Curriculum 5-8
Navigation
The New York State Education Department (NYSED) is responsible for setting student learning expectations (standards) on what all students should know and be able to do as a result of skilled instruction. Each local school district develops curricula based on these established standards.
Churchville-Chili Central School District offers curriculum following all of the NYSED standards in the following areas: English Language Arts, Mathematics, Science, Social Studies, Physical Education/Health and Fine Arts, as explained here. For more information on the standards or Churchville-Chili curriculum, please view our related links.
Related Links
Middle School Curriculum
- Career & Technical Education (CTE)
- English Language Arts
- Fine Arts
- Mathematics
- Physical Education & Health
- Science
- Social Studies
- World Language
Career & Technical Education (CTE)
Middle School CTE requirements as given by NYS are that all middle-level students are entitled to 13/4 unit of career and technical education. This instruction can begin as early as grade 5 and be delivered by teachers certified in any title in any CTE content area, so long as it is through the lens of their content area. Churchville-Chili breaks down Middle School CTE into 2 categories Family and Consumer Sciences (FACS) and Technology.
Family and Consumer Sciences (FACS)
FACS is separated into 4 categories; Life Skills, Career Explorations, Nutrition and Wellness and Health.
LIFE SKILLS
The Life Skills course focuses on developing the skills students need for academic successes. Improving academic skills will improve a student's ability to learn and achieve success in school and in the future. Students will study skills and develop strategies related to the following topics: behavior management, resource management, communication, study skills, and decision making. Students will learn how these skills will improve their chances of developing excellent college and career readiness skills.
CAREER EXPLORATION
Career Awareness:
The purpose of this content topic is to provide opportunities for students to apply communication, leadership, management, and thinking skills to career development. Family and Consumer Sciences classes encourage students to form tentative career plans. The Career Development content topic offers Family and Consumer Sciences students the opportunity to apply the process skills through learning experiences that will help them to anticipate the future, identify employability traits, examine their relationship to the work environment, and to explore career possibilities including entrepreneurship. Students will also analyze strategies to manage individual, family, school, career, and community roles and responsibilities. Career paths in Career Development will be identified.
Financial Management:
The purpose of this content topic is to provide opportunities for students to apply the communication, leadership, management, and thinking skills to Financial Management. The students in Family and Consumer Sciences classes develop the knowledge and skills needed to make optimum use of financial resources to meet the goals of individuals and families across the lifespan. Career paths in financial management will be identified.
NUTRITION AND WELLNESS
The purpose of this content topic is to provide opportunities for students to apply the communication, leadership, management, and thinking skills to food, nutrition, and wellness. Learning experiences in Family & Consumer Sciences classes increase students’ awareness of the impact their food choices have on their life-long health. The Nutrition and Wellness content topic offers the Family & Consumer Sciences student the opportunity to practice the process skills through hands-on experiences in planning, selecting, purchasing, preparing, serving, and storing nutritious foods for individuals and families across the lifespan. Career paths in food, nutrition, and wellness will also be identified.
HEALTH – Grade 7
This course is the vehicle through which the New York State Intermediate-Level Learning Standards for Family and Consumer Sciences (Personal Health and Fitness, A Safe and Healthy Environment, and Resource Management) are delivered to students. It also addresses the New York State Intermediate-Level Learning Standards for Career Development and Occupational Studies (Career Development, Integrated Learning, and Universal Foundation Skills). FACS/Home and Career Skills can be used as a vehicle to deliver the intermediate standards in the required New York State Parenting course.
TECHNOLOGY
Technology is separated into 4 sections; Magic of Electrons, Design and Modeling, Science of Technology and Automation and Robotics.
Magic of Electrons
Through hands-on projects, students explore the science of electricity, the movement of atoms, circuit design, and sensing devices. Students acquire knowledge and skills in basic circuitry design and explore the impact of electricity on our lives.
Design and Modeling
This unit uses 3D modeling to introduce students to the design process. Utilizing this design approach, students understand how solid modeling has influenced their lives. Students also learn sketching techniques, and use descriptive geometry as a component of design, measurement, and computer modeling. Using design briefs or abstracts, students create models and documentation to solve problems.
