7Th Grade Required Course Descriptions

7th Grade Required Course Descriptions

CTE Intro -1 credit class:CTE Intro is a required course for seventh grade students. Through CTE Intro, students participate in activity-centered lessons to utilize technology, develop beginning skills, and explore careers by expanding awareness. CTE Intro provides information regarding future classes and training related to each student’s career field of interest.

English 7 - 1 credit class:Students will gain skills and strategies necessary for proficient communication in reading, writing, speaking, listening, and language usage. Students will be expected to participate in class and complete a variety of reading and writing assignments, including informational and literary texts. Students in all classes at Rocky Mountain Middle School are expected to excel and be challenged.

English 7 Honors - 1 credit class:Strong performance on assessments in reading and in Language Arts classes are essential for success in this course, as well as teacher recommendation. Students will gain advanced skills and strategies necessary for proficient communication in reading, writing, speaking, listening, and language. Honor students will be expected to complete assignments in a timely and proficient manner and will evaluated according to a high standard. Discussions in class will be challenging and engaging, requiring preparation. Students in all classes at Rocky Mountain Middle School are expected to excel and be challenged(See specific expectations for Honors classes above).

Health 7 – .5 credit class: Units to be covered, goal setting, decision making, suicide prevention/awareness, stress management, effects of bullying, personal safety, diseases, hygiene, substance abuse, relationships / human sexuality, sexually transmitted diseases, abstinence, elements of a healthy relationship, D.A.R.E.(refusal skills)

Health 7 Honors -.5 credit class: The same units and topics are covered in the honors class. Students will be asked to create a video about what they learned and used to teach the other classes to prepare them for an end of unit test. Health honors will require a familiarity with technology, such as iMovie (personal) or Movie Maker (school provided), or an ambition to learn these. A level of creativity will be necessary and a willingness to act or direct others to act out ideas for the video. We may also develop school wide activities that will promote self-esteem building for students within our school as well. A willingness to participate and recruit others to be motivated for school-wide activities such as a service project, “Pay it Forward”, or a “Sharing is Caring” activity. Health Honors students will promote a healthy lifestyle by being examples and encourage their peers to recognize the benefits of making healthy decisions(See specific expectations for Honors classes above).

Literature 7 - .5 credit class: 7th grade Literature class consists of four major sections. First, weanalyze short stories, next we study poetry. Third, we read a novel in class. Finally, we read a play. Students are also expected to preparetwo book projects, oneper term. Our class supports the English classes in accordance with the Common Core Curriculum. We use all the technology available to us and all assignments are available to students on Canvas.

Math 7 - 1 credit class: Grade 7 level mathematics instruction for the majority of students at Rocky Mountain Middle School focuses on four critical areas: (1) developing understanding of and applying proportional relationships; (2) developing understanding of operations with rational numbers and working with expressions and linear equations; (3) solving problems involving scale drawings and informal geometric constructions, and working with two and three dimensional shapes to solve problems involving surface area and volume; and (4) drawing inferences about populations based on samples and evaluate probability models.

Math 7 Honors - 1 credit class: A more rigorousGrade 7 level mathematics instruction at a faster pace, with increased depth and additional topics beyond the core standards (listed in Math 7) such as: the mathematics behind creating codes, patterns, number bases and number systems.

In order to be considered for this honors course you must apply and be accepted in the program. Students on this track are high achievers on grade level or above. Mastery of basic computational facts is essential(See specific expectations for Honors classes above).

Math 7 Catalyst - 1 credit class: A very rigorous and accelerated mathematics course designed for high achieving and gifted students who are dedicated to a career in mathematics or a mathematics related field. Students in this course will work at twice the pace of the Math 7 course. The work load and pace will be extremely rigorous covering the standards in both Math 7 and Math 8 in one year.

Upon completion of this course students will be ready to take Secondary Math 1 Honors (9th grade math) during their 8th grade year. Students on this track will be prepared to take Secondary Math II Honors, normally the 10th grade honors course, in the 9th grade school year.

In order to be considered for this Catalyst course you must apply and be accepted in the program. Students on this track are high achievers and gifted students working above grade level(See specific expectations for Honors classes above).

Physical Education 7 - .5 credit class: The main objective for Physical Education is to teach the importance of fitness in our daily lives.Students learn many individual and game sports for example; soccer, basketball, football, golf, volleyball, badminton and table tennis to name a few. Fitness tests are also given to see improvement throughoutP.E.Overall.

Science 7 - 1credit class: Classes will cover the basic core materials: use of scientific tools metrics, using the scientific method, making and reading graphs and data tables, density, cell structure, genetics, and taxonomy.

