Middle School Humanities
Philosophy
At the Middle School level, the integrated humanities’ curriculum maximizes opportunities for students to make connections between our language and the history of the American people. It also supports our school-wide philosophy that students learn best by making connections to their previous knowledge and across disciplines.
The primary goal of Middle School instruction is to build the skill sets necessary for students to succeed in secondary school. As in the Junior Division, the underlying structure of the course and the daily academic requirements are designed to build these skills. Skill practice is accomplished by exposing students to depth in content and an emphasis on conceptual learning in order to lead students to make connections between history, literature, and current events, and to satisfy the extraordinary curiosity of the gifted child. This emphasis on conceptual learning engages students’ minds and their hearts, connecting events in history to motivations of the people involved in those events and stretching student ability to appreciate the deeper significances in literature
Using Socratic style discussion, lecture, group work, and individual response, students are encouraged to express their oral and written responses to the content in a confident manner, building their abilities with continuously increasing expectations appropriate to the individual student. Students are constantly challenged to produce and required to deliver sustained effort. The curriculum strives to create a climate of excellence from the perspective that with a student’s gift of above average ability comes the obligation to optimize her or his talent. These high expectations are coupled with a nurturing classroom setting and literature selections appropriate to the social and emotional development of the students in a particular instructional group. Differentiation between levels of students and between individual students is accomplished by varying production expectations and the type and complexity of literature and other assigned readings.
Content in Middle School humanities is based on the traditional subjects of English, history, and social studies. The historical focus of study each year provides a general backdrop for selection of classic literature, geographic study, civics, and writing themes. All content in the Middle School focuses on three key organizational themes, the concepts of change, conflict, and human rights. A series of rotating periods in American history determine the focus for each year of study. English: Writing, The goal of the writing program is to develop technically strong writers who are able to address in written form any type of prompt. Students practice a variety of writing forms in the Middle School, including short story, formal and informal essay, research paper, journaling, and note taking. The emphasis of the Middle School writing program is on expository writing. At every instructional level, writing instruction concentrates on five-step process writing: prewriting, drafting, revising, editing, and publishing. Emphasis in the Middle School is on the prewriting and revision. Students read and/or study textbooks, articles from newspapers, journals and magazines, short stories, novels, poetry, essays, speeches, biographical writing, and most other forms of the written language in an effort to develop a comfort level with all types of reading material. Students study traditional literary elements, identification of genre, plot diagramming, and extracting the theme or main idea. In keeping with the school’s focus on delivery of a classical curriculum, students generally read a play by William Shakespeare on an annual basis, connecting the play to the focus of historical study when possible. For example, comparing and contrasting the leadership and conflict reflected in Julius Caesar to that of Abraham Lincoln and the conflict of Civil War or connecting The Merchant of Venice to the anti-Semiticism that lead to the Holocaust. With every study of Shakespeare, students also study or review the Elizabethan Era and English history with respect to political and religious conflict. All students are expected to become proficient in oral communication. Instruction examines the speech communication process from the perspective of both the listener and the speaker and the resulting feedback loop. Students are expected to be active participants in discussion from both of these perspectives. Students are also required to give oral reports and presentations and to evaluate the speeches of their classmates and historical figures. The goal of this part of our program is to allow students the opportunity to become poised and confident participants in the academic process. Continuing with the program used in the Junior Division, the Middle School uses curriculum for both grammar and vocabulary written by Michael Clay Thompson. Both the grammar and vocabulary materials are rich in content and connections to other disciplines therefore fitting comfortably within the overall approach of our humanities curriculum. The grammar curriculum, entitled The Magic Lens, presents the study of English grammar as a way of thinking about language. Students learn approximately sixty required definitions that are applied continuously in the form of a series of looping exercises and a Socratic dialogue with the instructor. The Magic Lens also incorporates references to the vocabulary curriculum entitled, The Word Within the Word: An Exploration of the Interior of Language. Like The Magic Lens, The Word Within the Word presents the study of English vocabulary as a system of thinking, rather than isolated word lists. Students study the stem words or roots to English words and complete exercises relating to the material. The method of presentation used by both of these series allows the humanities instructor to incorporate the topics of grammar and vocabulary into a history or other lesson and vice versa. Social Studies: Civics, Geography and Current Events. All