Academic Community
Academic Community of the Middle School
The rigorous academics at Sea Pines Montessori Academy offer a challenge to young adolescents. The curriculum is based upon theMontessori School of the Woods Middle School program created by Dr. Elizabeth Coe, Director of the Houston Montessori Center and the School of the Woods High School. Developed and used for over 25 years, the Houston course of study bridges the Elementary Montessori materials and the abstract text-rich world of high school.
Our two year middle school curriculum is culturally-based: the first year concerning the study of life on planet Earth (Year A) and the second encompassing the study of the timeline of light (Year B).
During Year A, scientific studies concentrate on biology, with the study of taxonomy, genetics, animal classification, and ecosystems. In social studies, teens focus on the history of South Carolina and Hilton Head Island while including units on economics and social action. Students integrate cultural studies into language arts by writing memoirs, literary explication, metered poetry, and social action plans.
The following Year B introduces students to the development of life on Earth via the timeline of light. Starting with the theme of forces, students study Newton’s laws, revolutions, and literary issues in texts. Afterwards, lessons focus on the structures of the natural and social worlds with the discovery of the periodic table, atomic structure, molecular structure, government, and the U.S. Constitution. In the spring, studies shift to power: personal power and civil rights; energy, power, and work; and literary persuasion. Finally, the year concludes with the study of the Industrial Revolution from scientific and social viewpoints, along with the balance of technology and nature. Students also analyze the characteristics of war and peace to learn how to recognize aggression in the outside world and how to be peacemakers when needed.
The Montessori mathematics curriculum is based on the Saxon Middle School curriculum, using Courses 1, 2, and 3 for pre-algebra studies. Adolescents who have completed the necessary requirements can take Saxon Algebra I, followed by Geometry. Our math curriculum is self-paced because of the advanced nature of the Montessori Elementary math scope and sequence.
