MIDDLE SCHOOL
Like the elementary school division, the NCA Middle School seeks to academically train its students through a Biblical worldview. With a highly trained faculty at the helm, students are given the opportunity to succeed while mastering more complex disciplines and methods of critical thinking.
6th Grade
As the first level in the middle school division, the 6th grade curriculum helps students leave behind elementary school habits and instead explore more intricate ways of thinking, writing, and communication through a variety of standard courses and electives. For language arts, students begin with an introductory course to grammar and composition, learning to write in a various expository styles. To complement the language arts class, students also take a year-long reading course in which they develop reading strategies and begin identifying different types of literature. Throughout the year, students also read four novels that work to strengthen their reading skills.
In world history, students are exposed to ancient cultures and experiences, while also studying geographic land patterns, and the General science course introduces students to the life, earth, and physical sciences, hitting on the major concepts within each topic. For mathematics, the 6th grade students engage in an introduction to algebra, working with equations, fractions, decimals, plane geometry, integers, and more. In addition, the Bible class introduces students to the four Gospels as they begin studying the life of Christ.
7th Grade
As the intermediary stage in the middle school, the 7th grade curriculum works to expand on 6th grade concepts while introducing new material. In language arts, students practice grammar reinforcement while continuing to hone writing composition skills. In conjunction with the language arts class, the reading class improves on writing proficiency while also teaching key reading comprehension strategies. In this class, students are also exposed to different types of literary genres while studying four literary novels. In their earth science class, 7th graders study the earth’s composition, weather and climate models, rocks and minerals, and more.
7th grade civics presents the basic structure of the United States government, with a special emphasis on the U.S. Constitution. Through this class, students also learn about physical and cultural geography while applying research skills to various projects. The mathematics course introduces prime numbers and reinforces the students’ work with fractions and decimals. By the end of the year, students have also been taught the necessary pre-algebra skills needed for the 8th grade level. These include algebraic expressions, basic exponential structures, and the order of operations. In their Bible class, students finish a study of the Gospels and the life of Christ and begin an introduction to the early church in the book of Acts.
8th Grade
In American history, students journey from colonization to the various wars, inventions, and cultural shifts that have influenced the America we know today. Here, students are also given more opportunity to continually enhance their writing skills. Life science teaches students about the diverse components needed for man’s life-bearing composition. Students work through basic genetics, DNA structures, adaption, and much more. In Algebra I, students take the pre-algebraic concepts learned in previous years and apply them in real-world situations. They are taught the properties of real numbers, solve and graph linear equations, work with exponents, and begin dealing with polynomials and factoring. Then, the 8th grade Bible course continues with an exposition of the Book of Acts, as students continue to study the history, formation, and context of the early Church.
Finally, all middle school students have the option to choose between three 7th period electives – intermediate band, P.E., and computers.