7th and 8th Grade Elective Program
2022-2023
Click here to download the course descriptions listed below.
The following electives are being offered to 7th and 8th grade students for the 2022-2023 school year. All elective courses will take place during 6th period to allow for easier scheduling. Core academic courses will take place for all 7th and 8th graders during periods 1-5. Students must select their electives no later than July 6, 2022, or their electives will be chosen for them. 8th grade students will be given preference in the scheduling. Given availability, we cannot guarantee that students will receive their top 3 choices. Students will take a new elective each trimester. Elective courses are graded and included on the report card.
FINE ARTS ELECTIVES
ART + BIOLOGY: Self-Portraits
Trimester 1
Students will learn how to draw their self-portraits over the course of the trimester. By studying facial features, the skull, and the bones of the face, students will practice rendering the facial structure and placement of highlight and shadow. Each component of the face will be studied separately by exploring the anatomy of each, modeling them in clay, and ultimately drawing them.
Forensic facial reconstruction will also be studied to allow for deeper understanding of bone, soft tissue, and how the planes of the face are formed. In addition, students will learn how to create form and depth in a 2D drawing by practicing pencil techniques that will be used in their final self-portrait.
For the grand finale, the final self-portrait will be compared to the initial one!
ART + LITERATURE: Alice in Wonderland
Trimester 2
This class is perfect for readers who love art! The elective students will read Alice in Wonderland as a group and will discuss the story along the way, noting themes, conflicts, symbolism, and new vocabulary. We will create a variety of art projects based on the Lewis Carroll classic, including ceramic teacups and saucers, “rabbit hole” yarn weavings, Queen’s Tarts paper mache, and others. Throughout the course, we will watch and discuss different versions of Alice in Wonderland movies as we work, including the 1951 Disney classic and the 2010 Tim Burton version.
The class will culminate with our own tea party.
ART + HISTORY: Artistry of the Past
Trimester 3
Artistry of the Past will explore the various movements in art, including the Renaissance, Impressionism, Post-Impressionism, and Pop Art, to name a few. The course will revolve around the key players in the movements, including Da Vinci, Michaelangelo, Monet, Cassatt, Van Gogh, Kahlo, Basquiat, and Warhol. This elective will investigate various time periods in history and its influence on the art of the day.
Art projects will be assigned for each style, allowing students a hands-on, creative component to the art history course.
Introduction to Electronic Music
Trimester 1
In this elective, students will create music through an online digital audio workstation. Students will learn about song form, basic techniques for manipulating sound, and recording music through MIDI instruments. Students will explore musical aspects of modern genres of music such as rock, jazz, hip hop, pop, etc. This elective will be an outlet to express through music.
Percussion Techniques
Trimester 2
In this elective, students will explore the basics for performing in a percussion ensemble. Students will learn about different playing techniques on snare drum and mallet percussion. Exploration in counting rhythms, performing with expression, and opportunities to rehearse and perform as a percussion ensemble are a major focus in the percussion techniques elective.
Brass Techniques
Trimester 3
Brass Techniques is an elective offered during the third trimester to students interested in learning how to play a brass instrument; the instruments offered will be trumpet and trombone. You do not need to have any music experience to join this elective! Students will learn instrument techniques, musicianship, and reading sheet music in this elective.
Intro to Guitar - Mr. Okimoto
Trimester 3
In this elective, students will learn some basic guitar techniques and history. We will begin with a look at where guitars originated, and how they are made and innovated. We will then dive into different parts of the guitar and how they work together to make music, including some of the interesting ways artists have changed the sound of the guitar throughout its history. Lastly we will learn basic chord structures and progressions, giving students an opportunity to perform their favorite songs.
Hip Hop
Trimester 1
Hip hop originated around New York in the 1960’s and 70’s and was inspired from movements in African dance as well as other dance forms. In this course students will work on basic conditioning and strengthening, learn basic hip hop steps, and learn how to create small dance combinations. Hip Hop is an entertaining and athletic form of dance that floods pop culture.
Jazz
2nd Trimester
Jazz dance started in the performance industry in the 19th and 20th century. In this course students will work on basic jazz steps, increasing flexibility, and connecting steps together in different combinations. This is a fun, energetic style of dance that maintains its historic roots with a 21st century update and flare.
Contemporary
3rd Trimester
Contemporary style of dance is a popular style that comes from the fusion of ballet and modern dance. It incorporates a wide variety of movements and styles. In this course students will learn the contemporary style, work on artistry and flexibility, and learn about and incorporate the different elements of dance. Students will also explore creative movement and learn about choreography. Express yourself through movement with this amazing form of dance.
STEM ELECTIVES
eCybermission Student Choice Engineering Competition
Trimester 1
This course will have students find a problem in the community, engineer a solution using any technology they would like. Then students will research the problem, design a prototype, test the prototype, iterate their solutions and create an online presentation. eCybermission is a national competition sponsored by the US Army and the NSTA.
Robotics
Trimester 2
Students will create a robot to be designed to compete in the US Army/NSTA eCybermission. The robot prototype will have to help find a solution to a problem in the community and designed to solve the problem. Students can use Lego Mindstorm Robotics or Vex V5 robots with simple programming to more advanced programming.
Beginning Animation
Trimester 3
Learn how to create your own animated short using stop-motion animation or 2D drawing animation. You will discover the fundamentals of shots and scenes, keyframes, timing, easing, spacing, and onion skinning. Then we will delve into Disney's 12 principles of animation to help make your animation come alive and to tell a story.
Fantasy Sports- Mr Okimoto
Trimester 1
In this elective, students will have the opportunity to create fantasy teams and leagues for football, basketball, baseball and hockey. Students will learn about different ways to set-up fantasy leagues. Students will also learn different ways to draft teams including: auction drafts, live drafts, and virtual drafts. Students will have time to research players and learn about important statistics in each sport. Throughout the trimester, students will come to class and tally points that have been accumulated by their fantasy teams as well as propose trades with fellow students. By the end of the trimester, students will have a greater knowledge of sports related statistics.
Perilous Math - Mr. Okimoto
Trimester 2
Students will dive into adventures, using their math skills to avoid grave consequences! Each student will use The Book of Perfectly Perilous Math: 24 Death Defying Challenges for Young Mathematicians by Sean Connolly which serves as a workbook for Math problems they won't commonly encounter in class. Whether it's just for fun or you enjoy dodging danger, come out to see what Perilous Math has to offer. They will also work through math projects that incorporate mathematics that have been learned through the students' math careers to this point. Some projects will include making food budgets, designing a dream house, using proportions to determine the height of extremely tall objects, determining how many kleenex will fit in my room, and more.
Math Support
Trimester 1, 2 & 3
Students will receive extra math support during this elective.