Middle School Overview
Grades Six - Nine
In addition to the Middle School curriculum overview below, the scope and sequence of Foote programs is also included by grade and subject. (See links at left.) Because of the school's commitment to excellence, the curriculum is ever-evolving, thus specific content may be modified prior to updating the on-line curriculum.
As expository writers, students learn that clear writing is clear thinking. As creative writers, they are encouraged to look closely at the world, to take risks in expressing individual points of view, and to use detail to help the reader see what they see. As listeners, they are encouraged to respond compassionately to the work and ideas of their classmates.
Reading and writing poetry strengthens their individual voices, and feeds their hearts as well as their minds.
Students learn to comprehend primary and secondary historical texts, become practiced at absorbing and analyzing historical information from various sources, and gain the ability to speak and write like historians.
We stress research skills at all levels, and work with the library staff to promote consistent and effective research methodology that trains students to generate research powered by their own thinking and questioning skills.
Through an inclusive and focused program, our students learn to see the world and their place in it in a sophisticated way, as they gain an appreciation of the shared humanity and common challenges of the world’s peoples and cultures.
Students explore broad themes of the human experience and address open-ended questions that encourage critical thinking about issues of importance in history, literature and the world today.
Such questions include:
“How do the decisions we make impact our own and others lives?”
“What does it mean to be a hero?” and
“What happens when people from different cultures meet for the first time?”
These essential questions are grounded in the study of historical periods and related to the world of today.
The humanities course meets in a 90-minute block, five days each cycle. This double period allows for in-depth examination of topics, better reinforcement of skills, increased use of technology, and flexible allocation of time for project-based learning.
The goals of the Latin program, which begins in seventh grade, are threefold:
•
To teach students the fundamentals of Latin vocabulary and grammar, with a view to reading the rich literature of the Romans; to
• To
enhance their memory and reasoning power
•
To help them appreciate Roman history and culture.
Studying Latin enriches and expands our knowledge of English vocabulary and grammar. An inflected language that we study analytically, Latin provides an intellectual, puzzle-solving process that improves organization skills and fosters methodical thinking. Through texts and discussions we teach the students about many aspects of Roman culture and its affinity with our own.
• The first is to help students solidify the knowledge of arithmetic concepts and skills gained in the Lower School.
• The second is to begin a mathematical study characterized by abstract reasoning and symbolic representation.
Through this process, we hope to build students’ mathematical self-confidence, organizational skills and study habits. We always strive to make our subject enjoyable and compelling by creating courses in which all students can be successful, and by providing a curriculum appropriate for those who demonstrate an interest in the more challenging aspects of mathematics.
Proficiency in the four basic language skills (listening, speaking, reading, and writing) becomes more focused. We continue to interweave various elements (such as dramatizations, visits from native speakers, cooking, videos, computer programs and games) to help students develop a facility with the living language and a sense of cultural appreciation.
The Middle School science program provides a learning environment that promotes curiosity, keen observation, rigorous experimentation and thoughtful analysis involving both inductive and deductive reasoning.
Students participate in field and lab activities each year:
•
Grade six studies the life sciences
• Grade seven studies energy and
the environment
• Grade eight studies physical science
• Grade nine studies high school biology
Throughout the years, we aim to instill in our students a respect for the beauty and elegance of the natural world, and to give them the confidence to apply the methods of science to solving problems that confront them as individuals and society in general.
The art program seeks to provide an art experience that focuses on process as well as product. The program builds visual intelligence, self-esteem and problem-solving skills while exposing the children to a vast array of media and methods.
Students
study the work of artists from Rousseau to Warhol by experimenting with their styles. Self-portraits and projects such as personality boxes also help the students understand themselves through art.
We teach the students about other cultures through interdisciplinary projects, helping them to understand themselves and to respect individual differences.
The overall goal of the program is to instill a life-long love of and appreciation for art.
Our program provides students with tools for critical assessment of what they read, see and hear; with models and standards of excellence; and with a sense of the emotional power of theater, its ability to stir and inspire an audience. Because theater illuminates the constancy of the human condition, its study furthers the students’ understanding of themselves.
• supports the classroom curricula with carefully selected materials in both traditional and technological formats
• promotes the learning of information skills to enable our students to become intellectually curious, life-long learners; and
• inspires creative and critical reading, thinking and writing.