ALT and Higher ALTitude
Middle school students receive daily Academic Language Therapy (ALT) taught by certified academic language therapists. ALT is a systematic, multisensory, phonics-based approached to reading, writing, and spelling. ALT is fully integrated into the Rawson Saunders curriculum as a core course, and all students attend ALT daily. 

After a student finishes the Basic Language Skills program that is the foundation of their ALT classes, they move into Higher ALTitude. In this class (still a 2:1 ratio), middle school students read longer texts for accuracy and fluency, study new vocabulary, analyze the structure of texts, think critically about the content, and summarize with appropriate structure both orally and in writing. Students will also study sentence and paragraph structures for varying modes of writing.

Writer's Workshop
Rawson-Saunders’ Middle School Writers' Workshop is designed to transition students from ALT to a small group course focused on the fundamentals of writing. 

Language Arts Overview
Students explore a diverse selection of class novels across multiple genres, which serve as the driver for literary analysis and writing activities.

Writing
Our middle school students build their writing portfolios by learning and experimenting with a variety of modes of writing (Expository, narrative, poetry, etc). Small class sizes ensure students are supported with immediate feedback via one-on-one conferencing. 

Reading
Language Arts classes are driven by a wide range of class novels across multiple genres. The novel studies allow for rich class discussions and focus on comprehension and literary analysis. Teachers use the novels’ themes, characters, and historical contexts to pair with other works of fiction, non-fiction, and poetry, providing students with a fuller/richer understanding of these literary components to advance their knowledge/learning. 

STEM Overview
Our Rawson Saunders student “scientists” explore the natural world and experiment using a diverse range of hands-on methods such as building structures, examining live organisms, and carrying out chemical reactions. At each grade level, students are encouraged to think critically using evidence and reasoning. 

STEM Curriculum Includes:

• 6th Grade: Matter & Energy, Organisms & the Environment, Force, Motion, & Energy, Earth & Space
• 7th Grade: 7th Grade STEM classes build on concepts learned in 6th grade and dive deeper in to each subject matter
• 8th Grade: Chemistry, Physics, Earth & Science, Ecosystems

Math Overview
Rawson Saunders' middle school math program utilizes the same structured approach that is used for ALT. Evidence-based practices such as explicit instruction and visual representations are used to support all learners. All middle school students are grouped based on their learning speed and level, and are guided in instruction to be prepared to succeed in Algebra I and beyond for high school. For those students requiring additional math support, a year-round math option is available. 

History Overview
As our middle school historians travel through our social studies experience, their primary goal is to think and write like anthropologists, sociologists, and historians—examining the "why" rather than simply the what and when. The social studies experience will empower students to deeply engage in our world.

History Curriculum Includes:

• 6th Grade: World Cultures
• 7th Grade: US History (Articles of Confederation to Modern Day)
• 8th Grade: US History (Pre-Colonial Period through The Progressive Era) 

Electives Overview
Middle school students select from a wide variety of electives to explore their individual talents and areas of interest every day. Electives vary from semester and year to year.

Electives Could Include:

• Robotics
• Art & Design
• Books & Movies
• Sports Documentaries and Films
• Dungeons and Dragons
• World Mythology 

Specials Overview
All middle school students automatically participate in daily Specials classes. Specials include: 

• PE
• Yoga
• Music
• Art
• Woodshop
• Drama