students study the Constitution of the United States and its amendments on an annual basis. In connection with this study, students learn about the structure of our federal government, how this relates to the states, and the concepts of representative democracy. Students study geography as an overarching explanation for differences in the political and socio-economic power of different groups of people (see History, below.) Students also study maps and geography in connection with their historical study. With respect to current events, students are encouraged to make connections between their study of history and literature to what is happening in the world today. Frequent references are made to current events in class, and students complete assignments relating to current events. History: As noted above, the history and literature curriculum follows a rotation of topics shared each year by the entire middle school. As our students are unerringly concerned about why history reflects disparities between different peoples and between individuals, instruction in the Middle School attempts to help students understand how inequities develop from a historical basis. Underlying all instruction in history is the notion that geography or differences in the natural environment help to explain why history followed different courses for different peoples. (Diamond, Jared, Guns, Germs, and Steel, W.W. Norton and Company, 1999.) The change, conflict, and human rights conceptual focus of humanities also helps students understand and come to terms with the unsettling topics in our history. Topical Rotations: The primary focus for the middle school will rotate between the following themes: The Romantic period in American literature, the antebellum United States, the Civil War, Reconstruction, and the American Eugenics movement of the late nineteenth century. The early twentieth century through the late 1940’s, World War I, the Great Depression, World War II, the Holocaust, and the founding of the United Nations. The Cold War and the American Civil Rights movement, the space race, the Korean Conflict, and the Vietnam Conflict. Goals The Middle School humanities curriculum teaches students the following skills: General Academic Oral and Written Communication English, History, and Comprehension Thompson, Michael C. The Magic Lens. Thompson, Michael C. The Word Within the Word: an Exploration of the Interior of Language. Thompson, Michael Clay (2004) Poetry and Humanity, Diamond, Jared. Guns, Germs, and Steel. Cayton, Andrew. Pathways to the Present: Modern American History. Vreeland, Susan. What English Teachers Want. Hull, Edward. The Wall Chart of World History with Maps of the World’s Greatest Empires and a Complete Geological Diagram of the Earth. Unit Based: Materials listed below are suggestive of resources that might be used in any particular year. All materials are evaluated on an annual basis and may or may not be used based on the pacing, ability level, interests, and the social and emotional development of an instructional group as a whole. The themes rely heavily upon curriculum units published by the Center for Gifted Education at The College of William and Mary including: Utopia, Literature of the 19th Century, and Literature of the 1940’s. All readings are supplemented with current events articles, additional primary source reference material, videos, music, and reference to works of art that may not be noted in these lists. Almost every unit includes interdisciplinary work with the science, math, and/or arts departments. Nineteenth Century: All or excerpts from: Thompson, Jefferson’s Truths Thompson, Twain, Mark, The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn Crane, Stephen,The Red Badge of Courage Shaara, Michael, The Killer Angels A House Divided, Perfection Learning Facing History and Ourselves, Race and Membership in American History: The Eugenics Movement (instruction includes extensive interdisciplinary units with math and science departments) Stoltz, Mary, Cezanne Pinto Hawthorne, Nathaniel, “Young Goodman Brown” Poe, Edgar Allan, “The Black Cat,” “The Raven,” “The Fall of the House of Usher” Shakespeare, William, Julius Caesar Benet, Stephen Vincent, John Brown’s Body Various writings by the following authors: Ralph Waldo Emerson, Henry David Thoreau, Frederick Douglass, Rabbi Stephen Wise, Emily Dickinson, Herman Melville, Walt Whitman, John Hay, Jay Winik, and Stephen Oates. A&E Biography, Edgar Allan Poe (video) The Underground Railroad (video) Neighbors in Glory (video) The Twilight Zone: The Eye of the Beholder (video) Star Trek, The Next Generation: The Masterpiece Society (video) Burns, Ken, PBS, Baseball and The Civil War (video) The Great Depression, World Wars, and the Holocaust: All or excerpts from: The United Nations Universal Declaration of Human Rights Devine, Human Rights: The Essential Reference Facing History and Ourselves, Race and Membership in American History: The Eugenics Movement Spiegelman, Art, Maus II A Survivor’s Tale, And Here My Troubles Began Williams, Behind the Bedroom Wall Lee, Harper, To Kill a Mockingbird Frank, Anne, The Diary of a Young Girl Hamanaka, The Journey Hersey, John, Jackson, Shirley, “The Lottery” Faulkner, William, “A Rose for Emily” Steinbeck, John, Chapter 8, The Moon is Down Terkel, Studs, Hard Times Shakespeare, William, The Merchant of Various writings by the following authors: Ronald Takaki, Harry S. Truman, Langston Hughes, Carl Sandburg, Yukari Uchida, Thomas Sowell, Randall Jarrell, Alan Seeger, John Sheehan, Hannah Arendt, Franklin Delano Roosevelt, Winston Churchill, Edward R. Murrow The Grapes of Wrath (video) We Must Never Forget: The Story of the Holocaust (video) An Introduction to Economics (video) Forms of Government, What’s the Score (video game show for student participation) Cartoons Go to War (video) Anne Frank Remembered (video) Seabiscuit (video) It’s a Wonderful Life (video) The Speeches of The Speeches of Winston Churchill (video) “Degenerate Art” and Adolph Hitler, Interdisciplinary Unit with Star