuss social-emotional topics relevant to middle school students, play games, and have fun. Students typically stay with the same advisor through their middle school experience. 三年后，这些成年人可能会成为学生最有力的支持者和最亲密的导师.
  
  

  Students participate in Life Skills class in sixth grade, study sex education as part of seventh grade science class, and take Human Development class in eighth grade. In sixth grade, Life Skills includes study skills, lessons on how to navigate middle school, peer pressure and digital citizenship. Seventh grade sex education is grounded in anatomy and biology, 包括对青春期身体和情感变化的坦诚对话. Eighth grade human development focuses on making good choices, and tackles topics such as peer pressure and drug and alcohol education. 

• Math

  中学的数学课是为学生建立和展示对数学的掌握而设计的, develop critical thinking skills, and increase confidence. Students are placed in math classes by readiness rather than grade level, and most math classes have a mix of students across grades, providing for a rich learning atmosphere.
  
  Students will apply the skills learned in textbooks to real-life situations. 中学数学课包括数学6、代数预科、代数、高等代数和几何. 一些八年级的学生有机会在高中上高等数学课.

• Physical Education

  “Health and fitness for life” is our physical education motto. 学生通过学习不同种类的运动，获得对自己的健康和幸福负责的知识和技能, practicing proper form, engaging in collaborative teamwork, and preparing and planning fitness activities. Students participate in cardiovascular fitness, muscular strength and endurance, and flexibility through team sports, individual activities, and conditioning.
  
  

  Physical education includes a variety of team sports including water polo, soccer, flag football, ultimate Frisbee, basketball, badminton, and more. Students will also swim, dance, practice yoga, and do circuit training. We believe it is necessary for students to develop cognitive, affective and psychomotor skills to be successful learners. 体育精神和建立信心是我们体育课程的重要组成部分.

   

• Science

  In middle school science, 培养学生对自然世界的好奇心和科学解决问题方法的实用知识. 总的来说，课程创造了我们作为人类如何融入自然世界的视角.
  
  

  Sixth grade students begin the year by studying the human brain, 当他们开始他们的中学旅程时，了解他们作为思考者和学习者是谁. After that, the focus is earth science. This includes the study of weather, mineralogy, the rock cycle, plate tectonics, earthquakes, and volcanoes. Sixth grade also includes units on planetary and environmental science. 

  
  

  Life science is the focus in seventh grade. 学生们开始理解环境是一个动态的生命系统，以及它们如何有潜力影响变化. Students also learn about evolution, the human body, adolescent growth and development, sexuality, and how to make responsible choices. 

   

  八年级的科学通过培养学生解决物理和化学问题的定量和分析方法，为高年级的科学课程做准备. Students learn about scientific measurement, atomic structures, the periodic table, chemical reactions, chemical pollution, and Newtonian physics concepts of force, motion, work, and energy.

• Social Studies

  By studying groups and peoples from around the world, students come to understand societies through the framework of culture, economy, and politics. They will journey through a series of historical and geographic regions, 从遥远的很久以前开始，在时间和空间上越来越近——六年级时的环太平洋地区, Western Civilization in seventh grade, and American Studies in eighth grade. They will learn how and why civilizations change over time. By integrating social studies with English and art, they will gain an understanding of the interconnectedness of our world.
  
  Sixth graders study the lands and peoples of South Asia, East Asia, 在介绍了用于评估社会特征的主要分析技巧之后，我们将了解美国和大洋洲. Topics include prehistory and  the appearance, expansion, and increasing complexity of human societies; technology and innovation; religions and philosophies; beliefs and government; social structures and systems of rule; aesthetics and arts.
  
  

  Seventh graders explore mythology, cultures of ancient and classical Greece, medieval life and monotheistic traditions, the enlightenment, and explorations of the origins of modern democracies. 

   

  八年级的社会课程侧重于美国社会和政治结构的冲突和变化. This course examines American history through a cultural and social justice lens, examining the Constitution and human rights, migration, immigration, Native American cultures, slavery, and civil rights. 学生学习如何理性和客观地调查有争议的问题，并在课堂讨论的最前沿尊重他们的同龄人.

• World Languages

  Like math classes, 中学的语言班是按技能水平而不是年级来安排的. Students may be placed into Spanish, French, or Mandarin 1A, 1B, or 1C depending on their prior experience. 学生通过游戏和对话开始学习语言，建立基本的词汇. 语法和句法是通过结合世界文化的故事和主题单元来介绍的. 
  
  Acquiring verbal fluency and a working vocabulary receive high priority. An emphasis on grammar clarifies communicative intent. Activities engage students’ interest and encourage lively discussion. 速成班的学生可能被安排在高级中学或高级学校的世界语言班.
  
  By practicing reading, writing, speaking, and listening, students gain comfort and ease in communicating a new language. Cultural studies help them to understand languages in context. Playing games and telling stories are mainstays in our language classes, and the speed of language acquisition reflects the fun kids have in these courses.

• Interscholastic Sports

  赌场捕鱼网投中学在许多体育项目上与其他学校进行校际竞技, including: Ultimate Frisbee, soccer, basketball, volleyball, and flag football. Practices take place during the school day’s elective period. 比赛在放学后举行，赌场捕鱼网投公共汽车或货车提供往返比赛的交通工具. 赌场捕鱼网投的交通部门正忙着照顾整个学校的需要, and there are times when we may need to ask for parent help as chaperones or drivers.