Honors Science 7 - 1 credit class: Honors science is a much more rigorous course in science which covers the basic requirements in greater detail. Students who wish to be in science AP classes should consider this course. All honors students must complete a science fair project 3rd term, and assignments are given throughout the year leading up to this project.Honors students are also expected to write a detailed current event each week, and higher level questions are assigned in addition to basic homework. Honors science students will go on field trips that other students are not invited to. This class is taught as a high school/ college prep class(See specific expectations for Honors classes above).

Utah Studies - .5 credit class: The objective of Utah Studies and 20th Century History is to learn more about the state we all live in. Whether you’ve lived here your entire life or just moved here a week ago, you’re here for a reason. We’ll be examining the reasons we all live in Utah, the good things and bad things about Utah’s past, and the role we’ll all play in Utah’s future. We’ll use books, newspaper articles, maps, photographs, artifacts, class discussion, debates, projects, group activities, songs, games, websites,documentaries, clips from television shows and movies and more activities to help us all understand more about Utah.

Utah Studies Honors - .5 credit class: This class is designed to cover the same requirements as Utah History but will be more challenging. It is the study of Utah History at a faster pace, designed to help students develop a deeper understanding of historical events and their cause and effect. This will come as a result of an increased work load, and higher expectations in class, not only with the amount of work but with the quality of work. This class will include substantial discussion where appropriate behavior with be required. In addition to the regular curriculum there will be one digital project per term and one historical fiction novel(See specific expectations for Honors classes above).

8th Grade Required Course Descriptions

English 8 - 1 credit class: Students will gain skills and strategies necessary for proficient communication in reading, writing, speaking, listening, and language usage. Students will be expected to participate in class and complete a variety of reading and writing assignments, including informational and literary texts. Students in all classes at Rocky Mountain Middle School are expected to excel and be challenged.

English 8 Honors - 1 credit class:Strong performance on assessments in reading and in Language Arts classes are essential for success in this course, as well as teacher recommendation. Students will gain advanced skills and strategies necessary for proficient communication in reading, writing, speaking, listening, and language. Honor students will be expected to complete assignments in a timely and proficient manner and will evaluated according to a high standard. Discussions in class will be challenging and engaging, requiring preparation. Students in all classes at Rocky Mountain Middle School are expected to excel and be challenged(See specific expectations for Honors classes above).

Keyboarding - .5 credit class: This class is designed to open up a world of opportunities for students by helping them develop speed and proper keystroking technique, while also learning key fundamental uses of computer applications. This course not onlyfocuseson keyboarding skills, but also teaches students important computer application skillsthat will be veryimportant components in almost allfazes of their lives.Finally, this course will spend time helping students develop life skills such as time management and personal accountability.

8th Literature- .5 credit class:The goal of Literature is to improve Reading and Writing skills using the Core Standards to prepare students for high school and excel in all content areas. Reading strategies are implemented involving novels, a play, poetry, short stories, and non-fiction text. Text-based collaborative learning techniques are used to support the literacy goals of the Language Arts Department. Helping students to become self-directed, lifelong learners through the beauty of literature is a focus.

Math 8 – 1 credit class:Grade 8 level mathematics instruction for the majority of students at Rocky Mountain Middle School focuses on three critical areas: (1) formulating and reasoning about expressions and equations, including modeling linear equations, and solving linear equations and systems of linear equations; (2) grasping the concept of a function and using functions to describe quantitative relationships; (3) analyzing two- and three- dimensional space and figures using distance, angle similarity, and congruence, and understanding and applying the Pythagorean Theorem.

Math 8 Honors - 1 credit class:A more rigorousGrade 8 level mathematics instruction at a faster pace, with increased depth and additional topics beyond the core standards (listed in Math 8) such as: voting theory, sets, graphing and graph theory.In order to be considered for this honors course you must apply and be accepted in the program. Students on this track are high achievers on grade level or above. Mastery of basic computational facts is essential(See specific expectations for Honors classes above).

(Secondary Math I Honors) - 1 credit class: A very rigorous and accelerated mathematics course designed for high achieving and gifted students. Students in this course must have completed Math 7 and Math 8 or Catalyst Math 7. The work load and pace will be extremely rigorous. This course will focus on four critical areas: (1) Reasoning between quantities to analyze and compare linear and exponential relationships and modeling these with equations; (2) Representing and interpreting descriptive statistics on two categorical and quantitative variables; (3) Understanding congruence in terms of rigid motions and geometric constructions; (4) Using coordinates to prove simple geometric theorems algebraically.

Physical Education 8 - .5 credit class: The main objective for Physical Education is to teach the importance of fitness in our daily lives.Students participate in a variety of individual andteam sports.

