PAGE 1 - CORE SUBJECTS

Language Arts

The English curriculum is composed of composition, literature, and oral communication. A major emphasis of the English curriculum is the writing process, which incorporates the skills of discovering ideas, developing sentence and paragraph structure, revising writing activities, and correcting errors in spelling, mechanics, grammar, and usage. The literature strand consists of reading development, short stories, poetry, novels, mythology, drama, and literary devices. The oral communication strand includes discussion skills, poetry reading, prose reading, and original oratory. We give language arts a special emphasis in Grade 6, where students have a "double block" dedicated to the development of their English skills and understanding. All 7th and 8th grade students in "standard" English also have double-blocked classes.

Mathematics

The mathematics courses are organized to provide appropriate levels of instruction for all students. Three to four instructional levels are available for sixth, seventh, and eighth grade math classes. Courses are designed to teach mathematical thinking skills and to prepare students for more academically advanced studies; the Albemarle County middle school math curriculum is a rigorous one preparing students for algebra. The curriculum focuses on algebraic thinking skills with review of basic computation. Pre-algebra concepts are spread over a three year sequence with geometry, probability, and statistics laying the foundation for more formal high school courses. All math classes except algebra are double-blocked.

Science

Sixth Grade (General Science)
The sixth grade science curriculum is unified to develop conceptual themes and processes through a balance of life, physical, and earth sciences. While emphasis is placed on examining the basic concepts of the physical and biological environment, process skills involving observation, classification, communication, stating hypotheses, and making inferences and predictions are inherent throughout the curriculum.

Seventh Grade (Life Science)
Basic scientific skills are refined. These include observation, inferring, hypothesizing, drawing conclusions, and problem solving. Units include the study of the microscope, characteristics of living things, plants, animals, ecology, and genetics.

Eighth Grade (Physical Science)
The study of chemistry and physics comprise the eighth grade science program. Units include measurement and motion, properties of matter, force and work, atomic structure, changes of matter, heat-light-sound, electrical and nuclear energy, and energy conservation awareness. Skills in the use of the scientific method continue to be refined.

Social Studies

Sixth Grade (U.S. History: First Contact to Reconstruction)
The sixth grade curriculum focuses on the study of the United States from the Pre-Columbian period through the Civil War and Reconstruction. Included in the study of early national U.S. history is an emphasis on geographic, economic, and political factors which shaped the early development of our country and issues which helped shape twentieth century America.

Seventh Grade (U.S. History: Reconstruction to the Present)
The seventh grade history course focuses on the study of U.S. history from the end of Reconstruction to the present and covers the role of the citizen in our American political and economic systems. The primary emphasis of the seventh grade curriculum is on the persons, events, and ideas from the end of Reconstruction to the present that have influenced our history and contributed to who we are as Americans today.

Eighth Grade (Civics and Economics)
The eighth grade year culminates the K-7 curriculum by synthesizing what students have previously learned with extensive new content and skills designed to help them gain a broader, deeper view of the world in which they live andthe full meaning of participatory citizenship. Specifically, students will study various aspects of govenment and economics, examine and compare various government and economic systems, and analyze the complexities of various historical and current events. By the end of the course, students should have a thorough understanding of how government and economics contribute to creating the world around them.