Course Catalog
- 6th Grade Exploratory Classes
- 6th Grade Core Classes
- 7th Grade Exploratory Classes
- 7th Grade Core Classes
- 8th Grade Exploratory Classes
- 8th Grade Core Classes
6th Grade Exploratory Classes
BEGINNING BAND
Students may begin Band in sixth grade. We deal with specific aspects of each particular instrument such as note fingerings, key signatures, embouchure, breath support, drum stickings, etc. For concerts, arrangements are made with the other classroom teachers to allow the smaller groups to combine in one large band for rehearsal. Students perform in two or three concerts a year. Please note: students enrolled in Band are expected to stay in this course for the entire year.
CHOIR
Sixth grade students will have the chance to explore the “Choral Music” experience by studying choral score, singing in parts and learning basic music theory. Emphasis is placed on the enjoyment of singing in a team and group situation. Both classical and “Pop” music will be explored. Students not participating in Band will take two rotations of Choir during the school year. Band students will receive one rotation during the school year.
ART
This class will be primarily 2 dimensional. Students will learn the building blocks for basic drawing and painting skills. Projects MAY include (but not limited to) 1 & 2 point perspective; color theory; tempera & watercolor painting. A group mural painting will also be included. All of the classes incorporate the principles and elements of design as well as art history into the curriculum.
COMPUTERS
Students will learn system fundamentals, concepts and basic operations. There will be a review of keyboarding skills and introduction to word processing with emphasis on programs – Microsoft Word and PowerPoint. Social and ethical issues will be discussed in regard to the Internet along with safe Internet searching techniques. Students will locate and evaluate information from a variety of sources. Students not participating in Band will take two rotations of Computers during the school year.
CYBER BULLYING
Cyber bullying is the use of Internet-connected devices to bully and harass others, is damaging to targets, cyber bullies and the school environment. With that in mind, this class will educate our students about the dangers of bullying, techniques used by bullies and how students can protect and advocate for themselves to seek help.
TECHNOLOGY/ROBOTICS 6
Students will have a tangible introduction to building and programming robots. Students will have the opportunity to address the growing demand of teaching STEM subjects while learning how science, engineering, math, and technology work together and interact.
ENGINEERING
Students work cooperatively to develop problem solving strategies and learn basic science and engineering principles while using the scientific method to investigate collisions, bottle rockets and bridges.
FORENSIC SCIENCE
Forensic Science is a very lab based class that centers around crime scene investigation. During the course students will analyze fingerprints, examine tire and shoe impressions, and use deductive reasoning to solve mysteries. All techniques used will be comparable to the methods used by real forensic crime labs.
FINANCIAL LITERACY
This course will help students to build a set of skills and knowledge to make informed and effective decisions with their financial resources. Students will gain understanding in the areas of the basics of budgeting, the importance of prioritizing saving, and researching and evaluating potential investments. Students are given opportunities to practice these skills by working together to manage a virtual investment portfolio of real world stocks, bonds, and mutual funds.
NAVIGATION STATION
Students will learn map, compass and Global Positioning System tools to define locations and navigate from location to location. Maps will range from hand drawn simple maps to topographical, relief and digital maps. Tools will include navigational compasses and GPS units as well as a variety of lineal devices and techniques.
PHYSICAL EDUCATION
Students will learn and participate in new-age fitness activities. They will learn about healthy eating for active middle school students. Physical Education for sixth graders has an emphasis on introductory skills in physical fitness recreational activities. Students not participating in Band will take two rotations of Physical Education during the school year.
EXERCISE SCIENCE
Students will learn and participate in new-age fitness activities. They will learn about healthy eating for active middle school students. They will learn about heart rate and the importance of maintaining an active lifestyle. Like Physical Education class, Exercise Science for sixth graders has an emphasis on introductory skills in physical fitness recreational activities.
SPANISH
Spanish is an activities based class with an emphasis on language and culture. This class is a continuation from elementary Spanish. Students not participating in Band will take two rotations of Spanish during the school year.
STEAM 6
Students will be exposed to Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics in this exploratory class. They will use project-based and collaborative learning to create system solutions. Explorations include various design challenges. These experiences help students increase their curiosity and confidence in STEAM concepts.
READING STRATEGIES
This course provides students whose reading achievement is below the proficient level with direct reading intervention. Adaptive and instructional materials, high-interest literature and direct instruction provide students with a diversity of learning experiences in this class.
MATH STRATEGIES
This course provides students whose math achievement is below the proficient level with direct math intervention. Adaptive and instructional materials, high-interest math materials and direct instruction provide students with a diversity of learning experiences in this class.
