Middle School Summer Course Catalog - Stanza Academy

Stanza Academy


Middle School

Summer Course Catalog

English 6 delivers instruction, practice, and review designed to build students' communication and reading comprehension skills. Reading comprehension lessons strengthen students' critical analysis skills as they study how nonfiction and literature can be used to share ideas. Writing lessons combine free-response exercises with drafting strategies and exemplars to help students communicate clearly and credibly in narrative, argumentative, and informational styles. To develop skills specific to public discourse, speaking and listening lessons guide students as they evaluate one another's speeches and adjust to new audiences and situations. In language lessons, students build foundational grammar skills they need to articulate their ideas and understand challenging words.
English 7 delivers instruction, practice, and review designed to build students' communication and reading comprehension skills. Reading comprehension lessons strengthen students' critical analysis skills as they study how nonfiction and literature can be used to share ideas. Writing lessons combine free-response exercises with drafting strategies and exemplars to help students communicate clearly and credibly in narrative, argumentative, and informational styles. To develop skills specific to public discourse, speaking and listening lessons guide students as they evaluate one another's speeches and adjust to new audiences and situations. In language lessons, students build foundational grammar skills they need to articulate their ideas and understand challenging words.
English 8 delivers instruction, practice, and review designed to build students' communication and reading comprehension skills. Reading comprehension lessons strengthen students' critical analysis skills as they study how nonfiction and literature can be used to share ideas. Writing lessons combine free-response exercises with drafting strategies and exemplars to help students communicate clearly and credibly in narrative, argumentative, and informational styles. To develop skills specific to public discourse, speaking and listening lessons guide students as they evaluate one another's speeches and adjust to new audiences and situations. In language lessons, students build foundational grammar skills they need to articulate their ideas and understand challenging words.
Middle School Grade 6 Science delivers instruction, practice, and review to help students develop scientific literacy, deepen conceptual understanding, and apply scientific practices. Students explore concepts such as the flow of energy and matter through both living and nonliving systems, including Earth's systems; Earth's weather and climate; the interaction between humans and the environment; the relationship between structure and function; and growth, development, and reproduction in organisms.
The two-semester course is arranged in themed units, each with two to three lessons. In each unit, activities make complex ideas accessible to students as they discover the nature of science through focused content, interactive mini-investigations, multi-modal representations, and personalized feedback. Each lesson includes a variety of activities such as direct instruction, application of skills, performance tasks, and formative and summative assessments. Students engage with the subject matter in an interactive, feedback-rich environment as they progress through standards-aligned content and demonstrate their learning through computer- and teacher-scored assignments.

Middle School Earth and Space Science delivers instruction, practice, and review to help students develop scientific literacy, deepen conceptual understanding, and apply scientific practices. Students explore concepts including Earth's systems, engineering design, the nature of the universe, and the interaction between humans and the environment.
The two-semester course is arranged in themed units, each with two to three lessons. In each unit, activities make complex ideas accessible to students as they discover the nature of science through focused content, interactive mini-investigations, multi-modal representations, and personalized feedback. Each lesson includes a variety of activities such as direct instruction, application of skills, performance tasks, and formative and summative assessments. Students engage with the subject matter in an interactive, feedback-rich environment as they progress through standards-aligned content and demonstrate their learning through computer- and teacher-scored assignments.
Middle School Grade 7 Science delivers instruction, practice, and review to help students develop scientific literacy, deepen conceptual understanding, and apply scientific practices. Students explore concepts such as the structures and properties of matter; chemical reactions; the flow of energy through systems, including Earth's living and nonliving systems; and the history of Earth.
The two-semester course is arranged in themed units, each with two to three lessons. In each unit, activities make complex ideas accessible to students as they discover the nature of science through focused content, interactive mini-investigations, multi-modal representations, and personalized feedback. Each lesson includes a variety of activities such as direct instruction, application of skills, performance tasks, and formative and summative assessments. Students engage with the subject matter in an interactive, feedback-rich environment as they progress through standards-aligned content and demonstrate their learning through computer- and teacher-scored assignments.

