English

Grade 6 English is dedicated to exploring the art of reading in all its forms. As students learn how to communicate through writing, speaking, performing, reading, and writing, they discover the depth and power of the English language. Through an examination of poetry, fiction, myths, and classics, students learn to become both excellent readers and writers, developing the art of self expression. Critical thinking, consistency, communication, and creativity are the cornerstones of this course, with lots of fun to be had along the way.

Mathematics

Through hands-on activities, visual representations, and lots of problem solving, students in Grade 6 Math build on their foundation of knowledge with new concepts, including:

• Positive and negative numbers and the number line
• Operations with fractions and decimals
• Ratios, rates, and percents
• Algebraic expressions, equations, and inequalities
• Geometry, including area of polygons, and 3-dimensional shapes
• Statistics

Ancient History

In Grade 6 History, students learn about the formation and evolution of societies through the lens of ancient civilizations, answering critical questions like: how do people form communities? What do societies need in order to be successful? By exploring early humans and key settlements throughout history and into modern day, students will begin to think like historians, factoring point of view and bias into interpretations of facts and events. By gathering information from a variety of sources and collaborating with each other, students will take a tour through time, exploring places like Mesopotamia, Egypt, Greece, and Rome.

Science

In Grade 6 Science, students learn about the nature of science and master basic skills through hands-on, inquiry-based activities. By setting up good, controlled experiments and conducting measurements with the metric system, students learn how to answer questions in a concrete way. Students learn what causes earthquakes and volcanoes, and get to know more about our planet through examination of minerals, rocks, plate tectonics, and seismic events.

Computer Skills

The Grade 6 Computer Skills course is an introduction to internet safety, in which girls learn the significance of issues such as computer viruses, copyright laws, computer and password security, and cyber bullying. Students learn/advance their typing skills using online typing websites and apply their technology skills for communication and collaboration, accessing and evaluating information, and creating and presenting relevant projects. Students also learn and demonstrate ethical behaviors and responsible use of technology tools.

English

In Grade 7 English, students study the art of language. By reading other people’s works of art (Books! Poems! Short stories!), as well as creating our own, students find texts that speak to them, discover new authors, revisit old ones, and push themselves to discover the many ways that writers create their art. By the end of this course students will have learned terms such as: point of view, alliteration, assonance, theme, iambic pentameter, and much more.

Math

Grade 7 Math continues to build on the momentum of the previous year, exploring algebra, geometry, and probability and statistics. Students will focus on rational numbers and operations; writing, simplifying, and factoring algebraic expressions; direct and inverse proportions; angle properties and geometric constructions; volume and surface area; and other practical and conceptual math applications.

American History

What is American freedom? In Grade 7 History, students explore the many ways people have answered this question throughout American history. Beginning with the settlement and formation of the United States, students study key turning points in the nation’s growth through the lenses of class, race, and gender. As the year unfolds, students will also study current events and geography as they connect with the past.

Science

Grade 7 Science is all about life. Students ask key questions about the characteristics and requirements of living organisms; study species and organism classifications, similarities, and differences; examine the interaction of living things, both with each other and with the environment; ask what individual species need to survive and thrive; and take a look at how the human body is unique and what is needed to make it healthy and whole.

Tech Tools

Tech tools is a course that dives deep into all the applications and tools needed for students to present their course work in a 21st century manner. Students learn the creativity, critical thinking, problem solving, and decision-making skills necessary to utilize technology to enhance their school projects. Students will gain the ability to create professional presentations and improve oral communication skills by using word processing, presentation, spreadsheet, and multimedia tools.

This course also dives into computational thinking—a way of solving problems, designing systems, and understanding human behavior that draws on concepts fundamental to computer science, and which is essential to understand and internalize in order to flourish in the 21st century world.

Physical Education/Health

Through exposure to a broad variety of activities, each student in the Lincoln School Physical Education program is encouraged to build her physical potential. The goal is to develop each student's competency and confidence in basic skills, her understanding of and appreciation for a variety of team and individual sports and her appreciation for physical fitness, fostering a desire to participate in physical activities throughout life.

