Four Corners Montessori

TESTIMONIALS

• I am proud to be a part of a learning community that values the present and sees the potential of each child that walks through its doors.  - Amy Geiser Pommereau, 1st - 3rd Year Teacher  
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Grades 7-8

The middle school curriculum is built upon the Montessori foundation laid in the prior levels and takes the ideals of movement, choice, intrinsic motivation, and collaborative group learning to the next level for secondary abstract learners.  The curriculum is integrated, individualized, academically challenging and meets the developmental needs of each child, intellectually, socially, physically and emotionally.  

Language I/II (1 unit each year)

The language curriculum encompasses an integrated study of vocabulary, literature, grammar and mechanics, and writing.  The curriculum seeks to teach students to value reading and writing well, to self-initiate reading and writing in their own lives, and to see reading and writing as tools to change themselves and the world around them.  Students read and write in a wide range of genres for a variety of authentic purposes and learn to communicate with a variety of audiences.  Vocabulary and etymology is presented across the curriculum and is tested each cycle.  Grammar is studied daily within the context of literature and writing.  With special emphasis on critical analysis, students practice daily a variety of types of writing in response to literature.

Speech I/II (1/2 unit each year) 

Speech includes a daily communications lab that focuses on grace and courtesy, listening skills, note-taking, active participation in group discussions by articulating ideas, and making formal presentations. 

Social Studies I/II (1 unit)

This course includes geography and history.  The history curriculum focuses on the progress of people and the following topics: Structures (Governments and US Government), Forces (Revolutions), Power (Human Rights Movement), Changes (Industrial Revolution), and Balance (Peace Education and Future Vision).  The geography curriculum includes the study of the themes of location, place, movements, regions, and interaction of people and their environment. The history curriculum focuses on the history of people and the following topics: Connections (Native Americans and Eastern Hemisphere), Exploration and Perspectives, Identity (Immigration), Systems (Economics and Economic Systems), Interdependence (Ecology and Future Visions). 

Pre-Algebra and Algebra (1 unit each year)

Montessori materials and methods will be integral in the middle school math instruction, which will include mathematics, pre-algebra and algebra. Saxon math will help students master the grade-level standards by developing higher-order thinking, helping students to become more confident problem solvers, and seamlessly integrating Montessori manipulatives for deeper understanding. 

Physical Science (1 unit)

The physical science curriculum includes the study of Structures (Nature of Science and the Structure of Matter), Forces (Motion Gravitational Force), Power (Power, Energy, and Waves), Changes (Earth’s Surface, and Weather and Climate), and Balance (Human Impact on Environment). 

Life Sciences (1 unit)

The life science curriculum includes the study of Connections (Cells and Living Things), Exploration (Prokaryote & Eukaryote; Virus, Bacteria and Fungi, Evolution), Identity (Genetics), Systems (Animal Systems), and Interdependence (Ecosystems and Future Visions. 

Health I/II (1/2 unit each year)

Health is the study of issues pertinent to the needs of early adolescents.  Students alternate focusing on The Heroic Journey and The 7 Habits of Highly Effective Teens.  Students explore topics such as belonging, friendships, adolescent development, stress management, self-esteem, peer pressure, drug education, sexuality, nutrition, and balanced-living.  There is a time each day in which students spend in personal reflection for development of their intrapersonal skills. 

To learn more about the above subject areas, and other things your middle school student will learn, download our Middle School Handbook.

Typical Middle School Week

Monday, Wednesday, Thursday

8:05-8:40- Community Meeting with PACE
8:45-9:50- Language Arts
9:55-11:15- Math
11:20-11:50  

• Monday and Tuesday: Independent Work Time
• Wednesday:   Writer’s Workshop and Independent Research Study
• Thursday:   Weekly Graph Check and Independent Work Time

12:00-12:30- Lunch
12:30-1:00- Personal World Reflection
1:00-3:00- Block Schedule:  Natural World or Social World with Tree Group (M, W or T, Th)
2:00-2:30 (Tuesday only) 

• Birch - Spanish
• Maple – Independent Work Time

2:35-3:00 (Tuesday only) 

• Birch – Independent Work Time
• Maple - Spanish

3:00-3:15- Closure and Dismissal

Friday

8:05-8:40- Community Meeting with PACE
8:45-10:00- Math
10:00-11:00- Study Hall
11:00-12:00- Economics/ Fundraising
12:00-12:30- Lunch
12:30-1:00- Personal Reflection
1:05-1:50- Health
2:05-2:50- Electives – PE or Art
3:00-3:15- Closure and Dismissal