Seton Middle School Year-by-Year Curriculum


Seton Catholic Middle School currently has 14 full-time and four part-time faculty members including a full-time counselor/campus minister. Teachers at Seton have an average of more than 10 years of experience in education ranging from 35 years to first-year teachers. All teachers have a minimum of a bachelor's degree. All teachers meet DPI guidelines for licensing and renewal. All staff members have completed and are keeping current with the diocese's VIRTUS® - Protecting God's Children training.

For a complete listing of the curriculum and courses offered for each grade level, please click on the following:


Once classes and electives have been selected, students must complete a Course Selection Sheet.

Click here for information about homework and assignment policies.



6th Grade Curriculum

6th Grade Religion
This course is a study of the Old Testament in which students learn about God's divine revelation through Scripture. Units include Forming the Covenant, Building the Covenant, Building the Covenant, Redefining the Covenant, The Covenant Fulfilled in Jesus and God's Own Making-Respect for Life.

Supplemental resources include The New American Bible, Catholic Youth Bible and 'God's Own Making' sexuality course.

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6th Grade General Math

  • Drill basic facts
  • Place value for whole numbers and decimals
  • Whole number, fraction and decimal operations
  • Rounding whole numbers and decimals
  • Problem solving
  • Geometry - perimeter, circumference, and area
  • Ratio, proportion, and percent
  • Exploration of pre-algebra concepts
  • Math projects applying concepts to real world situations
  • Enrichment opportunities
  • Writing - New state and national standards for math require students to show their understanding of math concepts by writing about the problems they have solved.

6th Grade Advanced Math

  • Practice Basic Facts (Add, Subtract, Multiply, Divide)
  • Review Whole Numbers (Add, Subtract, Multiply, Divide)
  • Order of Operations
  • Review Decimals (Compare, Order, Round, Add, Subtract, Multiply, Divide)
  • Review Fractions (GCF, LCM, Compare, Order, Add, Subtract, Multiply, Divide)
  • Explore Problem Solving
  • Statistics (Range, Scale, Interval, Mean, Median, Mode, Tables, Graphs
  • Introduction to Geometry (Shapes, Angles, Perimeter, Area, Circumference, Surface Area, Volume)
  • Introduction to Ratios/Proportions/Percents
  • Explore Pre-Algebra Concepts

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6th Grade Science (Physical Science)

  • The Metric System
  • Mass, volume, density
  • Preparing slides
  • Lab tools and procedures
  • Viewing Earth and Sky
  • Light and Vision
  • Sound and Hearing
  • Describing the Living World
  • Viruses and Simple Organisms
  • Animal Life - Plant Life
  • Ecology
  • Motion
  • Motion Near Earth
  • Moving Water
  • Shaping the Land
  • Changing Ecosystem
  • The Earth-Moon System
  • Describing the Physical World

Supplementary materials include Science World magazine.


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6th Grade Social Studies
The focus of sixth grade Social Studies is world cultures in ancient times. Students will study these cultures, with history, religion, economy, geography and traditions being highlighted. Additionally, an awareness and discussion of current events is promoted daily.

Supplementary materials include the CNN Video series - 'Millennium', atlases and various supplementary texts and sources.

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6th Grade Reading/Language Arts
The sixth grade curriculum includes the study of literature, writing, grammar and speaking skills. In literature we will study the various characteristics of fiction, nonfiction, folklore, drama, and poetry.

Writing experiences will be focused on writing complete sentences, developing organized paragraphs, clearly communicating ideas, and using good grammar. The eight parts of speech will be reviewed in grammar, and students will practice using them effectively in their writing. There will be informal and formal experiences in speaking effectively in front of the class.

Supplementary materials include Write Source 2000 and various trade books.

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6th Grade Physical Education
Physical education is comprised of many different units that focus on many different objectives: lifetime activities, individual activities, team activities, team building activities, fitness components, and of course lots of fun while we are doing all of this. We will be doing fitness tests in the fall and once again in the spring.

Dress code for P.E. - students must have a separate pair of tennis shoes for P.E.; these shoes must be separate from shoes that the students wear for school.

