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Childhood First.
 
“WSA is our family! Our children have received so much support over the years from their many teachers, and we are so thankful. We wish every child could receive a Waldorf education.”
— Kathryn and Ian Macken, WSA Parents
 

Middle School

Grade 6

 
 

Venturing Forth

Sixth grade is the gateway to pre-adolescence. The curriculum offers firm academic grounding in math, composition, and science, along with memorable depictions of cultural cause and effect: Arthurian legend and the rise and fall of the Roman Empire, medieval society and the Crusades. Students begin to structure and participate in scientific experiments on light, heat, magnetism and electricity while the study of mathematics incorporates business math and the principles of economics.

More information about Grade 6

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middle school

Grade 7

 
 

Great Discoveries

Through the exploration of an unknown world, the seventh grade curriculum challenges the thought processes of young adolescents, leading them to discovery, understanding and discernment. Students trace the routes of the world's great explorers, hone written language through creative writing, and recreate the painting of a Renaissance master. New discoveries continue with the introduction of geometry and pre-algebra, and the physiology of the human body - coursework that lays the academic foundation for further studies in Grade Eight and high school.

More information about Grade 7

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middle school

Grade 8

 
 
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Revolutionary Spirit

Grade Eight marks a significant milestone for the students and teacher, many of whom have journeyed together since Grade One. Grade Eight represents both the culmination of the middle school experience, which by now has grown familiar and comfortable, and the transition to high school with its exciting unknowns.

Amid studies of the great revolutions and the dawn of new societies, students weigh tradition against progress. Reading Shakespeare, writing lab reports, and examining current events, the class moves toward an evaluation of what is true. At the same time, a gradual but significant shift is taking place: the didactic presentation of a subject by the teacher is giving way to the mutual consideration of a subject by teacher and class together. A sense of community develops, in which speaking becomes more thoughtful, listening more attentive. The result is a greater sense of self. More importantly, students leave with compelling questions that will continue to fuel their love of learning in the years ahead.

More information about Grade 8

 

Middle School Math

Math in the lower grades is taught by the Class Teacher. Middle School grades are taught by experienced math specialists Sharon Annan and Deedi Barker

Grade Six is the year for shoring up arithmetic skills before venturing into more abstract topics such as ratios and algebra. We solidify these skills and add slightly new wrinkles to old methods: operations with fractions now include mixed numbers; decimal division extends to three digit divisors. Finally, students learn how to convert from one number representation to another.

Major topics of Grade Six study:

  • Fraction addition, subtraction, multiplication and division (with particular emphasis on using mixed numbers)Long division and multiplication of decimal numbers
  • Exponents
  • Prime numbers and prime factorization
  • Conversions between decimals, fractions and percents
  • Mental math calculation to develop concentration and confidence
  • Basic statistics – calculation of mean, median and mode
  • Measurement conversions (volume, distance and weight)
  • Business math with emphasis on percents

During Grade Seven, the students transition from the world of arithmetic to mathematics. The skills that students have been learning and practicing in grades one through six get put to work in the subjects of ratios, percentages, word problems, and algebra. Geometry takes its first analytical bent as students calculate angle measurements based on properties of figures and are introduced to the Pythagorean theorem. It is a step into the world of abstract and logical thought – a gesture that grows in middle school mathematics and reaches its zenith in the high school years.

Major Topics of Grade Seven Study:

  • Measurement conversions with particular emphasis on the metric system
  • Conversions between fractions and decimals
  • Percent calculations and conversions
  • Introduction to compound interest
  • Proportion and Ratio
  • Operations involving positive and negative numbers
  • Solving basic linear equations
  • Introduction to irrational numbers
  • Area and perimeter
  • Properties of angles of parallel lines cut by a transversal
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Grade Eight students are separated into two tracks: Group A prepares students for a high school level Algebra 1 course in Ninth Grade whereas Group B prepares students to go straight into Algebra II, Trigonometry or Euclidean Geometry in Grade Nine.

Group A
Idealistic concerns are very real at this age and stressing the beauty of mathematical operations continues to be an important goal during the eighth grade year. Students should have a firm grasp of all arithmetic operations and their applications in the areas of percentage, business problems, computations with time and money, estimation, and Algebra. Word problems are stressed —especially ones that test thinking against multiple-step problems and utilize analytical skills and strategies.

Group B
The Algebra I course covers a broad range of topics to meet a broad range of goals. We wish to prepare students to go straight into Algebra II, Trigonometry or Euclidean geometry in their ninth grade year. As such, we spend a good deal of time on traditional topics such as factoring polynomials and solving linear equations. In addition, we discuss topics not traditionally covered to expand the children’s mathematical thinking and to build their number sense and confidence. The combination of goals means that this course moved briskly. The students have to work actively to absorb the material and keep up with the homework.

 

Major Topics of Grade Eight Group A Study:

  • Number bases
  • Representing the value of a number in a variety of forms (standard, expanded, exponential, and scientific notation)
  • Pythagorean Theorem
  • Manual calculation of square roots
  • Percent calculations and growth formulas
  • Area and volume calculation
  • Simplification of algebraic expressions using the order of operations
  • Use of the communicative, associative, and distributive properties with numbers and algebraic expressions
  • Laws of exponents
  • Solving linear equations
  • Loci and conic sections
  • Platonic Solids

Major Topics of Grade Eight Group B Study:

  • Number bases
  • Pythagorean Theorem
  • Manual calculation of square roots
  • Operations with radicals
  • Simplification of algebraic expressions using the order of operations, laws of exponents, distributive property, etc.
  • Solving linear equations with integral and rational coefficients
  • Multiplying polynomials
  • Factoring simple polynomials (GCF, differences of squares, and trinomials)
  • Solving quadratic equations by factoring
  • Solving systems of linear equations
  • Techniques for solving word problemsLoci and conic sections
  • Platonic Solids