Curriculum

List of 4 items.

• GRADE 5 CURRICULUM

  Read More
  English

  Beginning with anthropomorphic tales, the fall curriculum focuses on a familiar character archetype: the animal. Broach’s Masterpiece, O’Brien’s Mrs. Frisby and the Rats of Nimh and Oppel’s The Boundless comprise this first unit, with a focus on characterization and how nature mirrors humanity. The second phase: sidekicks. Segueing from the film Ratatouille, students will read Pax by Sara Pennypacker, which telescopes out from the strictly animal to human protagonists with animal sidekicks. Then, the curriculum shifts to multicultural folklore and a short story anthology, The Storyteller, through the lens of which students will explore the critical writing process in depth, beginning with the paragraph as a unit of logic. Collaboration and cooperation with Reading 5 will include a theatrical experience during which fables or fairy tales, and their animal and human narratives, will be “fractured” and performed. The final phase of English 5 extends to a broader study of the human as an animal—as a species, as community builders and as storytellers. Students, using a nonfiction text of their choosing, will produce a research paper to demonstrate what they have learned about both human nature and critical writing.

  
  English 5 integrates a variety of language arts skills including grammar study, literary analysis, creative and critical writing, and vocabulary development. Grammar instruction covers parts of speech, sentence structure, syntax and punctuation. Students’ written compositions encompass a variety of genres including persuasive, expository, narrative, plays and poetry. Students study vocabulary using both direct and contextual instructional approaches.
  
  

  History
  

  5th Passport to the World Part I: Students will be required to examine major themes, concepts, and skills in geography. The course's focus is the web of relationships that exist between people, places and the environment, paying particular attention to Latin America and Europe. Emphasis is placed upon physical, human, cultural and political geography, using geographic tools such as maps, graphs, charts and more. Students will explore how to use graphic organizers to take notes both in class and from the textbook, with significant attention to assessment preparation. Reading comprehension and writing skills are strengthened through the research and writing process, with enhanced focus on source citation through Noodletools in order to create a working bibliography. Students will read a novel set in a country in the region of study written by an author from that country. Teachers will focus on creating an environment that promotes a curiosity about the people and places across the globe.
  
  Language
  

  Explore the Prima Lingua curriculum, a Latin based comparative course that serves as a strong foundation for future language study. Prima Lingua has two main goals: to familiarize students with key grammatical concepts that English shares with other languages and to introduce grammatical elements (such as gender of nouns, agreement of adjective and noun, and the importance of inflection, or word endings). Prima Lingua also gives students an appreciation of the cultural aspects of language and exposure to the historical development of language, with examples mostly in French, Spanish, Italian, German, Latin, Greek and English.

  
  Library and Research

  The Middle/Upper School Library supports students to be critical thinkers, enthusiastic readers, skillful researchers and ethical users of information. Collaboration with the learning community through age-appropriate information literacy instruction encourages our students to be lifelong users and creators of information. This collaboration is supported by a diverse collection of print and online resources for research, personal growth and enjoyment of reading.

   

  Individual and group study areas in the library encourage collaboration, creativity and research. The MS/US Library collection includes print resources of magazines, newspapers and over 17,000 books. Over 50 databases through UDLib/search, individual subscriptions, including JSTOR and NYTimes online, as well as ebooks can be accessed on campus and at home. A full-time librarian provides individualized assistance with readers advisory, research and technology.
  
  

  Math
  

  The fifth grade math course is designed to solidify the students’ abilities to perform operations with whole numbers. New topics introduced will be all operations with fractions and decimals, including the supporting concepts of number theory and divisibility strategies. The course then moves on to ratios, proportions, percents and probability ideas. Problem solving strategies include using basic statistics and non-routine techniques. The calculator, provided in class, is introduced as a tool for problem solving activities and investigating patterns. Enrichment activities are included with all student involvement in the Math Olympiad program.

