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Greenfield’s middle school has a strong core program and offers a rigorous and enriching experience for students in 5th– 8th grades. Our teachers strive to create an environment in which our students feel supported and challenged. Each middle school grade also has an enrichment program incorporated into their daily schedule to enhance their academic experience.

Middle School Curriculum (5-8)

Literacy

5th Grade Literacy

5th grade uses a novel based curriculum for literacy. Students read 4-6 novels throughout the year, and are taught critical thinking, analytical and writing skills as we read, discuss and write about each novel. Grammar and vocabulary are infused in lessons and assignments throughout the year.

 

6th grade ELA 1-2 novels/nonfiction texts are read per marking period.  Our fiction titles are all historical fiction and our nonfiction texts are based on an historical event in world history, and all books are read in the chronological order of their setting, building on previous topics.  Topics include The Great Depression, World War II, The Cold War, The Civil Rights Movement, and The Vietnam War.  Our reading skills, vocabulary study, grammar skills, and writing skills are embedded into the novels and nonfiction material we study all year.

7th & 8th Grade Literacy

Curriculum Overview:
In order to be prepared for success in high school, elementary students must develop a wide array of solid literacy skills. In Literacy class, students will be routinely engaged in in-depth analysis, comparisons and evaluations of both literary and nonfiction texts.

Course Description:
Students will engage in a novel-based curriculum. The overarching academic goal of this course is to improve student reading comprehension and writing. Instruction and practice will focus on the development of major literacy and language arts skills: vocabulary, grammar, writing composition and mechanics, reading and comprehension of literature, and reading comprehension of nonfiction/informational texts.

Core Strategies:
Close Reading. In Close Reading, students learn to read, reread, mark-up and annotate texts in order to analyze content for specific purposes.

Evidence Based Claims. Students must become adept at being able to support claims with evidence gleaned from the text, and then citing that evidence properly in his or her written responses.

Collaborative Discussions. Students interact with the text and one another in engaging discussions, sharing questions, predictions and interpretations within a structured, small-group activity.

Course Objectives:

  • To create independent, strategic readers and writers who are capable of engaging in a
    variety of literary tasks and rigorous academic challenges.
  • To help students develop the academic skills, habits and attitudes necessary to be a
    successful student in any subject.

Science

5th Grade Science

Each quarter, we will dive into a different field of scientific inquiry: Forces and Motion (physical science), Our Universe (astronomy), Thinking Like a Scientist (scientific method and experimental design), and Energy in Ecosystems (ecology and biology). Science class will utilize a blended learning approach, which will include readings, demonstration, online learning, and experimentation. Much like social studies, our scientific studies will not center on the memorization of content; instead, success in science hinges upon a spirit of inquiry, and creative and logical thinking: science is more about how one thinks and responds to challenges than what one knows!

6th-8th Grade Science

The Middle School Science program uses the resources of Greenfield’s Greening initiative and the surrounding neighborhood to make science relatable to a student’s everyday life.  Visits to Waterworks, the river, and Greenfield’s rain garden help bring what takes place in the classroom to life. Whether it is identifying migratory birds or classifying trees, students become familiar with the scientific method and use a variety of materials to develop an interest in science.

In 6th Grade: students learn earth sciences: minerals, rocks, impact of water on land and rock cycle as well as weather and climate. Students take trips to Waterworks and track weather via the National Oceanic Atmosphere Association.

In 7th Grade: students learn life sciences such as biology, dissection, genetics and adaptations. Much of the work is project-based.

In 8th Grade: Students have hand on experience with labs involving chemistry and physics and conduct high level calculations.

Middle School Science Teacher Mr. Bentz has been recognized by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) as an outstanding environmental educator and received a Presidential Innovation Award for Environmental Educators Honorable Mention for teaching environmental issues and green solutions that extends beyond his students to their families, community members and other teachers in the District.

Social Studies

5th & 6th Grade Social Studies

5th grade: The focus of the year is American history from pre-colonial settlement until the Revolutionary War. More specifically, we will study major geographical features and regions of the US, indigenous cultures and civilizations unique to each geographical region, European exploration and settlement, colonial life, the Revolutionary War, and potentially the Constitutional Convention. To advance higher order thinking, we will take a multicultural and critical perspective towards these major historical eras and consider the implications of these events on various groups and cultures, and ultimately analyze how history has shaped and continues to shape current society. In other words, history is not a series of dates to memorize, but rather an inquiry into power and attempts to design and implement dis/utopic principles.