Middle School Life Science delivers instruction, practice, and review to help students develop scientific literacy, deepen conceptual understanding, and apply scientific practices. Students explore concepts including the relationship between structure and function, the flow of energy and matter through living systems, heredity, and the diversity of life.
The two-semester course is arranged in themed units, each with two to three lessons. In each unit, activities make complex ideas accessible to students as they discover the nature of science through focused content, interactive mini-investigations, multi-modal representations, and personalized feedback. Each lesson includes a variety of activities such as direct instruction, application of skills, performance tasks, and formative and summative assessments. Students engage with the subject matter in an interactive, feedback-rich environment as they progress through standards-aligned content and demonstrate their learning through computer- and teacher-scored assignments.
Middle School Grade 8 Science delivers instruction, practice, and review to help students develop scientific literacy, deepen conceptual understanding, and apply scientific practices. Students explore concepts such as waves and electromagnetic radiation, energy and forces on Earth and in space, genetics and natural selection, and engineering design.
The two-semester course is arranged in themed units, each with two to three lessons. In each unit, activities make complex ideas accessible to students as they discover the nature of science through focused content, interactive mini-investigations, multi-modal representations, and personalized feedback. Each lesson includes a variety of activities such as direct instruction, application of skills, performance tasks, and formative and summative assessments. Students engage with the subject matter in an interactive, feedback-rich environment as they progress through standards-aligned content and demonstrate their learning through computer- and teacher-scored assignments.

Middle School Physical Science delivers instruction, practice, and review to help students develop scientific literacy, deepen conceptual understanding, and apply scientific practices. Students explore concepts including the interactions of matter; motion and stability; waves and their technological applications; and energy.
The two-semester course is arranged in themed units, each with two to three lessons. In each unit, activities make complex ideas accessible to students as they discover the nature of science through focused content, interactive mini-investigations, multi-modal representations, and personalized feedback. Each lesson includes a variety of activities such as direct instruction, application of skills, performance tasks, and formative and summative assessments. Students engage with the subject matter in an interactive, feedback-rich environment as they progress through standards-aligned content and demonstrate their learning through computer- and teacher-scored assignments.
Middle School Earth and Space Science delivers instruction, practice, and review to help students develop scientific literacy, deepen conceptual understanding, and apply scientific practices. Students explore concepts including Earth's systems, engineering design, the nature of the universe, and the interaction between humans and the environment.

The two-semester course is arranged in themed units, each with two to three lessons. In each unit, activities make complex ideas accessible to students as they discover the nature of science through focused content, interactive mini-investigations, multi-modal representations, and personalized feedback. Each lesson includes a variety of activities such as direct instruction, application of skills, performance tasks, and formative and summative assessments. Students engage with the subject matter in an interactive, feedback-rich environment as they progress through standards-aligned content and demonstrate their learning through computer- and teacher-scored assignments.
Middle School Life Science delivers instruction, practice, and review to help students develop scientific literacy, deepen conceptual understanding, and apply scientific practices. Students explore concepts including the relationship between structure and function, the flow of energy and matter through living systems, heredity, and the diversity of life.

The two-semester course is arranged in themed units, each with two to three lessons. In each unit, activities make complex ideas accessible to students as they discover the nature of science through focused content, interactive mini-investigations, multi-modal representations, and personalized feedback. Each lesson includes a variety of activities such as direct instruction, application of skills, performance tasks, and formative and summative assessments. Students engage with the subject matter in an interactive, feedback-rich environment as they progress through standards-aligned content and demonstrate their learning through computer- and teacher-scored assignments.
Middle School Physical Science delivers instruction, practice, and review to help students develop scientific literacy, deepen conceptual understanding, and apply scientific practices. Students explore concepts including the interactions of matter; motion and stability; waves and their technological applications; and energy.

