In 1985 the U.S. Office of Education published a report entitled An Agenda for Excellence at the Middle Level, which has become the middle school equivalent of A Nation at Risk. This report recommends some fundamental changes for schooling at the middle level. The report states that since we cannot hope to teach young adolescents all they need to know for the future, we must teach them how to learn and in doing this must provide high quality intellectual climates in our middle level schools. The elements that must receive the highest priority attention are:

1. clearly articulated core values which will guide individual behavior and institutional policies and practices;
2. an alteration of the culture and climate of the school so that it supports excellence and achievement rather than intellectual conformity and mediocrity;
3. development of personal attributes and behaviors that will lead to success in school and a realistic adjustment to adult life;
4. a curriculum that will develop intellectual skills and an understanding of humankind that will permit the student to gather information, organize it in a meaningful fashion, evaluate its veracity and utility, form reasonable conclusions about it, and plan for individual and collective action;
5. teachers who are caring, enthusiastic, optimistic, and well-versed in adolescent development, in pedagogy, and in their subject areas;
6. school organization that encourages the smooth operation of the academic program, clear communication among teachers and administrators, and maximum teacher and student control over the quality of the learning environment;
7. educating students to use technology competently and thought-fully;
8. a principal who is a strong, instructional leader with a clear sense of mission.

It should not be concluded that middle school curriculum and instruction should be unstructured. Quite the opposite is true. The most fully functioning middle schools are those that are the most highly structured. This structure appears in several ways. The schools are specific about demands on students but do not demand more self-discipline than is appropriate for students at that age level. The schools are specific about involving students in planning of curriculum and instruction in order to teach Independence and responsibility but do not offer more freedom than students at that level can handle. The schools are specific about the need for guidance and advising on the part of the teachers but do not allow for such guidance and advising to be done only in an informal and somewhat haphazard manner.

In order to provide such structure the move from the traditional junior high to the middle school must be carefully planned, leaving little to chance. The following steps seem to be necessary aspects in the planning.

1. Clarifying the purpose statement. It is extremely important that planning for a Christian middle school begins with a carefully developed statement of the basis for education at the school. Most of our Christian schools have such a statement for the whole school, but the part which is specifically directed toward the middle school will need to be examined in order to determine whether it reflects the findings of recent research in child and adolescent development,
2. Writing objectives. The next step is to work out objective's which are in keeping with that statement. While it is important that those planning the curriculum and instruction for a given school work out these statements and objectives for themselves, it might be

1. how personal faith develops as they relate with peers and adults.
2. the actions and beliefs of others.
3. how their faith applies to issues in life and society.

B. Exploration

1. short introductory courses will be offered throughout the year.
2. within all courses there will be continued awareness of the exploratory nature of middle school education.

1. a gradual transition from a self-contained fifth grade to a departmentalized ninth grade.
2. continued teaching of basic skills and study skills at the student's developmental level.
3. concrete illustrations and examples which build to the abstract.
4. discovery/ activity oriented learning which includes problem solving experiences.
5. opportunities to question, reason, and demonstrate intellectual curiosity.
6. opportunities to work in learning groups.

D. Guidance

1. assistance in assessing one's behavior in group settings for purposes of improving interpersonal relations.
2. instruction toward responsible behavior in classroom and other school settings.
3. opportunities to explore and discuss educational goals and vocational /professional pursuits.
4. instruction and assistance in developing positive spiritual traits.
5. personal and academic guidance responsibilities.

E. Socialization

1. help students develop leadership skills.
2. teach students to cooperate with others.
3. show students how to analyze and evaluate their own contribution in light of the contributions of others.
4. provide opportunities for large group interaction.

F. Maturation

1. Students will be encouraged to analyze Issues from the perspective of personal ideas and from the perspective of biblical guidelines.
2. Teachers will model and articulate Christian values and independent thought.
3. The staff will provide a means for parents, students, and school to be involved in the total development of the student and community (pp. 3-4).

3. Determining the implications of the objectives. After the nurture objectives have been decided on, it is appropriate to determine what implications the use of the objectives will have on the entire program of the school. The document from the Grand Rapids Christian Schools lists these implications.

A. Restoration and Integration

1. The total school curriculum will be taught from a biblical perspective.
2. Students will learn a process of decision making based on biblical guidelines.
3. School programs and activities will help students develop a positive self-image through such activities as exploratory courses, career days, and seminars.
4. Students will participate in planned opportunities for worship and devotions through such activities as chapels, voluntary student Bible clubs, and classroom devotions.
5. Students will learn and demonstrate stewardship through school/ community service programs, projects, and units which focus on global issues.