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6th Grade Band
This performing ensemble is made up of only sixth grade students. Meeting three times a week, the students work on the fundamentals of ensemble playing with emphasis on form, style, dynamics and articulation. Each student receives a twenty minute lesson on his or her instrument each week. There are several concert performances during the school year. The 6th grade band combines with the Concert Band for two parades each year - the SMC Homecoming Parade in October and the Memorial Day Parade in May. Please refer to the Seton Bands Handbook for a complete listing of performance dates.

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6th Grade Computer Education

  • Keyboarding instruction and practice daily
  • Develop basic skills in use of Microsoft Word and Publisher
  • Introduction to use of graphics files through use of clipart, digital camera, and flatbed scanner.
  • Network, Online and Internet ethics and safety

Supplementary Materials: Ultrakey computer-based typing program; Microsoft Word and Publisher programs. Students may be required to attend a live concert and complete a critique form for class credit.

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6th Grade Health
Exploring the concept of total health, students will:

  • Discuss the idea of health and its meaning (Is it just physical things?)
  • Learn to take care of their bodies (eyes, teeth, skin, ears)
  • Discuss nutrients and what they do for the body
  • Learn how to make healthy food choices and the benefits of exercise
  • Understand how the body works
  • Learn about the body's systems and why we need them

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6th Grade Study Skills
Study Skills meets three days a week during the first quarter only. This class is designed to prepare sixth graders for the level of work required in middle school. We will discuss organization skills, study habits, listening techniques and how to read a textbook. We will also discuss how to take notes from both lectures and reading assignments. Finally, we will conclude with tips on how to take various types of tests.

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6th Grade Exploratory World Languages
Each sixth grade student will experience each of the world languages offered at Seton (French, German and Spanish) for one quarter each. Some of the basic material covered in this nine-week period includes greetings, courtesy, months and days, numbers, colors, geography, customs and cultural celebrations.

Supplementary materials include worksheets, charts, maps, games.

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7th Grade Curriculum

7th Grade Religion

  • Early Life of Christ
  • Christ's Ministry
  • Death and Resurrection of Christ
  • Writers of the Gospels
  • Sin and Forgiveness
  • The Power of the Moral Life
  • Making Moral Decisions

Supplemental materials include Catholic Vocabulary: A Glossary Workshop and One Faith, One Lord: A Study of Basic Catholic Beliefs.

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7th Grade General Math

  • Practice Basic Facts (add, subtract, multiply, divide)
  • Review Whole Numbers (add, subtract, multiply, divide)
  • Order of Operations
  • Review Decimals (compare, order, round, (add, subtract, multiply, divide)
  • Review Fractions (GCF, LCM, compare, order, (add, subtract, multiply, divide)
  • Explore Problem Solving* Statistics (range, scale, interval, mean, median, mode, tables, graphs)
  • Introduction to Geometry (shapes, angles, perimeter, area, circumference, surface area, volume)
  • Introduction to Ratios/Proportions/Percents
  • Explore Pre-Algebra Concepts

7th Grade Pre-Algebra

  • Drill basic facts
  • Whole number, fraction and decimal operations
  • Problem solving
  • Geometry ñ perimeter, circumference, area, volume
  • Ratio, proportion, and percent
  • Equations
  • Integers
  • Exponents
  • Math projects applying concepts to real world situations
  • Enrichment opportunities
  • Writing - New state and national standards for math require students to show their understanding of math concepts by writing about the problems they have solved.

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7th Grade Science (Earth and Physical Sciences)

  • Metric System
  • Mass, volume, density
  • Lab tools and procedures
  • Forces and Pressure
  • Forces in Earth
  • Moving Continents
  • Geologic Time
  • Minerals and Their Uses
  • The Rock Cycle
  • Energy Resources
  • Work and Energy
  • Machines
  • Thermal Energy
  • Circulation
  • Blood Transport and Protection
  • Moving Body
  • Controlling the Body Machine
  • Breathing
  • Basic Units of Life
  • How Cells Do Their Jobs
  • Waves

Supplementary materials include Science World magazine.

