Upper School
Grades 5-8
Grades 5 through 8 comprise our Upper School division. At Elmwood Franklin, our older students enjoy new freedoms, privileges, and responsibilities as their studies are expanded and accelerated. Our program is specially designed to support the intellectual, physical, and socio-emotional growth of young adolescents in an environment that is both rigorous and nurturing.
Individual subject teachers work together in advisory teams to ensure each student’s overall success. The Upper School academic program uses a “mastery learning” approach to build students’ skills and prepare them for future challenges. Mastery learning assures that all our students reach a high level of understanding that gives them the foundation upon which to build subsequent learning.
A comprehensive offering of learning experiences provides students with the chance to discover and develop their own interests, while service learning and character education encourage students to see service not as a requirement but as a way of life. Eighth grade culminates with the IDEA project, an interdisciplinary capstone project that showcases students’ differing interests and viewpoints, as well as their creativity and range of skills. Upon graduation, students are confident and well-prepared academically, possess valuable organization and study skills, and demonstrate the qualities of strong and compassionate leaders.
Individual subject teachers work together in advisory teams to ensure each student’s overall success. The Upper School academic program uses a “mastery learning” approach to build students’ skills and prepare them for future challenges. Mastery learning assures that all our students reach a high level of understanding that gives them the foundation upon which to build subsequent learning.
A comprehensive offering of learning experiences provides students with the chance to discover and develop their own interests, while service learning and character education encourage students to see service not as a requirement but as a way of life. Eighth grade culminates with the IDEA project, an interdisciplinary capstone project that showcases students’ differing interests and viewpoints, as well as their creativity and range of skills. Upon graduation, students are confident and well-prepared academically, possess valuable organization and study skills, and demonstrate the qualities of strong and compassionate leaders.
The IDEA Project
The IDEA Project is our eighth grade capstone project. IDEA (short for Individually Determined Exploration Area) gives students the opportunity to use the reading, writing, research, and presentation skills they’ve gained in their years at EFS and apply them to a creative, interdisciplinary, long-term inquiry project.
Students each pursue their own topic of interest, inspired by a guiding question. Working across disciplines over the course of many months, the students engage in advanced research using not just the regular references, but also primary sources, personal interviews, specialized databases, and academic journals.
To complete the project, each student writes a research paper, creates a visual “artifact,” and produces a video presentation. The eighth graders also share their discoveries with younger students through lessons they plan and teach themselves.
Students each pursue their own topic of interest, inspired by a guiding question. Working across disciplines over the course of many months, the students engage in advanced research using not just the regular references, but also primary sources, personal interviews, specialized databases, and academic journals.
To complete the project, each student writes a research paper, creates a visual “artifact,” and produces a video presentation. The eighth graders also share their discoveries with younger students through lessons they plan and teach themselves.