Science of Technology
This unit traces how science has affected technology throughout history. Students learn about the mechanics of motion, the conversion of energy, and the use of science to improve communication.
Automation and Robotics
Students trace the history and development of automation and robotics. They learn about structures, energy transfer, machine automation, and computer control systems. Students acquire knowledge and skills in engineering problem solving and explore requirements for careers in engineering.
For more information on the standards or Churchville-Chili curriculum please access the NYSED link and the Atlas Curriculum link on the side of the page.
English Language Arts
The Board of Regents approved the New York State Generation Learning Standards for English Language Arts. As stated by NYSED, “They are defined as the knowledge, skills and understanding that individuals can habitually demonstrate over time when exposed to high-quality instructional environments and learning experiences.” The standards are used to offer: guidance and support, range of student reading experiences, text complexity, English Language Learners/multilingual learners and students with disabilities.
NYS ELA follows four anchor standards from Pre-K through Grade 12: Reading, Writing, Speaking and Listening and Language. Anchor standards represent broad statements about the expectations for students as they prepare for high school graduation, positioning them for college and careers.
At Churchville-Chili Central School District, we strive to stimulate growth in factual knowledge, literary appreciation, and critical thinking. District instructional resources provide students with numerous opportunities to practice and refine their literacy skills. Instructional resources reflect the diversity of our local community, New York State, the United States, and the larger world.
Grades 5 - 8 Reading
Students in Middle School grades should experience a balance of literature and informational texts in the context of instruction designed to create opportunities for children to engage with a variety of topics and texts, and have discussions about texts that support language development and knowledge building. Creating this learning environment for readers can take a variety of formats, including read-alouds, shared readings, paired readings, independent readings and other learning activities that incorporate literacy materials, talking, and writing. The following are examples of literary and informational text types that may be used in classroom instruction. Texts are not limited to these examples.
Literature: stories, drama, poetry, fiction, myths, graphic novels, fairy tales, folk tales, tall tales, and other literary texts.
Informational: nonfiction, biographies, autobiographies, books and articles about science, art, history, social studies, and information displayed in charts, graphs, or maps, in both print and digital sources.
Grades 5 - 8 Writing and Language Conventions
As students in the Middle School grades develop their writing skills, they will use a variety of strategies to plan, revise, and strengthen their writing as they work independently and collaboratively with adults and peers to produce texts, and to learn about and develop oral language--written language and reading--writing connections. Students in the Middle School grades will write for multiple purposes (to entertain, to explain, to persuade) and learn about various tools (print and digital) to produce, share, and publish writing. In all writing tasks, students will learn to use and to adjust language to best communicate ideas, content, and messages to readers.
Lifelong Practices of Readers and Writers
The following table provides an overview of the lifelong practices of readers and writers, necessary for success in school and beyond.
Fine Arts
The Churchville-Chili Central School District has a strong history of excellence in the arts and believes that an arts education plays an integral role in providing a complete and holistic educational experience.
The visual arts are an important and essential aspect of a complete education in the Churchville-Chili Central School District. The K-12 art department provides a comprehensive standards-based program which showcases our students in our annual K-12 Art Shows.
For additional information on our district's Fine Arts Program and the many options available to your child in the future, please see the CCCSD Fine Arts Program link below.
Mathematics
A brief overview of the Mathematics curriculum in grades 5-8 is below.
Grade 5 curriculum encompases developing fluency with addition and subtraction of fractions; 2 digit division; understanding volume.
Grade 6 curriculum will focus on five areas: connecting ratio and rate to whole number multiplication and division; completing understanding of division of fractions; writing, interpreting, and using expressions and equations; deepening understanding of area, surface area and volume; developing understanding of simple probabilities and statistical thinking.
Grade 7 curriculum will focus on three areas: developing understanding of and applying proportional relationships; developing understanding of operations with rational numbers and working with expressions and linear equations; drawing inferences about populations based on samples.
Grade 8 curriculum will focus on three areas: formulating and reasoning about expressions and equations; grasping the concept of a function and using functions to describe quantitative relationships; analyzing two- and three-dimensional space and figures using distance, angle, similarity, and congruence, and understanding and applying the Pythagorean Theorem.
