6th, 7th & 8th Grades
Science Curriculum
St. Augustine’s Middle School Science Program is a challenging and balanced integrated curriculum that incorporates grade level concepts from the Physical, Earth, and Biological Sciences. Students are taught both content and process skills that stimulate natural curiosity, imagination, logical thinking and nurtures appreciation and concern for our environment. It is supported through hands-on investigative activities that require students to apply what they have mastered in class lectures and discussions. The activities emphasize scientific methodology and reinforce required mathematical skills for data collection, modeling, and analysis. The curriculum content expands throughout Middle School – building on both depth of concept knowledge and student performance expectation.
- 6th grade: The major focus is formalizing scientific concepts along with applicable laboratory and field investigative procedures utilizing the scientific method, measurement taking, observation skills and basic statistical data analysis.
- 7th grade: Students are expected to build on previous learned material and experiences and focus on learning how to design experiments to a greater extent. In addition, students will demonstrate greater content understanding and application to investigative data modeling and analysis using basic algebra and
statistics.
- 8th grade: Science continues on previously learned concepts and practices. Eighth graders will focus
primarily on the physical and biological environmental sciences in both depth of knowledge and investigative activities as they incorporate Earth science concepts. Eighth grade students are expected to design their experiments to greater sophistication; as well as, demonstrate more sophisticated data modeling using algebraic and basic trigonometric mathematics and appropriate statistical analysis techniques. The curriculum is aligned to the National Science Education Standards: American Association for the Advancement of Science ( AAAS) and National Science Teachers Association (NSTA) – National Science Education Standards).
Mathematics
The math program is based on the development of concepts and knowledge that help the student reason and problem solve concrete problems that are age-level appropriate. The program uses Excel in 6th grade, Saxon texts 7th and 8th. In middle school algebra is the focus for 7th and 8th grade: at a pre-algebra level for 7th and algebra for 8th. Students in the 8th grade may opt between two levels of instruction: a continued study of pre-algebra to prepare for high school, or for those who are academically ready, a higher level algebra class is available. Those who take and complete that level will receive high school credit for completion of Algebra I.
Social Studies
Sixth Grade
The middle school social studies curriculum extends and builds upon the skills and knowledge initiated in the primary grades. Sixth graders study World History from the beginnings of civilization through the twentieth century. Primary emphasis is given to Greco-Roman civilization because of its importance as the cornerstone for the subsequent history of Western Europe. It is the ground-working knowledge for the seventh and eighth grade history courses. Seventh graders draw upon their acquired historical knowledge of Western Europe in their study of Texas History as they learn about the geography and culture of Texas as part of the primary inquiry into the origins of Texas and Texans and its manifestations under six different political systems.
Seventh Grade
Special emphasis is given to Texas as part of New Spain and the Republic of Mexico; as well as, the Texas Revolution and its aftermath as the Republic of Texas. The course concludes with a sketch of Texas as part of the Confederacy, the impact of Reconstruction, the birth of the cattle and oil kingdoms, and the advent of modern Texas. U.S. History 1492-1876 is the capstone history course of middle school that requires students to apply all their prior knowledge and experience as historians to analyze the first 400 years of “American” history.
Eighth Grade
The focal points in this course are the origins and conduct of the American Revolution and the War Between the States. While all three courses are text-based, they successively supplement the text with class notes derived from lecture and discussion as student progress in this skill increases. |
