What would your ideal middle school curriculum look like?

[Kfamily]

I would love to read the advice and opinions of those who have been there, those in the thick of it and those almost there and your ideal middle school curriculum. I have floundered soo much this year (I think I'm finally finished and have found some peace in that) and wish I would have sorted this out sooner. Middle school hit me like a ton of bricks-only it hit me right in the middle of planning sixth!:001_smile: A little too late I know.
So, if you could set up your ideal middle school what would it look like? I plan on posting this on the High School board to gain some insight from those who have been there.

Would you include logic? If so, when and what?
What would you use for science? What aspects of science are important at this age? Would you lean more towards a lighter study like LCC or Veritas Press or really start pushing science?
What would you consider most important in studying history and literature? Does the curriculum you chose support this and if so what are you using?
Which math programs support your ideas for middle school math?
What about Latin, other languages?
Lastly, what are your goals in regards to writing? Which programs support your goals?

I don't have all of my own questions answered but I have enough settled that I finally feel ready to tackle middle school. I don't think I realized how much of a bridge this is to high school and therefore how incredibly important it is to get this at least mostly right.

Thank you!!:001_smile:

[MIch elle]

CLE reading 6/7
CLE math 7 - 3 days; LOF alg. - 2 days
CLE LA 7
IEW U.S. History Based Writing Vol.1
Biblioplan 3 - SOTW 3 w/ Hakim 1-5; some historical fiction
Science - not sure yet; used PH Explorer series in the past
Spanish - SOS or other ??
Literature:
Shakespeare studies - 1-2 plays/yr
Progeny Press literature guides 2-3/yr or other
English From the Roots Up cards

Why has middle school "hit you like a ton of bricks"?

[Kfamily]

I think I got locked into thinking of only what will we do next year. Also, dh and I just this past year really decided to homeschool all the way through high school so I had not really planned out a curriculum through 12th. I realized all that I chose to do in 6th-8th would have an impact on everything we did in 9-12th.

[mcconnellboys]

I'll try to cover the specific questions you asked:

Would you include logic? Yes, we began Mind Benders this year, in fifth grade. (I've been through this way before, so I'm tweaking/changing some things this time around.)

If so, when and what? Instead of starting formal logic next year, as I did the first time around, I plan on doing informal logic. We will do Thinking Toolbox first semester, followed by Fallacy Detective. Others here have assured me that this can be done, LOL. We will do Introductory Logic in seventh grade, followed by Intermediate Logic. I will save Traditional Logic for high school, as I believe that it can be better tolerated, in general, by a slightly older student.

What would you use for science? Well, I may use Prentice Hall for some things, but just haven't decided yet. I put together my own study for biology this year, together with a lot of worksheets I found online, things I created, etc. I have done the same thing for earth and space, next year. I feel comfortable with those two categories of science and so feel confident that I'm covering plenty of relevant topics (another way to do this would be to consult the index of any good book on the subject and make certain one is covering all the topics contained therein). I may use Conceptual Chemistry and Physics when we get to those for seventh and eighth grades. I'll just have to wait and see what I think my son is ready for at that time.

What aspects of science are important at this age? Well, I think learning to incorporate the scientific method is always at the center of importance in all science studies. I think creating a love of science and getting some basic vocabulary embedded so that kids are comfortable already with the basics when they get to high school level work is also essential.

Would you lean more towards a lighter study like LCC or Veritas Press or really start pushing science? I am pushing science more for my second guy, who is more math/science oriented than my older son. I used more a WTM approach, including a lot of reading on scientists and various science topics for my older son, who was not at all science oriented. I think you need to teach to your student....

What would you consider most important in studying history and literature? I consider a broad, well-rounded approach to both history and lit important. I believe that studying lit from the same time period of history one is studying is a very good idea to help reinforce ideas about politics and life, in general, at that period of time. We study the U.S. within the context of the world, not in isolation. I would add that for my younger son, I am including more study of literary elements, beginning now, than I did with my older son.

