BaylorLeadsto Opportunity

Middle School Curriculum Guide

ENGLISH 8 This course provides expo-sure to extensive creative writing,expository writing, grammar, vocabu-lary, and literary analysis. Skills cov-ered include understanding the dif-ferences between prose and poetry,identifying figurative language, andannotating significant passages. Ex-pository writing includes a five-paragraph essay using a rubric andadditional practice in peer editing.The reading workshop remains animportant part of the course. Com-mon texts include To Kill A Mockingbirdand Romeo and Juliet.

PHYSICAL SCIENCE Students are intro-duced to the physical sciences usinga project-based approach that in-cludes rocketry and robotics usingLEGO NXT Mindstorm robots. As withother Middle School science courses,the class emphasizes collaborativehands-on activities that build thescientific skills of making observa-tions, identifying variables, drawinginferences, writing hypotheses, graph-ing, interpreting data, using models,and drawing conclusions.

STUDIO ART Students continue thestudy of basic design principles withan emphasis on a classical instructionin drawing and composition. Theycreate ceramic clay sculpture, workwith texture and color, and manipulatedesign through computer graphics tocreate digital self-portraits using Ado-be Photoshop. Watercolor study, in-cluding gradient color, repetition, andvariation, and the study of linearperspective, including architecturalrenderings and interior design, arealso part of this course.

Electives offered include:

Intermediate Band7th and 8th Grade ChoirDanceDesign in Our WorldGeometric DesignIntermediate OrchestraPainting and PrintmakingPhotographyPhotoshop

DRAMA Students explore a character’sbackground, environment, and rela-tionships when preparing to play arole and develop an understandingof play structure, dramatic action,character motivation, and creatingcharacters and stories through impro-visation. Basic playwriting, directing,and theater production vocabularyare also covered. Skills include de-veloping creativity and imagination;improvising and problem-solving;communicating effectively and confi-dently with an audience; collaboratingas part of a team while providing andlearning from constructive criticism;and enhancing listening, concentra-tion, self-discipline, and time man-agement skills.

ENGLISH SCIENCE ART ARTS ELECTIVES

6TH

GRAD

E7T

H GR

ADE

8TH

GRAD

E

EXPLORATION

ENGLISH 7 This course focuses oncreative and expository writing, gram-mar, vocabulary, and literature. Writingskills include style, organization, dic-tion, and proofreading. Grammar studyincludes sentence structure, punctua-tion, and common grammatical errors.Literary study centers on specific in-struction in reading strategies – anno-tating, making inferences, and recog-nizing important passages. Studentsengage in a reading workshop. Com-mon texts include The Giver, A MidsummerNight’s Dream, and selected short storiesand poems.

HUMANITIES THROUGH LITERATUREThis course is an exploration of lan-guage through the reading and writingof fiction, poetry, essays, and bookreviews, including the study of gram-mar and vocabulary as tools to im-prove the written expression of ideas.There is focus, as well, on the studyof various research techniques.

LIFE SCIENCE Course emphasis is onthe human skeletal, muscular, diges-tive, circulatory, respiratory, nervous,endocrine, and reproductive systems.Students receive training in CPR andinstruction in the use of defibrillators.As with other Middle School sciencecourses, the class emphasizes collab-orative hands-on activities that buildthe scientific skills of making obser-vations, identifying variables, drawinginferences, writing hypotheses, graph-ing, interpreting data, using models,and drawing conclusions.

EARTH SCIENCE Students are introducedto earth’s geology, including internalstructures, volcanoes, and earth-quakes, and to basic meteorology,including atmospheric structures, cloudformations, thunderstorms, tornadoes,hurricanes, and long-term climatechange. As with other Middle Schoolscience courses, the class emphasizescollaborative hands-on activities thatbuild the scientific skills of makingobservations, identifying variables,drawing inferences, writing hypotheses,graphing, interpreting data, using mod-els, and drawing conclusions.

STUDIO ART This course is a beginningstudy of basic techniques as appliedto drawing, printmaking, painting,sculpture, and graphic design. Studyalso inclues art history, vocabulary,conventions of art, and interdiscipli-nary topics. Skills include creativeproblem-solving, further developmentof fine motor skills, divergent thinking,and group cooperation.