  
  Reading
  

  Reading 5 develops fluency and comprehension through teacher-directed, student-selected fiction and nonfiction. Students learn to comprehend beyond the literal meaning of texts by reading a variety of genres, including historical fiction, realistic fiction, fantasy, short fiction, self-selected nonfiction and mysteries. A diversity of pedagogical methods elucidates curricular content: classroom discourse, literature-based vocabulary instruction and text-based response. Students' skills are assessed several times throughout the year to benchmark their progress. Strategies such as previewing, annotating, visualizing, chunking and connecting are just a few important skills emphasized this year. The “literature circle” experience builds rhetorical skill, fluency, comprehension, logic and higher order thinking. Student choice is crucial in the “lit circle” paradigm, and students choose one text from among a teacher-curated array four times throughout the year. Three Times Lucky and Junior Great Books comprise the whole-class reads while “lit circle” themes include: “anthropomorphic matters” (to correspond to English 5), “circuitous routes,” “sole survivor” and “super sleuthing.”

  
  Science
  

  Fifth Grade Science includes areas of life science, simple chemistry, physical science, and health science. Students learn to measure, observe, collaborate and communicate ideas to see the interconnections in their world. Topics in ecology lead to many seasonal visits to the Brandywine River for Stream Watch to conduct biological, chemical and geological surveys. Students also study physical principles of the electromagnetic spectrum. This leads into in-depth microscopy studies. Students also design and implement engineering experiments through the LEGO Robotics unit. The students finish the year learning about puberty and new life in a unit about reproduction. Throughout the year, fifth graders learn to hypothesize and investigate independently.

   

  Social Justice

  Each Middle School grade team has collaborated with the Director of Social Justice to create and support social justice themes that will tie-into the grades curriculum for the year. In fifth grade, the theme is Kindness, Friendship and Allyship. In addition, monthly Lunch n' Learns provide an opportunity for grade 5-8 students to discuss diversity, equity and inclusion. These lunchtime meetings are peer-led and faculty-guided by our MS Equity and Inclusion Coordinators Carmen Martinez and Rachel Ashbrook and Director of Social Justice Natasha Murray-Everett. Additional opportunities for students to participate in local diversity conferences are provided throughout the year.

  
  Specials
  Art
  Technology
  Woodshop
  Music
  Band, Chorus and Strings
  Physical Education
  

   

   

• GRADE 6 CURRICULUM

  Read More
  English
  

  “Global Journeys” begins where “The Human Animal” left off: with human storytellers as they venture far away from home. Students, too, will traverse the globe, examining their own journeys in relationship to the protagonists they meet. As sixth graders study the world in their history class, English will kick off in North and South America; texts in the fall include Jack Cheng’s See you in the Cosmos, Lynn Joseph’s The Color of My Words and Ellen Oh’s Flying Lessons. Students will use To Be a Hero, an anthology published by Perfection Learning, and Homer’s The Odyssey to analyze the hero’s journey; they will conduct a companion film study of The Wizard of Oz. Writing critically and creatively, students will analyze the many obstacles and stages leaders overcome and pass through to return home. In the spring, the class travels to Asia and Africa, reading Andy Mulligan’s Trash and from Naomi Shihab Nye’s poetry anthology The Same Sky. The year concludes with students researching, writing and presenting a nonfiction quest or adventurer that changed the world, further solidifying their understanding of themselves as global citizens.

  
  English 6 stresses the development of students’ written and oral expression. Writing instruction emphasizes cohesive paragraph development and then expands to the five paragraph essay. Students also write creative stories that illustrate their understanding of characterization, setting, theme, conflict and irony. Modeled writing gives students ample opportunity to find their voices. Students also recite and create poetry with emphasis on vivid language and the use of poetic devices. Public speaking, a core component of the English 6 experience, challenges students to synthesize information and present it clearly. Grammar instruction builds upon the English 5 program, and students expand their vocabulary knowledge through direct instruction and within literary context.
  
  History
  

  6th Passport to the World Part II: Students continue the journey they began in fifth grade by examining the relationships that exist between people, places and the environment. These relationships will be examined by exploring Africa and Asia. Emphasis is placed upon economic geography in addition to physical, human, cultural and political geography. Students continue to develop their note taking skills using a variety of graphic organizers alongside traditional outlining methods. Reading comprehension and writing skills are strengthened through the research and writing process. Formal debate supports the research and writing process as students develop the skills to provide evidence from research to support their position and arguments in debate. Students will read a novel set in a country in the region of study written by an author from that country. Teachers focus on creating an environment that promotes a curiosity about the people and places across the globe.
  
