Choir II Full Year (Three Trimesters) Prerequisites: Seventh or Eighth Grade Student
Groove Academy One Trimester (Offered Second Trimester) Prerequisites: Seventh or Eighth Grade Student Calling all pop and rock musicians! This course is open to guitarists, drummers, ukulelists, bassists, keyboardists, vocalists, and singer-songwriters of any ability. Students will form small groups to create and rehearse rock, pop, and contemporary music repertoire. Students will explore elements of musical form, style, lyrics, and patterns as they relate to contemporary media. Vocalists and drummers should plan on learning a secondary instrument to balance instrumentation. This course may be repeated for credit.
Stage Combat One Trimester (Offered Third Trimester) Prerequisites: Seventh or Eighth Grade Student
composing, analytical listening, and performing at community events and at least two public performances per school year. Piano Lab One Trimester (Offered First Trimester) Prerequisites: Seventh or Eighth Grade Student This course is designed for students who desire to develop basic piano skills, or for those who wish to expand their existing piano skills. Students will spend time playing independently and receive individualized instruction. Students will perform a piano recital at the conclusion of course.
Choir is offered to students interested in singing. Students will learn the basics of music theory, and work daily on sight-singing and vocal performance techniques. Choir students will sing in at least two public performances per school year. Seventh and eighth grade choir students are eligible to participate in the Michigan School Vocal Music Association (MSVMA) Solo and Ensemble Festival.
Effective and safe practices in special effects blocking are critical to many theater productions. Students will explore basic skills in stage tumbling, hand to hand movement, as well as foundations in the use of wooden swords in productions. Theater Production Full Year (Three Trimesters) Prerequisites: Seventh or Eighth Grade Student This course is offered for seventh and eighth grade students interested in participating in theater production work. The focus will be the creation of one act plays and musical theater performances from start to finish. Students will engage in script writing, story improvisation, and playbuilding before launching into design projects. The final outcome will be decided by the group and may yield a fully staged production.
Craft Aesthetics One Trimester (Offered First Trimester) Prerequisites: Seventh or Eighth Grade Student
The Printed Image One Trimester (Offered Second Trimester) Prerequisites: Seventh or Eighth Grade Student
Movie Music One Trimester (Offered First Trimester) Prerequisites: Seventh or Eighth Grade Student
This is a materials- and technique-focused course exploring a variety of craft mediums including textiles, fibers, wood, ceramics, found objects, metal, and glass. Students will create work that is decorative, well-designed, and often useful or wearable.
The course will cover a wide range of techniques for making printed images, including various types of printmaking, such as monoprint and monotype, block print, stamps, lino and rubber block, collagraph, photography and photographic printmaking photograms, a basic darkroom introduction, digital photography, and editing. Public Speaking One Trimester (Offered Second Trimester) Prerequisites: Seventh or Eighth Grade Student Students will build a core understanding of the critical skills necessary to present effectively in public speaking situations. The course will engage students in informative, persuasive, and informal public speaking situations. Rock the Stage: An Exploration of Pop/Rock One Trimester (Offered Second Trimester) Prerequisites: Seventh or Eighth Grade Student Students will study the history of popular music beginning with the mid 1950s through 2000s contemporary commercial music. Students will explore how these various styles of music have been incorporated into musical theater of the past and present. Each unit will include genre specific voice, dance and movement study culminating in a short performance of a 16 bar cut.
The purpose of the Movie Music elective course is to expose students—both musician and non-musician— to the evolution of sound and music in the movie industry. Students will explore the history of sound in film, important film composers, soundtracks, scene comparisons, sound effects, sound in animation, and movie music leaders throughout this course. Through investigating and experiencing a multitude of genres, composers, musicians, instruments, and sounds, students will discover how music has impacted the movie industry throughout its history. This course may not be repeated for credit.
DJ Academy One Trimester (Offered Third Trimester) Prerequisites: Seventh or Eighth Grade Student
World Music and Dance One Trimester (Offered Second Trimester) Prerequisites: Seventh or Eighth Grade Student
This hands-on course will have students creating music using digital platforms, compiling playlists to evoke different moods, and discussing artist intent behind contemporary music. Students will explore and implement concepts such as emceeing, event coordination and flow, music business, and media advertisement. The course will emphasize the musical genres of hip-hop, R&B, techno, EDM, and rap. This course may not be repeated for credit. Drawing One Trimester (Offered Third Trimester) Prerequisites: Seventh or Eighth Grade Student This course is an intensive drawing exploration focused on learning how to see, observe, and record the world around us (and the world inside our minds) both accurately and expressively. Students will work in a variety of mediums and styles, including digital drawing using the iPad Procreate app. Building a personal sketchbook practice will be an important part of students’ learning. Film Making One Trimester (Offered First Trimester) Prerequisites: Seventh or Eighth Grade Student Students will engage in the process of making short films that employ digital media techniques and software. The course will use a foundation of design thinking to develop and implement three to five short film projects.
Students will take a journey exploring the music, dance, and traditions of different cultures around the world. Regions to explore include Africa, the Middle East, India, China, Japan, Indonesia, Australia, Europe, Latin America, and the United States, among others. Through this journey, students will look to their own heritage and its significance and relationship to their explorations. Students will listen, see, and participate in a variety of experiences outside of their own musical styles and preferences, while learning about the cultural and social contexts of others around the world. This course may not be repeated for credit.
Music of Detroit One Trimester (Offered Third Trimester) Prerequisites: Seventh or Eighth Grade Student
Students will explore the history of music in Detroit, spanning genres from jazz to techno, the Motown movement and Motown sound, notable composers, producers, and musical artists important to Detroit’s musical heritage from past to present day, and musical venues in Detroit. Through investigating and experiencing a multitude of genres, composers, musicians, and sounds, students will discover how music has impacted the city of Detroit throughout its history. This course may not be repeated for credit. Orchestra II Full Year (Three Trimesters) Prerequisites: Orchestra I or equivalent; Creative and Performing Arts Department recommendation This course is open to continuing students on the violin, viola, cello, and bass. Orchestra II strives to expand and extend skills introduced in Orchestra I. Students will grow into independent musicians by executing proper playing technique, exploring music from different genres, time periods, and countries, and furthering creativity and musicianship through
Songwriter Studio One Trimester (Offered Third Trimester) Prerequisites: Seventh or Eighth Grade Student
In this course, students will explore the crafting of melody, harmony and lyrics. Students will work collaboratively with teacher guidance to craft their own original songs. Piano, guitar or ukulele skills are preferred, but not required for enrollment in the course.
2026-2027 ULS Curriculum Guide
36
37 Middle School
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