Middle School Curriculum

An Inclusive and Integrated Approach

The middle school’s Integrated Curriculum is a two-year cycle, Year A and Year B, in which 7th and 8th graders are grouped together in multi-age classrooms. The central themes of the two-year curriculum are identity, personal responsibility, and action. Guiding questions are: “Who am I?”, “What do I believe?”, “What are my responsibilities?”, and “How can I make a difference?”

Language Arts, Science, Social Studies, and Art use an interdisciplinary approach to explore the central questions. The curriculum is also integrated within each discipline. For example, the Science curriculum draws from various branches of science such as Earth Science, Physical Science, and Biology rather than treating each branch as a separate frame of reference. Social Studies examines U.S. and world events that relate to the guiding questions listed above, rather than taking a linear and compartmentalized approach. Language Arts deepens the exploration of topics covered in Science and Social Studies through reflective writing and reading and analyzing works of fiction.

Deeply Encoded

TSA’s innovative Integrated Curriculum helps students to deeply encode the information they are learning by approaching the information from many angles at once.  Additionally, the thematic approach helps students learn to see how seemingly disparate topics are connected and how abstract ideas have consequences in every day life.

The content is guided by the Vermont Framework of Standards Grade Expectations and by The Common Core. Our teaching methods are guided by TSA’s Mission Statement, The Vermont Framework of Standards Vital Results, the Coalition of Essential School’s Ten Principles, TSA’s Vision of a Graduate, and TSA’s Proficiency Standards.

We believe that “less is more” and have limited our studies to six units throughout the two years. We also have several opportunities for students to explore beyond the curriculum units: for example, the writing of poetry and/or short stories within the Language Arts curriculum, our annual Science Fair, Social Studies debates, and our annual Circus.

Intentional Curricular Elements

Science Fair

Every year, students spend six to eight weeks designing and conducting experiments as a part of our Science Fair. Students work with our science teacher to develop their own scientific questions and carry out the experiments. This culminates in a public poster session of their results in June, where students give in-depth descriptions of their research to the public.

Circus

Each year, Troy Wunderle, a trained circus performer and ringmaster, comes to TSA and transforms the school into a circus. Under Wunderle’s careful tutelage, the middle school devotes the better part of two weeks to learning and practicing circus skills including clowning, juggling, unicycle riding, gymnastics, and stilt walking. All the while, the students are learning about teamwork, collaboration, and responsibility. Importantly, they are also learning how to use failure as a stepping stone to success.

Students also help to write the script for the clowning acts, arrange and perform live music, coordinate the advertising for the show, set up the staging and seating, build the props and scenery, and invent pre-circus games for younger children. The circus is an ideal medium for developing physical, emotional, and social competence in our students. The circus performance is a popular annual event in the community, usually drawing a crowd of over 600 spectators.

Transferable Skills

Twenty-first-century skills such as critical thinking, perseverance, creative problem solving, effective communication (written and verbal), and commitment to community are practiced throughout the curriculum.

Students read six or more assigned books each year and three more of their own choosing. Developmentally appropriate literature is selected for its value in terms of language, voice, and relevance. Students exercise analytical skills as they read and discuss writing style and themes. Reading of textbooks and other non-fiction (i.e. articles from current journals, news media, books) is regularly assigned in Science and Social Studies and discussed both in terms of the content and the reading skills required.

Writing is intensive throughout the curriculum. Students are continually practicing the basic rules of grammar and punctuation. In longer pieces of writing, the emphasis is on research, the production of original work, and the mechanics and style of writing. Discussion-based classrooms give ample opportunity for listening and speaking. Students are required to deliver numerous oral presentations throughout the two years.

Demonstration of Learning

In all components of the curriculum, we strive to create opportunities that meet the different learning styles and needs of all students by providing leveled and varied assignment options and by creating individual learning
plans when needed. Student learning is demonstrated in a variety of ways through writing, presentations, speeches, plays, displays, art projects, research papers, journals, debates, experiments, simulations, and model construction.

Social and Emotional Well-Being

The social-emotional curriculum is an important focus of the middle school years. The staff is committed to helping each student navigate middle school feeling safe and supported.

• Each spring the entire school spends time at the Hulbert Outdoor Center to build group interactive skills, and leadership skills and to strengthen community.
• We have an all-school meeting once a week to voice and solve community issues.
• “Study All”, an all-purpose class, meets for two hours a week in a small intimate group setting to foster social-emotional learning and to present the health curriculum.
• Students are assigned an advisor to monitor their academic success, their social/emotional well-being, and to keep communication open between parents, teachers, and students.
• Class groupings are reshuffled every six weeks to allow students the chance to work with everyone in the middle school.
• Three dances and a semi-formal are held each year.
• The school counselor meets regularly with all students, identifying “at risk” individuals and mentoring the staff on how to address student behavioral and emotional issues competently.

Physical Activity

The middle school recognizes the need for middle-level students to be active. Lunch/recess is forty minutes long and students are encouraged to go outside. In the winter, we make arrangements for students to ski or snowboard at a local ski area on Wednesday afternoons. Field trips such as climbing a mountain or spending days in the woods are integrated into the curriculum. All students are encouraged to participate in extracurricular sports. The Emotional, Social and Physical Wellness (ESP) class includes physical activity most sessions.

Sustainability

Sustainability practices are steadily becoming part of our middle school culture. Each year we look for new ways to model and practice sustainable habits. Whenever possible, we incorporate sustainability issues into the curriculum.

We recycle, compost, and reuse as much as possible. We take a field trip to a local landfill to learn more about the long-term impact of our trash.

Sports

Our after-school sports program includes soccer, basketball, baseball, Ultimate, and track. Each winter, we partner with Saskadena Six Ski Area to provide an opportunity for students to ski there on Wednesday afternoons. Additionally, if a student wishes to play a sport that TSA does not offer (for instance: Football or Girl’s Lacrosse) the Vermont Principals Association provides opportunities for students to play that sport with another school.

Extra Curricular Competitions

Middle school teams have competed in the MathCounts regional competition, Jr Iron Chef, and in the Department of Energy-sponsored National Science Bowl at both the regional and national levels. The school also sends an interested student to the National Geographic Geography Bee each year. Many students participate in a local Robotics team.