The two-semester course is arranged in themed units, each with two to three lessons. In each unit, activities make complex ideas accessible to students as they discover the nature of science through focused content, interactive mini-investigations, multi-modal representations, and personalized feedback. Each lesson includes a variety of activities such as direct instruction, application of skills, performance tasks, and formative and summative assessments. Students engage with the subject matter in an interactive, feedback-rich environment as they progress through standards-aligned content and demonstrate their learning through computer- and teacher-scored assignments.
Math 6 delivers instruction, practice, and review designed to develop computational fluency, deepen conceptual understanding, and apply mathematical practices. Course topics include ratios and rates, fraction and decimal operations, and signed numbers. Students continue to build their algebra skills by plotting points in all four quadrants of the coordinate plane and solving equations and inequalities. Geometry topics include area, surface area, and volume, and statistical work features measures of center and variability, box plots, dot plots, and histograms.
The two-semester course is arranged in themed units, each with three to five lessons. Each lesson includes a variety of activities such as direct instruction, application of skills, performance tasks, and formative and summative assessments. Students engage with the subject matter in an interactive, feedback-rich environment as they progress through standards-aligned content and demonstrate their learning through computer- and teacher-scored assignments. By constantly honing the ability to apply their knowledge in abstract and real-world scenarios, students build the depth of knowledge and higher-order skills required to demonstrate their mastery when put to the test.
Math 7 delivers instruction, practice, and review designed to develop computational fluency, deepen conceptual understanding, and apply mathematical practices. Throughout the course, students gain a deep understanding of proportions and their use in solving problems. They extend their fluency with operations on rational numbers and translate among different forms of rational numbers. Algebra topics include simplifying and rewriting algebraic expressions and solving more complex equations and inequalities. Students also sketch geometric figures and explore scale drawings, investigate circle properties and angle relationships, and deepen their understanding of area, volume, and surface area. They see how statistics uses sample data to make predictions about populations and compare data from different data sets. Students gain a fundamental understanding of probability and explore different ways to find or estimate probabilities.
The two-semester course is arranged in themed units, each with three to five lessons. Each lesson includes a variety of activities such as direct instruction, application of skills, performance tasks, and formative and summative assessments. Students engage with the subject matter in an interactive, feedback-rich environment as they progress through standards-aligned content and demonstrate their learning through computer- and teacher-scored assignments. By constantly honing the ability to apply their knowledge in abstract and real-world scenarios, students build the depth of knowledge and higher-order skills required to demonstrate their mastery when put to the test.
Math 8 delivers instruction, practice, and review designed to develop computational fluency, deepen conceptual understanding, and apply mathematical practices. In this course, students focus on understanding functions — what they are, how to represent them in different ways, and how to write them to model mathematical and real-world situations. In particular, students investigate linear functions by learning about slope and slope-intercept form. Students' understanding of linear functions is extended to statistics, where they make scatter plots and use linear functions to model data. They solve linear equations and equations involving roots, and explore systems of linear equations. Additional topics include exponents, powers of ten, scientific notation, and irrational numbers. Students learn about transformations, and extend that understanding to an investigation of congruence and similarity. Other geometric concepts explored include the Pythagorean theorem, angle relationships, and volumes of cylinders, cones, and spheres.
The two-semester course is arranged in themed units, each with three to five lessons. Each lesson includes a variety of activities such as direct instruction, application of skills, performance tasks, and formative and summative assessments. Students engage with the subject matter in an interactive, feedback-rich environment as they progress through standards-aligned content and demonstrate their learning through computer- and teacher-scored assignments. By constantly honing the ability to apply their knowledge in abstract and real-world scenarios, students build the depth of knowledge and higher-order skills required to demonstrate their mastery when put to the test.
Introductory Algebra provides a curriculum focused on foundational concepts that prepare students for success in Algebra I. Through a "Discovery-Confirmation-Practice"-based exploration of basic concepts, students are challenged to work toward a mastery of computational skills, to deepen their understanding of key ideas and solution strategies, and to extend their knowledge through a variety of problem-solving applications.
Course topics include integers; the language of algebra; solving equations with addition, subtraction, multiplication, and division; fractions and decimals; measurement; exponents; solving equations with roots and powers; multi-step equations; and linear equations.
