Middle School (5-8)

As students approach adolescence, they experience a growing sense of independence. The Oak Meadow middle school curriculum supports this developmental stage by encouraging students to look inward while also exploring the outer world in greater depth. They are asked to develop skills in critical thinking and creative problem solving, to analyze and synthesize. In this way, students cultivate an ability to think for themselves that will serve them well in high school and beyond.

2 Ways to Use Our Curriculum

Independent Use

This option is for families who want to purchase our curriculum and homeschool independently. Flexibility is written into the lesson plans, so you may pick and choose subjects and assignments to appeal to your student’s interests and skill level, and schedule your homeschool days to fit your family’s lifestyle.

  • Curriculum may be purchased as a full package or separately by subject in the Oak Meadow Shop. Coursebooks include assignment checklists, planning pages, materials lists, and learning assessment sheets. Teacher Manuals are available.
  • While parents continue to guide their students through the lesson plans, the curriculum is now written directly to the student.
  • Parents are responsible for submitting documentation as required by their State Department of Education or their country’s Ministry of Education.
  • We offer a homeschool support consultation service, and several teachers offer private tutoring and coaching.

Visit our Shop to Purchase Homeschooling Curriculum >

 

Or

Distance Learning School

This option is for families who want the structure and guidance provided through enrollment in our accredited distance learning school. While the parent still provides day-to-day instruction and support, students increasingly work one-to-one with their teacher. Teachers may customize lessons to meet student interest and skill.

  • Students submit work and communicate with their teacher by email, phone, or video chat. Parents can track their student’s progress through our online parent portal.
  • The teacher regularly reviews student work and provides written feedback, assessments, and semester- and year-end narrative evaluations.
  • The Oak Meadow office maintains official cumulative records and provides certificates of completion.
  • Families enjoy access to the Oak Meadow enrolled community through virtual clubs, meet-ups, and parent gatherings.

Apply Now to Oak Meadow’s Distance Learning School >

Middle School (5-8)

Curriculum Overview

The Fifth Grade curriculum awakens the student’s intellect and introspection through the lives of great people in history.

English
  • Dependent and independent clauses
  • Compound and complex sentences
  • Capitalization and punctuation
  • Sentence types
  • Direct quotations and in-text citations
  • Prefixes and suffixes
  • Verb tenses
Social Studies
  • Early navigation and exploration
  • Mayflower Compact
  • Map making
  • Colonial life in North America
  • Taxation without representation
  • American Revolution
  • U.S. Constitution
Science

Basic Environmental Science

  • Scientific inquiry
  • Indicator species
  • Wetlands models
  • Metric conversions
  • Ecosystem diversity
  • Biomes
  • Water cycle
  • Astronomy
  • Renewable and nonrenewable sources
  • Energy conservation
Math
  • Place value and rounding
  • Measuring time, adding and subtracting time
  • Borrowing across zero
  • Borrowing from a borrowed digit
  • Bar and line graphs
  • Roman numerals
  • Squares and square roots
  • Perimeter and area
  • Two-digit divisors
English
  • Plurals and possessives
  • Five-paragraph essay
  • Citing sources
  • Homophones
  • Creative writing
  • Descriptive writing
  • Antonyms and synonyms
  • Biography
Social Studies
  • Westward expansion
  • Indian Removal Act
  • Native American leaders
  • U.S Civil War
  • Abolition and the Underground Railroad
  • Women in U.S. history
Science

Basic Life Science and Physical Science

  • Weather patterns
  • Classification systems
  • Human body structures and systems
  • States of matter
  • Types of energy
  • Principles of physics
Math
  • Expanding and reducing fractions
  • Rate and distance
  • Lowest common denominator
  • Multiplying fractions and mixed numbers
  • Dividing fractions and mixed numbers
  • Adding and subtracting decimals

Oak Meadow’s Sixth Grade curriculum engages the emerging adolescent with dramatic stories of struggle and exploration.

English
  • Note-taking and citations
  • The writing process
  • Direct and indirect quotations
  • Writing a research report
  • Short story writing
  • Expository essay
  • Comparative essay
Social Studies
  • Early human culture
  • Ancient cultures of Africa, Asia, and the Middle East
  • Ancient Greece and Roman Empire
  • Ancient systems of government, religion, and philosophy
Science
  • Scientific method and experimentation
  • Cell structure and cell division
  • Plant structure and reproduction
  • Photosynthesis
  • Soil and nutrients
  • Classification of living things
  • Plant and animal kingdoms
Math
  • Two-digit divisors
  • Reducing fractions to lowest terms
  • Lowest common denominator
  • Multiplying and dividing fractions and mixed numbers
  • Multiplying and dividing decimals
  • Dividends of less than one
  • Measurements of distance, weight, and volume
English
  • Persuasive essay
  • Using supporting details
  • Creative writing
  • Writing dialogue
  • Verb tenses
  • Prefixes, suffixes, and base words
  • Parts of speech
Social Studies
  • Celtic and Germanic Tribes
  • Europe and the Middle Ages
  • Innovations and art of the Renaissance
  • Early cultures of North America
  • Ancient civilization of the Aztec, Maya, and Inca
  • Early navigation and exploration
Science
  • Animal life cycles
  • Food chains and food webs
  • Ecology and ecosystems
  • Global climate change
  • Human nutrition
  • Human body structures and systems
Math
  • Calculating percentages
  • Converting between fractions, decimals, and percentages
  • Ratios and probability
  • Perimeter, ration, and diameter
  • Area of irregular shapes
  • Equations with missing numbers
  • Exponents
  • Order of operations

Seventh graders gain a global perspective through a study of World History, from the Age of Enlightenment to the present.

