Learning

Our middle school program at Main Street serves as a time for students to examine their strengths and weaknesses, set learning goals and acquire new skills as they prepare for the eventual transition to high school level. Our middle school is comprised of 6th through 8th graders who participate in a mix of large groups, small leveled groups and individual project work. With the range of ages and maturity, our 6th graders look up to the older students who “know the ropes”, while the 8th graders in the classroom organically learn about mentoring, leadership, and collaboration.

The day usually starts in a large group setting with “What’s in the News”. This is an activity in which the students discuss current events. They share topics and news items, both domestic and international, that they have heard about. The students learn from each other, have a chance to voice their opinions and debate the contemporary issues which surround them. The large group time is also a time for reading and discussing articles related to social behavior and emotional development and for engaging in self-reflection activities.

Our small leveled groups offer a time for the students to engage in the academic disciplines at their own academic levels. History topics such as WWI and WWII are taught to everyone but at different depths of inquiry and information acquisition. Math is done in a small group or on an individual basis, depending on each student’s level. Time for teacher instruction and discussion is provided, followed by individual work time or cooperative practice of the skills.

We consider ourselves a project- based school. Projects can be long, multiple-year endeavors or a short couple of weeks. The projects aim to connect as many curricular areas as possible with a goal of making the skills or information we are studying meaningful and relevant to the students. An example of a short-term project is students creating a “twitter-wall” where they have taken the role of the leaders in WWII, exchanging “tweets” with each other. What would our world leaders have claimed or charged each other with if they had had Twitter? A long-term project would be our multiple year ‘Collecting Community Histories’ project. Our students have become historians and reporters as they interview and record community members’ histories. They have learned the technology and skills to produce audio stories StoryCorps style building their public speaking and interviewing skills. They are learning that everyone has a story to share and history isn’t limited to the history texts. Each of us will write our own history. This ongoing project gives them a sense of accomplishment and belonging in our community. 

Amid these academic pursuits, we also devote time for developing creativity and promoting exploration. We have wonderful specialty teachers that share their talents and passions with our students weekly, and we plan weekly outings when the weather permits to investigate the community and nature around us.