Middle School

Students read texts such as Trickster: Native American Tales; folktales from around the world; selections from Monkey King, The Thousand and One Nights; and The Odyssey; analytical and creative writing; and a class play. 

Complex ancient societies: Egypt; the development of Judaism from Moses through Solomon; the rise and fall of the Persian Empire; Greek history through Alexander the Great; Indian history through the Mauryan Dynasty; Roman history through Augustus; Chinese history through the Han Dynasty.

A continuation from Class V in the study of language and culture.

A collaboration with each English section to present a play dramatizing stories related to the English curriculum.

Following two years of rotation through specialized studio art experiences in a trimester system, Class VI students return to working all year with a single teacher in one studio. Long-term projects focus on building core skills in drawing, painting, and design that will serve student artists throughout Middle School. These art projects often relate to the mythologies and histories of the ancient world encountered in the English and history curricula.

Studies in grammar and composition; public speaking; nature of language; introduction to philology through etymology and the relationship of English to other Indo-European languages.

Students transition from learning fundamental movement skills to learning and applying sport-specific techniques and concepts in dynamic gameplay. Students continue their social-emotional growth by learning how to navigate competition, leadership, decision-making, and goal-setting in a supportive environment that values sportsmanship and individual progress. By embracing both traditional and global movement practices, students gain a broader appreciation for physical activity; monthly Red and White competitions.

Throughout the Middle School, lessons on nutrition, human sexuality, substance abuse prevention, safety, and peer pressure are integrated into the advisory program. School counselors teach a stand-alone series of classes that follow age-appropriate national health education standards. In addition, students have sessions with the organization Freedom from Chemical Dependency and take self-defense classes from Krav Maga trainers.

As part of the School’s program to provide each student with appropriate individual support, from Class VI onward, students are grouped into two different sections designed to support their learning. Students who benefit from direct guidance by the teacher to build skills and understanding are best served in a section called VI Math, which provides more extensive scaffolding and greater opportunity for practice. Students whose skills and understanding are solid and who can readily apply new concepts are best served in a section called VI Extended, which explores the same mathematical content as VI Math but includes greater abstraction and complexity. The course covers a review of fundamental operations with whole numbers, fractions, and decimals; order of operations; negative numbers; ratios, rates, and proportions; percentages with practical applications; area and perimeter; volume and surface area; and an introduction to algebraic expressions and equations. Students in both sections have the opportunity to take Calculus in Class XII.

Study of the structure, function, and interdependence of the human body’s physiological systems; human health.

Second part of a two-year sequence for students who do not study a modern language and may benefit from explicit instruction in reading, writing, and executive functioning skills to strengthen performance across other academic areas; further practice in writing paragraphs, essays, and creative pieces; researching and delivering an oral report; and analyzing and reading complex texts.

Continuation of the program begun in Class V: singing, solfège, theory fundamentals, and group instrumental instruction in violin, viola, cello, woodwinds, and horns. All students in Classes V–VIII have the opportunity to participate in extracurricular choral, jazz, and orchestral ensembles, handbells, and a recorder concert. Girls who study privately may perform in school-sponsored recitals.

Genre study including biographies, poetry, and nonfiction; research skills integrated with history classes; instruction on and practice of media literacy skills through picture books.

Mastery of Snap programming language through modeling exploration, trial-and-error problem-solving, generative and pixel art; design projects utilizing Glowforge laser cutters.

Middle School offers the introductory level of competitive sports at Brearley. Students have the opportunity to try different sports in a supportive, competitive environment. Class V/VI teams practice on Tuesdays and Fridays from 3:15–5:15 pm.

Poetry, including by William Blake, Li-Young Lee, Quandra Prettyman and Elizabeth Bishop; grammar; Great Expectations; A Raisin in the Sun; formal introduction to poetic terms; analytical and creative writing.

World history from 200 through 1500 CE, including the origins of Christianity and the fall of the Roman Empire; development of the Talmud and Rabbinical Judaism; the Byzantine Empire; the rise and spread of Islam in Asia to India and to sub-Saharan Africa on the Swahili Coast and in the Mali Empire; Hinduism and the spread of Buddhism to China; the Chinese Empire from Han to early Ming; China’s impact on Japan and Korea; the impacts of the Mongol conquests on Eurasia; the emergence of Europe from feudalism through the Renaissance.

Students continue with their modern language study. Class VII students who are new to the school or were in Language Practicum can start French.

Introduction to the language and culture through reading about daily life in a first-century Roman family, combined with practice in declensions, conjugations, and elementary grammar using the Suburani Latin series.

Exploration of the elements of design through printmaking, focusing on complex pattern development inspired by diverse historical examples. Beginning this year and continuing through all subsequent studio art classes, students complete a self-guided museum assignment as part of the course’s requirements.

Students transition from learning fundamental movement skills to learning and applying sport-specific techniques and concepts in dynamic gameplay. Students continue their social-emotional growth by learning to navigate competition, leadership, decision-making, and goal-setting in a supportive environment that values sportsmanship and individual progress. By embracing both traditional and global movement practices, students gain a broader appreciation for physical activity; monthly Red and White competitions.