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7th Grade Social Studies
The focus of seventh grade Social Studies is world cultures. The students will study the components of culture and examine the world countries in light of those concepts, including history, religion, economy, geography, traditions and current events.

Also included is a unit of 'mini-society', an economics-based, hands-on program that focuses on basic economic theory, teambuilding, decision-making and government theory and practice.

Awareness and discussion of current events is also promoted daily.

Supplementary Materials include the CNN Video series - 'Millennium', A & E's 'Biography' series and various other texts and sources.

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7th Grade Reading/Language Arts
The seventh grade curriculum includes the study of grammar, composition, literature and speaking. Students will learn the parts of speech with the emphasis on correct usage. Narrative, expository, and letter writing will be covered. In the affinity unit, students will use the computer to research a topic of their choice and write papers on one aspect of the topic. We will read short stories, novels, poetry, and plays to strengthen literary analysis skills.

Spelling worksheets are given weekly, as are spelling quizzes. Tests will generally be given after each unit is completed.

Supplementary resources include Write Source and various trade books.

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7th Grade Computer Education

  • Continue development of skills in use of Microsoft Word
  • Introduce Microsoft PowerPoint and Excel
  • Introduction to computer networks and hardware by web-based lessons and disassembly / reassembly of computers and components
  • Network, online, and internet ethics and safety

Supplemental Resources include Microsoft Word, PowerPoint and Excel, and Office 2000 Visually.

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7th Grade Health
To continue with the theme of total health, students will:

  • Review the concept of total health and the health triangle
  • Discuss tobacco and its harmful effects
  • Learn about laws and non-smokers rights
  • Review knowledge of drugs and alcohol
  • Learn about the dangers of alcohol and drugs
  • Discuss common slang terms of different drugs
  • Learn avoidance skills

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French 7 & 8
Units are taught thematically and may include themes such as my family, our town, Paris, geography, at the restaurant, and others.

Upon successful completion and mastery of French at Seton (at the end of 8th grade), students should be prepared to enter second level French in high school.

Supplementary materials include Allons-y! (French language magazine).

7th Grade German
Concepts in textbook chapters 1-10 are used as a basis for learning German. A variety of additional activities are used to advance an understanding of the spoken and written German language.

Spanish 7 & 8
Students learn, practice, and apply reading, writing, speaking, and listening skills through the study of various thematic units. The material covered within seventh and eighth grade Spanish is equivalent to high school Spanish 1; students who have mastered this material should be eligible to take second year Spanish as freshmen.

Spanish 7 uses a combination of English and Spanish; Spanish 8 speaks only Spanish.

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Concert Band
The instrumental music program at Seton is a strong one. The band enrollment hovers around 60% of the student body. The groups have received first-place ratings at the annual band festival for the last several years, performing selections such as "The Planets" by Gustav Holst. For many years the band performed at the Circus World Museum in Baraboo and received high accolades and a standing invitation to return in subsequent years.

This performing ensemble is made up of seventh and eighth grade students. Meeting three times a week, the students work on more challenging music, still with an emphasis on the fundamentals of ensemble playing - form, style, dynamics and articulation. Each student receives a twenty minute lesson on their instrument each week.

There are several concert performances during the school year. The concert band combines with the sixth grade band for two parades each year - the SMC Homecoming Parade in October and the Memorial Day Parade in May. Please refer to the Seton Bands Handbook for a complete listing of performance dates.

Other: There is a band fee of $200 per year. Black shoes, black pants and black socks are required for performances. Students may be required to attend a live concert and complete a critique form for class credit.

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8th Grade Curriculum

8th Grade Pre-Algebra

  • Practice Basic Facts (add, subtract, multiply, divide)
  • Review Whole Numbers (add, subtract, multiply, divide)
  • Review Decimals (compare, order, round, add, subtract, multiply, divide)
  • Review Fractions (GCF, LCM, compare, order, add, subtract, multiply, divide)
  • Explore Problem Solving
  • Integers (compare, order, add, subtract, multiply, divide)
  • Coordinate Plane
  • Expressions (solve, write)
  • Equations (solve, graph, write)
  • Geometry (shapes, angles, perimeter, area, circumference, surface area, volume)
  • Ratios/Proportions/Percents
  • Statistics (range, scale, interval, mean, median, mode, tables, graphs)
  • Inequalities (solve, graph, create)

8th Grade Algebra

  • Drill basic facts
  • Ratio, proportion, and percent
  • Equations
  • Integers
  • Exponents
  • Inequalities
  • Polynomials
  • Linear equations
  • Slope
  • Radicals
  • Quadratics
  • Math projects applying concepts to real world situations
  • Enrichment opportunities
  • Writing - New state and national standards for math require students to show their understanding of math concepts by writing about the problems they have solved

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8th Grade Science

  • Review of measurement and tools & scientific method; metric measurement; mass, volume, and density; lab tools and procedures
  • Atoms and Molecules: atomic structure, periodic elements, combining atoms, states of matter
  • Observing the World Around You: fission & fusion, solar system, energy resources, constellations
  • Our Fluid Environment: weather, oceans, organic chemistry
  • Changes in Life and Earth: reproduction, heredity, evolution of life
  • Electricity and Magnetism: electricity, magnetism, electromagnetic waves

Supplementary materials include Science World (Scholastic Company Bi-monthly magazine).

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8th Grade Social Studies
This course focuses on the study of United States history from exploration and settlement, creation of a new nation, the growth of the republic, and the Civil War and Reconstruction. Extra attention is given to US geography, Native Americans, the Constitution, slavery and the Civil Rights Movement, the Holocaust and presidents.

A local businessperson who is a Junior Achievement representative will lead a 9-week study of American business in action.

Students will maintain a weekly current events log.

Supplementary Materials include the Classzone.com website, Junior Scholastic and Junior Achievement's Enterprise in Action program. A CD-Rom of the textbook is available for use at home.

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8th Grade Reading/Language Arts
Students in eighth grade language arts will complete units that complement the social studies curriculum. We will read, write, and speak about heroes, slavery and civil rights and the Holocaust in the first three quarters. The fourth quarter will be used to cover various forms of literature and writing in order to prepare students for the rigors of high school.

Spelling worksheets are given weekly, as are spelling quizzes. Tests will generally be given after each unit is completed.

Supplementary resources include various novels related to the Civil War, the Holocaust, and the Civil Rights Movement, as well as Writesource.

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8th Grade Computer Education

  • Continue development of skills in use of Microsoft Word, PowerPoint and Excel through larger and more advanced projects
  • Understand network, online, and Internet ethics and safety issues and concerns

Supplemental Resources include Microsoft Word, PowerPoint and Excel, and Office 2000 Visually.

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8th Grade Health
To continue with the theme of total health students will:

  • Review health and the health triangle
  • Discuss healthy choices and responsibility
  • Pick a goal and work through goal setting
  • Discuss ways to be mentally healthy
  • Learn about ways to be socially healthy
  • Interact and discuss various health issues as they arise in the news

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French 7 & 8
Units are taught thematically and may include themes such as my family, our town, Paris, geography, at the restaurant, and others.

Upon successful completion and mastery of French at Seton (at the end of 8th grade), students should be prepared to enter second level French in high school.

Supplementary materials include Allons-y! (French language magazine).

8th Grade German
A review of chapters 1-10 and the addition of concepts from chapters 11 ñ 20 are used as a basis for learning German. A variety of additional activities are used to complete the total understanding of German and more German is spoken in the classroom. Upon successful completion and mastery of German at Seton, students will continue into second level German in high school.

Supplemental materials include song sheets, videos, games, calendars, maps and 'Das Rad' magazine.

Spanish 7 & 8
Students learn, practice, and apply reading, writing, speaking, and listening skills through the study of various thematic units. The material covered within seventh and eighth grade Spanish is equivalent to high school Spanish 1; students who have mastered this material should be eligible to take second year Spanish as freshmen.

Spanish 7 uses a combination of English and Spanish; Spanish 8 speaks only Spanish.

