7th/8th Grade Electives

 

Course Descriptions

 

Art: Intermediate: Students will be offered choices to express their own unique ideas and interests through the making of art while learning foundational skills, concepts, and techniques. Classes will look at historic and contemporary art for inspiration. Students will have the opportunity to work with mediums such as pencil, paint, printmaking, digital art, mixed media, ceramics, textiles, sculpture, and more!

 

Art: Advanced This class is for students who have previously taken Art at Jackson or request an exception to join. Students will be offered expanded choices to create theme-based projects or longer explorations as the semester progresses. Students can earn the opportunity to work on Public Art projects. For scheduling, forecast for general Intermediate Art and wait for signup instructions if hoping to be placed in this class. 

 

S.T.E.M. Elective 2: The open-ended design challenges in the S.T.E.M. curriculum gives students an opportunity to innovate solutions to real-world problems that they can use to better understand the world around them. In S.T.E.M. students will explore the concepts of problem solving, computer programming, 3D printing, inventing, and much more!

 

Concert Choir: This course is designed for students who have achieved a basic level of proficiency in singing. Students will further develop their vocal techniques, expand their musical repertoire, and participate in performances. The goal is to foster musical growth, ensemble skills, and a lifelong love of music. Students sing in 4 concerts at JMS, as well as 2 choral festivals around Portland. 

 

Chamber Choir: This course is designed for students who have demonstrated a high level of proficiency in singing. Students will refine their vocal techniques, expand their musical repertoire, and participate in challenging choral performances of a variety of choral literature. The goal is to foster musical excellence and a lifelong love of music. Musicians for this course are selected through audition. Performances include but are not limited to, all concerts at Jackson, District Solo & Ensemble Festival, and other festivals around Portland. Advanced choir also participates in WorldStrides Music Festivals, which require travel out of state. Prerequisite: Audition in April.

 

Beginning Band: Have you always wanted to learn to play an instrument and perform with a group? Beginners learn to assemble, play, and maintain a band instrument, as well as read and make music together as an ensemble. You will play in three festive concerts- two at Jackson and one on a tour of our elementary feeder schools to show off for your former teachers. 

 

Intermediate and Advanced Band: Second and third year sequence of our band program. Students will continue to build on the foundations of Beginning and Intermediate Band, increasing their range, rhythmic vocabulary, musicality and ensemble skills. In addition to three concerts in December, March and May, students will perform in a Chamber Music Recital, football and basketball pep band with Ida B. Wells HS and Gray MS bands, PPS Middle School Band Festival and a parade. Select students will play in honor bands and Solo and Ensemble Festival.  The Intermediate Band has a day trip to a music festival in Eugene followed by pizza and bowling. Advanced Band has an overnight educational field trip to Seattle to celebrate 3 years of band at Jackson.

Prerequisite for Intermediate Band - one year of Beginning Band (or equivalent)

Prerequisite for Advanced Band - one year of Beginning and one year of Intermediate Band (or equivalent)

 

Spanish 1-2 - YEAR 1  Spanish is a full-year high school credit course.  Learn one of the most commonly spoken languages in the world and earn high school credit. Through interactive activities, students develop skills in listening, reading, writing, and speaking in Español. Input can come in the form of stories, videos, music, visuals, games, and short readings or novels. Though this is a lively and interactive class, it is an academic elective for high school credit and students should be prepared to work. Students must maintain a C average or higher in order to receive high school credit. 

 

Leadership - In this year-long course, students will work together with teams of their peers to create and roll-out materials and events that enhance school climate. This project-based class provides the opportunity for students to practice working collaboratively, build whole school support systems, and communicate professionally to do a variety of school projects. This class will be reserved for WEB Leaders and students will receive WEB Leader training as well as lead WEB events throughout the year. Prerequisite: Application and interview process

 

Theater: Advanced: Sharpen and increase your self-confidence, challenge yourself to step outside your comfort zone, become part of something bigger than yourself, learn through doing, and explore through activities and games. If the thought of being on stage is frightening, this class is for you. If you love being on stage, this class is for you. Unit topics include improvisation, performance and acting, empathy, creating characters, improving verbal and non-verbal expression, and much more!

 

Design and Build: Use critical thinking and craftsmanship to tackle a variety of projects. Have fun while developing practical shop skills and a strong sense of craftsmanship.Some activities are engineering challenges, some are woodworking projects, and some are art projects. Students will have several wonderful finished pieces to bring home to share. Students must be responsible, safe, and independent. 

 

Project Green: Get your hands in the dirt in our greenhouse and gardens! Learn how to identify plants, grow new ones, and take care of them. You’ll help build healthy soil, gardens, and habitats while creating amazing outdoor spaces at Jackson for people, plants, helpful bugs, birds, and other wildlife. Grow plants. Make friends with plants. Eat plants. Create cool things using plants!

 

Film Exploration: is an introductory course in film appreciation that emphasizes cinema as a dramatic art form. Through viewing and analyzing films by influential directors and actors who have shaped popular culture, students will explore core story elements found in film narratives, including character, setting, conflict, rising action, resolution, and theme. The course also introduces film vocabulary by examining the techniques and elements used in creating a movie, surveys major film genres such as drama, comedy, horror, suspense, and action, and examines the relationship between society and film, including how society influences film and how film influences society.