Upper Common
Grades 5-8
The focus during these years is on refining the basic skills and developing research and study skills, as well as higher-level thinking skills. A student should learn to take notes, identify main ideas and details, prepare for and successfully take tests, and develop a broad set of strategies for school success.
Our goal is to provide a wide range of strategies for students to try so that they can find those that suit their individual learning styles and needs. It is essential that at the end of these intermediate years our students have strong basic skills, solid research and study skills, and a mature understanding that they have the ability to develop plans of action to make goals achievable.
At Melrose we distinguish between a demanding environment and a pressured environment. To no one’s surprise, the difference between them does not turn usually on how much work is assigned. A demanding environment challenges the student to do her or his best without exhausting the child. A pressured environment results from an internal set of expectations that are generally unrealistic.
At its best, homework cements the day’s learning and provides time for developing a project or preparing for a test; and still time remains for family fun and a social life. This is the goal we strive for at The Melrose School. Naturally the amount of homework assigned will vary with the grade level.
Assignments also take the form of cross-curricular activities and special events. Such assignments often include the opportunity for students to present or even perform material researched. There are new activities from year to year, but some events are highly anticipated annual events. Such would include:
- The Spring Concert
- Victorian Tea
- Cafe Night
- Winter Festival
- Science Fair
- Special Person’s Day
- Thanksgiving Play
- Christmas Pageant
- School Play
For more detailed information about the Core Curriculum of Grades 5-8, please click here.
