Middle School Required Courses
Language Arts Science Social Studies Math Health and PE
Grade 7 CoursesLanguage Arts 7 |
Grade 8 CoursesLanguage Arts 8 |
| * All middle school students are also required to complete two art courses covering two of the following art topics: fine arts, music, dance and theater. | |
Health and Physical Education
Health 7
This course is designed to teach lifetime health and wellness knowledge in order to prevent various psychological and physical disorders. Students will learn health information and practices, as well as experience implementing their newfound skills and knowledge. They will acquire the skills necessary to handle peer pressure, recognize unhealthy and risky behaviors and how to prevent and avoid them, and develop strategies for improving personal and community health. Students will gain an understanding of the relationships that influence one's health, as well as refusal and coping skills that play a major part in personal health, as well. Quizzes, discussion sessions among peers, projects, and interactions will be assessed weekly to gauge content understanding. After completion of this course, the student will understand and have experience practicing lifelong skills for lifelong health and wellness.
Health 8
This course is designed to provide the student with the knowledge and skills that will enable him or her to achieve and maintain a healthful lifestyle. The student will learn health information and practices necessary to understand and manage many aspects of their physical, social, intellectual, spiritual, and emotional health throughout adolescence into adulthood.
Physical Education 7
Through this online Physical Education course students will be exposed to many diverse activities and will learn a wide variety of fitness concepts that they will be able to use in their everyday lives. Students will learn lifelong skills such as rock climbing, orienteering, and ping-pong along with stress management concepts through Yoga and Pilates. Students will develop a sense of self-esteem and accomplishment through completion of fitness tests, attaining personal goals set, and learning to care for their body. Integrated assignments will show students that content areas of science, social studies, math, and English are littered throughout physical education and apply in our everyday activities. Quizzes, discussion boards, projects, and physical activity will be assessed weekly to gauge content understanding. After completion of this course students will have the knowledge to stay fit and stay active well beyond middle school.
Physical Education 8
Scientific evidence has shown that regular physical activity is essential to our health and wellness. The American Heart Association has indicated that the primary cause for the number one killer in the United States, heart disease, can be treated with daily participation in physical activity. This course will teach students to make informed decisions that will assist them both now and in the future. Students in 8th grade physical education will be exposed to a variety of lifetime physical activities such as canoeing, cycling, and kickboxing. Every student is different; therefore every student will design and participate in a fitness program that meets their individual fitness needs and interests.
Language Arts
Language Arts 7
Through this exciting course students will engage in an interactive, hands-on array of reading and writing activities designed to enhance and integrate literacy across all content areas - science, social studies, math, art, and more. Teacher-to-students, student-to-self, and peer-to-peer assessments will serve as constant benchmarks that facilitate the higher-order, problem solving and collaborative skills required to meet academic and career expectations for years to come.
Language Arts 8
In this course students will learn to read critically with full comprehension across genres and to communicate through effective writing. As students develop critical reading and writing skills, important life connections will be made through the variety of material studied. As students complete this course, the relevance that this course has on daily life and future academic and career goals will be highlighted.
Math
8th Grade Algebra
Students will learn 8th grade math topics through hands on activities, interactive lessons, and practical math applications. Areas studied include linear functions and graphing, trigonometry concepts, probability and statistics, measurement, and geometry.
Math 7
Students will learn 7th grade math topics in the areas of numbers and operations, measurements, geometry, algebraic concepts, and data analysis and probability through hands on activities, interactive lessons, and practical math applications.
Science
Science 7
This course will provide students with enlightenment and instruction on the nature of science, using a discovery process to teach the scientific method, and the use of metric measurements in scientific investigations. It covers the study of the Universe, stars, constellations, and objects in the Solar System. Movement and pathways of the Earth and Moon are investigated, with natural paths uncovered as students discover just how large the universe really is. Next, students will discover how Earth materials are formed and what they can teach us about Mother Earth's past as they investigate the natural processes that shape its ecosystem, the landscape and the creation of different environments on Earth. The course then covers basic concepts of force, motion, and equilibrium. Concepts of human biology are also uncovered, with emphasis on body systems and those amazing functions that contribute to our wellness. Agricultural science and its impact on biotechnology is introduced, along with its affect on human interaction with the earth. Finally, the basics of environmental science are covered, and through the use of stunning photography and lively animation, students will interact with endangered species, learn about natural resource use, environmental health, pollution, and biodiversity.
Science 8
This course provides a rigorous and comprehensive foundation for the 8th-grade student about to enter high school science. It covers the relevant topics in all the major disciplines, building on prior knowledge and expanding on subjects introduced earlier in middle school. Students begin with a review of the scientific process and get more into depth with the idea of critical analysis of theories and experimental research. They will move on to discuss principles of physical science and energy. In the life science portion of the course, students will cover structure and function of organisms, genetics, and evolution, and tenets of ecology. This will flow into the environmental science topics including earth's cycles and environmental problems. A brief discussion of the solar system will also be covered. Students will learn about the assigned topics through interactive activities, experimentation, discussion, and engaging text and animations. Graded assignments will be stimulating and thought-provoking, hopefully paving the way for future interest in the scientific disciplines.
Social Studies
American Experience
Eighth grade students will build on their concepts of geography, civics, and political societies beginning with the world as it was in the 1500's followed by the natural unfolding of events from the explorations, the establishment of the colonies, the colonial era leading up to the causes of and including the French and Indian War and The Revolutionary War. The development of American government from a confederation to a constitutional one, the launching of the Republic, through the War of 1812, the growth and development of the nation through the Louisiana Purchase and the Lewis and Clark exploration on through Manifest Destiny and the Mexican War will follow. Students will explore the changes in the nation from immigration and abolition issues to the Civil War and Reconstruction, westward expansion, to the development of the U.S. as a world power and into World War One. They will explore the 1920's, the Great Depression and World War Two.
World Studies
Students will be taken through the disciplines of world history, landform and geography, money and economics, the powers and parallels of political science, sociology, and anthropology. Through hands-on tutorials and interaction with animation that brings this history to life, students will acquire the skills necessary to study and understand world cultures, while examining their unique physical features using state-of-the-art electronic geographic tools. Beginning with the mysteries of the ancient empires of the Americas, students will discover and understand the fall of the Roman Empire, the rise of the Franks in Europe, and uncover the enchanting Kingdom of Ghana. Students will be taken through Revolutionary Europe, then to the Industrial Revolution, nationalism and Imperialism, and on two World Wars I and II. They'll discover the wonders of Colonial India, become informed about the United Nations as a peacekeeping and political force, the politics of the war in Vietnam, and past and current issues in the Middle East. Finally, they'll discover modern Africa and understand its history, to end with a broad but compelling introduction to the Information and Space Ages.
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