 

6th grade: Our Middle School students tackle the Social Studies curriculum through rigorous examination of both primary and secondary sources. As an example, 6th Graders will study how an economy works as per the curriculum, but we’ll also spend time exploring the role of advertising and the issues created by the use of gender based stereotypes by ad agencies. To coincide with our Middle School Literacy Program, students get plenty of practice using Document and Evidence based writing techniques as part of Social Studies.

Overall the goal is to help our students become young adults who can both elegantly craft and defend their arguments and opinions.

7th & 8th Grade Social Studies

Middle School History at Greenfield eschews the use of a traditional textbook to instead rely on a variety of primary and secondary sources including poetry, film, and novels. One of the main goals is for students to deepen their understanding of history in order to develop the skills to make connections between events of the past and the realities of life today both in the United States and around the world. In addition to the study of historical content, there is also a heavy focus on both text dependent essay writing and media literacy so students can properly navigate the digital environment to acquire reliable information to guide their decision making.

Math & STEM

5th Grade Math

The fifth grade math program focuses on building students’ fact fluency and conceptual understanding of the math content students learn in lower grades. In addition, the program puts a heavy focus on bringing students from concrete to abstract problem solving, challenging them to think deeper into reasoning, communicating, and connecting their skills to what they already understand and do well and need to discover. Responsibility begins to shift more onto the students encouraging them to focus on neatness, punctuality, quality of work, and organization.

The fifth grade math program uses well known resources such as Illustrative Math series, Engage NY, Math Expressions  while supplementing other technology and web-based programs such as Cuethink, Imagine Math, IXL, and NCTM’s Math Forum.

STEM

STEM is new to Greenfield as of 2023 and serves grades 4-8. During the five years of STEM, students will be exposed to different STEM careers as they complete different types of activities. Students will apply MATH and SCIENCE to a problem using the ENGINEERING design process through TECHNOLOGY.

Some of our goals are:

  • Using the engineering design process to tackle different challenges.
  • Learning different coding languages and seeing our code work with our micro-bit, robots, and drones.
  • Learning how to design using 3D pens and CAD software for our 3D printers.
  • Learning problem solving.
  • Learning it’s okay to make mistakes and how to make changes to move forward.
  • Working as teams of engineers to learn.

We started this year strong in our amazing new STEM lab!

Art & Music

In the Greenfield art room, your son or daughter is learning to think like an artist. Ms. Mowery, Greenfield’s K-8 art teacher, is passionate about teaching students what a wonderful addition the arts can be to their lives. It is important to her that each students leaves her classroom thinking of themselves as creative problem solvers.

Our art curriculum is designed to give students of various learning styles and abilities a chance to build the following skills:

OBSERVING: Art is everywhere! We will learn how to observe our surroundings, looking closely for details. Students will compare and contrast famous works of art and attempt to incorporate aspects of their own life into art room projects.

PRACTICING: Students will have an opportunity to use a variety of materials in art class. We will use formal art elements and principles to guide our practice.

PROBLEM SOLVING: We will work in groups and as individuals to problem solve. Self-sufficiency and independent thinking is encouraged in each project.

MAKING CONNECTIONS: We will be creating art to connect with other cultures, art history, and ourselves.

REFLECTING: Self-reflection is something that artists of all ages use to streamline and improve their art. Students will be encouraged to share their reactions to many classic and modern works of art. Art class will become and environment where students feel comfortable offering and receiving constructive criticism.

HOW TO JOIN THE BAND PROGRAM!

When school begins in September, the Band Instructor will begin accepting parental letters giving approval for your child to ” tryout” an instrument. The letter should include the students name, room number and the instrument that they would like to try. You can put the letter in my box in the office. The student should have some idea of what instrument sparks their interest. With their new classroom teacher’s approval as well, students will begin the process. Remember good grades, attendance and behavior must be in place to add this extended curriculum to your child’s life.

October is ” TRY OUT ” time and, in the order that the letters are received, students will be invited to come down and try it out.

The Albert Greenfield School Band Program

Greenfield has a thriving Instrumental Music program, Mr. Aaron Stewart with many students participating in the Band program from grades 4-8. Students are offered an instrument ( woodwind, brass or percussion) and will take a “once a week, 45 minute group lesson” as a beginner, primarily in 4th & 5th grade. They continue with more advanced studies in 6th-8th grade, with some exceptions. The program operates every Thursday during school hours (9:00am – 3:00 pm).

