MIDDLE SCHOOL

COURSE DESCRIPTION GUIDE 2020-2021

Ridgewood Middle School

Letter from the Principal

Table of Contents

Letter from the Principal        1

Table of Contents        2

How to Use this Guide        3

INTRO        3

COUNSELING CONTACTS        3

REGISTRATION INFORMATION        4

BELL SCHEDULE        4

Grade Level and Advanced Courses        5

Academic Support Programs        6

English / Language Arts        7-8

Courses Offered:        7-8

Course Descriptions:        7-8

Social Studies        9

Courses Offered:        9

Course Descriptions:        9

Science        10

Courses Offered:        10

Course Descriptions:        10

Math        11

Courses Offered:        11

Course Descriptions:        11

Elective Courses        12-13

District Elective Courses Offered:        12

Building Elective Courses Offered:        12-13

Elective Courses        14-18

District Elective Course Descriptions:        14-15

Ridgewood Middle Elective Course Descriptions:                                                                                   16-18

How to Use this Guide

INTRODUCTION

This course description guide will help inform students and parents about the courses offered at Ridgewood Middle School.  Middle school is designed to prepare students for a successful entrance into high school while addressing their physical, emotional, and intellectual needs as adolescents.

Please note all students are required to take English Language Arts, Social Studies, Science, Math, & PE classes.  Students also have opportunities to participate in exploratory classes as his/her schedule will allow.

MAIN OFFICE CONTACTS

Main Office Phone: 636-282-1459

Fax: 636-282-5193

COUNSELING & REGISTRATION CONTACTS

2019-2020 Daily Bell Schedule

Ridgewood Middle School

1st Hour/ADVISORY         8:00am-8:41am

2nd Hour                        8:44am-9:31am

3rd Hour                        9:34am-10:21am

4th Hour                        10:24am-11:11am

5th Hour/Lunch                11:14am-12:35pm

        A Lunch        11:14am-11:39am          

        B Lunch         11:42am-12:07pm        

        C Lunch        12:10pm-12:35pm        

6th Hour                        12:38pm-1:25pm

7th Hour                        1:28pm-2:15pm

8th Hour                        2:18pm-3:05pm

Grade Level & Advanced Courses

​​​​​​​Middle school is the perfect time to start exploring your interests and see how far you can push yourself academically.  Taking advanced classes in middle school allows you to learn new things and gain new experiences that will help you later in life. Think about the questions below to help you decide whether choosing an advanced course is the best option for you.

Academic Support Programs

Response to Intervention (RTI)

Part of the Fox C6 Continuous Improvement Plan (CSIP) includes academic achievement for all students.  To ensure that our students are graduating from our district as college and career ready, our teachers work in Professional Learning Communities (PLC).  Their work is centered around 4 corollary questions:

• What do we want all students to learn?
• How will we know they have learned it?
• What will we do if they don’t learn?
• What will we do if they have learned it?

RTI focuses on question 3 which is what do we do if our students don’t learn?  When students face academic challenges we have a systematic approach to ensure they succeed.  Many interventions are developed keeping each student’s unique strengths and needs at the forefront.  Some of the interventions include, parent conferences, tutoring, homework recovery, additional school instruction through a course designed for specific targeted intervention etc. which may require a schedule change. A team consisting of administrators, teachers, and counselors will determine which intervention is appropriate.  

We assure you that proper academic interventions will be provided for our students to succeed at our middle school and look forward to partnering with the parents in this.

Individualized Academic Support

For a student with an Individualized Education Plan (IEP), the IEP team which includes educators and parents determines the educational placement for educational services for each student in the least restrictive environment.

Academic Lab (Ac Lab)

Ac Lab is a year- long 40-minute class designed to help students balance their academic load with their future goals. You will have lessons on how to respond to bullying, harassment, and intimidation, coping with stress, time management, study skills, college readiness, goal setting, and grade calculation. Tutoring time will be available through advisory as well.

English Language Arts

Courses Offered:

Course Descriptions:

The Missouri Learning Standards for English Language Arts emphasize writing for three purposes:

1. writing informational texts 
2. writing academic argument based on evidence and reasoning
3. writing narratives

When addressing reading, the standards emphasize three modes of reading:

1. Approaching text as a reader to engage with ideas and understand people and the world,
2. Reading as a writer to study the craft of writing and learn how authors capture readers’ attention, influence opinions, and communicate important ideas,
3. Reading as a researcher to understand, evaluate, organize, and remember information about topics of study.

Each English Language Arts course in middle school addresses these standards through thematic units. These units provide students rich opportunities to read and write for real purposes. Students read a balance of fiction and nonfiction. The readings provide opportunities for class discussion and study of the  style and content choices writer make. Students learn to use advanced academic vocabulary, and to edit their writing for clarity and conventions.

Academic Literacy: Every student takes one semester of Academic Literacy each year as an extension of the English Language Arts curriculum.

6th-grade English Language Arts: This grade-level course will introduce students to the various ways people talk and a write about literature. Reading skills will emphasize selecting evidence to support opinions about character, setting, conflict, and point of view. Writing skills will emphasize building organized paragraphs and including evidence from sources.  

6th-grade Advanced English Language Arts: This advanced course emphasizes how readers connect multiple events and ideas to discover themes in literature. Writing tasks will emphasize building complex ideas across multiple paragraphs in a fully developed writing piece.

7th-grade English Language Arts: This grade-level course emphasizes students combining multiple pieces of evidence to support their opinions. Students study the structure of texts and how structure influences what people remember and understand. Students will compare and contrast multiple versions of a story, drama, or a poem to consider how different media use different techniques to communicate.

7th-grade Advanced English Language Arts: This advanced course introduces students to the literary analysis of theme and literary elements. Students produce creative works with attention to style and word-choice. They also conduct research and write evidence-based opinions using appropriate sources.

8th-grade English Language Arts: This grade-level course emphasizes connecting works of literature to the cultural and historic events of specified time-periods. Students learn to notice the author's bias while studying the techniques authors use to support arguments with evidence. They will also analyze literary devices and compare texts from specified time-periods.

8th-grade Advanced English Language Arts: This advanced course has been designed to prepare students for advanced language arts courses at high school. Literary analysis of entire works of fiction, longer research based informational texts, and evidence based opinion writing will be the emphasis of this course. Students participating in this course are those who seek eventual AP level coursework in high school.

Social Studies

Courses Offered:

Course Descriptions:

6th Grade Social Studies: Ancient World History: In 6th grade the course will explore the geography, history (ancient through medieval), government, economics, religion and culture. The emphasis would be for students to gain an understanding and appreciation of the contributions of the ancient world.

6th Grade Advanced Social Studies : Ancient World History and Geography–6th grade the course will explore the geography, history (ancient through medieval), government, economics, religion and culture. The emphasis would be for students to gain an understanding and appreciation of the contributions of the ancient world. Students will also explore connections between current national and international events and issues. In our increasingly global society, learning about different cultures prepares students to relate to and appreciate those with diverse backgrounds.

7th Grade Social Studies: Geography and Modern World Cultures–This world cultures course is a combination of geography and cultural anthropology. It is designed to introduce the student to the concepts of culture in human experience and the concepts of geography. What culture is, how it develops, how it changes, and how it is transferred in time and space, and its power to influence our lives and events, are some of the main topics examined. Because of the substantial influence of religion on human cultures and history, understanding major world religions will also be a focus of this course. Of course, such topics as language, art, political ideologies, government types, gender roles, work, status and rank, war, and human rights are also examined.

7th Grade Advanced Social Studies: Geography and Modern World Cultures–Students with a passion for geography, travel, and world cultures will have the opportunity to extend their learning with advanced reading, and more independence as they read content-rich informational texts, and write using evidence to inform and persuade.

8th Grade Social Studies: Early US History: Students will conduct social science inquiries from Colonization through the Civil War.  Emphasis will be placed on economics, government and politics, community and culture, and continuity and change.  Students will compose informational and argumentative texts for authentic audiences and purposes.

8th Grade Advanced Social Studies: Early US History:  Students with a passion of history and background knowledge in US geography will have the opportunity to extend their learning with advanced reading, and more independence as they read content-rich informational texts, and write using evidence to inform and persuade.

Science

Courses Offered:

Course Descriptions:

6th Grade Integrated Science: Structures of Life and the Earth:  Sixth graders will study the scientific process, characteristics of living organisms, photosynthesis, ecosystems and populations, earth’s resources, technology, and human activity.

6th Grade Advanced Integrated Science: Structures of Life and the Earth: Sixth graders with a passion for and some background knowledge in science will extend their study of unit topics by applying the ideas to additional topics and increasing their independence in reading and writing.

7th Grade Integrated Science: Interactions in Physics and Earth Science: Seventh grade science emphasis is on scientific inquiry and interrelationships between science and its practical applications.  Some topics discussed are force and motion, water and weather, astronomy, magnetism, and gravity.

7th Grade Advanced Integrated Science: Interactions in Physics and Earth Science: Seventh graders with a passion for and some background knowledge in science will extend their study of unit topics by applying the ideas to additional topics and increasing their independence in reading and writing.

8th Grade Integrated Science: Chemistry and Biology: Eighth grade science focuses on key scientific laws and theories in chemistry and life science. Some of the key topics will be atoms, elements, the periodic table, and chemical reaction in chemistry. Life science will cover cells, DNA, genetics, genetic disorders, and human body systems.

8th Grade Advanced Integrated Science: Chemistry and Biology: Eighth graders with a passion for and some background knowledge in science will extend their study of unit topics by applying the ideas to additional topics and increasing their independence in reading and writing.

Math

Courses Offered:

Course Descriptions:

6th Grade Math:  Our sixth grade mathematics course covers applying and understanding whole numbers to millions, fractions and decimals to the thousandths. They must multiply and divide fractions and decimals; apply properties of operations, and solve problems using ratios. Students also begin to work with expressions and equations. Students study geometry, units of measurement, convert systems of measurement.

6th Grade Advanced Math:  Sixth grade students who are interested in the challenge of above grade level math should consider taking this course. The course moves through the same units as the grade-level 7th grade math course with additional  instruction with the few topics that are new in 6th grade. The course is challenging and students will be supported as they work in groups to model with math, solve problems, and reason mathematically.

7th Grade Math:  Seventh grade math students work on representing math concepts in multiple ways. They work with positive and negative numbers, equivalent expressions and factoring, solve geometric problems using scales. They also introduced to the ideas of probability, statistics, and sampling.

7th Grade Advanced Math – Pre-Algebra:  Seventh grade students who are interested in the challenge of above grade level math should consider taking this course. The course moves through the same units as the grade-level 8th grade pre-algebra course. The course is challenging and students will be supported as they work in groups to model with math, solve problems, and reason mathematically.

8th Grade Math – Pre-Algebra:  Pre-algebra is focuses heavily on equations, functions, and graphing. Students will learn how to analyze problems and apply a variety of strategies to solve them and communicate the solutions. In the geometry units, student study similar triangles, and learn to calculate volume of a variety cones, cylinders, and spheres.

8th Grade Advanced Math – College Prep Algebra: : Eighth grade students who are interested in the challenge of above grade level math should consider taking this course. The course moves through the same units as the grade-level high school College Prep Algebra course.The course is challenging and students will be supported as they work in groups to model with math, solve problems, and reason mathematically. Student who are successful in this course may earn high school credit in College Prep Algebra and move into advanced courses in 9th grade. The grade for this course is not weighed in the student’s high school GPA. Students in this course take the Algebra I End-of-Course exam. Once in high school these students will have to take the Algebra II End-of-Course exam to satisfy DESE requirements.

District Elective Courses

District Elective Courses Offered:

Building Elective Courses

________________________________________________________________________________________

Ridgewood Middle School Building Elective Course Offered:

District Elective Courses

Course Descriptions:

ART

Art I - Art I is an entry-level art course that emphasizes the basic elements and principles of the visual arts.  It provides a foundation of art experiences to be expanded and developed in further specialized art courses.  In Art I, students will have the opportunity to create in two- and three-dimensional art formats using a variety of art materials and art techniques.  Art vocabulary, art forms, aesthetic concepts, and aspects of art history will be presented.  Non-studio activities will include analyzing works of art, writing short reports, and taking written tests.  

Art II– In Grade 7th/8th grade art, you will further explore ways to creatively express ideas and original designs with two and three dimensional projects. You will work on a variety of projects using many different types of media. You will experience projects in drawing, painting, sculpture, and design. You will be encouraged to communicate strong visual images, tell stories with your artwork, and express unique and individual ideas

Art III–This advanced art course is for students that have successfully completed Art I and Art II. Students will explore a variety of media while developing a portfolio that reflects critical thinking and their own personal style. Special emphasis will be placed on the critical art process and developing art skills.

BAND

Band -   1st, 2nd, and 3rd year band students develop in the areas of individual and ensemble tone, technique, intonation, balance and blend.  Students will further develop their ability to sight read music and participate in assigned solos and small ensemble performances.  Students are required to participate in concerts, parades and festivals throughout the school year. All 8th grade members will audition for placement in a high school ensemble at the beginning of 2nd semester.  Prior experience is not required.

VOCAL MUSIC

Choir – 1st, 2nd, 3rd year students in Choir will develop skills reading musical notation and interpreting musical terminology. In this course, students will be able to sing their part independently and will perform in the ensemble before various types of audiences. Students will understand the role of music in the context of changing societies, past, present, and future. Students will appreciate the role of the performer in music and will learn the importance of working together with other musicians to achieve the desired level of performance. These students will experience the joy of striving for excellence through their musical performance.

BUSINESS

Business Technology I -  is designed to teach students basic Google Drive and Classroom skills, Digital Citizenship and Keyboarding. Students will also learn how to properly research and format a research paper/essay using Microsoft Word and Google Docs. Students will advance their presentation skills utilizing PowerPoint and Google Slides. All of these skills will be valuable to students for the rest of their academic careers.

Business Technology II - is designed to further the student's knowledge once basic skills are learned. Students will learn advanced skills in Microsoft Word and Google Docs. Students will also be introduced to Microsoft Excel and will become proficient in laying out and analyzing basic spreadsheets, using formulas and making graphs. Students will explore publishing software to produce professional documents while also using film-making software to enhance presentations.

Business Technology III–is a one-semester course designed for the advanced student to utilize skills learned in prior Business Technology courses with a hands on business project using word processing features, spreadsheets, electronic presentations, publishing materials, and various computer programs. This course would benefit any student wanting to enrich their computer skills as well as prepare them for real life situations and future employment.  

FACS

Family and Consumer Science I-This exploratory course introduces students to the subject of family and consumer science. Students study food and nutrition, leadership and character development, and clothing care. Students are introduced to food preparation/nutrition skills. The food and nutrition unit introduces nutrition and safety skills and basic measurement in relation to the preparation of recipes. Students will explore their personality and relationships with family and peers. Students will discover their values, goals and determine how they align with their personal needs and wants.

Family and Consumer Science II--Students develop problem solving and cooperative skills during food lab experiences. Students will develop introductory culinary skills while preparing and serving a variety of foods. Construction of a creative textile project will emphasize design thinking and cost considerations. All the course activities will emphasize safety and teamwork in an interactive environment.

Family and Consumer Science III–This is a project-based course for students who have successfully completed FACS I and FACS II. Activities will promote a deeper level of understanding in the areas covered previously. Students will analyze and emulate the variety of career paths including, but not limited to: interior design, fashion design, culinary arts, and childcare. This course will prepare students for future personal and professional experiences.  

WORLD LANGUAGES

Exploratory Spanish - This semester course is designed to introduce students to the world of Spanish-speaking cultures. Students begin to speak, understand, read and write in Spanish. They study the similarities between English and Spanish and learn how people communicate when they don’t share a common language. The course emphasizes pronunciation, basic conversation and expression.  

Spanish A-This year-long course is designed to develop an appreciation of another culture through its language. The goal is to establish a foundation for student ease with the language, whether speaking, listening, reading, or writing. Class participation is required. Students are expected to spend 15-20 minutes per night learning vocabulary and reviewing new material.

Spanish B-This is the second year-long course in the Spanish A-B sequence. Students who successfully complete the two-year sequence will earn a high school credit in Spanish and enroll in Spanish II in 9th grade. Class participation is required. Students are expected to spend 15-20 minutes per night learning vocabulary and reviewing new material.

GIFTED EDUCATION

Challenge – This class is open to 6th, 7th, and 8th graders who have been certified gifted after being tested and qualified according to state and district criteria. Students will use critical thinking and problem solving to complete individual projects and work as a team to communicate and collaborate in group projects in the areas of Philosophy, Literature, Science, Math, Technology and Art.

PHYSICAL EDUCATION

PE/Health – Each student is required to take at least one semester of PE/Health each year in middle school.

6th GRADE ACADEMY

6th Grade Academy – This semester course is designed to ensure that 6th grade students are successful in the middle school setting. Students will explore digital citizenship, leadership, character, and study-skills.

Building Elective Courses

Course Descriptions:

STEM Exploring Technology (6th-8th grades) - This is an engineering technology semester course in which creates a foundational knowledge & skill base, using both technology, design, & construction activities. Students will be involved in designing & planning before making, working in groups with other students & collaborating on exciting activities that reinforce & teach content. By using the design process of engineering, students will create models, test and design ideas, then be able to verbally communicate their solutions about the modular project.

Coding 101 Course Description - Coding 101 is a semester long course designed for middle school students with little to no experience with computer science or computer coding. This course will use curriculum provided through the online program called Scratch, developed by MIT Media Lab. Scratch is a fun, interactive program that ignites creativity in young people and gives them the tools to explore computational ideas.Students learn the design process by imagining, creating, testing, refining, and redesigning their own creations. At the same time, they also learn key academic concepts, such as computational ideas and mathematics, in a way that’s more meaningful through applied learning. Students will produce stories, animations, games, simulations and interactive projects.

Teen Leadership (7th-8th grades) Thinking, Learning, Communicating - Teen Leadership is a semester course for both 7th & 8th grade students which offers educational lessons & activities focused on the “Thinking, Learning, & Communicating Curriculum – Top 20 Teens”. This course is designed to create successful teenagers in and outside the classroom. Students will learn the must-have’s for essential Leadership Skills in life.  Oral classroom participation, along with student journals, leadership instructional activities, and service learning are an expectations of this course.  

Contemporary Issues - Students in this semester course will examine, discuss, analyze, and debate a multitude of contemporary issues and social problems in the world today. The instructor will rotate between local, national, and global issues based on events and student interest. Class participation and argumentative analysis will be a major component of a student’s grade.

Mythbusters of the Ancient World - What are MythBusters?  This semester long course will investigate myths from ancient Egypt and Greece.  Students separate truth from legend by performing hands-on projects, reading novels and using the problem solving process to distinguish the difference between myths and what is real and what is not.

Building Level Courses (Application Required)

STEAM 101 (8th Grade Application Required) -  is an elective class that focuses on service learning. The class is set up and designed to help physically impaired individuals in our school district and community by designing and creating therapeutic devices that they need yet cannot afford. This class is unique due to the fact that we design and make everything out of cardboard and glue. To be in this class you must first and foremost have a desire to help others in need. You must then have a strong understanding of math and science, have some basic art and design skills, have some basic computer graphic knowledge to make a presentation, and have the ability to work and collaborate with a team to get things done on a schedule to meet deadlines. This class is based on participation and the completion of your team's completed project. You will NOT have any downtime or be able to sit and do nothing. You must be working at ALL times and use your skills to help your design team get your project done in order to help the individuals that need the projects.

AFTERSHOCK (8th Grade only Application Required) - Aftershock is a leadership class for young ladies.  This class focuses on bringing out your own leadership, understanding your worth, and growing into a more balanced young lady.  The class content varies from year to year, based on what the overall class feels needs to be a focus.  Each year students learn about bullying, safe and healthy relationships, building community, and developing leadership skills.  Students also learn how to not only empower themselves, but others in the class as well, and hopefully those outside of the class.  There is a very strict schedule that is followed: Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday is content based instruction/discussion.  Thursday is a talk day, where students grow and learn about others in the class.  Friday is a teambuilding, exercise, or Teen Cert. day.  This class is required to have teacher recommendations and will be approved by Ms. Heiken-Ploen, Ms. Cavato, and Ms. Stokes.

IMPACT (8th Grade only Application Required) - Impact is a leadership class for only boys. Impact is personal journey designed to help you discover who you are, and hone and tap into your leadership abilities. We discuss aspects about ourselves, our lives, and our experiences that you usually don’t get a chance to in other classes. In Impact, some of the class’s activities and topics discussed can be personal. Topics and activities include, but are not limited to: bullying, building positive relationships with others, drugs/alcohol, team building, and self-confidence. Additionally, you will be responsible for reading the novel Ender’s Game during the semester and wearing a tie the entire day on “Tie Tuesdays.” (See application)

YEARBOOK (8th Grade only Application Required) - This course is designed to teach the skills necessary to produce the school yearbook, which offers a complete record of an entire school year.  The year begins by planning the coverage for the school year and designing a unifying theme for the book.  Students will study magazine journalism including layout and design techniques, writing and editing copy, headlines and picture captions.  This course provides the study of and practice in gathering and analyzing information, interviewing, note taking and photography.  Students will learn strategies of planning and distribution of the yearbook.  Students will learn proofing strategies and work independently with photographers.  Students will learn good work habits and are responsible for all phases of yearbook publication. This class will be held during an assigned Advisory.

CHARACTER COUNCIL (Grades 6th-8th only Application Required) -  SELECTED Class of students - this class is chosen/selected by an interview process for students who desire in a leadership role within the school setting. The class focuses on being the student voice of the school & teaching character education & leadership lessons to the student body. Our council students take on a governance role within the student body. Students work in committees to plan school activities, work with school programs, & service learning opportunities. This class will be held during an assigned Advisory. 6th Grade Character Council will be offered 2nd Semester.

Cadet Teaching (8th Grade only Application Required) -  Is teaching a job that might be of interest to you? Then apply to be a Cadet Teacher! Cadet Teaching is a semester course offered to 8th grade students who are interested in the career field of education. You will be a part of learning what is like to plan lessons, work side by side with a teacher, be a support to students in the class, tutor students one on one or in small groups, and even have the opportunity to co-teach lessons. You must complete an application for this course, have average to above average grades on your current report card, & be able to work with students in a positive manner.

Peer Mentoring & Support Class (7th & 8th Grades SM1 & SM2, 6th Grade SM2, Application Required) – In this class students will work with special needs peers on social activities alongside the classroom teacher. Topics covered include: taking turns, problem solving, conflict resolution, and positive peer interactions. The main purpose of this class is to socialize and develop friend groups. Students are expected to be on time, be prepared, be respectful, and be responsible. This is open to 7th & 8th grade students, it is a semester course, 6th grade students will be allowed to apply for the course 2nd semester.