B. Exploration

1. Students will be offered courses and other opportunities that allow them to explore and inquire into areas outside of the "core" curriculum.
2. Students will be assigned to certain areas of exploratory learning and will be allowed to choose others.
3. The nature of the curriculum will be exploratory. The developmental levels of the students will determine the degree of "in-depth" instruction.
4. Individual exploration, with guidance and structure, will be promoted and encouraged.
5. Library and media center facilities will be an integral part of exploratory learning.
6. The school will be community based with ample opportunity for education outside of the classroom and school.
7. Activities and strategies which stimulate the creativity of the middle school learner will be selected,

3. 1. There will be a gradual transition from self-contained to departmentalized classrooms.
4. a. Grade six will begin the transition by having two teachers responsible for the five basic subjects.
5. b. Grade seven will incorporate some departmentalization.
6. c. Grade eight will be mostly departmentalized.

2. There will be a wide variety of teaching and learning activities that correspond with

7. a. different levels of intellectual development.
8. b. a wide variety of reading levels.
9. c. a variety of attention spans.
10. d. different levels of physical development.

1. There will be continued teaching of basic skills in math, reading, and writing.
2. Activities and strategies will be used to provide the middle school student with opportunities to improve and develop research skills.
3. There will be teaching/ learning activities to Increase and develop study skills in the disciplines.
4. Opportunities will be given to work in learning groups for academic and social growth.

D. Guidance

1. Using biblical norms, teachers and students will evaluate effective behavior for group settings.
2. Students and teachers will evaluate the social behavior of individuals in group settings for purposes of personal growth.
3. Teachers will promote desired behavior in the classroom, school building and grounds, and in extracurricular activities.
4. Instruction in behavior will focus on self-responsibility as well as external expectations.
5. Homeroom teachers will have the responsibility for determining personal and academic needs and for initiating procedures to secure needed assistance.
6. Career exploration opportunities will be made available to the students.
7. Special personnel will be available for planning and implementing guidance /counseling services.

E. Socialization

1. Students will use self-evaluation tools to analyze and evaluate their behavior, social interactions, and curriculum.
2. Disciplining students will include self-evaluation of the problem and personal goal setting for improvement of behavior.
3. Group activities aimed at creating healthy social interactions will be provided for the students.
4. Students will be provided the opportunity to develop leadership skill through participation in such areas as:

1. b. intramural.

c. chapel and assembly planning.

d. school safety programs.

2. e. fine arts activities.

1. The school's discipline code will encourage Christian discipleship.
2. The discipline code will be presented and explained to the students and reviewed and evaluated by the students.
3. All areas of the curriculum will promote respect for and acceptance of other students' ideas and contributions.

1. 1. Students will be involved in activities that promote stewardship.
2. 2. Students will be involved in community projects.
3. 3. Students will be encouraged to attend conferences and seminars relating to community issues.
4. 4. Teachers will model and articulate Christian values.
5. 5. Teachers will be responsible for all students in the school.
6. 6. Teachers will model independent thought through expression of personal opinions.
7. 7. Parents and community will participate in the development of the students through activities such as field trips, student performances, displays of student work, and classroom visits.
8. 8. Parents and appropriate community members will be consulted for discipline strategies. (pp. 5-7)

4. Organizing the school for interdisciplinary instruction. The objectives and implications adopted by the board and staff are extremely important to the development of the middle school because they provide guidance during the transition period and also for later stages. In most cases, if the objectives are truly in keeping with the recommendations concerning education at the middle level, they will lead to a recognition that a reorganization of the school will be required. The reason that a reorganization will be necessary is because most Christian junior high schools as well as the seventh and eighth grade classes which are part of the elementary school are based on a disciplinary approach, with separate subjects taught in separate time periods. As difficult as it is for teachers to move toward an interdisciplinary approach, this approach is needed in the Christian middle school to ensure integration of learning. Not all areas of the curriculum need to become part of this approach, but a very serious attempt must be made to show the students the integrated nature of God's world.

However, such an approach requires a common planning time for the teaching team, and this planning time should consist of at least 90 minutes per week. This time is not to be used for general staff meetings but for planning learning units, planning integrated learning experiences, assessing student needs, planning for those needs, and discussing the amount of homework and testing which students are receiving. The reorganization of the school day must allow for the teaching of some interdisciplinary units and for planning time.