Does the curriculum you chose support this and if so what are you using? I put together my own materials. We discuss our readings as we go through them (both read alouds and things being read silently). My children write on various related topics, too, for both history and lit. They practice outlining history topics, too. Yes, I believe that studying the inter-relatedness of the entire world is a more beneficial way to study history than spending years on one country, in isolation, as our schools here tend to do. My early modern/modern years of study are very U.S. intensive, as these are the years in which we began building this country - but we don't leave out what was occurring in the rest of the world at that time, either. We do tend to study U.S. government during this time period, as well.

Which math programs support your ideas for middle school math? Singapore ends at sixth grade. I was considering using Russian math to transition into algebra work. However, I think my younger son may be ready to go ahead and move into that sooner, so I'm working through an introductory program with him this summer to get him ready to see a tutor for algebra next school year. We'll see what happens.... The type of math I'd use for a math oriented child like him would be completely different from what I used with my older son. He will probably use a Dolciani text if he does do algebra.

What about Latin, other languages? We have played around with Spanish and Latin through elementary school. He started programs in them in earnest this year, fifth grade. Those will continue through middle school and into high school. He has a good, outside instructor for Spanish. I'd like to get him into a group situation for Latin, too, at some point.

Lastly, what are your goals in regards to writing? Well, for this kid, who is not a writer like his brother was, my goals are to get him writing more proficiently. He has some very good ideas, but what appears on paper does not always quite reflect what he intends. So I've just gotten much more intensive with his writing this year. That will continue next year. He'll be working through Writing Strands 3 and 4 (if it seems to work once we get into it). I know this can be accomplished in a single year, as my older son did it. But whether this son can do that may be another matter - we'll see. I am also looking at signing him up for an online program called Write at Home to give us both some outside advice on his writing skills.

Which programs support your goals? Well, as I mentioned, I hope that Writing Strands will be usable for him, because I do think it covers a wide range of writing styles. The Write at Home programming I mentioned also does that. My older son was lucky enough to have a great, outside instructor in seventh and eighth grades from whom he learned a great deal. Unfortunately, she no longer lives here and I haven't found a comparable replacement for her, so I'm hopeful that these other things will provide an acceptable substitute....

Good luck to you as you move into your middle school years, too!

[Kfamily]

Thank you so much Regena for typing this all out! I am printing it so that I can refer to it. This is very helpful!

Thank you!

[Sue in St Pete]

We are finishing up 7th grade. I'll list a few thoughts here.

I've been happy with our language arts:
Analytical Grammar for 6th-8th
Write Shop for 6th-8th
Megawords for 5th-8th
Lightning Lit for 7th-8th

Ideally, I would have liked to tie literature studies to history, but I didn't feel capable.

We have used/will continue to use a combination of Science Explorer (mom) and either TOPS or Exploration Education (dad) for 6th-8th. It's worked wonderfully for us.

I haven't been happy with our history. I'm very tempted to change it up next year. My ideal would be Story of the World for logic age children. ;)

Math we kinda continued on with the program we had been using (MUS). I'm not sure that I'm happy with what I've done this year (MUS + LoF Algebra).

We finished up MindBenders, DandyLion, and Perplexors mid-way through 7th grade. We've used Art of Argument since then, but I haven't been happy with it. I wouldn't do Fallacy Detective or Thinking Toolbox for the same reasons I don't like AoA (controversial topics). I'll be changing it up next year.

As for Latin, after 4 years, we abandoned it 1/2 through middle school. It was a battle that I no longer wanted to fight. If I could do it all over again, I'd use an online course, maybe Potter's School.

[Honeysuckle]

Language Arts -CLE (includes spelling and vocabulary)
Reading- CLE (1/2 semester)
Progeny Press or some type of literature guides (1/2 semester)
Writing-IEW Continuation Course B (we may decide to take two years to complete this)

Root word study

Math-Chalk Dust prealgebra
Science-Abeka dvd
History-Abeka dvd

Lots of field trips to local nature preserve

Music lessons and orchestra
Church activities

[Kfamily]

Thank you, Sue. I've been following the threads on logic lately but still don't have a plan of my own.
I liked this book: Critical Thinking Book One from Bright Minds but I may also consider Intro. Logic

[matroyshka]

I've been following the threads on logic lately but still don't have a plan of my own.
I liked this book: Critical Thinking Book One from Bright Minds but I may also consider Intro. Logic

That's where I am too... I'd really like to do some Logic, but I'm 99% sure I'm not going to be able to stomach the ones with Christian content (i.e. virtually all of the ones I usually see mentioned).

