ACADEMICS
Computer Education
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The Sixth Grade Computer Education curriculum prepares students to use computer technology for their personal and academic use. The course will enhance the students' skills in searching, organizing and presenting information using a variety of resources. They will utilize word processing, database, spreadsheet and graphic presentation tools. They will have additional experience with CD-ROM software programs, on-line database and multi-media systems. They will then have the ability to coordinate and apply this information. The students will develop technical skills to use in other curriculum areas. Students will be expected to access, analyze, interpret and use information by using a variety of software programs to build different skills. |  |
Students will learn the procedure to log on/off with an emphasis placed on proper classroom procedures. Students will be responsible for signing an Acceptable Use policy. Students will be able to access Visual Casel using their own password. Students will be instructed in the use of basic window functions such as: restore, minimize, maximize, scroll, close, mouse orientation, moving dialog box, icons, network printer control and exit.
Students will be able to create and process accurate, visually appealing documents. In addition, they will develop the skills required to easily navigate their way in and out of one or more documents using Menu Bar and Toolbar functions. Students will learn how to create tables, use word art, clip art and incorporate basic shapes and borders into their assignments. Exposure to Mail Merge and creating envelopes and labels using a database will also be discussed.
Students will learn the basic components of spreadsheets. They will be responsible for creating their own spreadsheets, open existing spreadsheet files and manipulate the data using formulas. They will create a variety of graph layouts and incorporate their graphs into Word documents.
Students will become proficient in the use of Power Point as a presentation tool. They will learn how to create individual slides and add tables and graphics to help design the desired look of their presentation. They will learn how to enter and manipulate text, use sound and import graphics from other programs. Students will edit their own project in preparing to share their presentation before the class. Guidelines will be provided outlining the specific project requirements.
Students will have knowledge of Internet and the ability to search the World Wide Web. They will be taught to understand: WWW, HTML, HTTP, URL, and Web Browser. Yahoo will be discussed and explored as a database.
Students will be given a basic overview of the uses of a database. Students will create their own database of addresses and import the information for a mail merge.
MUSIC
The
middle school music program consists of orchestras, choruses and bands.
Sixth and seventh grade performing groups are open to all students who
are presently in this performance program or students who may qualify by
audition. Current seventh graders may continue in orchestra and chorus
in eighth grade. Seventh grade band students will go on to the eighth
grade band.
The general music classes are for students who are not members of a performing musical group. This class offers students a balanced reading experience that includes word attack, vocabulary development, spelling, written expression, comprehension and study skills. The curriculum is adjusted to meet the needs of each individual and class. The objectives are:
a. To help students improve their
listening skills. Knowing how to listen to music can lead to new
and rewarding experiences.
b. To gain insight of today's world
of music.
c. To develop the ability to judge
a musical composition or performance on the basis of the composers and/or
musician's skills rather than the personal likes or dislikes of the listener.
SOCIAL STUDIES
The
sixth grade course in social studies traces the history and development
of civilization from cave men to the present, with the focus on the Eastern
Hemisphere. In addition to the historical aspect of Ancient Egypt, Greece,
Rome and the Middle Ages, there is also an in-depth study of European Exploration
and Colonization of the Americas.
Although a great deal of emphasis is placed on the history of these areas, other topics of concern such as geography, anthropology, economics and sociology will also be studied.
The course in seventh and eighth grade social studies is a two-year sequence tracing the human experience in the United States from pre-Columbian times to the present, tying major political, economic and social events of United States history to parallel situations and time frames in New York State. References are also made to Canada and Mexico where appropriate. A social history approach is used in these grades and there is an emphasis placed on reading and writing skills. There are nine units being taught in the two-year program for seventh and eighth grade social studies:
UNIT I A Nation is Created
UNIT II Experiments in Government
UNIT III Life in the New
Nation and State
UNIT IV Division and Reunion
UNIT V An Industrial Society
UNIT VI The United States
as an Interdependent Nation in Interdependent World
UNIT VII The United States
Between Wars
UNIT VIII The United States
Assumes Worldwide Responsibilities
UNIT IX A Continent in Transition
- Political, Social and Economic Changes
UNIFIED ARTS
ART
- The course objective is to have the students grow in communicative
skills, both verbal and visual through experimentation and exploration
of creative materials ranging from simple drawing materials to more complex
materials such as photography. The course also involves a study and
appreciation of art's role in the past as well as in the present.