The band performs a Winter and Spring Concert utilizing the full band, drum line and/or a small chamber group. Many students progress in their studies and have been recipients of the Temple University Community Music Scholarship, receiving private lessons, ensembles and music theory classes. This commitment extends their performance opportunities immensely. Our advanced instrumentalist have also gained membership into the prestigious “All Philadelphia Middle School Concert Band”, an ensemble of over 130 students comprised of the best middle school musicians throughout the entire Philadelphia area, another extended performance opportunity. Many of our students go on to some of the most notable high schools in the area, with a strong foundation to build upon as they strive to achieve their goals and dreams.

As a instrumental music educator, my goal is for the students involved in the band program to develop a strong sense of hard work, dedication, confidence, commitment, ownership, musical skills and knowledge while building a community of friendship, trust and fun.

Greenfield has a thriving Instrumental Music program, with many students participating in the Band program from grades 4-8. Students are offered an instrument ( woodwind, brass or percussion) and will take a “once a week, 45 minute group lesson” as a beginner, primarily in 4th & 5th grade. They continue with more advanced studies in 6th-8th grade, with some exceptions. The program operates every Thursday during school hours (9:00am – 3:00 pm).

The band performs a Winter and Spring Concert utilizing the full band, drum line and/or a small chamber group. Many students progress in their studies and have been recipients of the Temple University Community Music Scholarship, receiving private lessons, ensembles and music theory classes. This commitment extends their performance opportunities immensely. Our advanced instrumentalist have also gained membership into the prestigious “All Philadelphia Middle School Concert Band”, an ensemble of over 130 students comprised of the best middle school musicians throughout the entire Philadelphia area, another extended performance opportunity. Many of our students go on to some of the most notable high schools in the area, with a strong foundation to build upon as they strive to achieve their goals and dreams.

As a instrumental music educator, my goal is for the students involved in the band program to develop a strong sense of hard work, dedication, confidence, commitment, ownership, musical skills and knowledge while building a community of friendship, trust and fun.

Greenfield offers general music classes for all students grades K-8. Our teacher, Mr. Stambaugh, teaches Music Learning Theory (MLT) – a philosophy of music pedagogy that emphasizes development of “audiation,” or an internal ear. Lower School musicians (K-4) actively listen, sing, move, and play in each and every music class to acculturate them to a wide and diverse variety of music. Upper School musicians (5-8) continue to build these skills while applying them in a project-based curriculum centered on performance, improvisation, and composition. Greenfield musicians have access to classroom sets of ukuleles, Orff instruments, guitars, and recorders as well as a panoply of auxiliary percussion instruments and a school subscription to SoundTrap. However, the most important instruments in music class are the ones each Greenfield student takes with them everywhere they go – their voices

Enrichment Programs

Through Greenfield’s Home & School Association’s fundraising efforts, Greenfield is able to offer each grade a special enrichment program to enhance our students’ academic and cultural experience.

Dancing Classrooms

Dancing Classrooms Philly isn’t just about dance – it’s about transforming kids into “ladies and gentlemen” with a set of behavioral skills and social graces that will carry over into all aspects of their lives, giving them the confidence and self-esteem needed to compete in the real world. Students meet twice a week for ten weeks and are eligible to compete in a competition among all of Dancing Classrooms’ area students.

Al Bustan

“Al-Bustan,” Arabic for “The Garden,” offers 30 weeks of structured exposure to the language, art, music, dance, literature, and natural environment of the Arab world. Al-Bustan promotes cross-cultural understanding among youth and adults of all ethnic, religious, and socio-economic backgrounds through artistic and educational programs.

Asian Arts Initiative

Asian Arts Initiative is a multi-disciplinary and community-based arts center in Philadelphia that engages and advances racial equity and understanding, activating artists, youth, and their communities through creative practice and dialogue grounded in the diverse Asian American experience. Through a series of lessons and projects, students will learn about different sculpture mediums and techniques, as well as how to use them to explore identity, self-awareness and social-awareness.

Opera & Film

Opera is used as a vehicle to teach lessons across the curriculum. In this program, our 8th graders will be introduced to opera through lessons from music and language arts, to social studies, foreign languages, and more. The program culminates with students attending a dress rehearsal at the Academy of Music.

 

 

Philadelphia Film Society: Each residency with Greenfield’s 8th grade classrooms will take place over 6 lessons taught over 3 weeks by a Philadelphia Film Society teaching artist. The residency will focus on joyful film experimentation, walking students through the process of making a 1-5 minute film. At the end of the residency, students will have their films shown on the PFC screen.

Middle School Faculty

Greenfield’s middle school teachers continue the work of our lower school teachers by preparing our 5th-8th graders to be leaders among their peers and their greater community. They create an interactive learning environment that enables our students to live up to their potential.

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