Electives offered include:

Intermediate Band7th and 8th Grade ChoirDance and DramaIntermediate Orchestra

In each of their three years in theMiddle School, students choose froma menu of arts electives. Electivesoffered include:

Beginning or Intermediate BandChoirDance and DramaBeginning or Intermediate Orchestra

In this interdisciplinary, student-centered course, students work col-laboratively to find solutions to acomplex problem while developingtheir skills in communication, technol-ogy, information literacy, and creativity.

In this interdisciplinary, student-centered course, students work col-laboratively to find solutions to acomplex problem while developingtheir skills in communication, technol-ogy, information literacy, and creativity.

DRAMA

6TH

GRAD

E7T

H GR

ADE

8TH

GRAD

E BRIDGES TO ALGEBRA Students in this course focus onratios, proportions, percents, and computational skillsthat lead to mastery of operations on expressions withintegers, rational numbers, exponents and radicals.Solving multi-step equations, graphing linear functions,and the foundations of geometry prepare students forAlgebra I.

ALGEBRA I Topics in this course include solving equationsand inequalities, functions and graphing, quadratic andrational functions, and working with equations andexpressions involving exponents and radicals. Emphasisis placed on logical reasoning and application of math-ematical principles.

HONORS ALGEBRA I (please see above)

HONORS GEOMETRY All aspects of two- and three-dimensional Euclidean geometry are covered in thiscourse, which satisfies the Geometry graduation require-ment. Inductive and deductive reasoning, including formalproofs using angles, lines, triangles, circles, and quadri-laterals, is included.

CIVICS Students explore and discuss U.S.government, the establishment of Amer-ican constitutional government, respon-sibilities of citizenship, and the basicrights of U.S. citizens. Skills taught includeannotating nonfiction reading, writing(essays, paragraphs and short answers),note-taking, debates, oral presentations,and SAT vocabulary. The course culmi-nates with the eighth grade class trip toWashington, D.C.

ETHICS: HOLOCAUST STUDIES Students ex-amine case studies of the Holocaust andthe rise of Nazism, nationalism and anti-Semitism, the planning and execution ofthe Holocaust, and the U.S. response tothe Holocaust. Students gain experiencein annotating nonfiction texts, journal writing,writing essays, and studying SAT vocabulary.The course culminates with a visit to theHolocaust Museum as part of the eighthgrade class trip to Washington, D.C.

INTRODUCTION TO FOREIGN LANGUAGEStudents take one quarter each ofChinese, German, Latin, and Spanishso that they may make an informedchoice about which language to studyin the seventh grade. The sixth gradeintroductory language course focuseson speaking, vocabulary acquisition,and a presentation of linguistic con-cepts. There is also an introductionto culture, history, and geography.

GERMAN 2 Students continue theirstudy of German culture and languageas they begin a more advanced studyof vocabulary and grammar that in-cludes reflexive verbs, separable prefixverbs, conversational past verb forms,modal verbs, prepositions, subordi-nating and insubordinate conjunc-tions, ordinal numbers, the compar-ative and superlative of adjectives,and adjectival endings.

SPANISH 2 Students continue theirexploration of Spanish culture andlanguage with a more advanced studyof vocabulary and grammar that in-cludes reflexive verbs, the preterittense of irregular and stem-changingverbs, the imperfect tense, the presentperfect tense, formal commands, thefuture tense, and the subjunctivemood. Students also continue theirstudies of Hispanic countries.

LATIN 2 Students continue their studyof Latin, developing a richer vocabu-lary and a more complete under-standing of grammar, including theconjugation of all verbs and the trans-lation of longer and more complexpassages. Students also acquire adeeper knowledge of Roman cultureand history and embark on a furtherexploration of mythology.

MATH HISTORY INTRO TO LANGUAGE

171 Baylor School RoadChattanooga, TN 37405(423) 267-8505www.baylorschool.org

For more information about how you canhelp change the world, please contact us at:

CHINESE 1 Students engage in a richexploration of the Chinese language,completing their conceptual under-standing of characters and laying outa solid foundation for speaking andlistening. Students also begin readingand writing and delve further intocultural aspects of China.

