Skills in this category focus on reading and comprehension, oral communication skills, writing and grammar, and using information resources. Analysis of literature becomes more complex as students study theme, effectiveness of story structures and character development. Composition projects focus on the entire process, from prewriting to logical presentation of material to proofreading, while oral presentations develop speaking skills.
Students build on mathematical skills taught in earlier grades in all areas: numbers and number relations, patterns, functions, measurement, algebra, geometry, data analysis and probability. The middle-school years introduce the Pythagorean theorem, equations using positive fractions and decimals, two-step algebraic equations, U.S.-to-metric measurement conversions, and an increasing number of real-life applications of mathematical concepts, such as knowing the height of an average adult in meters.
Grades 6 through 8 offer instruction in the physical sciences, with students learning about atoms and protons, the properties of various kinds of matter, chemical reactions via lab work, and laws of motion and forces. Life Science is taught in grade 7 with units on ecosystems, adaptation, reproduction and heredity, and the structure and function of living systems. The curriculum includes study of plants, animals and human beings. Grade 8 focuses on Earth and space science, which includes the structure of the earth, the history of the earth, the solar system, and how Newton's law of gravity applies to planetary bodies in orbit.
Social Studies encompasses several subcategories, including geography, civics, economics and history. Geography studies involve map skills, such as using longitude and latitude to locate a point on the globe, as well as more comprehensive geography skills. Middle-school students learn why the Nile and Tigris-Euphrates regions were birthplaces of civilization and how land forms within the U.S. and state of Louisiana affected historical events. In civics, students study the Greek roots of democracy in sixth grade, the foundation of American government in seventh grade, and the function of state government in eighth grade. International relations are introduced in the eighth grade. Students learn basic economic concepts in sixth and seventh grades, including supply and demand, functions of money, imports and exports and how these concepts apply in historical and modern settings. Eighth-grade instruction in economics becomes more detailed, with more analysis of contrasting economic systems and the decisions behind market forces. History instruction for middle-school students begins with world history in the sixth grade, United States history in the seventh grade, and Louisiana history in the eighth grade. All grade levels incorporate historical thinking skills, in which students analyze cause and effect within historical events, determine reliability and bias in historical and modern sources, conduct historical research and interpret historical data.