Typical sports skill offerings include soccer, field hockey, football, basketball, volleyball, lacrosse, team handball, badminton, and softball. The units emphasize skill development, game strategies, positioning and rules. Other activities include personal fitness challenges, yoga, walking, jogging, and contemporary dance. Recreational games, team building activities and intramural opportunities are included throughout the year.

English

In addition to emphasizing the etymologies of key vocabulary words, Grade 8 English works in conjunction with Grade 8 History to examine topics of human rights. Students read, discuss, and respond to pertinent literature, including South African short stories about apartheid, Harper Lee's novel, To Kill a Mockingbird, and poems from the Middle East. Using the guiding question "What can I do?" girls are encouraged to think about how they can improve the quality of life for others in the world. Grade 8 can be a time of tremendous growth in compassion and social awareness, so the idea of defending the human rights of others is a natural fit. The final term centers around Shakespeare: Students recite monologues for the Shakespeare Recitation Contest in April, and in May, they join more than one hundred city schoolchildren for a performance as part of Shakespeare in the City. This unique program has featured hundreds of school children from all over the city in Hamlet, Romeo and Juliet, A Midsummer Night’s Dream, Macbeth, and Othello.

History: Global Citizenship & Human Rights

This focus of this course is world cultures and human rights. Particular areas of the world and their histories and human rights issues are studied in the context of current events and political environments. There is an emphasis on critical thinking and writing as well as organizational skills throughout each unit in preparation for Upper School and beyond. The class culminates in a Global Citizenship Program, in which the entire 8th grade travels to New York to visit the UN and learn about several human rights initiatives.

Units:

• Human Rights, Citizenship, Immigration 
• South Africa
• South Africa-United States Comparison 
• Brazil Case Study
• The Human Rights Research Project - Human Rights Defenders
• NYC Preparation 
• UN Sustainability Goals (Racial, Gender, Environmental Justice)

Science

Physical science in Grade 8 explores the “whys” of how the world works. More specifically, what is the stuff that makes up everything on earth? How does that stuff interact? In this class students learn about chemistry: atoms, molecules, the behavior of substances made up of atoms and molecules, and how their behavior affects our lives. They will also study some of the rules of physics: how objects interact when they come into contact (even invisible contact!) with each other. Both of these principles will be used to examine human design and energy use.
We students to think the way scientists do: to observe and see things as if for the first time. The great scientists of history are great because they have questioned and thought about what they have seen. This class is highly laboratory- and activity-oriented, to familiarize participants with laboratory techniques, keeping laboratory records, and safety in the science lab.

Math

Students in the eighth grade take either Pre-Algebra or Algebra I.

Pre-Algebra

Grade 8 Pre-Algebra is a continuation of Grade 7 Pre-Algebra. Students sharpen their skills with fractions, decimals and percents, work with the rules for order of operations and for exponents, learn to simplify simple algebraic expressions and solve equations, and learn the skills needed to create circle graphs and graphs of linear equations. Students are expected to develop a strong, working mathematical vocabulary, preparing them to succeed in subsequent mathematics courses.

Algebra I

Algebra I is an introduction to the language of mathematics. Students study the properties of real numbers, solve equations (both linear and quadratic), perform a variety of operations on polynomials, factor quadratic expressions, work with rational expressions, graph straight lines, and learn various methods to solve word problems algebraically.

Exploring Technology

In this course, students to explore the working world with technology.They dive deep into different technology-related jobs and engage hands-on with robotics and coding. By taking a look at technology beyond the classroom, students become familiar with the working world and technology jobs in computer science, the arts, business, robotics, and beyond.

Physical Education/Health

Through exposure to a broad variety of activities, each student in the Lincoln School Physical Education program is encouraged to build her physical potential. The goal is to develop each student's competency and confidence in basic skills, her understanding of and appreciation for a variety of team and individual sports and her appreciation for physical fitness, fostering a desire to participate in physical activities throughout life.