Successful administration of the middle school is extremely important. One key is that the administrator must have training in directing this kind of schooling. The administrator must be knowledgeable about the goals of schooling at this level and also about what those goals mean for the structure of the school, for curriculum, and for instruction. He or she must understand that the way in which the school is organized for instruction is as important to the success of the school as the instruction itself.

Another key to successful administration is that the planning must be done by the faculty and administration together, with the administrator carrying out the organization of the plan so that the faculty can devote time to planning instruction and teaching.

It is important to point out that not all Christian middle schools need to be alike because there is no one organizational structure which is synonymous with middle school. While the goals of different schools will be similar, they will be different in that they reflect the specific needs of different communities. The structure of the curriculum and the planning of the school day must be arranged so that they reflect the goals of the school and allow for the resources of the school to be used in the best possible way.

There are at least three ways of organizing the school so that integration of learning will occur (Vars, 1986). One way is by correlating separate subjects. With this arrangement, several subjects are correlated by teachers who have arranged their courses so that a particular topic is dealt with in different courses at about the same time. For example, while the social studies teacher is dealing with racial issues and the problems caused by poverty, the Bible teacher may be teaching about justice, and the English teacher may have students read Sounder. Meanwhile the mathematics teacher may build experiences around concepts and story problems dealing with the cost of food, rent, house payments, taxes, and welfare. At the same time the science teacher might be involving students in matters concerning nutrition and planning good nutrition with a small amount of money, or might focus on the dangers of lead poisoning or other environmental factors faced by the poor. Meanwhile the music and art teachers will be planning activities along the same lines. Servanthood activities seem to fail naturally into such a unit.

If the teachers have agreed to correlate separate courses, then they must also agree to continual communication about that correlation and must be willing to make necessary adjustments. Such adjustments are not easy for teachers who are used to teaching in a disciplinary setting, so it is important that they do not begin by trying to correlate every day of the semester. A school might begin by correlating one or two topics and keep adding more each year so that eventually most of the instruction for the school year is done in a correlated manner.

A second kind of organization is that of the interdisciplinary team. This kind of organization is needed in schools that have more than 200 students. In order to encourage the greater amount of prosocial behavior found in smaller schools, it is recommended that larger schools arrange their students in smaller groups in order to encourage a more personalized climate. In a large school system it is too easy for students to feel alienated and therefore not responsible for their behavior.

With the interdisciplinary team organization a group of teachers is officially designated as a team and given shared responsibility for teaching a given group of students. A common pattern is to assign 100 or 125 students to a team consisting of an English teacher, a social studies teacher, a science teacher, and a math teacher. These teachers are given a common planning period and they work together to plan for team teaching that draws upon several subject areas.

The team is given the freedom of using the instructional time periods in any kind of arrangement. Sometimes the entire group of students is together in order to receive the instruction which the teachers present as a team. Sometimes the group is broken up in different ways. But always the teachers focus on the same theme or teach concepts related to the same problem.

The third organizational pattern is called block time. With this arrangement the responsibility for integrating content from several subjects is given to a few teachers who have appropriate certification in those areas. For example, each teacher on the team might be asked to teach English, social studies, science, and Bible to the same group of seventh graders, building instruction about a thematic or interdisciplinary approach. If the four periods are scheduled one after the other, the teachers gain maximurn flexibility in the use of time. This pattern is often found in the sixth grade classes since it follows the self-contained pattern of the elementary school, with the added expectation that the subjects be integrated. Block time instruction provides an easy transition from elementary school to middle school.

The kind of organization will depend on many factors: the size of the student body, the size of the faculty, and the personalities and personal preferences of the faculty. None of these should be ignored when planning an organizational pattern.

5. Planning the curriculum for interdisciplinary instruction. Once an organizational pattern has been chosen, the curriculum must be planned. One way to arrange the curriculum is according to the correlated approach, which fits well with the correlated plan for organizing the school although it may also be carried out by a team or by a block-time teacher. With this plan the students have separate teachers for each subject area, but there is coordination of the total instruction program. This coordination helps the students see the unity or relationships among the topics or units being studied.

If the correlated approach is to be used, the staff will need a significant amount of time to plan the curriculum. As a first step in this plan, each member of the teaching staff should introduce the content presently being taught in each course. As the teachers listen to these reports, they should begin to list possible connections which can be made. Once they have the possible connections in mind, they can begin to design a preliminary curriculum guide for each grade. Along with this guide, a large chart could show how the correlation would work. The next step is to select a unit of instruction and to write the section of the curriculum guide for that unit. In addition, the teachers will be having weekly planning meetings in which the guide and chart can be fleshed out.

