Humanities

Humanities 6 focuses on ancient civilizations and the Middle Ages. Mythology and historical fiction are used to build critical reading skills and enhance the study of history. Students gain mastery of world geography.

Humanities 7 integrates Language Arts with a survey of early U.S. History that examines Native American issues, the U.S. Constitution, the origins of our founding principles, the industrial revolution, and the divisive conflict over slavery. Students develop critical reading skills through daily independent reading coupled with shared reading that enriches the history curriculum. Newbury Medal winners Lyddie by Katherine Paterson and The Slave Dancer by Paula Fox feature the industrial revolution and slavery while Same Sun Here by Neela Vaswani and Silas House bring to life constitutional principles and challenges faced by immigrants. The writing workshop reinforces and enhances basic composition skills and immerses students in the process approach to writing in a variety of genres, from free-verse poetry to book reviews.

Humanities 8 studies U.S. History from the Civil War through the present. Literature reinforces historical understanding as well as providing a basis for studying the elements of fiction. Writing exercises continue to emphasize a process approach. Students work in a variety of genres with an emphasis on the essay. The course is writing intensive. Potential texts: Joy Hakim’s series, A History of US; Animal Farm by George Orwell; To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee; They Called Us the Enemy by George Takei; For Every One by Jason Reynolds; Piecing Me Together by Renee Watson. Articles, short stories, and primary sources supplement these and readings of the students’ own choosing.  

As an Episcopal School, we are dedicated to helping our students understand the importance and influence of faith traditions as both cultural and ethical phenomena. Recognizing that questions about religion and knowing “the right thing to do” arise as early as middle school, we offer an introductory Ethics course to eighth grade students. This course seeks to give students a better understanding of ethical frameworks forming the world around them and to help them grow and develop as ethical decision makers. Foundational to this class is the importance of space for thoughtful dialogue and recognition that there is an intimate connection between morals and actions in everyday life.