Middle School Curriculum

Mathematics

Excelsior uses Big Ideas Math in grades 6 though 8 to cover the North Carolina Math Standards. Eighth grade students take Math 1 for high school credit. Qualifying students may take compacted math covering both Math 1 and Math 2 in the eighth grade year for high school credit.

Core Knowledge (download free curriculum here)

Excelsior uses Core Knowledge curriculum, Core Knowledge Language Arts (CKLA, Core Classics}, Core Knowledge History and Geography (CKHG), and Core Knowledge Science (CKSci) for English Language Arts, Social Studies, and Science in middle school.

Sixth Grade

CKLA Flying Lessons and Other Stories (short stories); Calling All Minds: How to Think and Create Like an Inventor; The Heritage of Ancient Greece and Rome; The Iliad, the Odyssey, and Other Greek Stories; The Tragedy of Julius Caesar; 90 Miles to Havana; The Blessings of Liberty; Realms of Gold, Volume 1 (poetry)

Core Classics The Iliad and The Odyssey; The Tragedy of Julius Caesar

CKHG World Deserts; Ancient Greece and Rome; The Enlightenment; The French Revolution and Romanticism; The Industrial Revolution: Changes and Challenges; Independence for Latin America; Immigration; Industrialization and Urbanization in America; Reform in Industrial America

CKSci Light and Matter; Thermal Energy; Weather, Climate, and Water Cycling; Plate Tectonics and Rock Cycling; Natural Hazards; Cells and Systems

Seventh Grade

CKLA Hello, Universe; The Tempest; Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde; The Time Machine; Realms of Gold, Volume 2 (poetry); The Genius of the Harlem Renaissance, Volume 1; Anne Frank’s Tales from the Secret Annex; Code Talker

Core Classics Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde; The Tempest; The Time Machine

CKHG A History of the United States; Civics and Economics in US History

CKSci Chemical Reactions and Matter; Chemical Reactions and Energy; Metabolic Reactions; Matter Cycling and Photosynthesis; Ecosystem Dynamics; Earth’s Resources and Human Impact

Eighth Grade

CKLA Us, in Progress: Short Stories About Young Latinos; Frankenstein; Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass, an American Slave; The Genius of the Harlem Renaissance, Volume 2; A More Perfect Union: Voices for Civil Rights in America; The Squatter and the Don; The Importance of Being Ernest; Realms of Gold, Volume 3 (poetry)

Core Classics Twelfth Night; Frankenstein; Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass, an American Slave; The Importance of Being Ernest; The Squatter and the Don

CKHG World History; Civics and Economics in World History

CKSci Contact Forces; Sound Waves; Forces at a Distance; Earth in Space; Genetics; Natural Selection and Common Ancestry

Latin

Students begin the study of Latin in sixth grade, learning pronunciation, basic grammar, and vocabulary in their SOAR class. Students in seventh and eighth grade take Latin class. They can take Latin I and Latin II in middle school for high school credit.

SOAR

Sixth grade students take a transition class called SOAR. It is a class in which they learn effective studying, note-taking, time managment, handling stress, building confidence, and problem solving. They also study basic Latin.