I'm currently using Cranium Crackers by the same author as the Critical Thinking books from Bright Minds/CTP. Does anyone know if that's more of a formal logic curriculum or more in the vein of the Cranium Crackers?

[LuvnMySvn]

We're finishing up 7th grade and I feel mostly good about what we did, yet will make changes for the next "set" who comes through.

Would you include logic? If so, when and what? I did not include logic this year but will begin next year. Since middle school also hit me like a ton of bricks, I limited the amount of material/subjects so I could focus on doing a better job with fewer subjects.
What would you use for science? What aspects of science are important at this age? Would you lean more towards a lighter study like LCC or Veritas Press or really start pushing science? We used God's Design Plants/Animals/Human Body. I went too light with science in the years before 7th so determined to really push it this year and will continue to do so. This was our most successful year and I wish I'd been more focused in the past. We're switching to Apologia in 8th, something I also wish I'd begun earlier.
What would you consider most important in studying history and literature? Does the curriculum you chose support this and if so what are you using? We're slowly working our way through U.S. history and finished up through the Civil War this year. I use History Pockets plus lots of historical fiction which works great for us. My main focus in 8th grade will be world geography and the rest of U.S. history. I want the dc to have a solid grasp of world geography before we begin world history in 9th grade. Literature we used LL7 which I thought was a good program. It introduced literary elements just enough without overkill and I was pleasantly surprised at how much my dc enjoyed the variety of reading/writing exercises.
Which math programs support your ideas for middle school math? This I struggled with big time. We used ChalkDust PreAlgebra yet I now realize there was not enough constant review so when I take my next "set" through I will also use Mixed Skills in Math for daily review.
What about Latin, other languages? This was our first year to focus on Latin and it went very well. We used English From the Roots Up and I can tell how much the dc learned as they are doing their vocabulary. Now the challenge is to find a good program/book to help them retain what they've learned.
Lastly, what are your goals in regards to writing? Which programs support your goals? Writing was a big focus for us, particulary note-taking and outlining. I had them outline their science chapter (thankfully it was very short, one reason I chose the book I did) as well as their History. LL7 gave them a lot of creative writing opportunities so I made sure we focused on persuasive and expository writing as well as a separate subject. I used Comprehensive Composition for my guide and just made my own assignments as I had not found any writing program I really liked.

One other thing I am glad I did was have my dc go through a good vocabulary program. We used Pathways 6th grade vocabulary which I used for their spelling and writing (they had to write a paragraph/sentences using their vocab. words each week).

We did an intense grammar study this year, too. Next year will be review.

[Kfamily]

Thank you LuvnMySvn! We're using Chalkdust this fall for prealgebra so I will be sure to add review in as well.

[Sue in St Pete]

Thank you, Sue. I've been following the threads on logic lately but still don't have a plan of my own.
I liked this book: Critical Thinking Book One from Bright Minds but I may also consider Intro. Logic
Yes, my current plan is to use Critical Thinking (is that the same one by Anita Harnadek?) next year. I'm not even sure that we will finish AoA.

[Kfamily]

Yes, that is the one!:001_smile:

[Beth in SW WA]

I have 2 middlers. My favorites include:

Chalkdust Pre Alg & Alg 1.

Read, read, read great books. As a general rule, dc read only books that are at least 40 years old. SWB's book list in TWTM has been my guide. Tough reading at times, but worth it.

Classical Writing

Apologia General & Physical for an intro to text book studying

History -- hodge podge of books & documentaries

We did Latin heavily. It has been an excellent foundation for Spanish.

[kayinpa]

I am planning on using Heart of Dakota's Hearts for Him Through Time. I will probably add logic, latin/greek. I am not sure yet what I will be using for math.