Columbia Middle School

Sixth Grade Required Courses

LANGUAGE ARTS

Emphasis is placed on mastering the skills necessary for effective written communication. Using writing as a process, the student will continually develop creativity purpose, and fluency through standard English usage. Word Master, a national competition, will introduce challenging vocabulary in the form of analogies throughout the year. Students will be exposed to classical poetry and participate in Poetry Café.

Text: Literature & Language (McDougal, Littell) The Writers Craft (McDougal, Littell)

READING

Sixth grade reading is interactive reading in both formal and informal situations using Newberry Award winning novels, accelerated reader and a basal reading series to teach comprehension and vocabulary skills, students will become more proficient in reading skills needed to succeed in other studies. Students will learn necessary skills for researching, speaking, and presenting information they have read. A research paper along with involvement in either a Shakespearean play or Wax Museum will be required of each student. An accelerated reading class will be provided for advanced students.

Text: I Touched the Sun (Heath Publishing)

MATH

Students will develop computational and problem solving skills with respect to whole numbers, decimals, and fractions. They will also explore areas involving geometry, measurement, ratio, percentages and story problems. Opportunities for manipulatives will be provided to allow growth from concrete thinking to abstract thinking. An accelerated math class will be provided to include algebra and math competitions.

Text: Math Advantage (Harcourt/Brace)

SCIENCE

This course deals with selected topics in the areas of plant and animal life, environment, chemical, physical, and space science. Students will be introduced to laboratory work as well as study skills and test taking skills. Science projects will integrate more than one subject.

Text: Science Plus, Level Green Technology and Society (Holt, Rhineheart and Winston)

SOCIAL STUDIES

This course is designed to acquaint students with ancient civilizations through modern times. Students will be involved in activities that will help them understand the values, priorities, and accomplishments of the many cultures studied. Students will be encouraged to develop projects that incorporate social skills and creative thinking. Map skills will be an integral part of this course study.

Text: World Cultures (Silver, Burdett)

Seventh

SCIENCE PLUS

Science Plus is a program which utilizes guided and open-ended investigations, small-group discussions, exploratory writing and related reading tasks, game, picture and word puzzles, and independent long-range projects to promote understanding of:

The interrelationships that exist between science, technology and society.
Important science concepts, processes and ideas.
Higher-order thinking skills.
Problem solving and application of scientific principles.
Environmental protection.
Independent study of scientific topics.
Social and communication skills.

LANGUAGE ARTS

The purpose of this course is to encourage development of reading, writing, listening and speaking skills. Emphasis will be placed on writing as a way of thinking and communicating. Grammar, spelling and vocabulary are taught as part of the writing process. Reading is taught based on the Michigan definition of reading, prior
knowledge, knowledge of reading material and application beyond text to real life situations. Class novels, reading groups and individual pleasure reading as well as literature circles are utilized in the classroom. Listening and speaking skills are addressed through writing workshop and reading circles.

Text: Literature & Language (McDougal, Littell) The Writers Craft (McDougal, Littell)

SOCIAL STUDIES/GEOGRAPHY

Seventh grade social studies concentrates study on the Eastern Hemisphere. They will study countries of Europe, Asia, Africa, and the South Pacific. Included in the study will be geographic terms, land forms, climate, people, and food. Various materials will be used during the school year.

Text: World Geography, A Global Perspective (Prentice Hall)

TRANSITIONAL MATH

This course will apply math skills to problem solving while continuing to emphasize the basic skills of math. Additional areas that will be taught include patterns, calculator usage, variables, notation, geometric properties, shapes, and integers. These additional areas will help prepare students for algebra and geometry.

PHYSICAL EDUCATION

This coed physical education curriculum is taught by a certified instructor. Students receive an average of 110 minutes of physical education instruction each week. Areas of emphasis include progressive game skill development, fitness and physical activities, including annual fitness testing, relevant content and knowledge review and assessment, and personal and social skill development.

Exploratories

All of the nine week exploratory courses are designed to allow students to try new areas of interest. Exploratory courses are divided into sixth grade, seventh grade and eighth grade levels. Some exploratory courses are required while others allow the student to pick classes that interest them. A few classes will require a prerequisite. If a prerequisite is required, it will be stated in the description for that particular course.
With the exception of the few classes that require a prerequisite, these exploratory classes are designed for students with little or no previous experience in the content area of the class. The intent of these classes is not to teach a student all there is to know about a subject, but instead, to allow a student to test uncharted water and see if this is an area that he/she might want to pursue further. Your child should not be frightened away from selecting a course simply because he/she has no knowledge in that area. Please encourage your child to explore and stretch.