Throughout the Middle School, lessons on nutrition, human sexuality, substance abuse prevention, safety, and peer pressure are integrated into the advisory program. School counselors teach a stand-alone series of classes that follow age-appropriate national health education standards. In addition, students have sessions with the organization Freedom from Chemical Dependency and take self-defense classes from Krav Maga trainers.

As part of the School’s program to provide each student with appropriate individual support, students are grouped into sections designed to support their learning. Students who benefit from direct guidance by the teacher to build skills and understanding are best served in a section called VII Math, which provides more extensive scaffolding and greater opportunity for practice. Those whose skills are solid and who understand and apply new concepts readily are best served in a section called VII Math Extended, which explores the same mathematical content as the VII Math class, but with increased abstraction and more complexity. Students in both sections have the opportunity to take Calculus in Class XII. 

First of a two-year physical science program on matter, energy, and the Earth. Topics include an investigation of the nature of weather, climate change, forces, potential and kinetic energy, and Newton’s laws of motion, in the context of the laws of conservation of matter and energy. Specific topics in meteorology include heat energy, humidity, precipitation, air pressure, wind, air masses and fronts, and seasons.

First of a two-year sequence for students who do not study a modern language and may benefit from explicit instruction in reading, writing, and executive functioning skills to strengthen performance across other academic areas. Students engage in close reading, analytical and expository writing, and structured support in organization, note-taking, and study strategies.

Music and drama collaborate to produce an original work of musical theater in the spring term; the class also attends a dress rehearsal of the Metropolitan Opera. The study of music continues as it began in Class V (singing, solfège, theory fundamentals, and group instrumental instruction in violin, viola, cello, woodwinds, and horns) with the addition of percussion to the offerings in instrumental music. All students in Classes V–VIII have the opportunity to participate in extracurricular choral, jazz, and orchestral ensembles, handbells, and a recorder concert. Girls who study privately may perform in school-sponsored recitals.

Lessons on practical application of public speaking skills, including storytelling without filler language and presenting with confidence.

Middle School offers the introductory level of competitive sports at Brearley. Students have the opportunity to try different sports in a supportive, competitive environment. Class VII/VIII teams practice on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Thursdays from 3:15–5:30 pm.

Short stories by authors including Julia Alvarez, Toni Cade Bambara, James Baldwin, James Joyce, and Edgar Allan Poe; grammar; Maud Martha; poetry; Twelfth Night; formal introduction to narrative structure; analytical and creative writing. 

Global history from 1500 to the late nineteenth century. Topics focus on the emergence of globalization, including the European conquest of the Americas; the Ottoman and Mughal Empires; Ming and Qing China; Tokugawa Japan; the American, French, Haitian, and Latin American Revolutions; the Industrial Revolution; nineteenth-century European imperialism; and the Meiji Restoration in Japan.

A continuation from Class VII in the study of language and culture.

Continued study of vocabulary and syntax, with attention to uses of the participle, indirect statement, and subjunctive in subordinate clauses, using the Suburani Latin series

Observational drawing of the natural world, focusing on still life, the human figure, and the use of color forms the core in Class VIII, with emphasis on varied painting techniques, mixed media, and layered collage. One self-guided museum study assignment is required.

Continuation of program begun in Class V, with the addition of one trimester of West African dance and spring electives designed by the students.

Throughout the Middle School, lessons on nutrition, human sexuality, substance abuse prevention, safety, and peer pressure are integrated into the advisory program. School counselors teach a stand-alone series of classes that follow age-appropriate national health education standards. In addition, students have sessions with the organization Freedom from Chemical Dependency and take self-defense classes from Krav Maga trainers.

As part of the School’s program to provide each student with appropriate individual support, students are grouped into sections designed to support their learning. Students who benefit from direct guidance by the teacher to build skills and understanding are placed into a section called Algebra I Principles, which provides more extensive scaffolding and greater opportunity for practice. Those whose skills are solid and who understand and apply new concepts readily are best served in a section called Algebra I Extended, which explores the same mathematical content as the Algebra I class, but with increased abstraction and more complexity. Students in both sections have the opportunity to take Calculus in Class XII. 

The second of a two-year physical science program on matter, energy, and the Earth. Topics include an introduction to concepts of chemistry and geology, and the study of the conservation and sustainable use of the Earth’s resources.

The second part of the sequence begun in Class VII; further practice in the analysis of texts, expository writing, and the principles of effective research.

The study of music continues as it began in Class V (singing, solfège, theory fundamentals, and group instrumental instruction in violin, viola, cello, woodwinds, and horns) with the addition of percussion to the offerings in instrumental music. All students in Classes V–VIII have the opportunity to participate in extracurricular choral, jazz, and orchestral ensembles, handbells, and a recorder concert. Girls who study privately may perform in school-sponsored recitals.

Introduction to formal and extemporaneous skills of public speaking, culminating in the presentation of a two-minute speech.

Middle School offers the introductory level of competitive sports at Brearley. Students have the opportunity to try different sports in a supportive, competitive environment. Class VII/VIII teams practice on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Thursdays from 3:15–5:30 pm.