Small Class Sizes Open Up Possibilities in Middle School

Pictured above: Sixth-grade student reading a barometer that she made.

Friends School of Portland’s small size and flexible schedule allow middle school teachers to experiment with innovative structures and follow students’ needs.

Wrapping up last week: dedicated afternoon class time for deep dives into units on Justice and Weather with fifth and sixth-grade students. Aliza, 5-6 science teacher, reflected on the second year of implementing this model of a Justice unit with 5th grade and Weather unit with 6th grade: “Mixing up groups of learners can be really valuable in such a small community: different perspectives, a developmentally appropriate shakeup – it’s not too complicated a routine shift, but it’s a novel, fun thing. It tunes into what students are ready for.” 

Fifth-grade students explored Justice with Colin: “It’s a political theory that people interact with in their everyday lives.”  Students explored modes of justice -- retributive, restorative, merit, need, and equality. They spent their time in various ways: independent reading, small group discussions, and skits. Then, they applied these concepts to real scenarios. “I can see the learning happening as students connect these modes of justice to the texts that we are reading in Humanities class: The Giver and Gathering Blue. I’m looking forward to the ways that students will bring these concepts to our next book, The Messenger.” Students will be wrapping up with the Justice Olympics.

Meanwhile, sixth-grade students dug into a unit with Aliza, exploring different types of extreme weather and weather collection instruments. Students made barometers and anemometers, which opens the lesson to applied math, where students learn to use the data they find to calculate wind speed. Wednesday afternoon, students will tap maple trees and learn how the sugaring process connects to the weather and how climate change is impacting maple sugaring in Maine.