CHINESE 2 Students further developtheir reading, writing, speaking, andlistening skills, while working towardsmastery of the pinyin pronunciationsystem. The course increasesstudents’ vocabulary of high-usewords valuable for daily conversationand in-country experiences. Studentscontinue exploring historically impor-tant cultural points.

GERMAN SPANISH LATINCHINESE

PRE-ALGEBRA This course is designed to prepare studentsfor their first year of algebra. Students learn to solve one-step, two-step, and multi-step equations, perform oper-ations on polynomials, graph first-degree equations, andapply these skills to problem solving.

HONORS PRE-ALGEBRA Designed as an enriched pre-algebra course, this course presents standard pre-algebratopics in more depth and greater detail. Emphasis isplaced on conceptual development of functions, con-necting basic geometric concepts to algebra, utilizinggraphs and symbols to illustrate the relationships betweennumbers and variables, and algebraic reasoning.

HONORS ALGEBRA I Basic algebra topics, including functiontypes, graphing, polynomials, radical expressions, and solvinglinear and nonlinear equations and inequalities, form thefoundation of this course. The curriculum is enriched withapplications of algebraic reasoning, connections to geometry,an introduction to trigonometric ratios, and data analysis.This course meets the Algebra I requirement.

MATH 6 Course content includes number properties, numberoperations, measurement, data analysis, and algebra.Classes address a variety of topics including algebraicconcepts such as the use of variables and commutative,associative, and distributive properties. Students areintroduced to the TI-84 Plus graphing calculator.

MATH 6 HONORS In addition to the topics covered in Math6, additional emphasis is placed on number properties,measurement, polynomials, algebra, and geometry. Alsoaddressed are such algebraic topics as solving simulta-neous equations and inequalities and multiplying anddividing exponents. Students become skilled with the TI-84 Plus graphing calculator.

WORLD GEOGRAPHY Students examinethe physical and human aspects ofthe world’s major regions and howthey are interconnected. Regionsstudied include the Americas, Europeand Russia, Southwest and CentralAsia, Africa, South and East Asia, andthe Pacific. Skills include note-taking,reading, research, writing, and orga-nization.

HUMANITIES THROUGH HISTORY Studentsexplore the legacy of ancient Greeceand Rome and the culture of modernChina in a context of integrated readingand writing instruction. Fall topics in-clude the ancient Aegean era, mythol-ogy, Roman legends, gladiators, Alex-ander, and Caesar. Spring topicsinclude Chinese festivals, the FirstEmperor, the Cultural Revolution, andcurrent Chinese relations. Skills includereading nonfiction and fiction (withguides and annotation); note-takingfrom stories, films, and written texts;interpretive oral presentations; anddramatic and documentary filmmaking.

GERMAN 1 Students continue to de-velop speaking, reading, listening,and writing skills as they begin aformal study of German languageand culture. The course material in-cludes the study of definite and in-definite articles, subject-verb agree-ment, the present tense of regularand irregular verbs, direct and indirectobject pronouns, commands, inter-rogatives, negatives, and a study ofsentence structure.

SPANISH 1 Students continue to de-velop speaking, reading, listening,and writing skills as they begin aformal study of Spanish languageand culture. The course material in-cludes articles and noun-adjectiveagreement, negatives, the presenttense of regular, irregular, and stem-changing verbs, the present progres-sive, and the preterit tense of regularverbs. Students also continue theirstudies of Hispanic countries.

LATIN 1 This introductory course in-cludes vocabulary acquisition and astudy of grammar, including parts ofspeech, noun and adjective agree-ment, the use of infinitives, the genderof nouns, different forms of address,prepositional phrases, verb conjuga-tions, irregular verbs, numerals andnumbers, and present, imperfect andperfect verbs. Students also exploreRoman culture, history, and mythology.

Information LiteracyBaylor’s Information Literacy program is designed to createlifelong learners by teaching students how to access andevaluate information in the ever-expanding variety of printand electronic resources. Classes take place in the library,where students are introduced to online resources while learningto access, analyze, and evaluate materials and use informationeffectively. The first half of the class session is spent oninstruction, while the second half allows students to applythat knowledge through specific projects. These competenciesare then expanded upon each year.