  Language
  Explore a semester of French and Mandarin. Through interactive activities and projects, stories, songs and skits, students become more familiar with the culture, vocabulary, and grammar of two of the three languages offered in the Upper School. Students learn more about the varied spelling and pronunciation patterns in languages. After the rotation of exploratory language courses in sixth grade, students will be well prepared to make their choice for more formal language study beginning in seventh grade.
  
  Library and Research
  

  The Middle/Upper School Library supports students to be critical thinkers, enthusiastic readers, skillful researchers and ethical users of information. Collaboration with the learning community through age-appropriate information literacy instruction encourages our students to be lifelong users and creators of information. This collaboration is supported by a diverse collection of print and online resources for research, personal growth and enjoyment of reading.

   

  Individual and group study areas in the library encourage collaboration, creativity and research. The MS/US Library collection includes print resources of magazines, newspapers and over 17,000 books. Over 50 databases through UDLib/search, individual subscriptions, including JSTOR and NYTimes online, as well as ebooks can be accessed on campus and at home. A full-time librarian provides individualized assistance with readers advisory, research and technology.

  
  Math
  

  The sixth grade math course reviews concepts from Math 5, and exposes students to challenging concepts that deepen mathematical understanding. In this course, students review decimal and fraction operations, including work with greatest common factors and least common multiples. New topics include operations with integers, equations and inequalities, ratios and proportions, percents, geometry and probability. Students continue to use the calculator as a problem solving tool. Enrichment activities are included with student involvement in the Math Olympiad program.

  
  Reading
  

  Reading 6 builds on the fluency and comprehension skills developed in Reading 5 through continued emphasis on teacher-directed, student-selected fiction and nonfiction. Reading from a variety of genres provides opportunities for students to see themselves reflected in literary mirrors while also seeing the world revealed through windows of diverse perspectives. A diversity of pedagogical methods elucidates curricular content: classroom discourse, literature-based vocabulary instruction and text-based response. Students' skills are assessed several times throughout the year to benchmark their progress. Strategies such as previewing, annotating, visualizing, chunking and connecting are just a few important skills emphasized this year. The “literature circle” experience builds rhetorical skill, fluency, comprehension, logic and higher order thinking. Student choice is crucial in the “lit circle” paradigm, and students choose one text from among a teacher-curated array four times throughout the year. Peak, Gregor the Overlander, Junior Great Books anthology, D'Aulaires' Book of Greek Myths and The Little Prince comprise the whole-class reads while “lit circle” themes include: “witch hunt,” “voices from the Middle East,” “who am I?” and “other worlds.”

  
  

  Students develop higher-level comprehension skills by making personal connections to the text, thinking critically, and analyzing the author’s craft. Classroom discourse, literature-based vocabulary instruction and text-based response to literature play an important role in the sixth grade reading classroom.

  
  Science
  

  Sixth Grade Science focuses on the physical sciences to understand our world. Built around a series of key questions and exploratory experiments, the course emphasizes the scientific method. Topics of the labs include motion (Newton’s First Law), pendulums, density, gravity (Newton’s Third Law), electricity, energy, waves and sound. Students perform scientific tasks, write lab reports and develop ancillary skills that prepare them for future science studies. Skills developed include problem solving, designing experiments, taking and analyzing data, preparing spreadsheets, looking for patterns, building computer models, using units, making scientific graphs, identifying independent and dependent variables, and using mathematics to describe natural patterns. Often, students’ practical applications of these skills culminate in STEAM projects and presentations.

  
  

  Social Justice
  Each Middle School grade team has collaborated with the Director of Social Justice to create and support social justice themes that will tie-into the grades curriculum for the year. In sixth grade, the theme is "Gratitude for a Community that includes Respect and Value for Diversity." In addition, monthly Lunch n' Learns provide an opportunity for grade 5-8 students to discuss diversity, equity and inclusion. These lunchtime meetings are peer-led and faculty-guided by our MS Equity and Inclusion Coordinators Carmen Martinez and Rachel Ashbrook and Director of Social Justice Natasha Murray-Everett. Additional opportunities for students to participate in local diversity conferences are provided throughout the year.

