Middle School Program
Waldorf education offers a developmentally appropriate, experiential, and academically rigorous approach to learning. At Waldorf School of Pittsburgh, we integrate the arts in all academic disciplines for children from first through eighth grade to create a comprehensive educational experience.
When the children leave the Waldorf kindergarten and move into first grade, they carry with them a reverent and loving experience of nature and humanity. In the middle grades, the content of the curriculum builds on what has gone before and unfolds in a way that is interesting and meaningful to the children of a particular grade because it addresses the development stages of the growing child. The children in a class form a community and travel the journey from childhood into adolescence together with their class teacher.
Waldorf School of Pittsburgh offers a rich and diverse middle school program for grades 6 through 8. Please be sure to review the concepts and stepping stones of each grade under the Middle School Curriculum section of our site.
Special Subjects at Waldorf School of Pittsburgh
In addition to time spent with the class teacher for main lessons and other projects, the program offers the following supplemental classes:
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Foreign languages: Spanish & Russian
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Handwork & Woodwork
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Music, including string instruments
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Physical education, including eurythmy and games
Waldorf School of Pittsburgh Middle School Curriculum Matrix
Subject | Grade 6 | Grade 7 | Grade 8 |
|---|---|---|---|
Geography | lands, oceans, economics | lands, oceans, economics | lands, oceans, physical geographic world |
Handwork & Woodworking | handwork — sewing stuffed
animals, aprons, etc.; woodwork — begin using saws, rasps, and gouges to shape an animal, a spoon, etc. | handwork — sewing and
embroidery; felting; making
slippers; woodwork — use mallets, gouges, chisels to create totem pole, moveable toys, primitive bowls | handwork — sewing garments, such as simple tunics and shirts; use of sewing machine; woodwork — utilize mechanics to make simple moveable toys, a stool, carved boxes, etc. |
Language Arts | composition; spelling; reading; grammar; poetry; speech; drama | composition; spelling; reading; grammar; poetry; speech; drama; creative writing | composition; spelling; reading; grammar; poetry; speech; drama; short stories |
Mathematics | ratios; proportion; profit/loss; discounts; interest percentage; graphs; estimation geometry; continued skill work | algebra; geometry; graphs; positive & negative numbers; formulas; continued skill work | algebra; geometry; practical application; continued skill work |
Music | vocal warm-ups and singing technique; chorus and orchestra — two and three part, songs of minstrels, songs of Middle Ages; descant, alto, and tenor recorders | chorus and orchestra — motets, madrigals, ballads, opera and oratorio; recorder continues; Renaissance music; seasonal songs | chorus and orchestra — Elizabethan songs, African-
American spirituals and other American music; seasonal songs; symphonic form |
Natural Sciences | geology; physics: heat, light, acoustics, magnetism, static electricity; astronomy | human physiology & nutrition; physics; mechanics; electricity; chemistry: inorganic | physics, plus hydraulics & aerodynamics; meteorology; human anatomy; chemistry: organic |
Physical Education | Greek sports — decathlon,
pentathlon; team sports — kickball, softball, kings, etc. | heaviness and lightness exercises; tumbling and free
gymnastics; team games and sports; circus | Greek wrestling; gymnastics; team games and sports; rhythmic exercises; circus |
Russian & Spanish | simple reading texts, humorous stories, etc.; free translation; simple compositions | reading and conversation; advanced grammatical
concepts; grammar and
structural drills; myths,
poetry, quotations, and word study | vocabulary building and
directed dialogues; grammar and syntax; word study; vocabulary |
Social Studies & Literature | Roman history; Medieval history | Renaissance; Age of Exploration | 18th–20th century Modern History: revolutions in politics & industry |
Visual Arts | drawing — geometric
drawings and string
designs, mosaics, black and white, shadows;
painting — landscapes, color, contrasts, triads, spectrum; modeling in bas-relief | drawing — geometrical and 2-D; black and white drawing; painting — wet and dry paper; transparent colors; modeling — the human hand, foot, bones, etc. in clay; black fired pottery; Raku | drawing — geometric
and 3-D drawing; theorems, volumes of solids, laws of logic; solid geometry; black and white charcoal; painting — discover space in color modeling |
A Typical Day in 6th Grade
Morning
8:00 – 8:15 Arrivals
8:15 – 8:30 Middle School Morning Meeting
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Seasonal music played on the recorder
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Speech, seasonal poetry
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Singing, seasonal or main lesson related songs
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Movement
8:30 – 10:00 Main Lesson
Main Lesson rotates between blocks every 3 to 4 weeks. There are 9–10 blocks per year in middle school.
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Mental math or written exercise.
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Grammar and spelling: sentence structure, written spelling, dictation.
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Review and practice from previous lessons.
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New lesson
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Quiet working time, writing and illustrating in main lesson book
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Historical stories, or experiments, depending on the block
10:00 – 10:15 Recess & Snack
10:15 –11:00 Math
11:00 – 11:45 Language Arts
11:45 – 12:30 Cyber Civics
Afternoon
12:30 – 1:15 Middle School Student Council or Gender and Sexuality Alliance or Lunchtime Clubs / Lunch and Recess
1:15 – 2:00 Russian
2:00 – 2:45 Physical Education
2:45 – 3:10 Dismissal
For More Information
Please contact Director of Admissions Emily Bush to schedule a tour or to learn more about our program.
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