Typical sports skill offerings include soccer, field hockey, football, basketball, volleyball, lacrosse, team handball, badminton, and softball. The units emphasize skill development, game strategies, positioning and rules. Other activities include Fitness Center training, S.A.F.E. self-defense program, yoga, and Zumba. Recreational games, team-building activities, and intramural opportunities are included throughout the year.

Academic Support is available to all Middle School students. The goal is to develop a plan that enables each girl to reach her learning potential in a supportive and empowering environment. We believe academic support should be a team effort between the Learning Skills Specialist, teachers, and advisors to help students develop the strategies they need to become independent learners. The Learning Skills Specialist works in concert with classroom teachers and parents to monitor students' progress, work on organizational skills, modify study strategies, set goals, and make additional recommendations when appropriate.

Middle School World Languages

All students in Grades 6-8 are required to take French or Spanish. Additionally, all 7th and 8th Graders are required to take Latin I. New 7th and 8th graders to Lincoln should register for Level 1 Language courses in Upper School unless they have previously studied the language. (A placement test may be necessary.) Looking ahead: To meet US graduation requirements, all students must complete three years in the Upper School of one language.

Spanish or French

Middle school French and Spanish take students on an exciting trip to new cultures while introducing them to basic grammar, language functions and everyday vocabulary. Individual and collaborative activities provide ample opportunity for the students to develop and use the language creatively and personally. Evaluation of student performance is based on participation and on frequent skills testing (listening, speaking, reading, and writing) throughout the year. Each year builds upon the other, allowing students to reinforce the old and incorporate the new.

Latin

The Latin program in grades 7 & 8 offers our students an opportunity to study the world of the ancient Romans through their language and culture. As they examine the lives and language of the ancient Romans students learn about this important source for the intellectual and legal culture in which they find themselves today. Through their efforts to learn to read and write the Latin language students learn the origins of technical terminology used today in many fields of study throughout the world, and they are encouraged to employ a form of the scientific method as they parse out the meaning of sentences written in Latin.

The middle school art curriculum blends an appreciation for art history and contemporary art with a focus on the elements of art and principles of design. Students learn about the different functions and purposes of art and create their own artworks in various materials including still-life drawing, collage, ceramics, painting, sculpture, and printmaking. Art works created in class will address problems that challenge them to think about personal and self-expressive uses for art and to be innovative and original in their work. Students will utilize technology in their classes to research for their projects and as a tool to help improve their art making practice.

Throughout their time in the studio, students also learn to present and curate their own artwork and display it school-wide as well as in the classroom, challenging them to consider how we look at artwork in society.

Drama

During the third trimester, 6th graders are given their first play script. They learn techniques for memorization, giving and taking focus, pursuing objectives, character development, and creating relationships. This culminates in a performance the last week of classes.

For one third of the year, students in Grade 7 create a theatrical experience together. Working on stage and backstage, students continue to learn skills in acting, improvisation, stage craft, and ensemble. All students learn proper theater terminology and learn to take and notate stage direction.

Each year the 8th grade class takes part in a class musical in the first Trimester. Students are invited to act or sing on stage, run lights and sound, create sets and props and to produce their own publicity for the show. This year the class is working on High School Musical, Jr.

Music

Students in Grade 6 Music learn a musical vocabulary that allows them to discuss what they hear and be able to express their thoughts about it. We listen to and learn about various genres and musical styles, including world, folk, pop, and classical, and discuss differences and similarities. We also sing together and explore making music with our voices.

In Grade 7, we take a look at the popular music industry and research how the industry puts out music for consumption—where, who and what controls what we get to hear, and who actually writes the songs that the artists sing. Guitars will also be used in class with each student getting a chance to play and learn about this classic instrument.

In Grade 8 continue our exploration of music with a small research project, expanding our concepts of what music is and where it comes from. We also work as a class to create a musical performance for the end-of-year celebrations.

Through exposure to a broad variety of activities, each student in the Lincoln School Physical Education program is encouraged to build her physical potential. The goal is to develop each student's competency and confidence in basic skills, her understanding of and appreciation for a variety of team and individual sports and her appreciation for physical fitness, fostering a desire to participate in physical activities throughout life.

