Iroquois and Van Antwerp Middle Schools follow a consistent program of studies and curriculum, aligned with the New York State Common Core Learning Standards. Scroll down or use the links below to access information by subject area.
- Art & Design
- English Language Arts (ELA)
- Health
- Home and Careers (Family & Consumer Sciences)
- Mathematics
- Music – General Music & Middle School Ensembles
- Physical Education
- Science
- Social Studies
- Technology
- World Languages
Art & Design
The Middle School Art & Design Program offers a sequential curriculum that builds essential skills. Students maintain sketchbooks throughout the program, practicing skills, problem solving, and techniques. Students are exposed to a variety of artists, cultures, and media. Our goal is to prepare students for the High School art and design program and instill a lifelong appreciation of and interest in the arts.
- Students in grade 6 meet for art daily for one semester.
- Students in grade 7 meet for art every other day for one semester.
- Students in grade 8 meet for art daily for one quarter.
English Language Arts (ELA)
The ELA curriculum is guided by the Common Core Learning Standards and includes instruction in reading, writing, speaking, and listening. In reading, teachers focus on supporting students with comprehension and fluency through a balance of genres and a balance between instructional level and rigorous texts. In writing, teachers focus on supporting students with the writing process, writing across a variety of genres, using textual evidence in writing and discovering their voice as writers. For speaking/listening, teachers focus on supporting students with speaking in front of groups, formally and informally; listening to speakers, listening for comprehension. In addition to ELA instruction at all grade levels, students in sixth grade have a daily reading class.
Home and Careers (Family & Consumer Sciences)
Home and Careers is offered for ten weeks in 6th, 7th and 8th grades. As a student progresses through middle school home and careers courses, each new course builds on the experiences of the previous year. Units of study include skills for adolescence, food preparation and nutrition, financial management, and career exploration.
Health
Students in grades 6 and 8 receive a sequential, age-appropriate health curriculum that covers emotional health, nutrition, substance abuse prevention, diseases and disorders, and family life. Students in grades 6 and 8 have 10 weeks of health instruction. Seventh grade students receive instruction guided by the Project Alert substance abuse prevention curriculum. Detailed middle school health curriculum information can be found here.
Math
The Niskayuna middle school math program adopted Big Ideas Math as the base curriculum for grades 6-8. This program is grounded in the New York State Next Generation Mathematics Standards, which promotes students’ critical thinking, deeper problem solving skills, hands-on activities, identifying patterns and relationships in mathematics, solving real-world problems, and emphasizes student discourse as a means to explain thinking and learn other methods of problem solving. The standards are robust and relevant to the real world, reflecting the knowledge and skills needed for success in college and careers.
| Grade | Topics |
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| 7 |
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| 8 |
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Middle School Skills Review Handbook: https://www.bigideasmath.com/protected/content/srh/
Middle School Math Games (English and Spanish): https://bim.easyaccessmaterials.com/teachers/game_closet.php
Music – General Music & Middle School Ensembles
General Music
All students in grades 6-8 receive instruction in general music. The program allows students to participate in class ‘hands-on’ through the use of Chromebooks and MIDI keyboards. Our curriculum focuses on music theory and literacy, history, composition, musical theatre and learning keyboard and guitar. It accommodates various musical backgrounds and skill levels, while allowing all students to be simultaneously engaged. Cooperative learning among students is encouraged. Students in Grade 8 will explore music through the use of the acoustic guitar.
Sixth grade students meet every day for one quarter and 7th and 8th grade students meet on alternate days for one semester for a total of 10 weeks of instruction each year.
In addition to general music, all students in 6th, 7th and 8th grades have the opportunity to participate in bands, choirs and orchestras.
Performing Ensembles
Our Middle School Music Department offers three ‘core’ ensembles- band, choir, and orchestra. All ensembles meet outside of the regular school day before school begins. Attendance for these rehearsals is expected in the same way as any other class. Students may enroll in band, choir or orchestra alone, or band and choir, or orchestra and choir.
Core Ensembles
6th Grade – Band, Orchestra, Choirs
7th Grade – Band, Orchestra
8thGrade – Band, Orchestra
7/8th Grade – Choirs
Select Ensembles
Chamber Strings
Jazz Ensemble
Mezzo Voce
Physical Education
The middle school Physical Education (P.E.) program is aligned to the New York State Learning Standards of maintaining personal health and fitness, maintaining a safe and healthy environment, and accessing personal and community resources. Middle school students have P.E. every other day all year.
Science
Students study earth & atmospheric science (6th grade), life science (7th grade) and physical science and chemistry (8th grade).
Social Studies
The social studies curriculum meets the NYS Social Studies Framework and five learning standards. Students study world civilizations and the Eastern Hemisphere (6th grade), U.S. history I (7th grade) and U.S. history II (8th grade).
Technology
Middle school technology education is an investigative, activity-based program. Students are asked to solve technical problems through the gathering of information, the development of solutions, and the creation of a plan to solve the problem. Seventh grade technology is a foundation course that develops student’s technical literacy through design, invention, and innovation through the study of how technological solutions impact society and the environment. Eighth grade technology revolves around a systems approach to the creation, monitoring, and modification of technical systems.
World Languages
Students can choose to study French or Spanish beginning in sixth grade. Grade 6 foreign language is a semester class (20 weeks) and 7th and 8th grade students take a full year of foreign language. Eighth grade language is the Level I high school course, and at the end of the year, students take a local proficiency exam that fulfills their high school language requirement. At the end of eighth grade instruction, teachers will recommend students for language I, II, or II H in high school.