To accomplish the course objectives, the student experiments with a wide
variety of creative materials in more depth than in the elementary school.
While doing this, the student strengthens and builds on design concepts
and is provided with individual opportunities for personal expression.
The course program is quite flexible to provide a variety of experiences
that become preparatory as well as enriching.
The program is designed so that
students in seventh grade are offered experiences with problems and
materials not experienced in the sixth grade.
TECHNOLOGY
- The course objectives of all the shop areas are similar. They are:
A - to develop a basic
understanding of industry
B - to develop skills
in the use of hand tools and power tools
C - to develop an understanding
of the physical world around us
D - to understand and
develop an appreciation of the materials worked with in the different shop
areas
E - to develop hand-eye
coordination
F - to develop safe
work habits
G - to develop an awareness
of occupations related to the shop areas
H - to develop important
consumer knowledge
I - to develop
problem solving abilities
HOME AND CAREER SKILLS
A course designed "To help students live in a society of constant change by preparing them to meet present and future responsibilities as family members, consumers, home managers and wage earners."
In the sixth and seventh grades at LaGrange Middle School, the broad objectives for this course are to develop:
Skills which lead to effective decisions,
problem solving, and management
Concepts and skills basic to home
and family responsibilities
Personal skills to enhance employment
potential
To achieve these objectives, learning
experiences will be offered in the following areas:
Personal development - understanding
myself, making friends, sharing in a family with special attention to the
growth and development of young children
Selecting and caring for my clothing
Construction of a simple project
using hand and machine skills
Nutrition management
Preparation of nutritious foods
Personal and family resource management
Looking ahead to work and career
with emphasis on career investigation, personal aptitudes and interests
The personal development and career
segments will be presented in cooperation with the school guidance personnel.
A textbook will be provided.
LANGUAGE ARTS
English in the sixth grade continues
the study of grammar, usage, public speaking, study skills and listening
skills. Expanded literature units include the appreciation and writing
of poetry and an in-depth study of a particular novel. Emphasis is
placed on writing skills throughout the year. Students write poetry,
essays, stories, expository paragraphs, research papers and letters.
In addition, the sixth grade students, grouped by ability, receive a period of reading each day. This class offers students a balanced reading experience that includes word attack, vocabulary development, spelling, written expression and study skills. The curriculum is adjusted to meet the needs of each individual and class.
Library skills are introduced in grade six and are reinforced and expanded upon in grades seven and eight.
The seventh grade curriculum is designed to continue emphasizing the basic skills taught in the elementary grades while it also attempts to expand and enrich the intellectual capacity of students at all levels. Every attempt is made to tap the creative talents of the students and to introduce them to the more serious pursuits of literature.
Work in composition, grammar, usage, mechanics, library skills, speaking and study skills, listening skills, the novel, short story, drama and poetry is integrated throughout the seventh and eighth grade curriculum.
In eighth grade, the basic skills taught in seventh grade are refined and developed; in addition, library projects are introduced. During this career study time, students are encouraged to consider the entire range of careers available to them.
The entire curriculum is designed
to provide for the emotional, physical, social and academic growth of the
individual in an appropriate middle level setting.
HEALTH AND PHYSICAL EDUCATION
Health education is taught in the
eighth grade. The program includes:
1. Health tests and measurements
2. Physical health
3. Mental health
4. Drugs, alcohol and tobacco
5. Communicable diseases
6. Human growth and development
7. Venereal diseases
8. Safety and first aid
9. Environmental and community
health
The
physical education program in grades six, seven, and eight includes:
For boys: Soccer*, touch football, jogging, volleyball, basketball*, wresting, track and field, softball*, calisthenics, mass games, and gymnastics*.
