Diamond Services
English Language Arts
English Learner Education
Fine and Applied Arts
Fine and Performing Arts
Foreign Language
Guidance
Mathematics
Physical Education, Health and Wellness
Nurse's webpage
Science
Social Studies
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A range of special education and related services are available to eligible students at William Diamond Middle School.
The purpose of the English Language Arts curriculum is to provide students with daily or regular practice in developing skills and strategies in reading, writing, speaking and listening so as to prepare students to construct and convey meaning within these strands and beyond in other subject areas. To do so, the program focuses on the connection between reading, writing and thinking. The curiculum is organized thematically around compelling literature. Teachers make conscious efforts to integrate literary selections with the themes and issues studied in social studies. Students experience the full range of literary genres: fiction, non-fiction, poetry and drama. Vocabulary is integrated with the study of literature. Teachers select books, materials and methodologies to meet students' learning needs. The English Language Arts curriculum engages students in both imaginative and expository writing, with an increasing emphasis on expository writing in grades seven and eight. The writing process –pre-writing, drafting, revising, editing, publishing –guides the writing curriculum. Writing tasks, which are student selected and drawn from personal experience, comprise a part of each week's work. Oral expression and listening skills are developed through class discussions, classroom presentations, interactive writing groups, and/or drama activities so that students have an opportunity to develop all of the requisite language skills, achieving increased precision, economy and sophistication in both speech and writing, All of these skills, strategies and processes reflect our commitment to helping the children of Lexington to be effective readers, sound thinkers and articulate communicators of their thoughts, feelings and concerns. These goals and methodologies, compatible with those of the Massachusetts State Frameworks in English Language Arts, represent best practices and are consistent with those of our program in our elementary schools as well as with those in our high school.
English Learner Education webpage
•Information Technology - Keyboarding, Computer Science, and Computer-Aided Design The keyboarding course offers middle school students basic to advanced keyboarding and word processing skills. The Computer Science course gives students a basic understanding of computer terminology, practice in use of basic tools, such as database and spreadsheets, and practice with multimedia presentations. The Computer-Aided Design course gives students an introduction to drawing and designing tools. •Economics Everyone is an ECONOMIST. In fact, throughout one¹s entire life one must deal with economics. The basic topics of scarcity of resources, barter, specialization, production and flow of goods and services, wages, profits, credit, money, and banking are some of the economic facts that are part of everyday life. This introductory course is designed to demonstrate a variety of oral presentation techniques which are intended to help the student feel comfortable and secure when speaking in front of a group. Students will gain experience in both formal speaking, such as oratory and expository, as well as informal impromptu and extemporaneous speaking. Dramatic interpretation of plays and short stories will also be included. Communication skills will be further enhanced through the preparation and presentation of a policy debate.
PE, Health and Wellness webpage
The middle school science program emphasizes instruction in basic scientific principles and skills. Students explore scientific concepts by conducting laboratory investigations, field studies, participating in class discussions, and using the scientific method to analyze and explain activities. Students begin to wonder about why phenomena occur and learn to question the world in which they live. Students are also introduced to the Engineering Design Process while exploring technology and engineering skills. The science topics that students study at the middle school are, Earth science, Life science, Physical science and Technology & Engineering. The sixth grade program is focused on earth science. Topics include: weather, the Solar System, matter and the changing Earth. Science concepts are developed with laboratory and inquiry activities using familiar examples. In the seventh grade, students explore the life sciences. The topics include: cells, the diversity of life, evolution, genetics, ecology and the systems of the human body. Along with laboratory experiences students develop skills in using microscopes, collection of specimens and dissections. Students in the eighth grade learn topics in Physical sciences such as Chemistry and Physics. The eighth grade program is primarily laboratory based and includes topics such as; properties of matter, studying the periodic table, interactions between elements, energy, heat and motion. In addition, grade eight students develop skills for taking the MCAS Science, Technology & Engineering exam in the spring of their eighth-grade year. Throughout all grades, technology and engineering standards are interwoven and the engineering design process is used to create and build various projects.
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