Ninth Grade Electives Catalog

ENTEREPREURSHIP, DESIGN, AND INNOVATION ELECTIVE SEQUENCE OFFERINGS

• Full year AP courses are worth 2 elective credits (blue).
• 1 semester AP courses (orange) are worth 1 elective credit.
• Courses highlighted (yellow) are additional electives that support a career pathway.
• Dual Enrollment is available for select classes.

HEALTH AND PHYSICAL EDUCATION SEQUENCE and ELECTIVE OFFERINGS

Students must complete 2.0 credits of HPE by taking Health & Fitness 1 & 2 as seen below. Courses highlighted (yellow) are electives outside of a dedicated pathway sequence.

MUSIC AND PERFORMING ARTS SEQUENCE and ELECTIVE OFFERINGS

Students are encouraged to continue with music based on their previous experience.

• AP Music Theory is a full year course and worth 2 elective credits (blue).
• Courses highlighted (yellow) are additional electives that support a Career Pathway.

WORLD LANGUAGES SEQUENCE and ELECTIVE OFFERINGS

Students are encouraged to complete 2.0 credits of World Languages (college required) as seen below.

• Full year AP courses are worth 2 elective credits (blue).
• AP course independent study is 1 semester/1 credit (orange).
• Courses highlighted (yellow) are electives outside of a specific language sequence.

SEQUENCING AND AGE APPROPRIATENESS

The World Languages curriculum establishes what students will be able to do at designated benchmarks, Levels 1A through Advanced Placement, throughout their middle and/or high school career.

In order to enroll in a course, students must either have successfully completed the previous level of instruction or have demonstrated the required proficiency designated in the course description. Because students may begin formal language learning at various stages of development, content and vocabulary may be adjusted to reflect age appropriate interests.

Course levels do not correspond to a student’s grade level. Any student may begin study of a world language at any point in their academic career. Course levels offered at the middle school and the high school are sequential. Therefore if a student successfully completes a course at the middle school, that student should enroll in the next course in sequence at the high school. In the case of block scheduling, students may study two course levels within one academic year if they choose to take a world language in both the fall and spring semester.

WORLD LANGUAGES COURSE ACCELERATION

Students may accelerate their world language enrollment through formal study of the language in another structured setting, residence/study abroad, or approved language immersion experience. In order to advance to a language level without taking the prerequisite course(s), a student must demonstrate proficiency on departmental assessments and obtain approval from the department head.

MODERN LANGUAGES (FRENCH & SPANISH)

The study of modern world languages can foster the ability of students to do these tasks:

• communicate and interact with people in the target language
• improve their understanding, and sensitivity, to cultural similarities and differences
• develop an appreciation for cultural difference
• succeed in an ever-changing and competitive global community
• enter into a diverse workplace and/or continued education
• improve critical thinking and problem solving skills
• engage in life-long learning
• participate in the local, national and world communities

The philosophy, therefore, in teaching modern world languages is developing communicative and cultural competence. Students should be able to communicate in the three communicative modes of target language (interpretive, interpersonal, and presentational), and should develop proficiency as they progress through the curriculum. Since the curriculum is proficiency based, each course has as a benchmark the achievement of a certain level of proficiency as described by the ACTFL guidelines.

CLASSICAL LANGUAGES (LATIN)

The study of classical world languages:

• gives access to two of the world’s great literatures and cultures, Greek and Roman
• radically improves English vocabulary, since 2/3 of modern English is Latin-based and modern technical vocabularies are derived from Greek and Latin
• helps students learn the structure of English grammar while improving written & spoken communication

Classical world language curriculum, unlike its modern counterpart, is not proficiency oriented. Those who study a classical language try to communicate less orally with each other and more with the ancient authors and cultures, primarily through reading. While the emphasis is on reading, both traditional and newer teaching methods stress pronunciation, reading aloud, recitation and short spoken dialogues as important aids to learning.