Middle School
Middle School Curriculum
Grade: 6
Course Title: 6th Grade Earth Science
Course Length: Year
Prerequisite: N/A
Course Description: This course introduces students to what makes up our earth and universe. These units include the study of rocks and minerals, plate tectonics, weather and atmosphere, the earth in space, and the vast universe.
Students learn to implement the Scientific Method and perform hands-on experiments throughout the school year. A combination of experiments, readings, models, debates, role-plays, and unit projects will help students understand the concepts and skills. Because this may be the first full-year science class for many students, there will be a focus on slowly building skills one at a time and gradually giving students more opportunities to show they have mastered the skills independently. This course will include a weekly science laboratory component.
Grade: 7
Course Title: 7th Grade Life Science
Course Length: Year
Prerequisite: N/A
Course Description: This course aims to produce scientists curious about the world around them, asking why and how things occur. Students will explore cells, tissues, and organ systems; the relationships between organisms, populations, and ecosystems; and change resulting from genetic information and traits being passed down from generation to generation.
Laboratory activities are designed to help students become familiar with the scientific method. A focus will also be placed on building students’ skills in looking at data from experiments, creating tables and graphs from data, and using data to make conclusions. This course will include a weekly science laboratory component.
Grade: 8
Course Title: 8th Grade Physical Science
Course Length: Year
Prerequisite: N/A
Course Description: Physical science introduces the fundamentals of chemistry and physics. The course includes units on properties and structures of matter, the periodic table of elements, chemical reactions, motion and forces, electromagnetism, sound and light, Newton’s Laws, and simple machines.
Through investigations, students will refine their skills in creating and carrying out experiments. By the end of the eighth grade, students will have had multiple experiences applying and practicing these skills related to the content and will be prepared for success in high school physics and chemistry.
Grades: 8
Course Title: 8th Grade Spanish
Course Length: Year
Course Description: In this class, students explore the basic structures of the Spanish language and the diverse cultures of Spanish-speaking people around the world. This course is designed to empower students through intercultural understanding and improve students’ ability to communicate in Spanish.
When communicating, students in the Level I Language and Culture course demonstrate an understanding of the culture(s), incorporate interdisciplinary topics (connections), make comparisons between the native language and the target language and between cultures (comparisons), and use the target language in real-life settings (communities). Students will engage content from six-course themes through reading, writing, listening, and speaking.
In an Honors course, students should expect a faster pace, additional content, and higher expectations regarding the use of Spanish in the classroom and engagement with higher-level content and thinking. If a student decides to stay at BLSYW for high school and passes this class with a grade of C+ or higher, she will receive high school credit for the course. This means that upon entering BLSYW 9th grade, she will be placed in Spanish II. Because this class is designed to potentially give you high school credit, expectations will match those of a high school class.
Grade: 6
Course Title: Middle School Leadership Seminar I
Course Length: Year
Prerequisite: N/A
Course Description: Middle School Leadership Seminar I is an introductory leadership course for sixth-grade students focusing on the tools and essential knowledge to become successful leaders within our community through a student’s self-exploration into her leadership style. During her leadership journey, she will learn to cooperate in teams and communicate leadership ideas through oral and written communication methods. The class will explore leadership through technology exploration within their communities, their families, and their peers. The course culminates with an exploration of career choices and a reflection of the student as a future leader. She will begin to define future goals and leadership styles, including career paths, colleges, and leadership decision-making.
Grade: 7
Course Title: Middle School Leadership Seminar II
Course Length: Year
Prerequisite: Middle School Leadership Seminar I
Course Description: Middle School Leadership Seminar II is the second of two courses in the middle school leadership series. It is designed to provide seventh-grade students with the opportunity to understand, analyze, apply, and evaluate characteristics of leadership through various methods. Through traditional and non-traditional instructional practices, students are challenged to think deeply about what it means to be a leader and, most importantly, taught how to turn their leadership into direct action. Students synthesize the definition of leadership and actively demonstrate effective interpersonal and intrapersonal communication skills. At the culmination of the course, students demonstrate their capacity to plan and implement both school- and community-based projects; explain, describe, and argue principles of effective leadership through written compositions; and develop overall as BLSYW leaders.
Grade: Middle School
Course Title: Music Appreciation
Course Length: Semester
Prerequisite: N/A
Course Description: Music Appreciation is designed to provide students with an introductory experience in instruments and singing. The curriculum for this course is an extension of the skills and concepts introduced in general music classes. In addition, this course is designed to introduce students to the study of music through music reading, the understanding of musical terminology, and the performance of music in individual and group settings. Music Appreciation is open to middle school students.
Grade: Middle School
Course Title: Art Appreciation and Creation I
Course Length: Year
Prerequisite: N/A
Course Description: This course provides students with a foundation in art history and art production. Students will learn how to view and critique various works of art utilizing analytical skills. Studio-based projects will reinforce problem-solving skills while introducing new art media. Throughout the course, students will be exposed to a variety of media, including painting, drawing, sculpture, and printmaking. Students will be introduced to the elements of art and principles of design while applying them within their compositions.
Grade: Middle School
Course Title: Personal Fitness
Course Length: Year
Prerequisite: N/A
Course Description: Physical education students will be involved in a variety of activities designed to improve physical fitness, coordination, and sport-specific skills. Students also develop content knowledge about nutrition, diet, mental health, the development of fitness plans, and the ability to link the importance of physical activity with life-long endeavors.
Grade: 6
Course Title: English & Language Arts I
Course Length: Year
Prerequisite: N/A
Course Description: This MARYLAND COLLEGE AND CAREER READINESS STANDARDS-aligned course emphasizes the fundamental language skills of reading, writing, speaking, listening, thinking, viewing, and presenting. An emphasis on vocabulary and composition skills will be an ongoing part of the program. The course includes studies of various literary genres: short stories, poetry, novels, drama, and nonfiction. Students will develop critical reading and writing skills necessary to build on in future courses.
