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Academics

Ganderia Middle School Curriculum

Our curriculum is based on the Guiding Principles of the Maine Learning Results. By developing a community of learners through constructive and integrative independent and group projects, our students become

• clear and effective communicators
• self-directed and life-long learners
• creative and practical problem solvers
• responsible and involved citizens
• cooperative and collaborative team members
• integrative and informed thinkers

Our curriculum covers the core material in math, science, social studies and language arts and is integrated around themes and projects. Topics can be expanded based on the interests and enthusiasm of the students. Through involvement of parents and community members we include music, art, film, literature, poetry, Spanish, and health. Life skills such as cooking, nutrition, money management and social interaction are also included. The curriculum is supplemented with programs at the Oxford Hills Middle School and elementary schools, as appropriate. This includes Band, Orchestra, Chorus, sports and other after school activities. Students will be prepared to reintegrate back into the public school system for 9th grade.

Themes

Ganderia Middle School curriculum is centered around three themes that rotate annually, all designed to help our students better understand themselves, their community, and their place in that community.  Each year focuses on one of the themes, build on the previous years theme, and touches on the next year's theme.

"What are we?" - We look at our place in our biosphere.  We explore the evolution of life on earth, discover local ecosystems, and delve into plant and animal biology.

"Where are we?" - We explore the geography, geology, history and economy of our community, our region, and our state.

"Who are we?" - We explore how we live and our place in our local community, and how we're connected to the global community.

In a mixed classroom of sixth, seventh and eighth graders, students are challenged, based on their individual strengths and weaknesses, with independent, group, and service learning projects.  Project ideas can come from students and community members.  They begin with a proposal with specific goals, then a plan or design, hands on work and problem solving, and finally presentation and assessment.  Classroom math is incorporated into the projects.  To keep up with our project work, please check out our News page.

Math

The Math curriculum is based on the Maine Learning Results standards.  These include number concepts, measurement conversions and rates, qualitative and quantitative analysis, geometry and algebra.  Classroom math addresses concepts from several different perspectives with an emphasis on applications and problem solving for a deeper understanding.  Student-invented problem solving strategies are encouraged.  Classroom math concepts are integrated into our projects.  The goal is to impress upon our students that math is all around us and provides us with powerful tools to describe, compare, understand, persuade and predict.

Language Arts

Language Arts is focused both on the mechanics as well as the ability to express student creativity, ideas, stories, knowledge, opinions, analysis and observations through writing.  This includes short stories, essays, poetry, plays, reviews, reports, and even novellas.

Science

The Science curriculum is based on the Maine Learning Results standards, which for sixth through eighth grade focuses on the physical setting and the living environment.  The physical setting includes earth science, or the geosphere system, as well as the physical science of matter, energy, force and motion.  The living environment pertains to the biosphere system and includes evolution, ecosystems, biodiversity, cell biology and genetics.  We explore these topics within the context of our yearly themes.  They are addresses through projects, surveys, experiments, nonfiction books, internet resources, field trips and collaborations with experts in the field.

Social Studies

The Social Studies curriculum explores topics from the Maine Learning Results standards in the context of our yearly themes.  Topics include government structures, civil rights, economics, geography, history and current events.  As our themes revolve around the world within our grasp, these social studies topics are focused on our community, our region, and our state, but global issues are also included as they have a profound and tangible impact on our community.  These topics are addressed through projects, nonfiction books, literature and guests.  Community interaction and service learning are a driving force.  One of our goals is to empower our students with experiences that show that an individual can make a difference toward improving their world.

Literature

The Literature curriculum at Ganderia introduces the various aspects of literacy to the students by exploring the many genres of literature.  The students develop an understanding and appreciation of the written English language.  Students strengthen their vocabularies, grammar skills, editing skills and reading comprehension in a novel based approach to literature.  The students develop a lifelong love of reading and increase reading fluency with a combination of reading styles.  An emphasis is made on exploring literature through writing.

Health

The Health curriculum is centered on the themes of the Maine Learning Results and all topics that are covered in the public school system are covered at Ganderia.  We focus on personal health, making good choices and practicing refusal skills, healthy peer relationships, and the importance of family as an unconditional source of support and love.

Students also learn health related topics that expand beyond the core curriculum according to their interests.  They explore body systems in depth with emphasis on understanding the basics of metabolism and why nutrition and physical activity are so important to having a healthy body.  Because pathology can not be separated from health, they also learn about some diseases related to the body systems.  Prevention of disease is stressed.

Finally, students learn how their personal health relates to family health, health of the communty in which they live, and world health.

Spanish

In the first year the students are introduced to vocabulary in themes, pronunciation, present tense verbs, and a few irregular, but useful, verbs.  The returning students ciontinue with vocabulary acquisition, the present tense, and are taught the past and future tenses.  Sentence structure and conversational Spanish is practiced in settings such as a visit to the doctor, a grocery shop or a pet shop.  These situational themes are culminated in role playing with the Boxberry students or a field trip.  The students also perform a play all in Spanish.  Cultural aspects of the language are addressed in each class, and there are also specific sessions dedicated to cultural issues surrounding Spain and Latin America.

Art

The goal of our Art curriculum is to create an enthusiastic environment that will foster the creative aspects that are in all of us.  Students learn to appreciate art by studying works of art through books and museum visits.  Most of the learning process is through actually making art.  The students learn and work with the essential elements of art such as use of color, positive and negative space, balance and unity.  Students use various methods such as those used by many of the great masters.  Students study and copy classic works of art.  They go out into nature and try to capture it's beauty, set up still lifes in the classrom, as well as create works from pure imagination.  Students use many different mediums including watercolors, acrylics, oils, clay and photography.  Students work in groups and on individual projects.

Ultimately this is a fun filled learning experience from which the students come away with a love of art, an eye for beauty, and an urge and belief in their power to create.

Music

The majority of the time spent in Music class is focused on learning how to play various instruments (including voice) and performing as a group.  Students learn the elements of music, including basic music reading, understanding rhythm, melody, harmony and music dynamics.  Through performance, group interaction is emphasized as well as listening skills.  Students are exposed to diverse musical genres throughout the year.  Basic compositional and improvisiational skills are also taught.  Ultimately, the goal is to encourage and nurture a lifelong love of music by creating music, listening to music and most of all, having fun in the process.

Field Trips

At Ganderia Middle School, we put an emphasis on getting out and exploring our community and our state.  Each year begins and ends with a four day, three night camping trip, and throughout the year we travel to see and touch much of what we study.  Here's a map of just some of the places we visited in our first two years: