Exploratory Team
by Stephanie Nichols
October 19, 2009
Mattoon Middle School Exploratory Team
Tuesday-Thursday – 8:40-9:10 in FACS Room
Team Members:
Rob Bath –Industrial Technology
Renee Comstock –Consumerism, Careers, & Business
Liz Hendren - Computers, Family and Consumer Sciences
Stephanie Nichols –Music, Beginning Choir, Drama, Guitar & Theatre Arts
Jamie Willis – Art
Classroom Expectations:
Our hope is that all students will…
- Arrive to class on time
- Bring required materials with them
- Use the restroom or get a drink before arriving to class
- Keep hands, feet and objects to themselves
- Listen when others are speaking
- Wait patiently for their turns
- Follow directions the first time they are given
- Turn in completed work on time
- Respect themselves and others
New Exploratory Courses This Year…
And they are off to a great start! This is the first year students at each grade level were able to choose their exploratory courses. Sixth and seventh grade students choose four courses (1 per quarter) and eighth grade students choose two (1 per semester). The following are courses currently being offered:
6th Grade Courses
6th Grade Art
This course is designed to give students a basic understanding of the elements and principles of art. Students will create works of art using several two and three-dimensional medias. Students will also experience a variety of tools to learn to analyze, describe, interpret and judge a work of art.
Be A Smart Consumer
This course includes basic concepts and principles of consumer rights, food and nutrition, clothing and textiles, housing, furnishings and finance. Students will also use goal-setting and decision-making skills to make wise consumer purchases and develop budgets.
Computer Exploration
Students will be able to apply skills learned in this course to projects they create in their core classes and to daily life. Students will practice effective finger placement, text and picture editing, and internet research skills as they create projects using various Microsoft programs such as Word, PowerPoint, Excel, and Publisher. Students will also incorporate the use of accessories, such as a digital camera, scanner, music sources, and the Paint program, into their projects.
6th Grade Industrial Technology
In this introductory-level course, students are acquainted with what Industrial Technology is, how it works, and how it affects their lives. The course centers on the four basic areas of technology, which are manufacturing, construction, communication and transportation. Students participate in lab activities, enhancing the learning experience. This course helps students develop problem-solving abilities, increase creativity, apply technology, and develop communication skills.
Music Your Way
Students enrolled in this course get to experience music through classroom performance using mallet instruments, body percussion and traditional African instruments. Working individually and in group settings, students learn to improvise and compose pieces to demonstrate for the class, thus having music their way!
7th Grade Courses
2-D Art Studio
This course is designed for the student who is interested in advanced study and techniques in drawing, painting, pastels, printmaking, and collage. Students apply the elements and principles of art and design to the creative process along with the study of art themes (genres), and formal analysis of works of art by artists of importance in history. Students may also enroll in 3-D Art Studio also for a full semester of Art during their 7th grade year.
3-D Art Studio
This course is designed for the student who is interested in the creation of works of art using sculptural materials. Students use the elements and principles of art and design to create sculptures, altered books, fiber arts, jewelry, and ceramics. Students use formal analysis to critique and interpret the work of artists of historical importance. Students also investigate traditional and modern themes (genres) with sculptural materials. Students are not required to have taken 2-D Art Studio prior to taking this course.
Careers
In this course, students develop decision-making skills and the ability to set goals, both personally and professionally, in reference to individual preferences, competencies, and interests. Students gain an understanding about the impact of family toward career choices and the relationship between education and career. Students analyze jobs available in the 21st Century and combine information about specific job areas with personal interests.
Drama
Students are given an introduction to the art of acting in this course. Students use vocal inflection, pantomime and props to add character and feeling to readings and dialogue. In addition to attaining these skills, students develop the ability to improvise and follow stage directions as they participate in classroom performances.
7th Grade Food Production
7th Grade Guitar
In this course, students learn the basics of acoustic guitar including guitar history and construction, care and maintenance, string names, tuning, scales, melodies, simple chords and common chord progressions. Students who already have guitar experience are also welcome to enroll in this course!
7th Grade Industrial Technology
Students in this hands-on construction lab course build a model house using 1-inch scaled lumber. Students also study the utilities inside a house, with emphasis on electricity. This course helps students develop problem-solving skills, enhance creativity, apply technology, and develop communication skills.
7th Grade Sewing
Students enrolled in this course design and construct a sewing project (i.e. pillow, organizer, hand bag, apron, oven mitts, etc). This may include a home accessory, clothing accessory, or other type of accessory, using hand sewing and machine sewing techniques. Students are more than welcome to purchase their own fabric for these sewing projects.
8thGrade Courses
All About Business
The content of this course includes orientation to types of businesses, consumer roles and rights, personal credit, budgeting, money management, and insurance. Other areas of exploration include financial statements for merchandising businesses, agriculture, and personal and business law.
Art and Craft in America
This course is designed for students with an interest in both 2-D and 3-D studio experiences. This course parallels the 8th grade Social Studies curriculum. Students use formal analysis as they look at how the American Art experience continues to follow key events in our history. Students explore American artists and art as inspiration for their own contemporary expressions using paint, clay, fibers, photography and pastels as they investigate self-portraits, architecture, photography, social issues, and more.
Fiber Arts
This course is designed for the student who has an interest in Fiber Arts: papermaking, book arts, quilting, batik, macramé, basketry, weaving, and jewelry. Students explore the fiber arts and their roots in world cultures and our American heritage. Students apply the elements and principles of art and design, look at cultural motifs, and use formal analysis in modern interpretations of the fiber arts.
8th Grade Food Production
In this hands-on lab class, students demonstrate advanced skills for preparing various convenience foods and foods from scratch. Students practice kitchen sanitation and safety and food handling safety. Foods from various cultures and food presentation techniques are also studied.
8th Grade Guitar
This semester length course will get any student started on acoustic guitar! Students review guitar basics, demonstrate various playing styles, experiment with popular tunes, compose their own songs and become familiar with the recording studio.
8th Grade Industrial Technology
This course offers more advanced instruction in the different areas of technology: Communication, Construction, Production and Energy Utilization. Students spend class time working on various lab activities. This class helps students develop problem-solving abilities, enhance creativity and apply technology.
8th Grade Sewing
Students construct and design a clothing project by following a pattern using hand sewing and machine sewing techniques. Students may also design and construct other sewing projects for themselves or for the home. For this course, students are expected to purchase their fabric and other necessary materials for their sewing projects (i.e. pajama pants, boy shorts, pillow, etc.). Along with sewing construction, students research various aspects of clothing and textiles.
Theatre Arts
Theatre Arts is a semester-length course in which students are involved in every aspect of a theater production including acting, directing, script writing, stage management, costuming and more! The goal of this course is to produce a full-length, student-led performance to which the community is invited and encouraged to attend.
Exciting Team News…
Students enrolled in 6th grade Computers are using Microsoft Publisher to compose story books for children who are patients at Barnes Children’s Hospital in St. Louis. Students have chosen topics such as ABCs and animals to write their stories, using photos and clip art. These students are also using Microsoft Word to write letters to American troops in Iraq. Many students are hoping to receive letters back from the soldiers and begin a pen pal relationship!
Lucky Dollar Private Eye the musical will be performed by the 8th grade Theatre Arts students on Friday evening, December 4th at 7 pm and Saturday afternoon, December 5th at 2 pm in the Practice Gym at MMS. Tickets will be available at the door for $5 per person. Ticket sales go toward improving and maintaining our new drama program as we are in need of sound equipment and improved lighting for the stage. Lucky Dollar is the charming private detective from “The Big ORANGE,” Los Angeles. Come and watch as Lucky and the cast set out to solve the murder of Throckmorton Mintworth!