Trek: Patterns of Force (video) About the United Nations . . . Human Rights (video) The Cold War and the American Civil Rights Movement: All or excerpts from: Southern Southern Kidd, Sue Monk, The Secret Life of Bees Shakespeare, William, Romeo and Juliet Curtis, Christopher Paul, The Watsons Go to Myers, Walter Dean, Fallen Angels Myers, Walter Dean, Malcolm X: By Any Means Necessary Terkel, Studs, The Good War: An Oral History of World War Two King, Jr., Martin Luther, “Letter from a Kallen, Stuart A., A Cultural History of the Giese, James R., et al, eds., A Humanities Approach to Arnold, David, “Blast from the Past: What’s Become of Those Cold War Bomb Shelters,” Boston Globe Magazine, December 1999 Khrushchev, Sergei, “The Day We Shot Down the U-2,” American Heritage Kennedy, Robert, “Presidential Campaign Speech in Opposition to the Vietnam War,” and “On the Death of Martin Luther King, Jr.” Lilienthal, David, “Confirmation Hearing Statement, Chair of the Atomic Energy Commission” Smith, Margaret Chase, “Declaration of Conscience in Opposition to the Activities of Senator Joseph McCarthy” Hughes, Langston, The Dream Keeper and Other Poems National Archives and Records Administration and National Council for the Social Studies, Teaching With Documents: Using Primary Sources from the National Archives, “ Mighty Times: The Story of Rosa Parks (video) October Sky (video) Adventures of Rocky and Bullwinkle, “The Pottsylvania Creeper,” and “Vincent VanMoose: Goof Gas Attack” CNN: The Cold War (video) Dr. Strangelove (video) Star Trek: The Star Trek: Let That Be Your Last Battlefield (video) Teaching the Cold War, curriculum materials provided by the Garthoff, Raymond, L., “Why Did the Cold War Arise, and Why Did It End?” Stephens, Yedinek, Mary Ann, Utopia, Man’s Changing Ideas of the Ideal Golding, William, Lord of the Flies Orwell, George, Animal Farm Lowry, Lois, The Giver More, Thomas, Utopia Twain, Mark, “The Man that Corrupted Hadleyburg” Vonnegut, Kurt, “Harrison Bergeron” Lem, Stanislaw, “Turl’s Machine” Singer, Isaac B., “Fool’s Paradise” Hawthorne, Nathaniel, “The Blithedale Romance” Bradbury, Ray, “The Veldt” Star Trek: The Cage (video) Content
1. Organize binder, personal belongings, class materials, and manage planner
2. Complete homework in a timely and thorough manner
3. Determine what information or resources are necessary to accomplish a task and break down assignments into manageable components
4. Grasp the relationship of individual steps to the whole process
5. Establish priorities when organizing activities
6. Work independently
1. Use rules for formal and informal discussion
2. Develop listening and oral communication skills
3. Identify purpose for all modes of communication
4. Follow written and spoken directions
5. Prepare and deliver in class presentations
6. Pose questions to both instructor and classmates
7. Read aloud with confidence and expression
8. Take notes in class and on readings
9. Write clear, concise sentences and vary sentence structure
10. Add descriptive detail to writing
11. Write complete paragraphs with strong topic sentences and overall sufficient length
12. Effectively transition between paragraphs
13. Understand, internalize, and apply all aspects of process writing: prewriting, drafting, revising, editing, and publishing
14. Plan and outline compositions, essays, reports, and other writing
15. Acceptance of editing and the need to revise as essential to the improvement of writing, while understanding that constructive critiques (editing) are a positive gift to a writer, rather than personal criticism
16. Logically develop ideas in writing, remembering the reader with full explanations.
17. Develop clear and forceful theses in writing
18. Memorize and apply vocabulary, spelling rules, usage, capitalization, punctuation, all mechanics, and grammatical rules to writing, revising, and editing
1. Find textual evidence to support opinions and ideas in writing and class discussion
2. Distinguish between main idea and supporting detail in readings, videos, and discussion
3. Distinguish how an author’s choice of words appeals to the senses, creates imagery, suggests mood, and sets tone
4. Identify, analyze, and apply knowledge of theme in literature
5. Formulate multiple perspectives on any given issue
6. Develop analytical skills
7. Make inferences, based on evidence
8. Expand beyond literal interpretations of literature in order to better understand metaphor and simile and make connections between literature, history, and current events
9. Improved critical thinking ability, especially the ability to question and challenge print and electronic media
10. Read at different speeds, using scanning, skimming, or careful reading
11. Explain textual undertone
12. Extract ideas imbedded in complex passages
13. Compare and contrast information using Venn diagramming or other visual representation and in writing
14. Recognize historical, cultural, and personal perspectives presented through texts
15. Evaluate sources for credibility and reliability
16. Evaluate sources for bias
17. Identification of fact
18. Recognize and understand the purposes of propaganda
19. Understand and use globe, maps, and symbols
20. Use a variety of map types
21. Analyze geographical characteristics and their impact on people
22. Identify and understand the basic provisions of the United States Constitution, the structure of the United States Government, the basic principles of federalism with respect to the states, and overall concepts of representative democracy such as voting
23. Recognition and identification of genre (Narrative Fiction, Nonfiction Prose, Poetry and Drama)
24. Gain familiarity with a variety of literary elements including:
a. Plot (Exposition, Rising Action, Climax, Falling Action, Resolution)
b. Setting
c. Characterization
d. Tone/Mood
e. Theme
f. Foreshadowing
g. Symbolism
h. Simile
i. Metaphor
j. Flashback
k. Irony
l. Satire
m. Imagery
n. Figurative languageMaterials
Minear, Richard H., Dr. Seuss Goes to War, The Editorial Cartoons of Theodore Seuss Geisel