In his excellent monograph Interdisciplinary Teaching in the Middle Grades Gordon Vars (1987) has provided guidance for planning an interdisciplinary unit and also has given suggestions for scheduling for such units. An explanation of how to go about planning thematic units for use in the Christian school can be found In Van Brummelen's Walking with God in the Classroom (1988). Van Brummelen describes how to write a thematic statement for the unit and then gives examples of such statements. He goes on to explain how to choose the objectives for the unit, organize learning activities, ask appropriate questions that will lead the students forward in their thinking, select appropriate resource materials, and evaluate learning in ways that assess the effectiveness of the curriculum and teaching methods in relation to the goals of the school.

Examples of interdisciplinary units and units for theme weeks can be found in Appendix A. Each of these units has been prepared for use in Christian schools. Additional units for the middle level may be ordered from the organizations listed in Appendix B.

This way of preparing interdisciplinary units is not at all new, of course. Good teachers have been teaching like this for many years, but they have been doing so instinctively because they felt it was good education. What is different with the middle school concept is that the goals of the school and of the curriculum require all teachers to actively plan for such interdisciplinary instruction.

In addition to correlating subject matter teachers will also want to correlate the teaching and reinforcing of a variety of learning skills. Some school districts have a specific curriculum for teaching skills, but in most cases individual teachers choose the skills they wish to teach and reinforce.

Examples of the types of learning skills appropriate to this level include following directions, penmanship skills, maintaining a notebook, interviewing skills, studying for a test, test-taking skills, thinking skills (such as cause-and-effect relationships and predicting outcomes), vocabulary development, use of context clues, making inferences, taking notes from a lecture, and specific study skills. If one of the most important tasks of schooling at this level is learning how to learn, skill instruction and maintenance are an extremely important part of the curriculum. Not even the weakest student should leave middle school without having learned these skills and without having the use of these skills supervised. In addition, students must come to understand that the reason they are learning to use these skills is because they are learning to take responsibility for their own learning.

Some schools have set aside a period each day for teaching these skills. However, skills are not maintained if they are taught only once, and they do not seem to transfer well from one subject area to another. They need to be reinforced in every subject area where they will be used. Some teaching teams plan together to teach one or two skills each week. After the skill has been taught, the teachers know that they must arrange instruction so that the skill will be maintained.

If it is true that the period of transescence represents a time of change and turbulence as well as a plateau period in intellectual development, as Epstein suggests, then what greater service can we provide for our students than to make certain that they have the basic skills in thinking and In studying before they move on to the next level of intellectual development?

A second curriculum approach, fusion, goes a step beyond correlation and actually blends the content of two or more subjects. For example, literature, social studies, and music curricula may be combined into a new course called "Our National Culture." This arrangement has also been called "unified" or "combined" subjects. Fused courses are given a larger block of time and are taught either by an individual teacher in the block arrangement or by a team in the interdisciplinary arrangement. If the course is taught by a team, each teacher usually teaches the area which he or she specializes in. Vars (1985) describes it this way:

All of the skill instruction described earlier is an important part of this or of any other curriculum arrangement. In addition, the construction of an initial scope and sequence chart is also necessary in order to be accountable for the content and skills specified by the objectives of the school or by the school district curriculum guides. Items that do not fit within any planned unit may be taught separately.

The third approach to an interdisciplinary curriculum is the core approach. Many educators who write about middle school describe core as the ultimate in integrated curriculum. Instead of merely correlating the subjects which are already taught or fusing the content of two or more subjects, the core curriculum Is built around issues, problems, or concerns which the students have (Vars, 1985).

For example, transescents are very much concerned about getting along with others, so a core class might focus on interpersonal relations, drawing upon different fields of study. The unit always draws first of all upon the personal problem and then moves to the larger social dimension, including government agencies, laws, economics, psychology, and philosophy. Other problems of immediate concern to this age group are use of tobacco or drugs, the place of popular culture in their lives, career planning, nuclear weapons, or disintegrating family relationships.

Students use time-honored, problem solving steps and a great many skills in investigating these problems. They read articles and books, interview experts, and write letters to find information. They summarize information, discuss it with small groups, and report it to the larger group. They use the skill of critical thinking in supporting arguments and suspending judgment until they have more information. They come to recognize that what may have seemed to be a fairly easily answered problem turns out to be extremely complicated, affecting large areas of life.

Core teaching is not easy. It requires teachers who are flexible and willing to experiment. But even though the planning for a core unit takes a great deal of time, the same unit may be repeated at a later time with another group of students.