For example; soccer, basketball, football, volleyball, badminton and table tennis. Fitness tests are also given to see improvement throughoutP.E.Overall.

Science 8 - 1 credit class: Students will learn and review tables and graphs. More specifically, they should know how to make,read, and interpreta graph. They will learn how the sun's energy is used by plants and converted to other forms of energy which is used by living things. Students will learn the nature of matter, and why and how it changes. Students will learn the relationshipamong forces, energy and motion. Students will learn the processes of rock and fossil formation.

Science 8 Honors - 1 credit class:Honors science is a much more rigorous course in science which covers the basic requirements mentioned for Science 8 but in greater detail. Honors Science students will also be expected to complete a science project during the year(See specific expectations for Honors classes above).

U.S. History 8th- 1 credit class:Our story will begin with the Age of Exploration, leading to the founding and colonization of the U.S. to Westward Expansion, finally ending with the Civil War and Reconstruction. This course is designed to inform students about who they are as citizens of the United States and how past events have shaped the world we live in today. In this class there will be an intense writing component. Students will begin with answering questions, to writing historical paragraphs, which will finally lead into writing 5 paragraph essays. Students will read and analyze informational text on a regular basis.

U.S. History 8th Honors - 1 credit class: This class is designed to cover the same requirements as U.S. History but will be more challenging. It is the study of U.S. History at a faster pace, designed to help students develop a deeper understanding of historical events and their cause and effect. This will come as a result of an increased work load, and higher expectations in class, not only with the amount of work but with the quality of work. This class will include substantial discussion where appropriate behavior with be required(See specific expectations for Honors classes above).

ARTS

Beginning Band Fall Semester(7th and 8th Grade) - .5 credit class:This class is intended for students who want to begin a wind instrument, students who have stopped playing and want to start again, or for students who need a little extra help on their instrument of choice. Students are to provide their own instrument. Instruments taught include; flute, oboe, clarinet, saxophone, French horn, trumpet, trombone, baritone, and tuba. Practice and performances are requirements outside of class time. Private lessons are recommended.

Concert Band Spring semester(7th and 8th Grade) - .5 credit class: Prerequisite- 2 years of school band, or instructor’s approval. This class is for students who want to continue to study music, but aren’t able to commit to full year of band. Instruments taught include: flute, oboe, clarinet, bass clarinet, alto saxophone, tenor saxophone, baritone saxophone, trumpet, French horn, trombone, euphonium, baritone, and tuba. Students are to provide their own instruments. The school has a small inventory of secondary instruments that can be lent to students depending on needs. Students perform alone and in large and small ensembles. Practice and performances are required outside of class time and private lessons are recommended.

Percussion(7th and 8th Grade) - 1 credit class: Prerequisite- one year of band, one year of orchestra, one year of piano, or approval by the instructor.Do you want to learn to play on a drumset, develop skills needed for drum line ensembles, or play vibraphone in Jazz bands? This class will help achieve those goals. In this one year class, students will learn basics in pitched keyboard and un-pitchedpercussion,sticking mechanics, technique, note reading, and musicianship. Students will perform with concert band, alone, and in small percussion ensembles. Students will provide their own collection of sticks, mallets, method book, and practice drum pad (estimated cost $110-$130). Practice and performances are required outside of class time and privet lessons are recommended.

Symphonic Band(7th and 8th Grade) - 1 credit class:Prerequisite - 2 years of school band, or instructor’s approval. Do you want to be a part of something great, play challenging and fun music, learn more about music history and theory? This class is for serious minded musicians who want to perform at the highest level. Instruments taught include: flute, oboe, bassoon, clarinet, bass clarinet, alto saxophone, tenor saxophone, baritone saxophone, trumpet, French horn, trombone, euphonium, baritone, and tuba. Students are to provide their own instruments. The school has a small inventory of secondary instruments that can be lent to students depending on needs. Students play and perform alone and in large and small ensembles. Practice and performances are required outside of class time. Private lessons are strongly encouraged.

Group Guitar(7th and 8th Grade) - .5 credit class:In this class students will learn basic note-reading skills, strumming patterns, basic finger picking, and basic song writing form. Acoustic guitars are required (nylon string is acceptable). Students will also learn performance skills and etiquette. This is a great class for the up-and-coming rock star, reflective folk artist, or the sit-around-the-campfire strummer.

Group Piano(7th and 8th Grade) - .5 credit class: In this introductory class students will learn basic note-reading skills, songs through rote, performance skills and etiquette, and basic musical terms.Although theclass isintended for students with little to no experience on thepiano,the more advanced players are welcome and canuse class time to further their skills. This is an ideal class for the up-and-coming concert pianist or the next Bruno Mars.