English

Grammar and Composition

  • Paragraph and sentence structures
  • Dependent and independent clauses
  • Prewriting techniques
  • Confusing word pairs
  • Citing sources and plagiarism
  • Spelling rules and frequently misspelled words

Literature

  • Analysis of literary themes
  • Analogy, metaphor, and simile
  • Story predicitions
  • Plot and character development
  • Poetry
Social Studies
  • Empires of Asia
  • European Age of Enlightenment
  • French Revolution
  • Industrial Revolution
  • Slavery and U.S. Civil War
  • Nationalism and Imperialism
  • World Wars
Science
  • Variables and controlled experiments
  • Movement of Earth and moon
  • Astronomy
  • Geology
  • Weathering and erosion
  • Plate tectonics
  • Student-led scientific inquiry
Math
  • Order of operations
  • Factors and prime numbers
  • Simple and compound interest
  • Equations with missing numbers
  • Metric units of measure
  • Signed numbers
  • Rules of equations
  • Probability and probability in a series
  • Using a calculator
World Languages
  • Spanish 1
  • French 1
  • Latin 1

*Language courses for High School credit are available to enrolled 7th graders

English

Grammar and Composition

  • Types of nouns and pronouns
  • Verb tenses
  • Shifts in tense and person
  • Subject/verb agreement
  • Dangling and misplaced modifiers
  • Parallel construction
  • Writing a business letter

Literature

  • Free verse
  • Citing textual evidence
  • Story structure
  • Family stories
  • Biographies and autobiographies
Social Studies
  • Influential people in history
  • United Nations
  • Cold War
  • Conflicts in Asia and the Middle East
  • Information Age
  • Technology
Science
  • Global climate change
  • Meteorology
  • Water cycle
  • Atmosphere pressure and wind patterns
  • Earth’s resources
  • Human population growth
  • Biodiversity and habitat loss
  • Student-led scientific inquiry
Math
  • Circumference and area of a circle
  • Construction triangles and calculating area
  • Applying and transforming formulas
  • Applying functions to find unknown values
  • Ratios and proportions
  • Bisecting lines and angles
  • Volume of geometric solids
  • Roots and exponents of fractions and negative numbers
  • Scientific notation
  • Graphing a line for an equation
World Languages
  • Spanish 1
  • French 1
  • Latin 1

*Language courses for High School credit are available to enrolled 7th graders

The Eighth Grade curriculum introduces students to the concepts of civics through a study of the champions of freedom, federal, state, and local governments, and the economic system.

English

Composition

  • Vocabulary development
  • Figurative language
  • Concise writing
  • Comparative essay
  • Persuasive writing
  • The writing process

Literature

  • Plot and character development
  • Textual evidence
  • Story themes
  • Foreshadowing
  • Story structures
  • Poetry
Social Studies
  • Qualities of good citizenship
  • Community leaders
  • Decision making
  • Immigration and citizenship
  • Disability awareness
  • Personal and public health
  • Political heritage and governing structures
  • Landmark cases of the U.S. Supreme Court
  • Civic debate
Science
  • Controlled experiments
  • Periodic table of elements
  • Mixtures and compounds
  • Force vectors
  • Mass, weight, and gravity
  • Laws of motion
  • Types of energy
  • Student-led scientific inquiry
Math: Algebra 1/2
  • Graphs
  • Decimals
  • Percentages
  • Measuring length, area, and volume
  • Algebraic equations
  • Rate word problems
  • Scientific notation
World Languages
  • Spanish 1
  • French 1
  • Latin 1

*Language courses for High School credit are available to enrolled 8th graders

English

Composition

  • Timed essay
  • Writing a book review
  • Timeline of biographical events
  • Interviewing skills
  • Writing in verse

Literature

  • Story predictions
  • Literary comparisons
  • Summarizing a plot
  • Biography/autobiography
  • Differing character perspectives
Social Studies
  • Voting rights and responsibilities
  • Branches of the U.S. federal government
  • State and local government
  • Media influence and news literacy
  • Civic involvement
  • Earth stewardship
  • Community service project
  • Landmark cases of the U.S. Supreme Court
  • Civic debate
Science
  • Properties of waves
  • Electromagnetic spectrum
  • Reflection, absorption, and refraction of light
  • Electric charge and electrical current
  • Measuring and controlling electricity
  • Magnetism and electromagnetism
  • Mechanical advantage
  • Principles of aerodynamics
  • Student-led scientific inquiry
Math: Algebra 1/2
  • Ratios and proportions
  • Graphing inequalities
  • Negative coefficients
  • Estimating roots
  • Angles and triangles
  • Negative exponents
  • Permutations
World Languages
  • Spanish 1 or 2
  • French 1 or 2
  • Latin 1 or 2

*Language courses for High School credit are available to enrolled 8th graders

Resources

Purchase Curriculum

Or Enroll In Our Distance Learning School

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