Course Descriptions
Applied Technology
Coding
(Beginner class - for students with little to no prior coding experience)
In this entry level class students explore the principles of computer programing focusing on creativity and the design process as students create their own basic games using code blocks.
Power Programming
(Prior coding experience required!)
This is an advanced, text-based, coding class designed to dive into the concepts and application of computer programming. Key concepts covered in this class can be applied to virtually any computer language. Students learn computer concepts and then apply them within a challenging, puzzle-type application. Application projects follow most units.
Digital Video Production and Editing I
Students use digital video cameras and still cameras to explore the visual and auditory aspects of filmmaking. Using video cameras, microphones, green screens and editing software, students experience in-class studio production at its finest. Students plan, create, edit, and produce original movies.
Digital Video Production and Editing II
(8th grade only - Digital Video prerequisite)
Students in this class take ownership of their products and act as independent film crews managing all three phases of production. Students are trained on pro video cameras and lavalier microphones. In addition, students further their knowledge of video production with a focus on special effects and editing. Ultimately, students create the new Maple orientation film for the following year’s 6th graders; this project is their legacy.
Art
Drawing
Students will focus on drawing techniques. The emphasis will be on learning to draw using the right side of the brain, shading, perspective, and design. The media will include pencil, charcoal, and colored pencils. Art criticism and art history will also be included.
Painting I
Students will be introduced to different painting techniques. They will explore such media as watercolor, tempera, and acrylic paints. Discussion of art works will also be included.
Painting II
(8th grade only - Painting I prerequisite)
Students will study more advanced painting techniques and improve on their painting skills. The media used will include watercolor, tempera, and acrylic paints. Students will also learn to stretch their own canvases.
Three-Dimensional Art
Students will focus on the three-dimensional aspect of art. They will have hands on experience using wood, clay, papier-mâché, and various other 3-D media. Analysis of 3-D art will be included.
Two-Dimensional Art with a focus on Photoshop Elements
Students will focus on media that produces two-dimensional pieces of art including watercolor, pencil, oil pastels, etc. A portion of the quarter will be spent learning Photoshop Elements and how to use this technology program to create unique photographs.
Family and Consumer Science
Child Development
Students will study the developmental stages of children from newborn through six years of age. They will assist in a classroom of kindergarten age students, observe three and four year olds in action at Glenbrook North’s Child Development preschool, host Baby or Toddler Day, and participate in our baby simulation day using an infant doll.
Connections
This student driven class allows you to create projects that connect what you are learning in other classes to FACS. In this class you will learn using research, hands on activities as well as food preparation and tasting. Different subject areas are combined and mixed with FACS to produce engaging student led projects. Projects will showcase the areas of foods, nutrition, clothing and family and human development.
Foods I
Students will increase their knowledge of nutrients that will help them build the best adult version of themselves. Students will also discover how food choices can affect overall health, the importance of good safety and food sanitation practices in the kitchen and learn how to act in a socially responsible way when dining out. Food labs for this course will focus on easy to prepare healthy foods with an emphasis on how to creatively alter a recipe.
Foods II
(8th grade only - Foods I prerequisite)
Students will review how to make wise food choices, use a computer program to do a nutritional analysis of their own diets, and research current food trends and nutrition related issues for teenagers. Projects in the class will replicate the work that nutritionists, dietitians and people in various facets of the food industry do on a daily basis. Food labs for this course will be varied based on course content. Time management skills during labs will be emphasized.
Life Smarts
Students will gain a better understanding of their role as a responsible, informed consumer. They will develop strategies for managing financial resources and explore how wants, needs and priorities influence their purchasing decisions. Students will learn more about savings and checking accounts, credit cards and what it takes to become a millionaire! They will explore how investments such as stocks and bonds can build wealth. Students will learn how consumer rights policies influence their day to day lives. This class will prepare students for high school consumer education requirements.
Music
Beatles
Students will learn about the music and history of the Beatles. Topics include Beatlemania, their use of technology in recording, the use of Indian music and the avant garde, the Lennon and McCartney relationship, and much more. We will study and analyze their music and view some of their films.
General Music
Students will work on developing their music skills by listening to music from different styles and time periods. We will create original music using the MIDI computer lab and GarageBand. Students will learn about many different types of music and cultural topics.
Guitar
Students will learn how to play the guitar using chords, notes, and tabs. Guitars will be provided. A variety of music styles will be incorporated into the class.
Jazz Band 7th and Jazz Band 8th
This class is for band members only. This class will include the history of jazz from its beginnings in Chicago and New Orleans, and will cover different styles including Dixieland, Swing, Bebop, Funk, Latin and Rock. Students will learn and perform pieces in these styles and will learn about the jazz artists who helped shape each style. Improvisation, twelve bar blues and small jazz combos will also be a part of the class.
Jazz Band 7th is for 7th graders and Jazz Band 8th is for 8th graders.
Showtime
Students will work on a musical to be performed during the quarter. Students will memorize lines, learn songs, make scenery and costumes, and put on a show! In addition, we will learn about the history of musical theater and view a classic movie musical.
String Chamber Ensemble
(8th grade only)
This class is for orchestra students only. Students will be assigned to various groups to perform duets, trios, and/or quartets. They will work on chamber music from various musical periods. The students will also learn about music history, theory, and various bowing techniques. Students will have the opportunity to enter a solo/ensemble contest with the music they are working on in class.
STEM (Project Lead the Way)
Automation and Robotics I
This course begins with the study of mechanisms in order to understand motion. Students apply this information by using VEX® robotics parts to design a pull toy and complete a “survival challenge”. Then, students will learn to program and automate devices that use motors, batteries, and sensors. Students will utilize this knowledge to design and build real-world devices.
Automation and Robotics II
(8th grade only--Automation and Robotics I prerequisite)
Students continue to explore mechanical systems, energy transfer, and machine automation.
Using their previous knowledge of programming and automating devices, students will continue to design and build devices. This course cumulates with students designing, building, and programming real-world devices that will help others.
Medical Detectives
Students play the role of real-life medical detectives as they collect and analyze medical data to diagnose disease. They solve medical mysteries through hands-on projects and labs, measure and interpret vital signs, complete a dissection, investigate disease outbreaks, and explore how a breakdown within the human body can lead to dysfunction.
