In middle school grade six, students experience three thematic units. An example year includes: Astrobiology, Cell Cycle, and Genetics. In Astrobiology: The Search for Life Beyond our Solar System, the year begins with students extending their understanding of outer space. Students learn that Astrobiology is an interdisciplinary science that asks big questions about the universe. During this unit, students study how different extreme environments support life here on earth and look for the conditions necessary for supporting life (liquid, energy, molecular building blocks) on other planetary systems. In the Cell Cycle Unit: A Tale of Two Daughter Cells, students learn about mitosis and meiosis, and compare the different outcomes of these two types of cell division. Students learn about checkpoints, and how critical they are in preventing cancer. In the Genetics & DNA Replication Unit: Can You Make a Copy?, students build their understanding of DNA Synthesis and gene expression, genotypes, phenotypes, and traits. They also explore how scientific discoveries are credited. Using the case study of Photo-51, students look critically at how scientific discoveries are credited and historical narrative.

Units are designed around concrete essential questions and enduring understandings, with flexibility for exploration based on student inquiry. The science program weaves SEL, multi-media Art, Engineering, Research, field trips to Boston area labs and research institutes, and self-reflection.

As a seventh grader, students study the microbial communities that live in and on our bodies. Students define some of the roles microbes play in human health and in disease, and the role microbes play in the larger ecosystem. The yearlong unit asks students to debate, Are microbes mostly good or mostly bad?

Essential questions include: What is a microbe? What ways do microbes impact our everyday lives through the products we use? Do microbes belong inside the human body? What features do scientists use to classify each type - viruses, bacteria, archaea, fungi, protists, and algae - how do microorganisms differ from one another, and how are they similar? How do microorganisms impact us globally and how do we impact them through our actions? What causes algal blooms? What is the impact of microbial communities on wastewater and how do microbes help form the massive wood-wide-web network? What are the pros & cons of microorganisms on human health?

In their eighth grade year, students zoom-in to the molecular level of atoms and molecules to help explain the state changes of matter. During this unit we cover basic chemistry, practice the scientific method through experiential design, and learn to follow mini-lab protocols with partners. Students explore the attractions and motion of atoms and molecules, and experiment with heating and cooling of a solid, liquid, and gas. In the second half of the year, eighth graders discover what kind of cook they are in the Kitchen Chemistry Unit. They are introduced to the process of faithfully following a recipe, and then are encouraged to run trials. Cooking trials for class projects are methodical and involve changing only one variable at a time. In this way students begin to mirror the steps in the scientific method, establishing a control (original recipe) and then testing one change at a time. Essential Questions include: What are polymers, proteins and amino acids, and how do they impact cooking? How is matter held together? What are the different types of bonding? How do time and temperature affect foods? In what ways is a chemical change different from a physical change? What items are required in a recipe and what items are flexible/dispensable? What kind of cook am I (before and after this unit)?

Middle Schoolers are assigned to small group Advisories run by faculty. Advisory is an opportunity to check in with students, make connections and build relationships. Advisory is also a time to lessen the stress of school by frequently incorporating games and activities. Advisors can serve as liaisons between students and other teachers to help mediate or communicate various needs. 

Goal-setting encourages students to identify areas they would like to improve in and come up with strategies to make progress in those areas. This process allows students to see their progress and learn how making incremental changes can lead to significant improvement. Practicing goal-setting in a structured way in middle school prepares students to set goals independently in high school and in their careers. 

Portfolios allow for students to reflect, feel a sense of pride and accomplishment and practice executive functioning skills like organization. Students frequently reflect on their learning and progress in class through unit reflections. Students also choose work to include in their class portfolios that demonstrate their learning over time. These portfolios are a concrete example of student participation and partnership in their learning, progress and reflection in MS.

Social Emotional Learning (SEL) is one of the four pillars of the middle school program. There is a strong emphasis on self-reliance at Birches. In the middle school years self-reliance looks like taking ownership of homework expectations, following norms of classroom behavior, and being an entrusted community member.

Students experience SEL throughout their academic classes. For example, middle schoolers practice self reflection and ownership of their learning through class portfolios. These portfolios are intentionally curated after each major unit. Students write a cover page reflections and organize these portfolios in order to showcase their growth as learners in class. By the end of their eighth grade year, there is an expectation that they will share their portfolios in a practiced and planned celebration for their close friends and family.

Lastly, SEL is evident in the community’s approach discipline. Faculty recognize the importance for students to make mistakes and learn from mistakes within a culture of caring and kindness. Just as teachers hold themselves to be honest and open with students and families, we also leave room for students to own and come to some of these understandings at their own pace. For this reason, we work off of class “norms” not rules. This distinction means that students have ownership of their behavior and responsibility for their choices.

