Middle Grades Education B.S.

Print Degree Planner (opens a new window) |

Bachelor of Science Degree
Leading to Certification for Grades 4 - 8
Bagwell College of Education, Department of Secondary and Middle Grades Education
(770) 423-6314

The middle grades program is designed to prepare teachers of children and young adolescents in the middle grades (grades 4 through 8). It leads to 4-8 teacher certification in Georgia. Candidates prepare in two of the four teaching fields of the middle grades curriculum (mathematics, science, social studies, or language arts). Preparation in these two teaching fields is more in depth than the content requirements of the program for early childhood educators, but less extensive and less specialized than the requirements of programs for secondary educators. The integrated nature of the curriculum and the importance of team teaching strategies for the different teaching field programs with 4-8 certification are emphasized.

General Education (42 Credit Hours)

see listing of requirements

University-Wide Fitness For Living Requirement (3 Credit Hours)

Specific General Education recommendations for this major

Students whose content concentration area is Math or Science should take MATH 1112, College Trigonometry or MATH 1113, Pre-Calculus as part of their General Education requirement. All middle grades majors should take MATH 2207 Statistics.

Students should take:

Lower Division Major Requirements (Area F) (18 Credit Hours)

(Must complete at least three hours of study in one of your chosen teaching field area and six hours of study in the other. Please see required courses under Teaching Field Requirements)

Teaching Field Requirements (24-27 Credit Hours)

Must complete at least 15-18 hours of coursework in two of the following four teaching field concentrations with 9 hours of study at the 3000 level or above. Those majoring in science must take 18 hours of science courses due to labs.

1. Mathematics (15-18 Credit Hours)

Candidates should take MATH 1112 - College Trigonometry or MATH 1113 - Precalculus and MATH 2207 - Statistics as part of their General Education requirements.

Optional:

2. Science (18 Credit Hours)

Candidates should take MATH 1112 - College Trigonometry or MATH 1113 - Precalculus and MATH 2207 - Statistics as part of their General Education requirements. All science classes listed below are required.

3. Social Studies (15-18 Credit Hours)

Select two or three from the following (6-9 Credit Hours):

4. Language Arts (15-18 Credit Hours)

Select one or two from the following (3-6 Credit Hours):

Professional Education (4-8) Requirements (36 Credit Hours)

(Must be admitted to Teacher Education Program before taking these courses)

INED 3304 - Education of Exceptional Students
EDMG 3300 - Success in the Middle: Teaching, Learning, and Advocacy
EDRD 3320 - Understanding the Reader and the Reading Process
EDRD 3330 - Methods and Materials for Middle Grades Reading and Writing *
(Required for MGE majors with concentrations in both math and science)
or
EDRD 4409 - Instructional Strategies in Reading, Writing, and Young Adult Literature *
(Required for MGE majors with concentrations in both Language Arts and social studies)
EDMG 4406 - Methods and Management in the Middle Grades: Field Experience

Note:

*MGE majors with one concentration in math or science, and the other concentration in Language Arts or social studies may choose eitherEDRD 3330 or EDRD 4409.

EDMG 4406 is blocked with two 3-hour courses corresponding to your selected areas of Teaching Field Concentration:

Reading Option

The following elective course is recommended for all middle grades majors and has been developed in response to identified needs of schools and teacher candidates. This reading course introduces reading assessment techniques to strengthen teacher candidates’ understanding of the learning and teaching of reading.

EDRD 4411 - Reading Diagnostics for Teachers of Adolescents