Mathematics Classes Flow Chart
Physical Education & Health
The Churchville-Chili Health and Physical Education program is a student centered activity based K-12 program. Our curriculum offers students multiple opportunities to participate in a wide array of sport and fitness activities which correlates to the NYS Learning Standards.
At all grade levels a focus on teaching and learning is placed on the following:
- The health related components of physical fitness
- Increasing student skill levels
- Promoting teamwork and sportsmanship
- Encourage mental, social and physical wellness of the individual student
The goal for all our students is for them to become lifelong learners who strive to incorporate the values of health, wellness and an active lifestyle in their everyday life.
Science
During middle school, students will expand their knowledge and skills gained throughout the elementary program. The implementation of the New York State P-12 Science Learning Standards (NYSP12SLS), an adaptation of the Next Generation Science Standards, will be continued through the three dimensions of science learning: disciplinary core ideas; science and engineering practices; and cross-cutting concepts, where students can build a cohesive understanding of science over time. Grades 5-8 will engage in the four domains of science, including Physical Science, Life Science, Earth and Space Science, and Engineering Design.
Students in grades 5-8 will further participate in experiences that will provide them opportunities to interact as directly as possible with the natural world through inquiry-based learning in order to construct explanations about their world. This approach will allow students to practice problem-solving skills, develop positive science attitudes, synthesize information, learn new science content, increase their scientific literacy, apply their knowledge of core ideas and utilize the engineering design process to further their learning.
In grades 5-8, students will learn:
Grade 5: Matter and energy in organisms and ecosystems; space, including seasonal appearances of the night sky, constellations and gravitational force; Earth’s systems, including the geosphere, biosphere, hydrosphere and atmosphere, and how they interact; and structure and properties of matter.
Grade 6: Ecosystems, including population, ecosystem interactions, photosynthesis and energy transfer; environmental issues resulting from human impact, including use of plastic and finding alternative options; energy and force sources, such as magnetic fields and electricity; and waves, including light, sound and communication waves.
Grade 7: Microscopic structures; cell structure and function; human body systems; genetics, growth, development and reproduction of organisms; properties and interactions of matter, including the periodic table; and motion and accelerated forces.
Grade 8: Forces, motion and energy; Earth’s systems, including rocks, minerals and plate tectonics; space, including the role of gravity and cyclic patterns like lunar phases, eclipses and seasons; weather pattern and climate development; natural selection and adaptations; interdependent relationships, maintaining biodiversity and human impact on Earth’s systems through natural resource consumption.
Social Studies
A brief overview of what Social Studies covers in Middle School as per the NYS Social Studies Framework.
Grade 5 Social Studies is based on the history and geography of the Western Hemisphere, including the development of cultures, civilizations, and empires; interaction between societies; and the comparison of the government and economic systems of modern nations. It also incorporates elements of archaeology. The course is divided into seven Key Ideas that cover a time span from prehistory into modern times. Teachers are encouraged to make and teach local connections throughout the course, especially in the examination of citizenship related to modern political and economic issues.
Grade 6 Social Studies is based on the geography and history of the Eastern Hemisphere, including the development of cultures, civilizations, and empires; interactions between societies; and the comparison of trends in government and economics. It also incorporates some elements of other social sciences.
In Grades 7 and 8, students will examine the United States and New York State through a historical lens. The two-year sequence is arranged chronologically, beginning with the settlement of North America by Native Americans∗ and ending with an examination of the United States in the 21st century. Although the courses emphasize the skill of chronological reasoning and causation, the courses also integrate the skills and content from geography, politics, economy, and culture into the study of history
World Language
Churchville-Chili School District offers French and Spanish for World Languages. The New York State standards for language is divided into two language groups: Classical Languages and Modern Languages. Classical Languages include Latin, Greek, ancient Hebrew and other languages from earlier time periods. Modern Languages include any language that has living, native speakers.
The learning standards for language are broken down into two anchor standards: communication and cultures. Communication is then broken down into interpretive, interpersonal and presentational. The Cultures Anchor standard is broken down into relating cultural practices and products to perspectives and then cultural comparisons.
There are four main themes in the teaching of Modern Languages: identity and social relationships; contemporary life; science, technology and arts; global awareness and community engagement. These are then broken down into 17 topics that are taught across the span of years that students take World Languages.