Students have art, music, technology education, health and physical education throughout each of their three years at WMS. We are fortunate enough to really get to know your students and see them grow throughout the three years here with us!
The specials classes are listed below.
Art: 6th, 7th and 8th grade
Technology Education: 6th, 7th and 8th grade
Health: 6th, 7th and 8th grade
Music: 6th, 7th grade and 8th grade
Physical Education: 6th, 7th and 8th grade
Orchestra, Band and Chorus: 6th, 7th and 8th grade by student choice
Specials classes meet for 1 trimester every other day with the exception of physical education; physical education meets every other day for 2 out of the 3 trimesters. This means that by the end of the school year your student will have had all four specials for one term and physical education for two terms.
Albums of the Month: “Heavy Metal” by Cameron Winter, “Mindwinter Swimmers” by The Innocence Mission, “Blood on the Tracks” by Bob Dylan, and “Lives Outgrown” by Beth Gibbons.
6th Grade Music- Students are learning how to play the piano, focusing on music that uses the 5-finger pattern in both hands. Students are learning a new language, the language of sheet music, and they are more likely to succeed on the piano if they pay attention to what is on the page, and how the notes move up and down on the staff. We’ve also practiced accompanying songs on the ukulele with the recordings playing, so students can get used to changing between chords in the proper order for the song. Last week, we had our first WMS experiences with guitar; students explored playing with good tone and technique and learned how to read TAB.
7th Grade Music- We are exploring playing chords on the guitar and the piano. We’ve specifically focused on the 12 Bar Blues so students can practice making their way through a chord progression. We’ve also been practicing piano melodies, focusing on music that uses the 5-finger pattern in both hands. Students are learning a new language, the language of sheet music, and they are more likely to succeed on the piano if they pay attention to what is on the page, and how the notes move up and down on the staff. If your student is struggling with the piano, there is a high chance they are not looking at the diagrams and resources on Google Classroom. They should be actively trying to improve each class, and asking specific questions to help their progress.
8th Grade Music- Most class meetings have involved learning how to play a guitar riff, using TAB notation to help them find the notes. In one class, we learned how to play the riff for “Paint It Black” by the Rolling Stones, and how to play the chords that accompany it; students then were able to pair up and have one person play lead guitar while the other played the rhythm guitar part. I’ve shown students online resources to help them learn songs they’re interested in playing, and they’ve had class time to explore different songs on guitar and piano. We’ve also been practicing piano, focusing on music that uses the 5-finger pattern in both hands. Students are learning a new language, the language of sheet music, and they are more likely to succeed on the piano if they pay attention to what is on the page, and how the notes move up and down on the staff.
Music Class Expectations
Listen carefully to instructions and raise your hand to ask a question.
Treat the instruments with respect and handle them carefully and with proper technique.
Practice the assigned music, and ask me what to do next when they finish the assignment.
6th grade: This week we will finish discussing puberty. Students have done an awesome job being mature with this topic, and are truly interested in learning about what everyone goes through. Students have identified physical, mental and social changes that occur during puberty. They've recognized the similarities and differences that occur with females and males throughout puberty, and were extremely respectful of one another’s questions during class time. Looking forward to beginning our next unit, Self-Image.
For some students this is a simple task and for others it is a bit more challenging. We focus on self-image in 6th grade, so that students can feel confident and comfortable with who they are. Having a positive self-image is the foundation for healthy decision making!
7th grade: Last week we had a discussion around mental health. We discussed the difference between sadness and depression. Students learned that depression can happen to anyone and identified warning signs to look for. We discussed the importance of having a trusted adult both in and out of school, as well as having healthy ways to cope with a variety of feelings.
This week the topic of alcohol was introduced. Students began stations and worked in with a partner to learn about the short and long term effects of alcohol. There were several questions on students' minds that we will continue to answer. Next week, students will be identifying different parts of the brain, what they do, and how they are affected by alcohol. In small groups students will brainstorm reasons why/why not teens choose to drink alcohol.
The last unit of the term is Marijuana. Students are identifying short and long term effects of marijuana. We are taking a look at the laws around marijuana and defining the term “gateway drug”. A big focus when learning about marijuana is how THC affects the developing teen brain.
8th grade: Over the past few weeks we have continued our conversation around changes that happen during puberty now that students are really in the full swing of it. We discussed the mental and social changes that all teens experience as part of going through puberty. We discussed impulse and feelings of attraction towards others. We spent time defining sexting and discussing both mental and social consequences of sexting. Our school resource officer came into class to continue the conversation around sexting and talk specifically about the laws in regards to sexting when under the age of 18. Students were very respectful, and had some insightful questions for the officer.
We also spent time discussing gender, identity, expression, attraction and anatomical sex. We defined these terms and looked at the differences amongst the terms. Each student spent time creating a poster to help further explain one or more of the terms. Students got very creative and were extremely respectful of the different ways students chose to explain the various terms.
Next week we will dive into talking about relationships. Students will identify various relationships in their lives and work in groups to brainstorm characteristics of healthy/unhealthy relationships. In the coming weeks students will be completing a song evaluation project. Students will have the opportunity to dissect lyrics to a song and identify the various characteristics of the relationship being discussed in the song.
*** As always, please feel free to reach out with any questions or concerns about when topics are being discussed in Health class! My email is nicole.lewis@watertown.k12.ma.us.