6th Grade Core Classes
ENGLISH LANGUAGE ARTS 6
The ELA 6 curriculum is designed to provide students with opportunities to address skills pertinent to reading, writing, listening and speaking, language and literacy, and to meet the Common Core Standards for Michigan.
SCIENCE 6
The science 6 curriculum is designed to provide students access to the NGSS crosscutting concepts which have application across all domains of science. They link the different domains of science and provide students opportunities to interact with various phenomena and perform hands-on experiments. The crosscutting concepts include patterns; cause and effect; scale, proportion, and quantity; systems and system models; energy and matter; structure and function; and stability and change.
MATH 6
This course is designed for students to understand and become proficient with the 6th grade Michigan Common Core Standards for mathematics: (1) connecting ratio and rate to whole number multiplication and division and using concepts of ratio and rate to solve problems; (2) completing understanding of division of fractions and extending the notion of number to the system of rational numbers, which includes negative numbers; (3) writing, interpreting, and using expressions and equations; and (4) developing understanding of statistical thinking.
SOCIAL STUDIES 6
The social studies 6 curriculum is designed to provide students with opportunities to address skills pertinent to world geography per the K-12 Michigan Standards for Social Studies.
7th Grade Exploratory Classes
ART
his class will be primarily 2 dimensional. Students will learn the building blocks for basic drawing and painting skills. Projects MAY include (but not limited to) 1 & 2 point perspective; color theory; tempera & watercolor painting. A group mural painting will also be included. All of the classes incorporate the principles and elements of design as well as art history into the curriculum.
BAND
Seventh grade Band students meet every day in full band and are expected to participate for the entire school year. Students learn to play many different musical styles from marches to serious concert music to popular music and perform in five concerts a year, including participating in District Band Festival activities. Students enrolled in Band will have less exploratory classes. *Class prerequisite: One year of previous band instruction in the Haslett Middle School 6th grade band (or equivalent in another school district) or by audition and evaluation of musical skills by the director.
CHOIR
Seventh grade choir is open to students who love to sing. Emphasis is on voice building, learning songs in harmony parts, sight-reading and performing. Students perform in concerts in October, December, March and May. They also participate in adjudicated festivals in March. Students may also choose to participate in Solo and Ensemble Festival in February. *Class prerequisite: Students must complete and submit an application to the choir director or the middle school office. This is a year-long class.
ROUND THE WORLD
This is a project based course which is an extension of Social Studies. Students review the elements of the 5 Themes of Geography through several classroom activities and review basic geography terms with a project. The remainder of the course students will choose a city somewhere in the world, a state in the United States, and a country to complete 3 separate projects. With each of these projects students will look at natural resources, governments, places of interest, famous people, as well as many other elements. This course is designed that if students use their time wisely in class, there will be no homework.
GUIDANCE
Students will learn about topics such as peer relationships, conflict resolution, organization/time management, bullying, career awareness and study skills. Students will be graded on classroom assignments, class projects and participation.
COMPUTERS
Students will continue to build on the fundamentals, concepts and basic operations taught in sixth grade Computers. Programs used will be Power Point, Excel and Access. Social and ethical issues will be discussed in regard to the Internet along with safe Internet searching techniques. Students will locate and evaluate information from a variety of sources.
EXERCISE SCIENCE 7
tudents will learn and participate in new-age fitness activities. They will learn about healthy eating for active middle school students. They will learn about heart rate and the importance of maintaining an active lifestyle. Like Physical Education class, Exercise Science for seventh graders has an emphasis on introductory skills in physical fitness recreational activities.
STEAM 7
Students will be exposed to Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics in this exploratory class. They will use project-based and collaborative learning to create system solutions. Explorations include various design challenges. These experiences help students increase their curiosity and confidence in STEAM concepts.
TECHNOLOGY/ROBOTICS 7
Students will have a tangible introduction to building and programming robots. Students will have the opportunity to address the growing demand of teaching STEM subjects while learning how science, engineering, math, and technology work together and interact.
VIDEO JOURNALISM
Students in this course will learn all the basics of video journalism. They will learn video camera operation and composition. They will storyboard and produce commercials, PSA’s, music videos and produce their own newscast. Students will learn digital non-linear editing, audio, lighting, advertising and the business of TV.
READING STRATEGIES
This course provides students whose reading achievement is below the proficient level with direct reading intervention. Adaptive and instructional materials, high-interest literature and direct instruction provide students with a diversity of learning experiences in this class.