Grade: 7
Course Title: English & Language Arts II
Course Length: Year
Prerequisite: Successful completion of English & Language Arts I
Course Description: This MARYLAND COLLEGE AND CAREER READINESS STANDARDS-aligned course includes a review of grammar skills, the teaching of intermediate composition skills, and an examination of various literary genres that include short stories, poetry, drama, nonfiction, and novels. Emphasis in both semesters will be placed on vocabulary development, composition skills, critical reading, and critical writing skills.
Grade: 8
Course Title: English & Language Arts III
Course Length: Year
Prerequisite: Successful completion of English and Language Arts II
Course Description: This MARYLAND COLLEGE AND CAREER READINESS STANDARDS-aligned course concentrates on the development of composition and critical reading skills. A general review of grammar will occur with emphasis on usage. Strong attention will be given to vocabulary development, and outside reading will complement this course of study. Literary emphasis includes the short story, novel, drama, and poetry. After this course, students will utilize all of the literacy skills they’ve acquired in middle school to complete the BLSYW Action Research Project (ARP). Students must complete the BLSYW ARP to pass the final quarter of the course.
Grade: 6, 7, 8
Course Title: Reading/Literacy Foundations and Intervention
Course Length: Year
Prerequisite: N/A
Course Description: This MARYLAND COLLEGE AND CAREER READINESS STANDARDS-aligned course is designed for 6th-, 7th-, and 8th-grade students who wish to improve their reading and writing skills in an intensive small-group setting. This course will enhance students’ reading proficiency with explicit, direct instruction in fluency, vocabulary, and comprehension. Students will read leveled, high-interest literature for both academic and recreational purposes. Students will extend their knowledge of the concepts they are covering in their English classroom by reading supplementary novels. In addition, this course will equip students with the writing skills they need to meet the demands of the MARYLAND COLLEGE AND CAREER READINESS STANDARDS for their grade level. Texts will include high-interest short stories, poetry, and various fiction and nonfiction excerpts.
Grade: 6
Course Title: 6th Grade Mathematics
Course Length: Year
Prerequisite: N/A
Course Description: This course is designed to strengthen foundations and to lead students to understand mathematics in the real world through collaboration, guided discovery, and real-life situations. Topics that are covered include: dividing fractions, LCM and GCF, decimals, percents, ratios, introduction to integers, coordinate grids, solving equations, writing expressions, surface area, volume, and probability. Students will apply each of the concepts to real-life problems for a better understanding of the connections of math to life. Students are expected to have an understanding of fraction operations (addition, subtraction, multiplication, and simplification) and to have fluency in basic operations before taking this class. After this class, students will be prepared to take the state 6th-grade mathematics exam.
Grade: 7
Course Title: 7th Grade Mathematics
Course Length: Year
Prerequisite: Satisfactory completion of 6th Grade Mathematics
Course Description: This course is designed to build upon skills learned in the 6th grade in preparation for higher-level mathematics at BLSYW through self-discovery, investigations, and collaborative learning. Students study graphing in 1 and 4 quadrants, analyzing tables, writing and solving one- and two-step equations, linear functions (slope/y-intercept), linear relationships, probability, statistics, proportions, ratios, percents, area, perimeter, volume, and various statistical graphs. After this course, students are prepared to take the state 7th-grade mathematics exam.
Grade: 8
Course Title: 8th Grade Mathematics
Course Length: Year
Prerequisite: Satisfactory completion of 7th Grade Mathematics
Course Description: This course is designed to build upon skills learned in the 7th-grade mathematics class in preparation for algebra in the 9th grade. Students study all the topics included in 7th Grade Mathematics plus additional topics, such as the Pythagorean Theorem, exponents, inequalities, radicals, and geometric transformations. After this course, students will be prepared to take Algebra I in upper school.
Grade: 6
Course Title: 6th Grade World Civilizations
Course Length: Year
Course Description: This course will cover world civilizations throughout history. Starting with the earliest Hominids (Homo Hibilis, Homo Erectus, and Homo Sapiens) who emerged from Africa and developed into the first hunters and gatherers, this course moves to the Fall of the Roman Empire, the Middle Ages, and the European exploration of North America. We will cover thousands of years of history. Students will learn the difference between primary and secondary sources, how to cite textual evidence, and how to read historical information. The class will engage in hands-on activities and field trips to the Walters Art Museum to support the topics covered.
Grade: 7
Course Title: 7th Grade Geography: American History I (Pre-Columbus-the Civil War)
Course Length: Year
Course Description: This class is designed to enrich students’ knowledge of our nation’s experiences and development from the pre-Columbus Era to the Civil War, with an emphasis on the impact of geography on the development of American culture and civilization. Within this course, students will learn about the founding principles of the American government, the political, social, economic, and cultural elements that affected our nation’s progress, and the key people and documents that played a major role in the continued development of our nation. Major events students will study this year include, but are not limited to, the Revolutionary War, the Declaration of Independence, the Constitution, the Louisiana Purchase, Jacksonian Democracy, Manifest Destiny, Sectionalism, and the Civil War.
Grade: 8
Course Title: American History II (1865-present)
Course Length: Year
Course Description: Students will continue to use skills of historical and geographical analysis as they examine American history since 1865. Students will continue to learn fundamental concepts in civics, economics, and geography within the context of United States history. Political, economic, and social challenges facing the nation reunited after the Civil War will be examined chronologically as students develop an understanding of how the American experience shaped the world’s political and economic landscape.