  
  Specials
  Art
  Technology
  Music
  Band, Chorus and Strings
  Physical Education

   

• GRADE 7 CURRICULUM

  Read More
  Athletics 
  Students participate in interscholastic competition. Seventh and eighth graders are required to participate in athletics in all three seasons. Time for athletics, a component of the student’s physical education requirement, is built into the school day.
  
  English
  

  This course, “American Voices,” seeks to complement the seventh grade history curriculum, which returns from global study in favor of American study once again. Rather than aim for a chronological treatment of American literature, English 7 hones in on voice—those of the disempowered, marginalized and stylistically diverse. Leaders who strived to be heard and movements that epitomized a struggle will be highlighted. Seventh graders’ writing skills will advance, with one major assignment including analysis of an important American speech followed by rhetorical delivery of an excerpt. Texts include Draper’s Out of My Mind, America Street, which is a multicultural short story anthology, Alexie’s The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian, Hinton’s The Outsiders, Zoboi’s American Street and a unit on the Civil Rights movement, which will include: Nelson’s A Wreath for Emmitt Till, Lewis’ March 2, Perfection Learning’s Free At Last: The Struggle for Civil Rights and films such as CNN’s The Sixties and Frontline’s A Class Divided, among other fiction and non-fiction selections.

  
  

  Using the literature as a springboard, students construct a variety of creative and analytical responses, including essays, stories and poetry. Higher-order reasoning—comparative analysis and inferential reasoning skills—is crucial as students recognize language’s power to formulate the individual’s role in a community. Students study from the Sadlier-Oxford grammar suite to continue building skills in punctuation, sentence structure, parts of speech and correct usage in order to enhance their written expression. Vocabulary, extracted from the course readings and further developed through Membean (an individualized online program), is incorporated into class discussions and written assignments.
  
  Health
  In seventh grade health, we begin to explore various topics that fall under the auspices of wellness. Our classes meet once a cycle (10-days) creating a topical learning environment. We cover topics in an informal but educational manner. Our goal is to provide each student with information that is current, accurate and applicable. We encourage safe, appropriate and relevant group discussions and questions. Some topics include hygiene, vaping/tobacco use, nutrition, exercise, body systems and reproduction.
  
  History
  

  The seventh grade course surveys United States History from European colonization through Reconstruction. Using a chronological approach, the class will examine the major political, economic and social developments that have shaped the foundations of American society.

   

  Emphasis is placed upon upon note-taking and reading comprehension skills, assessment preparation, use of primary and secondary sources, research skills, as well as the use of library and digital information. Students are required to make connections between the past and present by utilizing course content and enhanced historical thinking skills.
  
  Language
  French, Latin, Spanish and Mandarin are offered.
  
  Library and Research
  

  The Middle/Upper School Library supports students to be critical thinkers, enthusiastic readers, skillful researchers and ethical users of information. Collaboration with the learning community through age-appropriate information literacy instruction encourages our students to be lifelong users and creators of information. This collaboration is supported by a diverse collection of print and online resources for research, personal growth and enjoyment of reading.

   

  Individual and group study areas in the library encourage collaboration, creativity and research. The MS/US Library collection includes print resources of magazines, newspapers and over 17,000 books. Over 50 databases through UDLib/search, individual subscriptions, including JSTOR and NYTimes online, as well as ebooks can be accessed on campus and at home. A full-time librarian provides individualized assistance with readers advisory, research and technology.

  
  Math
  

  Pre-Algebra
  This seventh grade course is a core math course designed to lay a solid foundation for Algebra I. Problem solving, reasoning, estimation and connections between math and everyday applications will be emphasized throughout Pre-Algebra. Concepts of study include rational numbers, solving equations and inequalities, modeling word problems and graphing linear equations in the coordinate plane. Furthermore, an integral component includes the study of two- and three-dimensional geometric objects. Students are also introduced to a graphing calculator. Enrichment activities are included with student involvement in the Math Olympiad program.

