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Upper School

Junior High (7th-8th) is a time of solidifying skills and enhancing personalities to ensure a successful transition to high school and beyond. It is a unique time for student development and we provide the activities and direction that help students internalize the teachings and guidance of Islam in their everyday lives. Also, our students participate in and excel in many extra-curricular activities and competitions such as Debate Team, Academic Pentathlon, OC & State Science Fair, and Spelling Bee.

Our goal in opening the first Islamic High School in Orange County is to have an educational experience that includes academic rigor that prepares students for college, as well as guiding students to strengthen their American-Muslim identity.  Students enrolled in OCHS participate in dual enrollment with local community colleges. 

English Language Arts


The Middle School Language Arts Curriculum encourages students to appreciate and understand the world around them. Students continue to refine their reading comprehension, critical thinking, and grammar skills.

Topics  Include:

  • Grammar - Parts of speech, sentence composing, and application
  • Literature - Poetry analysis, short stories, and novel studies
  • Speaking/Listening - Class discussions, collaborative conversations, presentations, and active listening skills
  • Vocabulary - Continue to discover valuable and interesting vocabulary terms that allow them to use in their speech and writing
  • Writing - Daily written responses, essay development, various writing genres (argumentative, informative, and narrative)
     

Class Novels
 

  • Grade 6
    • Wonder — R.J. Palacio
    • A Long Way to Water — Linda Sue Park
  • Grade 7
    • The Crossover — Kwame Alexander
    • The Outsiders — S.E. Hinton
  • Grade 8
    • Old Man and the Sea — Ernest Hemingway
    • The Giver — Lois Lowry

Mathematics


The Jr. High Mathematics Curriculum allows students to become creative and effective problem solvers by emphasizing organization, self-checking and showing work. Students continue to strengthen essential math skills through critical thinking and problem-solving.

Grade Specific Content Include:

  • 6th Math - Number operations, proportionality: ratios and rates, equivalent expressions, equations and inequalities, relationships in geometry, measurement, and data
  • 7th Accelerated Math - Intro to Algebra, foundations of geometry, probability, and statistics
  • 8th Algebra I - Evaluating and simplifying expressions, linear equations and functions, systems of equations, polynomials, and statistics

Science


The Jr. High Science Curriculum provides students with experiences that foster interest in various scientific fields to better understand how this amazing world works. It allows an understanding of the scientific method, which begins with questioning, moves to experimentation, and concludes with understanding. Students learn the critical concepts the NGSS Standards define as they practice scientific inquiry through scholarly, active learning.

Grade Specific Content Include:

  • 6th Earth Science - Surveys the changes to the Earth due to natural occurrences, human effects, and its relation with the universe around it.
  • 7th Life Science - Study the world of small and big living things. This course introduces students to the diversity of life on our planet, covering the following topics: cells and heredity, the five kingdoms, human body systems, and ecology.
  • 8th Physical Science - Study of the physical world around us, covering the following topics: chemistry, earth science, and physics.  

Social Science


The Jr. High Social Studies Curriculum provides students with knowledge of cultures around the world, geography, and history. They will read primary and secondary sources, analyze multiple points of view, cite evidence, and make claims in writing and speaking based on that evidence.

Grade Specific Content Include:

  • 6th Ancient World - Early humans, the development of tools, the emergence of civilizations, and the rise of the Roman Empire
  • 7th Medieval World - Collapse of the Roman Empire, the rise of the Islamic World, and the development of the modern era.
  • 8th Early U.S. History - An overview of U.S. events from the development of the thirteen colonies to the Reconstruction period. Students will view American history through the lens of people who were trying—and still trying—to fulfill the promise of the American dream.