Middle Grades Curriculum
This curriculum is traditional in resting upon a foundation of vertical cohesion (skills taught in one grade will be built upon in the following grades) and the mastery of crucial academic skills. It is progressive in its emphasis on depth of learning over breadth of exposure, its project- and problem-based orientation and its interdisciplinary nature.
Core Curriculum
In the Upper Division’s middle grades program, grades six through eight, students start to move from studio to studio (classroom to classroom). Students acquire greater depth and proficiency in all their academic and co-curricular subjects, as well as an increasing emphasis on critical thinking. Assignments individualize opportunities for students to pursue their particular interests in depth, but within a common curriculum and skills base. Curricular emphasis is on building the core skills already mastered in earlier years.
- Reading: focus on awareness of argument and understanding of the different genres of literature
- Writing: building a three-paragraph essay
- Math: including Algebra I
- Science: earth science and ecology, biology, physics
- World Course
In the middle grades, the World Course is likely to overlap with standard offerings in history and science.
- History: an interdisciplinary approach. Topics could include American history and ancient or medieval civilizations
- Language: Chinese or Spanish, continuing the language studied in earlier grades, resulting in increasing proficiency
- Music
- Art
- Physical education and health and wellness; team sports at the Avenues gymnasium and at Chelsea Piers
- The school in the city: understanding Chelsea and New York
Students of this age do well working on projects with other students, so work in small teams on independent projects will be emphasized.
Older middle grades students will begin to have some of their classes, particularly in art and music, integrated with offerings in Chelsea and the city around the school.
A chart of the middle grades program curriculum is available here.
LEARN MORE
VIEWBOOK
Our viewbook provides a comprehensive summary of an Avenues education.
APPLY TO AVENUES
Download Course Guide
Recent Articles from OPEN, our news and discussion blog
December 7, 2018
Digital Citizenship in 2nd Grade
Given the fact that students in 2nd grade are being asked to participate in that digital world without the direct oversight of their teachers as they complete their homework, we needed to ensure our 2nd grade digital citizenship curriculum prepared students for that responsibility.
December 5, 2018
Pre-K Celebrates Hispanic Heritage Month: Frida Kahlo Study
The Goldfish and Starfish embarked on a study of Frida Kahlo. They learned about her artistic life, where she was from and about her love for making self-portraits. Our pre-K curriculum already incorporates self-portraits, so this was the perfect way to connect the study of Frida Kahlo to a familiar theme.
November 30, 2018
Writing Memoirs in 8th Grade
This November, the Avenues 8th grade saw Aaron Sorkin’s Broadway production of Harper Lee’s To Kill a Mockingbird, starring Jeff Daniels and Celia Keenan-Bolger, at the Shubert Theater on Broadway.
November 28, 2018
Creating a “Me Museum” in Kindergarten
The kindergarten’s World Course offers a great way for students to feel comfortable with one another, and what better way than having a museum shown to the class about themselves!
November 21, 2018
Digital Citizenship in 1st Grade
Digital citizenship is an effort to explicitly teach students how to act responsibly, safely and respectfully in our digital world. This year, we began an effort to both explicitly teach these skills to our Lower Division grades at the start of the year and also weave these concepts throughout all we do for the rest of the school year.