TechnologyMiddle School students learn to use the Baylor e-mail system,network, and website, improve their keyboarding skills, useMoodle, wikis, and blogs for academic exchanges, becomefamiliar with spreadsheets and presentation programs, andconduct internet research. Students develop these skillsthroughout their Middle School years as teachers in variousdisciplines integrate technology into their classes with the helpof such tools as projectors, SmartBoards, and laptop carts.

The Extended ClassroomIn addition to regular classes, the idea of extending the bordersof the traditional classroom is deeply entrenched at Baylor.From the life science classes visiting an organic farm toWalkabout’s lessons of the great outdoors, Baylor’s experientialopportunities are an important part of our overall academicprogram. You can learn more about these programs by visitingour website at www.baylorschool.org.

Our Mission The mission of Baylor School

is to foster in its students both the ability and the

desire to make a positive difference in the world.

This curriculum guide provides a glimpse of how our MiddleSchool students develop the skills and attitudes that help toprepare them to make that difference in high school, college,and the years beyond.

In addition to the individual courses outlined within thiscurriculum guide, the following programs and classes areoffered to all Middle School students throughout the year:

WellnessThe Middle School years are a time of significant developmentfor students with respect to physical, mental, social, andemotional changes. Our Wellness Program emphasizes makingresponsible health decisions and provides information andopportunities for mature discussion on a wide range of currenthealth topics and issues. The course is offered to all MiddleSchool students.

Literacy StrategiesIn addition to receiving reading instruction in core classes,Middle School students take Literacy Strategies classes, whichreinforce important skills like making inferences, drawingconclusions, and identifying main ideas. These classes alsoprovide support for the quarterly outside reading goal expectedof each Middle School student.

Mike Drew, Middle School Head | Teresa McDowell, Administrative Assistant to Middle School Head | Priscilla Birdsall, Dean of Middle School Students

The following is a list of typical winteractivities for our Middle School. Par-ticipation is optional.

Athletic Activities (unlimited participation)Swimming & Diving (6th – 8th gradeboys/girls)Weight Training & Conditioning (6th – 8th

grade boys /girls)Wrestling (6th – 8th grade boys) 

Athletic Activities (limited participa-tion/tryouts)Basketball (6th – 8th grade boys/girls)Volleyball (6th – 8th grade girls)

Enrichment and Recreational Activities(limited participation/tryouts, 6th – 8thgrade boys/girls)Middle School Play

The following is a list of typical fallactivities for our Middle School. Par-ticipation is required.

Athletic Activities (unlimited participation)Cross Country (6th – 8th grade boys/girls)Fencing (6th – 8th grade boys /girls)Football (6th grade boys)Football (7th grade boys)Football (8th grade boys)Soccer (6th – 8th grade girls; two teams)Swimming & Diving (6th – 8th gradeboys /girls)

Athletic Activities (limited participa-tion/tryouts)Softball (6th – 8th grade girls)Competitive Tennis (6th – 8th gradeboys/girls)

Enrichment and Recreational Activities(limited participation, 6th – 8th gradeboys/girls)Concert DanceCommunity ServiceStudio ArtWalkabout Outdoor Education Program

The following is a list of typical springactivities for our Middle School. Par-ticipation is required.

Athletic Activities (unlimited participation)Fencing (6th – 8th grade boys /girls)Lacrosse (6th – 8th grade boys/girls)Soccer (6th – 8th grade boys)Swimming & Diving (6th – 8th gradeboys /girls)Track (6th – 8th grade boys /girls)

Athletic Activities (limited participa-tion/tryouts)Baseball (6th – 8th grade boys)Competitive Tennis (6th – 8th gradeboys /girls)Golf (6th – 8th grade boys /girls)

Enrichment and Recreational Activities(limited participation, 6th – 8th gradeboys/girls)Concert DanceCommunity ServiceWalkabout Outdoor Education Program

FALL ACTIVITIES SPRING ACTIVITIESWINTER ACTIVITIES

Watch uschange the world.