Within each Introductory Algebra lesson, students are supplied with a scaffolded note-taking guide, called a Study Sheet, as well as a post-study Checkup activity that provides them the opportunity to hone their computational skills by working through a low-stakes, 10-question problem set before starting formal assessment. Unit-level Introductory Algebra assessments include a computer-scored test and a scaffolded, teacher-scored test.
Algebra I builds students' command of linear, quadratic, and exponential relationships. Students learn through discovery and application, developing the skills they need to break down complex challenges and demonstrate their knowledge in new situations.
Course topics include problem-solving with basic equations and formulas; an introduction to functions and problem solving; linear equations and systems of linear equations; exponents and exponential functions; sequences and functions; descriptive statistics; polynomials and factoring; quadratic equations and functions; and function transformations and inverses.
This course supports students as they develop computational fluency, deepen conceptual understanding, and apply mathematical knowledge. Students discover new concepts through guided instruction and confirm their understanding in an interactive, feedback-rich environment.
A variety of activities allow for students to think mathematically in a variety of scenarios and tasks. In Discussions, students exchange and explain their mathematical ideas. Modeling activities ask them to analyze real-world scenarios and mathematical concepts. Journaling activities have students reason abstractly and quantitatively, construct arguments, critique reasoning, and communicate precisely. And in Performance Tasks, students synthesize their knowledge in novel, real-world scenarios, make sense of multifaceted problems, and persevere in solving them.
Middle School World History delivers instruction, practice, and review designed to build middle school students' knowledge of world history, from the Neolithic Revolution through the Middle Ages. By constantly honing their ability to analyze history, students build the depth of knowledge and higher-order thinking skills required to demonstrate their mastery when put to the test.
The two-semester course is arranged in themed units, each with three to five lessons. In each unit, activities make complex ideas about world history accessible through focused content, guided analysis, multi-modal representations, and personalized feedback. Each lesson includes a variety of activities such as direct instruction, application of skills, performance tasks, and formative and summative assessments. Students engage with the subject matter in an interactive, feedback-rich environment as they progress through standards-aligned content and demonstrate their learning through computer- and teacher-scored assignments.
Middle School U.S. History delivers instruction, practice, and review designed to build middle school students' knowledge of U.S. history, from the peopling of North America through the era of Reconstruction. Students engage with the subject matter in an interactive, feedback-rich environment as they progress through standards-aligned content. By constantly honing their ability to analyze history, students build the depth of knowledge and higher-order thinking skills required to demonstrate their mastery when put to the test.
The two-semester course is arranged in themed units, each with three to five lessons. In each unit, activities make complex ideas about U.S. history accessible through focused content, guided analysis, multi-modal representations, and personalized feedback. Each lesson includes a variety of activities such as direct instruction, application of skills, performance tasks, and formative and summative assessments. Students engage with the subject matter in an interactive, feedback-rich environment as they progress through standards-aligned content and demonstrate their learning through computer- and teacher-scored assignments.
Middle School Civics delivers instruction, practice, and review designed to build middle school students' understanding of the political and governmental systems of the United States and the roles played by citizens. By honing their ability to analyze civic life, political practices, and government structures, students build the depth of knowledge and higher-order thinking skills required to demonstrate their mastery when put to the test.
The two-semester course is arranged in themed units, each with three to five lessons. In each unit, activities make complex ideas about civics accessible through focused content, guided analysis, multi-modal representations, and personalized feedback. Each lesson includes a variety of activities such as direct instruction, application of skills, performance tasks, and formative and summative assessments. as they progress through standards-aligned content and demonstrate their learning through computer- and teacher-scored assignments.
Middle School Contemporary World delivers instruction, practice, and review designed to build middle school students' knowledge of contemporary world geography, cultures, civics, and economics. By honing their ability to analyze the physical, social, and political forces that shape our world, students build the depth of knowledge and higher-order thinking skills required to demonstrate their mastery when put to the test.
The two-semester course is arranged in themed units, each with three to six lessons. In each unit, activities make complex ideas about the modern world accessible through focused content, guided analysis, multi-modal representations, and personalized feedback. Each lesson includes a variety of activities such as direct instruction, application of skills, performance tasks, and formative and summative assessments. Students engage with the subject matter in an interactive, feedback-rich environment as they progress through standards-aligned content and demonstrate their learning through computer- and teacher-scored assignments.

 

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