   

  Pre-Algebra/Introductory Algebra

  This seventh grade course serves as an introductory algebra course. It will assume students have full mastery of core skills and are ready for a more in-depth study of basic algebraic techniques. The instruction in this course will be rigorous and concentrate on developing various skills. Students will be required to demonstrate fluency in application and conceptual understanding. The following topics will be covered: geometric concepts, the number system (including rational, irrational and radicals), expressions and equations (including monomials, polynomials, laws of exponents, multi-step equations and multiplying and factoring binomials), graphing linear equations and slope, systems of equations and radical operations. Enrichment activities are included with student involvement in the Math Olympiad program.

  
  Science
  

  Seventh Grade Science focuses on four major units: Ecology and organismal interactions, Genetics and Evolution, Earth Science and Science of Natural Disasters, and The Human Brain and Senses. Emphasis is placed on applying the scientific method to make careful observations, to ask specific questions and to plan effective independent experiments. Students learn to collect and quantify their data and to use appropriate technology to enhance their research and facilitate their presentations. Often, students’ practical applications of these skills culminate in STEAM projects and teaching their peers.

  
  

  Social Justice
  Each Middle School grade team has collaborated with the Director of Social Justice to create and support social justice themes that will tie-into the grades curriculum for the year. In seventh grade, the theme is disABILITIES. In addition, monthly Lunch n' Learns provide an opportunity for grade 5-8 students to discuss diversity, equity and inclusion. These lunchtime meetings are peer-led and faculty-guided by our MS Equity and Inclusion Coordinators Carmen Martinez and Rachel Ashbrook and Director of Social Justice Natasha Murray-Everett. Additional opportunities for students to participate in local diversity conferences are provided throughout the year.
  
  The LEAD @ Tower Hill School: Leaning into Equity Awareness and Diversity Conference is an annual, multi-school diversity conference created in 2018 to meet the needs of equity and inclusion training for faculty and students. Grade 7 and 8 students participate in workshops, while faculty received professional development training or educational equity and inclusion. Additional opportunities for students to participate in local diversity conferences are provided throughout the year.

  
  Specials
  Art
  Technology
  Woodshop
  Music
  Band, Chorus and Strings

• GRADE 8 CURRICULUM

  Read More
  Athletics 
  Students participate in interscholastic competition. Seventh and eighth graders are required to participate in athletics in all three seasons. Time for athletics, a component of the student’s physical education requirement, is built into the school day.
  
  English
  

  English 8 students will examine contemporary issues, the forces that lead to societal conflict and potential resolutions—war, peace and realities in between. Guest speakers and projects will be stressed, and students are required to complete a Capstone Project comprised of research, writing and presentation to demonstrate mastery of the Middle School English program: grammar, vocabulary and the mechanics of writing. Texts will include Wiesel’s Night, Steinbeck’s Of Mice and Men, Cisneros’ House on Mango Street, Luen Yang’s American Born Chinese and a short fiction anthology called Little Worlds. A special unit on immigration will include Perfection Learning’s anthology, From There to Here: The Immigrant Experience. Film study will include Titanic. Recognition of parallels among characters, plots and historical contexts will deepen students’ appreciation of literary design, the world and their own critical thinking.
  
  Health
  In eighth grade health, we begin to delve a little deeper and build on topics covered the previous year. Our classes meet once a cycle (10-days) creating a topical learning environment. We address topics in an informal but educational manner. Our goal is to provide each student with information that is current, accurate and applicable. We encourage safe, appropriate and relevant group discussions and questions. Some topics include drugs/alcohol, vaping/tobacco use, nutrition, exercise, body systems and reproduction.
  
  History
  

  The eighth grade course provides a broad survey of human history from the earliest civilizations through the Renaissance. The course has a chronological structure, exploring thematic developments in civilizations throughout the world. The rise and fall of empires, the creation and diffusion of global religions, trade, migration, cultural interaction and revolutions are the key themes of the course.