	Sixth Grade Nine Week Required Exploratory Courses
	Nine Week Exploratory Courses
	Seventh Grade Nine Week Required Exploratory Courses
	Seventh Grade Nine Week Exploratory Courses
	Seventh Grade Full Year Exploratory
	Eighth Grade Nine Week Required Exploratory Courses
	Eighth Grade Full Year Exploratory
	Eighth Grade Nine Week Exploratory Classes

SIXTH GRADE NINE WEEK REQUIRED EXPLORATORY COURSES

DESK TOP PUBLISHING 6

This exploratory class examines the realm of desktop publishing skills on a basic level from creating a finished manuscript using the word processor, to manipulating a photo using Adobe Photo Deluxe. This course will prove to be both intellectually and creatively stimulating for the student.

PHYSICAL EDUCATION 6

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NINE WEEK EXPLORATORY COURSES

COMMUNICATIONS 6

This nine-week course offers the student a brief look into the world of journalism and news/broadcasting. Students will learn the components of good news writing as well as learn simple techniques in video production and how the two work together. Communications is also a wonderful introduction for those who wish to continue by enrolling in the News/Broadcasting exploratory, entitled, "Friday Afternoon Live".

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SEVENTH GRADE NINE WEEK REQUIRED EXPLORATORY COURSES

INTRODUCTION TO KEY BOARDING 7

Keyboard familiarization, basic word processing with emphasis placed on page setup for reports, business letters, resumes, and other related topics. Typing skills will include composing, saving, retrieval and correction of a document.

MICHIGAN HEALTH MODEL

The Michigan Health Model is comprised of six modules consisting of such topics as: thinking seriously about health, finding out about health risks, reaching out to others (family, friends,) watching out for health threats, stress and looking ahead to high school, future dreams and a healthy future.

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SEVENTH GRADE NINE WEEK EXPLORATORY COURSES

SPANISH 7

This exploratory Spanish course emphasizes elementary conversational skills based on familiar topics such as school, family, and home. Pronunciation, vocabulary building, and presentation of simplified grammatical concepts are the areas of concentration. To enrich the student’s appreciation of Spanish as a functioning language, the course includes a study of various Spanish speaking countries.

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SEVENTH GRADE FULL YEAR EXPLORATORY

SEVENTH GRADE BAND

Open to all seventh grade students by audition only. This musical organization will be composed of only the most skilled performers on their particular instrument. A variety of musical literature is studied and performed at a high level of proficiency. Practice at home and participation in all performances are required including district and state music festivals and solo and ensemble festival.

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EIGHTH GRADE NINE WEEK REQUIRED EXPLORATORY COURSES

MICHIGAN HEALTH MODEL

The Michigan Health Model is comprised of five modules consisting of such topics as:

Thinking seriously about health.
Finding out about health risks.
Reaching out to others (family, friends,)
Watching out for me (health threats, stress,)
Looking ahead (to high school, future dreams, a health future)

Explore possible careers in your future. Consider your values, what is your top priority in selecting a career? Is it money, prestige or enjoyment of what you are doing? Can you find a career that covers it all? We will look at different occupation clusters and do some interesting surveys. Speakers and possible field trip will round out this class.

SPANISH 8

To enrich the student's appreciation of Spanish as a functioning language, the course includes a study of various Spanish speaking countries.

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EIGHTH GRADE FULL YEAR EXPLORATORY

SPANISH I

Students will become knowledgeable about the culture of several Spanish speaking countries. They will be able to conjugate all regular and some irregular verbs in the present tense. Also, they will use adjectives correctly (placement, noun-agreement, and comparative forms), be able to form adverbs, be aware of cognates, and learn that world languages do not follow English word order. They will be able to have simple conversations about general topics and be able to cope in travel situations such as restaurants, hotels, and transportation. Students will be exposed to light readings, listen to authentic speakers, and perform basic writing tasks.

*High School credits earned by a middle school student in a World Language course will be recorded on the students’ transcript, but will not be counted into the students’ high school Grade Point Average (GPA). The cumulative high school GPA will begin when a student enters the ninth grade. Credits earned during middle school will count toward the rigorous curriculum requirements; however, students will still be required to earn 25 credits during high school.

EIGHTH GRADE BAND

Open to all students who have successfully participated in seventh grade band or by permission of the instructor. This band will perform middle school literature at a high level of proficiency. Practice at home and participation in all performances is required. A variety of musical styles are studied and student's experience varied instrumental groupings. Students will perform formal concerts, marching events, and MSBOA events such as district and state band festivals, honors band festival, and solo/ensemble festivals.

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EIGHTH GRADE NINE WEEK EXPLORATORY CLASSES

FRIDAY AFTERNOON LIVE

This course explores a variety of "media productions" from newspaper publishing to simple video productions such as broadcasting and commercials. Professional editing techniques will be introduced.

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