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.
It has been such a great year of General Music at WMS; students experienced success and growth while learning to play different instruments, and learned more about the world of music. While field trips and testing have gotten in the way of some class time, we’ve still been learning a lot in these last weeks of music class. Below is a short description of what we’ve been working on, and don’t let me forget my music listening recommendations!
Romance by Fontaines D.C.
Choose Your Weapon by Hiatus Kaiyote
For Melancholy Brunettes (& sad women) by Japanese Breakfast
Every Dawn’s a Mountain by Tamino
6th Grade: In the last month we focused a lot on songwriting, particularly in what differentiates a song’s theme from its topic, how to rhyme lines with each other, and what makes a great chorus and verse. We also worked on creating our own chord progressions to play on the ukulele. While learning about songwriting we zoomed in on the songs “Happy People” (Little Big Town) and “Big Yellow Taxi” (Joni Mitchell), playing them on the ukulele, singing them, and discussing the lyrics.
Students are now getting a short crash course on the piano, starting with the simple, three note melody of “Eye of the Tiger” by Survivor.
7th Grade : This trimester in 7th Grade we have spent a lot of time trying to improve our open chords on the guitar. Students are getting much better and making progress. We’ve been learning about how music is a process which takes practice and discipline.
We learned to play the songs “Zombie” (The Cranberries) “Country Roads” (John Denver) and “Dynamite” (Taio Cruz) on the guitar using these open chords. Students have been getting much better at switching between the chords.
We’ve also been learning about the blues, writing our own blues lyrics and brainstorming topics to write about. Students are also learning about different careers in the music industry that may or may not be related to performing.
8th Grade : 8th Graders this trimester have done such a great job building off the guitar foundations they started last year, and can now play more difficult songs on guitar. We’ve learned guitar solos from songs such as “Brown Eyed Girl” (Van Morrison), “First Love Late Spring (Mitski), and learned to play the melody and chords to the tune “La Bamba”. With the skills they learned on the keyboard earlier this trimester, they are well prepared for jamming with friends, or continuing their music education at the high school.
In addition, they’ve done a great job at increasing their comfort level participating in drama activities. This willingness to express themselves is a great step towards increasing their confidence and public speaking ability, as well as being a tool to practice in service of the arts. I’m so proud of this group!
6th grade: This past month we have spent time discussing self-image. Students identified characteristics of their self-image and we talked about who or what may influence how someone feels about themselves. Students were able to recognize that different settings, feelings and experiences held determine how one describes who they are both on the inside and outside. Now students are working on a self-image project that they will share with the class.
As the end of the term nears we will be completing the final unit on decision making. Students will recognize the steps in decision making and determine positive/negative influences that affect decision making. We will discuss how there are multiple solutions to a problem and identify that each solution has both pros and cons.
7th grade: We are just finishing the unit on Marjijuana. Students identified short and long term effects of marijuana, learned the laws around marijuana and defined the term “gateway drug”. A big focus was how THC affects the developing teen brain.
The term will wrap up by putting what we have learned about the three gateway drugs together and completing Public Service announcements. Students have the option to work independently or with a peer to complete a PSA around nicotine, alcohol or marijuana. Once we share our PSA’s, risks factors vs. protective factors will be connected to the importance of health decision making around the three gateway drugs.
8th grade: The end of the term has been spent exploring relationships. We have identified characteristics of healthy and unhealthy relationships, and determined what influences our ideas of what a relationship should look like. Students chose a song and evaluated the lyrics to determine which characteristics of a relationship were in the song. Students then determined if the song was more healthy or unhealthy. We are spending the end of the term focusing on healthy communication strategies and the importance of being assertive.
*** 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.