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Concert Band
The instrumental music program at Seton is a strong one. The band enrollment hovers around 60% of the student body. The groups have received first-place ratings at the annual band festival for the last several years, performing selections such as "The Planets" by Gustav Holst. For many years the band performed at the Circus World Museum in Baraboo and received high accolades and a standing invitation to return in subsequent years.

This performing ensemble is made up of seventh and eighth grade students. Meeting three times a week, the students work on more challenging music, still with an emphasis on the fundamentals of ensemble playing - form, style, dynamics and articulation. Each student receives a twenty minute lesson on their instrument each week.

There are several concert performances during the school year. The concert band combines with the sixth grade band for two parades each year - the SMC Homecoming Parade in October and the Memorial Day Parade in May. Please refer to the Seton Bands Handbook for a complete listing of performance dates.

Other: There is a band fee of $200 per year. Black shoes, black pants and black socks are required for performances. Students may be required to attend a live concert and complete a critique form for class credit.

* See Courses Available to Grades 6, 7 & 8

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Curriculum for Courses Offered to Grades 6, 7 and 8

Art
The art curriculum is based on the understanding of the art elements and the principles of design. Cultural and historical awareness, as well as individuality are stressed; art projects are designed and based on these concepts. Various art media are used to teach and reinforce these concepts include painting, drawing, cutting and gluing, printmaking, sculpting, weaving, relief work, and using fabrics, fibers, pastels, cray-pas, markers, calligraphy, paper mache, and colored pencils.

Note: Grade 8 Art will create an individual project under the direction of the instructor and will be worked on outside of class. This project must be completed in a specified time frame during the quarter the student has art.

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Chorus/Swing Choir
Components:

  • Quality public performances
  • Sol Fege
  • A cappella music and sacred songs
  • Tone quality and rhythm exercises
  • Teamwork
  • Becoming a good music listener
  • Identifying key signatures
  • Developing an ability to read music

Notes: Concert dress: concert shirts are provided; black pants, socks and black dress shoes required (no exceptions). Concert dress is provided for the Swing Choir.

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General Music
Intended for non-band and non-choir students, this is primarily a class in American music history, focusing on music from pre-jazz through Rock and Roll. Students will discover the relationship of the music to the economic and social conditions present in each era studied.

  • Grade 6 will study the period up to World War I.
  • Grade 7 will study the period from World War I into the 1950's.
  • Grade 8 will study the period from the 1950's into the Rock and Roll age.
  • Each class will also review the elements of music and music notation.

Supplementary materials include the Jazz for Young People Curriculum, the Jazz In America National Jazz Curriculum, Ken Burns's video documentary 'Jazz' and various other visual and aural examples.

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Jazz Band
The Seton Jazz Band meets for two periods a week, opposite the concert band. Students learn to perform in a variety of styles in the jazz idiom, including Swing, Latin, Funk and Rock. An emphasis is placed on the improvisational aspect of playing jazz. All students will learn to improvise in accordance with national standards.

In addition to performing at all school concerts, the band performs annually at the Fox Jazz Festival (Labor Day weekend) and makes numerous appearances throughout the community during the year. The Seton Jazz Band has had the honor of being the clinic band for the Lincoln Center Jazz Orchestra master class (which took place at Green Bay's Weidner Center for the Performing Arts) and performs annually at the Fox Jazz Festival. Each April, the band sponsors a Jazz Appreciation Month (JAM) concert. Guest performers have included Janet Planet, John Harmon, and the Big Band Reunion. Please refer to the Seton Bands Handbook for a complete listing of performance dates.

Other: Participation in this ensemble is included in the band fee.

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Physical Education
Physical Education is comprised of many different units that focus on many different objectives such as lifetime activities, individual activities, team activities, team building activities, fitness components, and of course lots of fun while we are doing all of this. We will be doing fitness tests in the fall and once again in the spring.

Other: Students must have a separate pair of tennis shoes for P.E., these shoes must be separate from shoes that the students wear for school.

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Yearbook
This activity is an elective scheduled into the regular school day. The goal of the yearbook staff is to produce the annual school yearbook. Students have responsibilities in photography, copy (text) and layout. The yearbook is a reflection of the many activities that happen during the current school year.

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