MATH STRATEGIES/MATH BOOST
This course provides students whose math achievement is below the proficient level with direct math intervention. Adaptive and instructional materials, high-interest math materials and direct instruction provide students with a diversity of learning experiences in this class.
COMPUTER CODING
This course will introduce students to computer languages and their frameworks. Students will learn about the elements of programming, graphic design, media editing and information management.
PHYSICAL EDUCATION
Physical Education will focus on physical fitness and sport skills. Students will learn sportsmanship, rules and strategy needed to enjoy sports and fitness.
SPANISH
eventh grade Spanish is an exploratory course designed to further heighten students’ interest in Hispanic culture and language. One nine-week course and one six-week course combine for 15 weeks of exposure to various aspects of the language and customs of the Spanish-speaking world. In addition to authentic cultural context experiences, increased reading, writing, speaking and listening opportunities help students manage more effectively and confidently in the target language.
STUDY SKILLS
Study skills are useful to all students. In this class we will explore each student's personal study style, time management skills and organizational skills. In addition to these important skills, planning for future career goals to highlight the importance of good study skills for now and into the future will be explored.
CREATIVE WRITING
Your voice matters! In creative writing, learn how to communicate with many different forms of writing for numerous audiences, and have fun doing it. Let's get writing.
MATH MATTERS
The Math Matters exploratory class will provide students an opportunity to be engaged in the 7th grade curriculum by creating relevant projects. Students can expect to discover how math is an important element of the world they live in, as well as, gain a deeper understanding of the material learned in their core math class.
FRENCH
French is an activities based class with an emphasis on language and culture. This class is an introductory world language class.
HUMAN CONNECTIONS
Students in this course will examine the various modes of human communication both oral and written. They will learn how to appropriately express themselves in a virtual and non virtual environment.
7th Grade Core Classes
ENGLISH LANGUAGE ARTS 7
The ELA 7 curriculum is designed to provide students with opportunities to address skills pertinent to reading, writing, listening and speaking, language and literacy, and to meet the Common Core Standards for Michigan.
SCIENCE 7
The science 7 curriculum is designed to provide students access to the NGSS crosscutting concepts which have application across all domains of science. They link the different domains of science and provide students opportunities to interact with various phenomena and perform hands-on experiments. The crosscutting concepts include patterns; cause and effect; scale, proportion, and quantity; systems and system models; energy and matter; structure and function; and stability and change.
MATH 7
his course is designed for students to understand and become proficient with the 7th grade Michigan Common Core Standards for mathematics: (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 area, surface area, and volume; and (4) drawing inferences about populations based on samples.
SOCIAL STUDIES 7
The social studies 7 curriculum is designed to provide students with opportunities to address skills pertinent to world history and geography per the K-12 Michigan Standards for Social Studies.
8th Grade Exploratory Classes
ART
This class will focus on two main areas: drawing and clay. Techniques of pencil and pen will be the first unit. Clay will be the second unit. Projects may include: portraits, still life, abstraction and cartooning; as well as 3 clay projects. There will also be a short unit on art careers. All of the classes incorporate the principles and elements of design as well as art history into the curriculum.
BAND
Eighth grade students meet every day in full band and are expected to participate for the entire school year. Students continue to refine basic musicianship skills developed in seventh grade. The music prepared and performed will be more advanced, including some freshman grade level music by the end of the year. There will be at least five performances throughout the year including participating in District Band Festival activities. Also, eighth grade band students will perform with the high school marching band at one of the home football games. Students enrolled in Band will have less exploratory classes. *Class prerequisite: Two years of previous Band instruction in the Haslett Middle School (or equivalent in another school district) or by audition and evaluation of musical skills by the director.
CHOIR
Eighth grade Choir is open to students who love to sing. Emphasis is on voice building, signing in harmony parts (including tenor and bass parts for boys with changed voices), sight-reading and performing. Students perform in concerts in October, December, March and May and in adjudicated festivals in March. Students may also choose to participate in Solo and Ensemble Festival in February. *Class prerequisite: Student was in seventh grade Choir or will need to complete an application form and audition for the Choir Director. This is a year-long class.
DECISIONS
This course will explore four units: Healthy Living, Law, Bullying, and Public Speaking. Each unit takes a look at the “real world” and provides students with information to help make positive and healthy decisions.
GLOBAL PERSPECTIVES
This class will focus on the major factors that characterize present day problems, conflicts and issues around the world. Global issues will include matters of great social concern that affect human populations locally and that are shared among diverse human societies within our worldwide community.
LIFE MATH SKILLS
This class is designed to help students understand basic math concepts they will encounter in the real world. It will answer the question, “when will I ever use this.” The class will include figuring out percents, understanding fractions, writing checks, career options, renting an apartment, buying a car, getting a loan from a bank, various ways to make money and other basic math concepts.