Students in MS practice note taking skills. They work to understand how to distinguish which information to record. They also use these notes in order to study for quizzes, during quizzes, and also in their assignments and projects. Our goal is to support students to perform well in academic settings outside of Birches school, (high school and beyond) by helping them to see the relevance in staying active and engaged as listeners in class.

Upper grade middle schoolers are encouraged to apply and interview for campus “jobs”  volunteering opportunities for different organizations and become involved in helping to improve the lives of others. We will also explore how helping others improves our own wellbeing.

Students learn and refine ways to communicate and express their learning through art. Projects include, but are not limited to, monologues, visual art, collage, sculpture, movement, music, choral performances, dramatic performances. Students are assessed in both the art form techniques when relevant as well as the audience impact and student preparation.

We strive to embed social justice and awareness of innate bias throughout middle school learning. Whether in math, science or humanities, faculty examine curriculum through the lens of diversity, equity and inclusion. Through their studies, students are provided with opportunities to take action and empowered to be change makers.

Middle School mathematics is not simply confined to a course or set of courses. Rather, students experience mathematics – through explorations of algebra, geometry, probability & statistics, and discrete math – as a way of thinking and valuing structure. Of primary importance, middle school students move from verbal descriptions of relationships or concrete representations to proficiency in generalizing numerical relationships and expressing them with symbolic representations and in the language of functions over the arc of the middle school years.

Skill Acquisition & Practice: At all levels, skill and concept work will be introduced and primarily practiced in class. When necessary, students may need additional time, practice, or resources to master various skills. This may occur during work time or at home.

Application: Each Friday a Problem-of-the-Week (POWs) will be introduced to the class. Problems typically allow for solutions across five Content Standards (Number & Operations, Algebra, Geometry, Measurement, and Data Analysis & Probability) and encourage application of Process Standards.

Students are encouraged to collaborate, ask each other or the teacher clarifying questions, and to consider multiple strategies for solving -- and extending -- the problem. As such, ideal solutions demonstrate more than just the “right answer.” Every student has access to a POW assessment rubric and will self-assess their work weekly.

Design: Middle school math for grades six through eight align with principles and standards advocated by the National Council of Teachers of Mathematics (NCTMs).

Six Principles address overarching themes:

Equity. Excellence in mathematics education requires equity—high expectations and strong support for all students.

Curriculum. A curriculum is more than a collection of activities: it must be coherent, focused on important mathematics, and well articulated across the grades.

Teaching. Effective mathematics teaching requires understanding what students know and need to learn and then challenging and supporting them to learn it well.

Learning. Students must learn mathematics with understanding, actively building new knowledge from experience and prior knowledge.

Assessment. Assessment should support the learning of important mathematics and furnish useful information to both teachers and students.

Technology. Technology is essential in teaching and learning mathematics; it influences the mathematics that is taught and enhances students' learning.

Five Process Standards are used to demonstrate each standard: Problem Solving, Reasoning & Proof, Communication, Connections, and Representation.

Number Systems & Operations; Perform operations with multi-digit numbers; Find common factors and multiples; Understand rational numbers

Ratios, Proportions, and Measurement; Use ratios to solve problems

Expression & Equations (Algebra); Perform computation with algebraic expressions; Solve one-variable equations and inequalities; Analyze relationships between dependent and independent variables

Geometry; Solve real-world mathematical problems involving area, surface area, and volume

Data Analysis & Probability; Develop understanding of statistical variability; Summarize and describe distributions

Number Systems & Operations; Perform operations rational numbers

Ratios, Proportions, and Measurement; Use proportional relationships to solve problems

Expression & Equations (Algebra); Write equivalent expressions; Use numerical and algebraic expressions, equations, and inequalities to solve problems

Geometry; Draw, construct, and describe geometrical figures and describe the relationships between them; Solve problems involving angle measure, aarea, surface area, and volume

Data Analysis & Probability; Make inferences about population, compare two populations, and use probability models

Number Systems & Operations: Extend understanding of numbers to the real number system

Expression & Equations (Algebra): Understand the connections between proportional relationships, lines, and linear equations; Solve linear equations and systems of linear equations

Functions: Define, evaluate, and compare functions; Use functions to model relationships between quantities

Geometry: Understand congruence and similarity; Use Pythagorean Theorem; Solve problems involving volumes of cylinders, cones, and spheres

Data Analysis & Probability: Investigate patterns of association with bivariate (2 variables) data