Integrated Curriculum (Language Arts, Science, Social Studies and Art)

The middle school program is a two-year cycle 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 are my responsibilities?”, and “How can I make a difference?” The content is guided by the Vermont Framework of Standards Grade Expectations and by The Common Core. The methods by which the content is delivered are guided by TSA’s Mission Statement, The Vermont Framework of Standards Vital Results, the Coalition of Essential Schools Ten Principles, and TSA’s Vision of a Graduate.

The curriculum is integrated in two ways. Using an interdisciplinary approach, Language Arts, Science, Social Studies, and Art collectively explore the central questions. In addition to integration between the disciplines, the curriculum is integrated within each discipline. 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 throughout history rather than taking a linear and compartmentalized approach. Language Arts draws on and augments the content material from Science and Social Studies.

The middle school cycles through a two-year curriculum, Year A and Year B. We believe that “less is more” and have limited our studies to six units throughout the two years. Both years of the curriculum also include projects that lie outside of our integrated units, for example, the writing of poetry and/or short stories within the Language Arts curriculum, our annual Science Fair, and our annual Circus.