PHYSICAL EDUCATION
Physical education for eighth grade students will have an emphasis on physical fitness and team sports. Major sports will be basketball, volleyball, softball, floor hockey, soccer and flag football.
READING VARIETY
Students will read a variety of literature such as high-interest nonfiction, plays, and short fiction. The focus will be on in-class reading for enjoyment and discussion.
SCIENCE POTPOURRI
This is a course that places students into teams that research and test problems/tasks posed in science. Topics to test are proposed by students and approved by the teacher. The testing requires the use of the scientific method from start to finish including reporting results in a written conclusion. Teams are in charge of designing their entire lab experience with guidance from their instructor.
ENGINEERING
Students work cooperatively to develop problem solving strategies and learn basic science and engineering principles while using the scientific method to investigate collisions, bottle rockets and bridges.
SPANISH 1
Eighth grade Spanish I is a year-long course in which students cover the same material and text series as high school Spanish I students. Students who complete a year of 8th grade Spanish and pass the common assessment will be awarded 1 credit of the 2-credit foreign language graduation requirement and will then be able to begin their high school career with Spanish II. Throughout this course, students will sharpen their language accuracy and fluency through increased reading, writing, speaking and listening opportunities. They will also gain a deeper understanding of Hispanic culture and customs through readings, various forms of technology, music, storytelling and dance.
FRENCH 1
Eighth grade French I is a year-long course in which students cover the same material and text series as high school French I students. Students who complete a year of 8th grade French and pass the common assessment will be awarded 1 credit of the 2-credit foreign language graduation requirement and will then be able to begin their high school career with French II. Throughout this course, students will sharpen their language accuracy and fluency through increased reading, writing, speaking and listening opportunities. They will also gain a deeper understanding of French culture and customs through readings, various forms of technology, music, storytelling and dance.
VIDEO JOURNALISM
Students in this course will learn all the basics of video journalism. They will learn video camera operation and composition. They will storyboard and produce commercials, PSA’s, music videos and produce their own newscast. Students will learn digital non-linear editing, audio, lighting, advertising and the business of TV.
TECHNOLOGY/ROBOTICS 8
Students will have a tangible introduction to building and programming robots. Students will have the opportunity to address the growing demand of teaching STEM subjects while learning how science, engineering, math, and technology work together and interact.
READING STRATEGIES
This course provides students whose reading achievement is below the proficient level with direct reading intervention. Adaptive and instructional materials, high-interest literature and direct instruction provide students with a diversity of learning experiences in this class.
MATH STRATEGIES
This course provides students whose math achievement is below the proficient level with direct math intervention. Adaptive and instructional materials, high-interest math materials and direct instruction provide students with a diversity of learning experiences in this class.
8th Grade Core Classes
ENGLISH LANGUAGE ARTS 8
The ELA 8 curriculum is designed to provide students with opportunities to address skills pertinent to reading, writing, listening and speaking, language and literacy, and to meet the Common Core Standards for Michigan.
SCIENCE 8
he science 8 curriculum is designed to provide students access to the NGSS crosscutting concepts which have application across all domains of science. They link the different domains of science and provide students opportunities to interact with various phenomena and perform hands-on experiments. The crosscutting concepts include patterns; cause and effect; scale, proportion, and quantity; systems and system models; energy and matter; structure and function; and stability and change.
SOCIAL STUDIES 8
The social studies 8 curriculum is designed to provide students with opportunities to address skills pertinent to integrated United States history per the K-12 Michigan Standards for Social Studies.
MATH 8
This course is designed for students to understand and become proficient with the 8th grade Michigan Common Core Standards for mathematics: (1) formulating and reasoning about expressions and equations, including modeling an association in bivariate data with a linear equation, 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.
ALGEBRA 1
ighth grade Algebra I is a year-long course in which students cover the same material and text series as high school Algebra I students. Students who complete a year of 8th grade Algebra 1 and pass the common assessment will be awarded 1 credit. Students will cover expressions, arithmetic with polynomial functions and rational functions, creating equations, reasoning with equations and inequalities, and mathematical practices.
GEOMETRY
Eighth grade Geometry is a year-long course in which students cover the same material and text series as high school Geometry students. Students who complete a year of 8th grade Geometry and pass the common assessment will be awarded 1 credit. Students will cover congruence, similarity, right triangles, and trigonometry, circles, expressing geometric properties with equations, geometric measurement and dimension, modeling, and mathematical practices. Prerequisite: Algebra I.