Middle school is a time when students are growing physically at break-neck speed and also going through a bit of emotional turmoil. Perhaps that is the reason many school and curriculum designers spend these three years teaching the same subject matter each year, adding slightly more detailed level each year. This may also be the reason that many homeschoolers, who have a bit less social stress than middle school public schoolers then do complete middle school in one or two years instead of the usual three.
In summarizing the basic curriculum for sixth, seventh, and eighth grade, I have condensed these topics in a way that allows homeschooling parents to study each subject in depth over the years instead of repeating themselves each year.
Middle school math, i.e. 6th 7th and 8th grade math are generally the same math concepts repeated at a slightly greater difficulty each year. It basically prepares students for algebra. If middle school students do very well with middle school math they can start Algebra in 8th grade.
Middle School Social Studies: World book has a list of topics that your students should learn from grade school through high school. For middle school years, I strongly disagree the way in which the topics are arranged for each of the sixth, seventh, and eighth grade social studies. I have re-arranged the topics a bit to make them more cohesive.
Middle school science is also repetitive and repeats subjects learned during the elementary years. Instead of repeating the same subjects over and over, I feel that homeschoolers should look for experiences that will help the children learn the subject in a hands-on way and in greater depth.
Middle school language arts: Likewise, in middle school, Language Arts tends to be repetitive in order to help a student gradually improve his or her skills. The basic subject matter that a middle school student must know before beginning high school is as follows.
Other middle school topics that are recommended are drug abuse, body functions, healthy lifestyle, environmental hazards and cleanliness.
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