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Middle School

Middle School Limudei Kodesh


The same vision that is the foundation of our Lower School is the underlying objective of our Middle School courses; developing the interest and love of Torah together with the skills necessary to do so. At the core of every Chumash, Halacha, Gemara, Navi, and Yahadus class is a careful balance showcasing the depth and relevance of all that they are learning while providing them with the opportunities to delve into the texts independently. As they progress through Middle School, these experiences will, b’ezras Hashem, produce passionate and committed lifelong Torah learners.

Middle School Math Program

Our approach
Mathematics is taught every school day with an emphasis on skill development, classroom participation, and problem-solving. Lessons build student fluency and understanding; homework provides nightly practice and helps both students and teachers identify where extra support is needed. We also emphasize math practices — reasoning, critique, organization, precision, and perseverance — so students gain powerful habits for learning, not just procedures.

At CTA, our middle school math program is tracked to support each student’s individual learning pace and readiness. Students are placed in either the grade-level track or the accelerated track based on their demonstrated understanding and progress. The grade-level track moves through the full 6th, 7th, and 8th grade math curriculum, ensuring that students build a solid foundation and are well prepared to take Algebra 1 in 9th grade. The accelerated track moves at a faster pace, allowing students to complete the 6th, 7th, and 8th grade curricula plus Algebra 1 by the end of 8th grade. This structure allows each student to be appropriately challenged, gain confidence in their skills, and experience success in mathematics at a pace that best supports their growth.

Curriculum overview
The pages that follow outline our year-long curriculum by grade. Each grade blends content standards with the mathematical practices we model and assess across units.

Middle School Language Arts

  • Formal Writing: Focus on essay and paragraph writing; learn to use graphic organizers and incorporate quotations and citations. We use graphic organizers and rubrics as standard tools to guide students in planning, revising, and improving their work. Beginning in 2025, all students in Grades 1–8 will benefit from The Writing Revolution (TWR), a new research-based curriculum designed to strengthen thinking and writing skills across all grade levels.

  • Free Writing: Daily prompts encourage reflection, critical thinking, and personal expression; includes essays, short paragraphs, and book reports.

  • Creative Writing: Poetry and short story units; students create a portfolio and complete creative projects like presentations, comics, or newspaper writing.

  • Reading: Each grade reads 2–3 books in class and 2–3 for book reports; guided reading groups offer targeted support and discussion.

  • Vocabulary: Biweekly units of 20 words with in-class review, games, quizzes, and monthly cumulative tests.

  • Grammar: Alternates with vocabulary weeks; covers parts of speech, sentence structure, punctuation, capitalization, homophones, and applied exercises.

Middle School Science

Students deepen their understanding of life, earth, and physical sciences through hands-on experiments, projects, and inquiry-based learning. Key areas of study include:

  • Scientific Skills: Observation, data collection, analysis, and interpretation

  • Critical Thinking: Problem-solving and drawing evidence-based conclusions

  • Hands-On Learning: Lab investigations, experiments, and interactive activities

6th Grade Science

  • Life Science: Ecosystems, cells, and organism interactions

  • Earth Science: Water cycle, weather patterns, and natural processes

  • Physical Science: Energy, matter, forces, and motion

7th Grade Science

  • Body Systems: Levels of organization in the body, Homeostasis and stress, Structures and functions of major body systems

  • Geology: Rock cycle and plate tectonics, Identifying rocks and minerals using Moh’s hardness scale and other tests, River formation, oxbow rivers, and causes of river bends

  • Physics: Newton’s Cradle and car rollercoaster experiments, Kinetic and potential energy, Final project: Rube Goldberg machine

8th Grade Science

  • Astronomy: Study of stars, planets, and other celestial bodies, Exploration of space concepts and phenomena

  • Electricity: Understanding circuits, current, and energy flow, Hands-on experiments to explore electrical concepts

  • Genetics: Principles of heredity, DNA, and traits, Exploration of genetic variation and inheritance
 
  • Ecology: Study of ecosystems, relationships, and environmental interactions

Middle School Social Studies

6th Grade: Foundations of Civilization: From Prehistory to the Medieval Era


  • Tools of the historian
  • The rise of civilizations in Mesopotamia
  • Ancient Egyptian civilization
  • Indian civilizations: prehistory to the Classical Era
  • Chinese civilizations: prehistory to the Classical Era
  • Ancient Greece: prehistory through the Hellenistic Era
  • Rome: prehistory to the fall of the Western Roman Empire
  • Medieval Western Europe and Byzantium

7th grade: The American Story: From Pre-Columbian Civilizations to the 19th Century


  • Pre-Columbian New World Civilizations: Early societies, cultures, and achievements
  • Worlds Collide: European exploration and its impact
  • European Colonization of the New World: Settlements and colonial life
  • Lead-up to the American Revolution: Events and ideas shaping independence
  • Independence and the Revolutionary War: Key battles, leaders, and outcomes
  • Civics / U.S. Constitution (Research Essay): Foundations of government
  • The Early Republic (1800–1828): Political, social, and economic developments
  • Westward Expansion: Migration, territorial growth, and Manifest Destiny

8th grade: Modern American History: From Antebellum America to the 20th Century


  • Antebellum America / Lead-up to the Civil War: Social, political, and economic factors before the war
  • The U.S. Civil War: Key battles, leaders, and outcomes
  • Reconstruction and the Gilded Age: Rebuilding the nation and the rise of industrialization
  • The Progressive and Imperial Era in America: Reform movements and U.S. expansion
  • World War I and Its Aftermath: Causes, events, and global impacts
    Holocaust Unit (taught with ELA): Historical context, personal stories, and reflections
  • The Roaring 20s and the Great Depression: Cultural changes and economic challenges
  • Research Essay: In-depth exploration of a historical topic
  • World War II to the Modern Era (time permitting): Key events, consequences, and global impact