Middle School
Our rigorous multi-disciplinary curriculum draws on more than 100 years of Waldorf educational philosophy to meet the needs of 21st century global citizens.
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A Day in Middle School at BWS
Unlocking Learning in Our Middle School: Stairways to Success
A typical day for a middle schooler at Brooklyn Waldorf. Watch the video!
Main Lesson
Main lesson occupies the first two hours of each day. Lessons are structured in blocks of three to four weeks, allowing students to explore multiple subjects with depth and flexibility. Blocks rotate between language arts, history, math and science so that students engage in a varied curriculum. Separate skill building courses in reading, writing, and math run concurrently throughout the year.
A unique feature of Waldorf classrooms is the Main Lesson Book, a hand-crafted, hand-illustrated book written by each child that covers the subject studied in class. By creating their own “textbooks,” students move beyond being passive recipients of an educational program to being active collaborators in their own learning.
Math & Science
Middle school students use their foundational math knowledge to build more complex, abstract skills. Their investigation of geometry leads to dimensional equations. Number theory expands as students discover negative and irrational numbers. Students continue to translate word problems with real-world significance into mathematical language, arriving finally at the algebraic function. Visual integration via graphs and charts is key for Waldorf teachers, as an integrated understanding of the physical basis of math guides students throughout their learning.
Waldorf curriculum focuses heavily on the twin bedrocks of scientific inquiry: observation and experimentation. Our master teachers build abstract knowledge atop this edifice. As students approach high school, they are prepared to use logical thinking and mathematics to discover and master advanced scientific thinking. Students move through scientific disciplines in a cyclical fashion through main lesson blocks. This integrated approach that knits together a cohesive picture of human knowledge about the physical world. Students often investigate scientific phenomena through an interdisciplinary approach: guitars become models of acoustic phenomena and vibrating energy; daily breakfast becomes an introduction to organic chemistry.
Language Arts
Teachers infuse language arts work into each subject in main lesson. Students analyze documents from different historical eras, read poems and stories from a wide range of cultures, and translate their scientific observations into detailed reports. Consistent work on vocabulary and grammar continues. Students develop higher-order writing skills through a combination of formal essay work and creative writing units, often drawing on their personal narratives to begin developing an original voice.
Castellano & Mandarin
At the Brooklyn Waldorf School, Middle School students continue their study of Castellano and Mandarin through immersive conversation, reading, and writing practice. With each successive year, students deepen their knowledge of syntax, grammar and vocabulary by engaging the literature and history of these world languages, often excavating themes overlapping their other subject lessons. In seventh and eighth grades, students study Castellano exclusively three days a week in order to build their proficiency as they approach graduation and the world language studies of high school.
History & Social Studies
Though Waldorf teachers always infuse their lessons with narrative, history lends itself to the telling of stories. Biographies of important figures add character and depth to the vast historical ground students cover, and engagement with methods of artistic production helps to immerse students in the specific material conditions of different eras. History is also a natural subject for integrated learning: scientific and mathematical discoveries are important pit stops on the student’s journey through time. Social studies blocks encompass a wide range of material, from geography to religion. As a complement to history, students compare cultures, studying the interaction of ecology and social organization.
Music & Arts
As the students learn and grow into Middle Schoolers, their capacities blossom and become more individualized. They continue to mature their musical identity through solo instrumental recitals and collaborative work in choral singing and advanced orchestra, expanding on their musical literacy through study of diverse repertoire. As students expand their musical confidence, they develop a deep appreciation for hard work and an integrity in community that will serve them into their adult lives.
In Middle school, visual art continues to manifest deeply across all subjects, most notably in the Main Lesson pages, which become extensive and detailed as students study botany, chemistry, anatomy and probe societal histories. Each student is encouraged to find their own approach to artistic expression, now utilizing more advanced materials such as pastels, charcoal, and clay. The works of great artists are studied and replicated with attention to the spirit of the period, and room for students to individually interpret the genres and styles at hand. Through the continued application of artistic mediums, our Middle School students develop a creative authorship over their academic studies, bolstering their self-hood and refining their voices as they prepare to enter the greater world.
Physical Education & Sports
In the upper grades movement curriculum, students enjoy the fitness benefits of playing team sports in class. They learn the rules and techniques of each sport, but they also learn to appreciate joyful and graceful movement and the under-appreciated, cooperative aspects that true teams require. Volleyball, basketball, handball, badminton, fencing, floor hockey, running, ultimate football, soccer and softball are just some of the team sports students will sample in the upper grades. Students in grades 5-8 have the opportunity to join our storied Phoenix basketball teams, play volleyball and run cross-country (BWS Run Club).
Woodworking
In Middle School, the woodworking teacher opens space for students to determine their own creative impulses and hone their skills as artisans. As a student’s ability progresses, they work more independently and creatively alongside their teacher. Students are encouraged to use their imaginations to create useful objects of their own design, and plan these projects start-to-finish, from sketches, to patterning, to crafting. This hands-on creative engagement, combined with a new artistic independence, fosters imagination and a lasting self-confidence.
Handwork
Handwork in middle school expands the student’s sense of responsibility and autonomy, while also developing their ability to work as a team. The students sew, knit crochet, sculpt, draft and build increasingly advanced and intricate objects, moving into three-dimensionality, and the facility to imagine and create an object in space. Their individual and group work augments their self-confidence, their ability to problem solve, and fortifies their identity by challenging the bounds of their creativity. By framing their projects within specific cultural and historical contexts, students develop deep appreciation for world artists and traditions. Culling material, like wool, from a sentient being, and transforming it into a well-built and useful item that has permanence and lasting value ignites our maturing students with a planetary and social awareness that serves them throughout their lives.
Class Trips & Research Projects
Middle school students participate in several dynamic and diverse trips outside of our school walls. Immersive experiences in nature offer fresh insights and new challenges. Middle school concludes with a final project, which students work on over an extended period of time in their final year.
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