   

  The course encourages the continued development of certain historical skills: intelligent questioning, gathering and interpreting data, analyzing concepts, recognizing the significance of historic occurrences, understanding cause and effect, and expressing ideas with clarity and vigor in both class discussion and writing.
  
  Language
  French, Latin, Spanish and Mandarin are offered.
  
  Library and Research
  

  The Middle/Upper School Library supports students to be critical thinkers, enthusiastic readers, skillful researchers and ethical users of information. Collaboration with the learning community through age-appropriate information literacy instruction encourages our students to be lifelong users and creators of information. This collaboration is supported by a diverse collection of print and online resources for research, personal growth and enjoyment of reading.

   

  Individual and group study areas in the library encourage collaboration, creativity and research. The MS/US Library collection includes print resources of magazines, newspapers and over 17,000 books. Over 50 databases through UDLib/search, individual subscriptions, including JSTOR and NYTimes online, as well as ebooks can be accessed on campus and at home. A full-time librarian provides individualized assistance with readers advisory, research and technology.

  
  Math
  

  Algebra 1

  This eighth grade course begins with a review of basic algebra concepts including rules and properties of numbers, operations with numerical and algebraic expressions, solving various types of equations and modeling word problems. In addition, students will delve deeper into their study of linear equations and inequalities, graph and write linear equations, graph linear inequalities and solve systems of linear equations. Their focus will then turn to operations with polynomials, factoring and its use in solving quadratic equations, working with radical expressions and equations, applying and using the various properties of exponents and finally working with rational expressions and equations. Enrichment activities are included with voluntary student involvement in the Sigma Math Competition and/or the AMC8 Math Competition.

  
  

  Honors Algebra and Geometry

  This eighth grade course is designed to challenge those students who have excelled in our middle school math program and are highly motivated. Students begin the year fine-tuning algebra topics, which include graphing and writing linear equations and inequalities, simplifying algebraic expressions, solving various types of linear equations and solving systems of linear equations. The course will then focus on working with and applying properties of exponents, operations with polynomials and factoring, solving and graphing quadratic equations, and simplifying and solving radical and rational expressions and equations. Students will be required to work at a swift pace in this course with a strong emphasis on applications and mathematical reasoning. The year will conclude with various geometry topics, which include the Pythagorean Theorem, special right triangles, trigonometric ratios, distance and midpoint formulas, coordinate geometry, similar triangles and polygons and geometric mean. Enrichment activities are included with voluntary student involvement in the Sigma Math Competition and/or the AMC8 Math Competition.

  
  Science
  

  Eighth Grade Science explores an integrated science approach to study life science, chemistry, and conceptual physics. Energy is the core of the course as we trace its use and transfer in living systems, chemical processes and physical events. Among the units is Spaceship Earth, building upon the learning in the previous year to investigate the dynamic science behind our planet. Students learn the process of collecting, organizing and interpreting scientific data through hands-on, inquiry-based experiments. While preparing citizen scientists for lifelong learning, this class serves as the foundation for more advanced biology, chemistry and physics classes in our Upper School. Major units are divided into trimesters, and each subtopic takes about two weeks.

  
  Social Justice
  Each Middle School grade team has collaborated with the Director of Social Justice to create and support social justice themes that will tie-into the grades curriculum for the year. In eighth grade, the theme is "Courage: Design Thinking in Social Justice." In addition, monthly Lunch n' Learns provide an opportunity for grade 5-8 students to discuss diversity, equity and inclusion. These lunchtime meetings are peer-led and faculty-guided by our MS Equity and Inclusion Coordinators Carmen Martinez and Rachel Ashbrook and Director of Social Justice Natasha Murray-Everett. Additional opportunities for students to participate in local diversity conferences are provided throughout the year.
  
  The LEAD @ Tower Hill School: Leaning into Equity Awareness and Diversity Conference is an annual, multi-school diversity conference created in 2018 to meet the needs of equity and inclusion training for faculty and students. Grade 7 and 8 students participate in workshops, while faculty received professional development training or educational equity and inclusion. Additional opportunities for students to participate in local diversity conferences are provided throughout the year.

  
  Specials
  Art
  Technology and Production(3D imaging and CAD design)
  Music
  Band, Chorus and Strings