One of the major concerns of teachers, parents, and administrators about interdisciplinary units is that it is impossible to incorporate all of the content of the traditional curriculum this way. Research on interdisciplinary instruction indicates that the depth of study and motivation for learning generated by the units compensates for the omissions (Vas, 1985), but it is also possible to combine interdisciplinary instruction with specific disciplinary instruction for areas that have been neglected.

Another concern is that with the move to middle school there will be a decrease in academic achievement. That hasn't proven to be the case, and in the better schools the opposite has been true. In a study of exemplary middle schools, George and Oldaker (1985) found that 62% of the schools demonstrated increased scores on state assessment tests, the California Achievement Test, the Iowa Test of Basic Skills, and similar achievement tests after their schools became middle schools. Most of them felt the gain was due to the increased attention given to skill instruction and maintenance. But the middle school administrator will want to keep a careful watch over achievement test scores.

Teaching with interdisciplinary units is often easier for teachers with elementary preparation than for those who have prepared to be secondary teachers because of the broader education which elementary teachers have received. The specialized education of the secondary teacher often makes the planning for this kind of teaching more difficult. For that reason, Christian colleges should be offering instruction, perhaps at the graduate level, in instruction for the middle school. At the very least, a great deal of in-service help must be provided for all teachers.

It is not necessary for a staff to select one type of curriculum arrangement and to avoid all others. It seems reasonable to believe that different curriculum content areas are better taught in different ways. Perhaps part of the curriculum should be correlated, part should be fused, and part should follow the core arrangement. Perhaps part of the curriculum should remain as a separate discipline. Organizing the school day so that large blocks of time are possible when they are needed makes such flexibility possible. At all times, however, those involved in planning and arranging the curriculum need to keep in mind that middle grade learners need structure in their learning. They need to see where the instruction is leading because they are not as capable of self-direction and self-guidance as we might wish they were. But they also need to be involved in creating the structure for their learning.

As difficult as it is to change the way one teaches, planning for an interdisciplinary unit gives courage to teachers who recognize the wholeness of life and who want to teach in keeping with that wholeness. But such an approach will be threatening to teachers who have always looked at instruction differently, as a step-by-step memorization of facts until the whole picture is seen. Careful planning and preparation must be done with the entire staff so that they move forward as a unit.

In planning or implementing a Christian middle school the following guidelines might be helpful:

Begin with a series of presentations and readings concerning junior high schools and middle schools. Read the statement of purpose for your school and involve as many individuals as possible in a discussion of what that statement means for your middle school. From the very beginning, teachers, parents, and administrators should be involved in the discussions.

1. Make a thorough study of the children to be educated in your middle school. What characteristics do you expect to find in learners at that level? What goals do you have that are unique to a Christian school? How do your goals fit with the statement of purpose for your school?
2. Develop a set of objectives that arise from the goals you have stated.
3. Plan and design the essential elements that will be a part of your middle school.
4. Identify which groups or individuals are responsible for planning instruction that will fulfill the objectives you have written. What will be the responsibility of the teachers? the administrator? the parents?
5. Plan in-service training for the faculty and administrators in your school. Make certain that your in-service plans. are long range as well as immediate. Plan information sessions and training sessions for parents to keep them informed and to enable them to fulfill their responsibility for their children's learning.
6. Develop a timetable for working out your objectives. Don't try to move too quickly.
7. Develop a plan for regularly evaluating the curriculum, instruction, and achievement of your schools.
8. Do not attempt more than can be achieved. Trying to do too much often leads to weariness and burnout on the part of the teachers. Attempt changes on a slow, but regular basis.
9. Keep a written account of all that you do as you make changes. When the faculty plans for interdisciplinary units, make certain that they are kept in written form for use at some future time. They must begin with a basic statement, continue with objectives, and then move to a description of the curriculum, instruction, and activities. Good teachers often are so busy planning and teaching that they will not want to take the time to keep written records. However, it is the role of the administrator to insist on complete plans, written in detail, for each of these units. In that way parents can be informed, the plans will be ready for future use, and the plans will be in a form that can be shared with other schools.

1. What should be the elements of a statement of the basis for education at your middle school?
2. What objectives can be derived from that statement?
3. How can you arrange for in-service days in order to begin your planning of the organization of the school and the preparation of curriculum?
4. Which organizational plan seems right for your goals?
5. What kind of timeline seems appropriate for your goals?
6. How will you make certain that the entire school community (teachers, parents, board, and students) are involved in your planning?
7. Brainstorm for some themes which might possibly be used for interdisciplinary units.