Typical sports skill offerings include soccer, field hockey, football, basketball, volleyball, lacrosse, team handball, badminton, and softball. The units emphasize skill development, game strategies, positioning, and rules. Other activities include personal fitness challenges, yoga, walking, jogging, and contemporary dance. Recreational games, team-building activities, and intramural opportunities are included throughout the year.

Grade 6 Health consists of units focusing on personal hygiene, growth and development, and social interaction. The goal is to help give the students a better understanding of their bodies, the changes they are experiencing, and how these changes affect them personally.

The Middle School athletic program at Lincoln School offers a blend of competitive and non-competitive sports. Middle school sports are as much about participating as they are about learning basic skills. We encourage each student to try a new sport and we give every student the opportunity to participate at some level. Below is a listing of the seven sport offerings available to the Middle School student at Lincoln School. The number of teams and level of competition for each sport will depend on the number of participants. Prior to the start of each season sign-up sheets are posted to allow students to choose the sport in which they would like to participate.

Middle School Sport Offerings:

Team Sports

The Middle School field hockey, soccer, basketball and lacrosse interscholastic teams play both an A & B team schedule and participate in a small A team round-robin tournament at the conclusion of the season. Teams that play an A&B schedule usually play games back to back, which on game days make for a longer time commitment. Interscholastic teams will be selected according to ability and playing experience

Individual Sports

Swimming is the only sport in our upper school athletic program that also includes middle school students. The middle school girls who participate in this program practice four days a week and compete and train with our upper school athletes. A sport fee is assessed for this choice.

Lincoln offers both instructional and competitive Tennis in the spring and includes skill development and intramural challenge matches for both singles and doubles play. Those players skilled to compete will have matches against local school, usually a co-ed team.

At Lincoln we  build time for clubs into all students’ weekly schedules. Clubs allow girls to explore issues, develop new skills, or simply relax and have fun in the middle of a busy day. Don’t see one of interest? Maybe you’ll start your own.

Below are some examples of Middle School Clubs. 

STEAM Fun
Drawing Club
Outdoor Fun
Spy Club
Knitting
Friendship Bracelets
 

For three days in May Lincoln’s Middle School morphs into a design-thinking hot spot, where groups of students dive into the process, tackle real-life problems, and work together to come up with unique solutions.

Now in its third year, Innovation Nation–a partnership between Lincoln School and Bryant University–teaches students to “fail early to succeed sooner” with the five-step design-thinking process that seeks to develop innovative solutions to complex problems. Based off of Bryant’s IDEA Program, Allison and her team spent three days guiding four different cohorts–comprised of students in Grades 6, 7, and 8–through a variety of activities that acquainted them with each step of the design-thinking process, all through the lens of an identified problem in the local community. Each cohort looked at a different question, and they empathized, defined, ideated, prototyped, and tested, all culminating with the final showcase, during which small teams of students presented their prototyped solutions to a panel of judges.

While the end results of Innovation Nation were undoubtedly impressive, the students’ complete immersion in this high-level, human-centered process was even more striking. They stepped outside of their comfort zones, looked at the world through the eyes of others in their community, and learned new ways to think about creating change.

Lincoln loves Shakespeare! We celebrate the Bard every chance we get—not just by reading his work in class, but by performing it out loud, the way it was intended.

Every spring, the Middle School hosts a lively Shakespeare Recitation Contest. Every middle school student memorizes a monologue and presents it in her English class. The class votes, and the finalists from each class participate in the big contest—a highlight of the year.

Since 2009, Lincoln’s Grade 8 students have participated in Shakespeare in the City, with 20+ other schools in and around Providence. Lincoln English teacher and Shakespeare in the City founder Martha Douglas-Osmundson carefully condenses a Shakespeare play and students rehearse in their English classes. The culmination is a performance at a large venue in downtown Providence (most recently Veterans Memorial Auditorium), produced and performed by more than 250 students from the greater Providence area. It’s an unforgettable experience that deepens students’ appreciation for Shakespeare while exposing them to every aspect of theater production.

2018 Shakespeare in the City