For girls: Soccer*, field hockey, jogging, basketball*, volleyball*, track and field, softball*, calisthenics, mass games, and gymnastics*.
*Also an Intramural
activity.
MATHEMATICS
The sixth grade program provides
a complete self-contained basic curriculum including a review of adding,
subtracting, multiplying and dividing whole numbers; working with
decimals, fractions and mixed numbers; as well as introducing area and
volume, percent, circle measurement, ratio, positive and negative numbers
and graphing. Individual differences of students' abilities are provided
for in group instruction.
In addition, those students of demonstrated ability are provided with enriched curricula to stimulate and enhance basic knowledge. These materials provide for horizontal growth as well as vertical growth in such students.
The seventh and eighth grade programs provide for the individual differences of students. Common to all programs is the emphasis on the mastery of computational skills with whole numbers, fractions, decimals and percents. Students with average and above average ability will receive instruction in coordinate geometry, indirect measurement, probability, statistics and algebra. Previously acquired principles will be applied to situations that challenge pupils at this age and ability level.
Eighth grade students demonstrating
the ability are given the opportunity to begin the "Math A" curriculum.
SCIENCE
Science 6 - The science curriculum of the sixth grade offers the student an introduction to the various branches of science. Units of study include chemistry, electricity, energy, the solar system, weather, the human body, mechanics of flight and ecology.
Science
7 - Life Science -- The objectives of the course are to
introduce the student to basic biological concepts and recognize the critical
role of scientific development of today's world and their future.
Units of study include chemistry of matter, unicellular animals and plants,
classification of living organisms, genetics and ecology. Emphasis
is placed upon the use of the scientific method and critical thinking skills
in the laboratory and the application for scientific research in the library.
Science 8 - Earth Science -- This course is centered on the non-living aspect of the earth and the events that affect everyone's life as a result of its movement and position in space. Units to be covered in this curriculum include measurement in the metric system, the relationships of the sun, earth and moon systems, the forces that shape the earth's surface, the composition and nature of the lithosphere, weather, earth history and topographic maps. Throughout the course, emphasis will be on learning how one's life is influenced by the actions and situations which develop on this planet on which we live.
Science 8 - Regents Earth Science
-- This science course offers the high-ability student the opportunity
to earn credit toward high school graduation. Normally offered only
the high school level, Regents Earth Science is being offered at the eighth
grade level to selected students to allow them to increase the amount of
science credit in their secondary program. The curriculum is set
by the State of New York and at the end of the year a state examination
is administered. Passing this course earns credit toward a Regents
diploma.
FOREIGN LANGUAGE
Beginning levels of French, Russian, Spanish, German and Italian are offered to seventh grade students. We work with the Harcourt, Brace, Jovanovich textbook series. This program focuses on the four major skills of this audio-lingual method.
1. Speaking - in applying
a strong emphasis to pronunciation and intonation, we utilize dialogues
which include culturally authentic situations. These dialogues facilitate
the students' handling of their personal identification with the language
as well as with others their own age.
2. Reading - through the use of various literary media (newspapers, magazines, narratives, etc.) the students are encouraged to apply their knowledge on a more sophisticated level.
3. Writing - the ability to answer simple questions in order to provide a complete thought, guarantees and insures the student's grasp of the material.
4. Listening - this fundamental
key to language learning encourages students to pay close attention in
order to understand phrases and expressions taught both in and out of the
text as spoken by a native speaker.
This curriculum is broad enough
to provide basic language learning yet limited enough to insure time for
intensive practice. Culture is incorporated within each skill in
order to develop a genuine sensitivity toward new value systems and
behaviors as well as appreciation of other people. In short, we plan
to make a foreign language a not so foreign language.
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