Electives

The following courses are full year elective options for eighth grade students.

Instrumental Music

Beginning Band MS & Creative Thinking A/B

This course is for middle school students with no instrumental music experience who wish to learn how to play an instrument in the woodwind, brass, or percussion families. The development of skills necessary to perform MBDA Grade I and II music and prepare students for a middle school band course is stressed. Areas such as elements of musical form, terms and symbols, tone production, and the importance of practice habits are presented. Public performances outside of the school day may be required to meet course objectives. This course counts toward both fine arts and computational learning for the Maryland School Report Card.

Band 1 MS & Creative Thinking A/B

Students refine skills learned from their elementary Grade 4 and 5 instrumental music programs or in Middle School Beginning Band or Strings, and develop more advanced performance techniques. The development of technical skills necessary to perform Grade 1 to Grade 2 Level music is stressed. Emphasis is placed on developing formal rehearsal decorum, following a conductor, and developing pitch and rhythmic security in preparation for performing an independent part in the traditional band or orchestra ensemble. Students discuss the social and intellectual influences that affected the creation of the music they are studying. They begin to develop aesthetic criteria for measuring the quality of instrumental performance. Students may attend live performances and perform in public. This course counts toward both fine arts and computational learning for the Maryland School Report Card.

MS Band 2

This course is for students who have previously enrolled in Beginning Winds & Percussion, Band 1, or equivalent in middle school. Students will reinforce and refine instrument-specific skills in preparation for high school level band courses. Students will add various advanced music notation & concepts. The Advanced Band will learn grade level 2-3 music and will learn at a faster pace. They will perform in evening concerts, the MCPS county festival, and the Music in the Parks festival. Students in this course are eligible to audition for MCPS All-County and Honors groups.

Beginning Orchestra MS & Creative Thinking A/B

This course is for middle school students with no instrumental music experience. The development of skills necessary to perform MODA Grade I and II music and prepare students for a middle school orchestra course is stressed. Areas such as elements of musical form, terms and symbols, tone production, and the importance of practice habits are presented. Public performances outside of the school day may be required to meet course objectives. This course counts toward both fine arts and computational learning for the Maryland School Report Card.

Orchestra 1 MS & Creative Thinking A/B

Students refine skills learned from their elementary Grade 4 and 5 instrumental music programs or in Middle School Beginning Band or Strings, and develop more advanced performance techniques. The development of technical skills necessary to perform Grade 1 to Grade 2 Level music is stressed. Emphasis is placed on developing formal rehearsal decorum, following a conductor, and developing pitch and rhythmic security in preparation for performing an independent part in the traditional band or orchestra ensemble. Students discuss the social and intellectual influences that affected the creation of the music they are studying. They begin to develop aesthetic criteria for measuring the quality of instrumental performance. Students may attend live performances and perform in public. This course counts toward both fine arts and computational learning for the Maryland School Report Card. 

MS Orchestra 2

This course is for students who have previously enrolled in Beginning Strings, Orchestra 1, or equivalent in middle school. Students will reinforce and refine instrument-specific skills in preparation for high school level band courses. Students will continue to reinforce music notation reading and will add various advanced music notation & concepts. The Advanced Orchestra will learn grade level 2-3 music. They will perform in evening concerts, the MCPS county festival, and the Music in the Parks festival. Students in this course are eligible to audition for MCPS All-County and Honors groups.

Middle School Band 3 and Orchestra 3

Students distinguish between abstract and programmatic music and learn and discuss the social, intellectual, and historical influences on each. Students develop and refine their technical skills in order to perform music at the Grade 2 to Grade 3 Level of difficulty. In addition, students perform and historically categorize transcriptions of a variety of composers. This band or orchestra represents middle schools at public performances.

FINE ART

Theatre 1

Students in Grades 6, 7, or 8 with no previous theatre experience should begin at Level 1 in the curricular sequence. In this beginning level course, students will explore how the theater is a space that both creates and challenges COMMUNITY. Theatre artists create an ensemble amongst themselves which functions as a safe space for risk-taking and creating. A sustained investigation of COMMUNITY in this intermediate level course engages students to study a variety of dramatic works, participate in the creation and enhancement of ensemble, and question the role of theatre within their COMMUNITY.

MS Chorus 1: Creative Thinking and Singing A/B

This course interweaves Music standards with Computational Thinking standards. Students will create, perform, and respond to music in a variety of styles/genres and use this music to develop understanding of thinking habits such as analysis, decomposition, and algorithmic design. Students will develop the fundamentals of proper vocal technique and choral singing while developing their music literacy and sight-singing skills. Students will primarily sing and analyze state level 2 music. There will likely be a minimum of two school concerts and students are expected to participate in all performances. This course is open to all students, regardless of music background.