Foreign Language

The Greene School middle school foreign language program exposes students to ample listening and reading opportunities with two required classes each week, and an optional elective offered once per week. Seventh/eighth grade Spanish curriculum integrates speaking, reading, writing, and listening, to help students achieve a level of proficiency. Students read more complex novels to promote conversation, pronunciation, reading comprehension, and writing. Seventh and eighth graders engage in communicative tasks relevant to their lives. Lessons and activities in grammar, vocabulary, geography, and culture are included in each unit. We highlight the geography and culture of Spanish speaking countries through reading novels set in Spanish speaking countries.

Students acquire language proficiency with visual and interactive support using grade level vocabulary and techniques including:

• Total Physical Response

• Collaborative Storytelling

• MovieTalk

• Embedded Reading

• PictureTalk

• Personalized Questions and Answers

• Read and Discuss

Seventh and eighth grade students use the ¡Qué chévere! and Realidades curriculum textbooks, which integrate the development of language proficiency into cultural understanding, using project-based learning activities, multimedia resources, songs, games, and stories.

• Students and teachers will communicate using Spanish 90% of class time.

• Students will learn “The Sweet 16 List”: to be (ser), to be (estar), to go, to have, to want, to like, there is\there are, to say, to give, to do, to see, can, to put on, to know, to leave, and to come back.

• Students will also learn the verbs: to help, to encender, to feel, to cry, to laugh, to ask, to stay, to describe, to hear, to touch, to buy, to sell, to need, to carry, to wear, to combine, to compare, to travel, to introduce to, to visit, to come, to analyze, to communicate, to find, to look for, to celebrate, to go for a walk, to go out, to listen, to understand, to practice, to ask question, to answer, to remember, to think, to speak, to stand-up, to sit-down, to look, to be able to, to start, to finish, to close, to open, to write, to read, to draw, to play, to walk, to run, to jump, to dance, to drink, to eat, to attack, to continue, to live, to swim, to notice, to escape,to destroy, exclaim, to talk, to take, to believe, to wait, to call, to take care of, to ride, to spend time, to change, to ski, to repeat, to respond, to learn, and to teach.

• Students will practice answering question words (what, when, how, how many, who, why, how many, and which).

• Students will learn verb conjugation in relation to all pronouns (I, you, he, she, we, and they).

• Students will be introduced to possessive adjectives, -ir verbs, contractions (al/del), stem-changing verbs, direct and indirect object pronouns, and past and future tense.

• Students will review and use subject pronouns, present tense -ar, -er verbs, infinitives, negative sentences, agreement or disagreement, adjectives, definite and indefinite articles, word order, prepositions, singular, and plural.

• Students will have in-depth practice differentiating between the verbs estar and ser (to be).

• Students will learn vocabulary through retelling stories and personalized questions and answers.

• Students will learn through topics: house and furniture, entertainment, shopping (price and payment), clothing and accessories, food and food preparation, places around me, and transportation.

• Students will read novels related to the Spanish language.

Technology is used to incorporate independent listening, speaking, and reading. Technology is crucial in our Spanish class to differentiate instruction and to play games. Music, games, stories, and videos engage students on their learning journey. Students watch videos and listen to young Spanish speakers. Students in seventh and eighth grade prepare for and take the National Spanish Exam.

Science

The Greene School middle school science curriculum is the bridge between elementary concepts and the more in-depth concepts of a high school curriculum.

Throughout middle school, students study:

• Physical Science

• Earth and Space Science

• Life Science

The physical science curriculum includes two components: chemistry and physics. The chemistry topics include the study of the structure and behavior of matter; transformations of matter, such as phase change, dissolution, and reaction; elements; atomic structure; molecules; compounds; energy transfers; and chemical interactions. The physics topics include the study of energy and the different forms it can take; how forces work to change energy from one form to another; how machines reduce the effort force needed to do work; how forces change the motion of objects; electromagnetic force; waves; gravity; and kinetic energy.

Earth and space science topics include energy conservation and natural resources, weather and water, earth history, the rock cycle, earthquakes, volcanism, seasons, moon phases, eclipses, the energy of the sun, and planetary science.

The life science topics that are covered in middle school include diversity of life; reproductive biology and life cycles; human systems interaction; cell division; plant reproduction; population dynamics; specific populations and ecosystems and the interactions within; food webs and energy pyramids; natural selection; heredity and adaptation; and an exploration of microscopic organisms.

Seventh/Eighth Grade Science Units Include:

• Heredity and Adaptation

• Electromagnetic Force

• Gravity and Kinetic Energy

• Waves

• Planetary Science

• Chemical Interactions

• Earth History

• Population and Ecosystems

Social Science

The seventh/eighth grade social science curriculum includes a study of American history from colonial times to the Civil War. This allows students to understand the way government, international relations, economics, and conflict have shaped our country.

Seventh/eighth grade units include:

• Our Colonial Heritage

• Revolution in the Colonies

• Forming A New Nation

• Launching the New Republic

• An Expanding Nation

• Antebellum America

• The Union Challenged

• Migration and Industry

• America Emerges as a World Power

Students are assessed through project-based learning activities including:

• Research Papers

• Team and Individual Projects

• Quizzes

• Homework in Online Texts

• Reflective Journaling

• In-class Discussions

• One-on-one Check-ins

• Daily Observations

Mathematics

The Greene School’s accelerated and enriched middle school mathematics curriculum provides opportunities for our highly able students to increase the depth and breadth of their learning of mathematics by studying advanced-level concepts and skills. Our curriculum allows students to complete Algebra I, Algebra II, and Geometry in middle school.

Students are provided opportunities to apply mathematical content to real-life situations. Challenging outside projects and long-term assignments are used as an integral part of the program, to enable students to extend and apply the mathematics learned in the classroom. Students are expected to read technical matter on a regular basis, in order to gather information about challenging mathematical concepts. Technology is integrated throughout our math program in order to facilitate students’ problem-solving skills. Students learn to use scientific calculators, graphing calculators, and spreadsheets in their solutions and explanations. Students are assessed using math journals, checklists, informal observations, quizzes, tests, and projects.

Seventh Grade Geometry Topics and Units Covered Include:

• Points, Lines, and Planes

• Triangles and Triangle Congruence

• Quadrilaterals

• Coordinate Geometry

• Dilations and Similarity

• Right Triangles and Trigonometry

• Circles

• Area and Volume

Eighth Grade Algebra II Topics and Units Covered Include:

• Systems of equations

• Advanced polynomials

• Imaginary and complex numbers

• Quadratics

• Trigonometric functions

• Matrices and their properties