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English/Language Arts

The standards are presented grade by grade in grades K-8 and are a progression of standards at each grade level.

The 6th – 8th grade standards focus on four types of writing: expository, narrative, persuasive, and technical writing. The convention standards are woven into each unit. Also, students examine response to literature, and analyze and create nonfiction text. Sixth grade standards also include mythology while 7th  and 8th grade standards include poetry/drama.

• Reading:  In reading a text closely, the student works carefully to discern the author’s perspective and the particular facts and details that support it. The student reads thoughtfully and purposefully, constantly checking for understanding of the author’s intent and meaning so that the interpretation will be sound.

• Writing: The student writes clear, coherent text that develops a central idea or tells a story. The writing shows consideration of the audience and purpose. The student progresses through the stages of the writing process (e.g., prewriting, drafting, revising,
  and editing successive versions).

• Conventions: Conventions are essential for reading, writing, and speaking. Instruction in language conventions will, therefore, occur within the context of reading, writing, and speaking, rather than in isolation. The student writes to make connections with the larger world. A student’s ideas are more likely to be taken seriously when the words are spelled accurately and the sentences are grammatically correct. Use of Standard English conventions helps readers understand and follow the student’s meaning, while errors can be distracting and confusing. Standard English conventions are the “good manners” of writing and speaking that make communication fluid.

• Listening/Speaking/Viewing: The student demonstrates an understanding of listening, speaking, and viewing skills for a variety of purposes. The student listens critically and responds appropriately to oral communication in a variety of genres and media. The student speaks in a manner that guides the listener to understand important ideas.

A standard for reading-across-the-curriculum is included in grades 6-12. This standard is intended to meet the requirement that every student read 25 books or one million words per year.

• Reading Across the Curriculum: After the elementary years, students are seriously engaged in reading for learning. This process sweeps across all disciplinary domains, extending even to the area of personal learning. Students encounter a variety of informational and fictional texts, and they read texts in all genres and modes of discourse. In the study of various disciplines of learning (language arts, mathematics, science, social studies), students must learn, through reading, the communities of discourse of those disciplines. Each subject has its own specific vocabulary; and for students to excel in all subjects, they must learn the specific vocabulary of all subject areas in context. In the middle grades, students self-select reading materials based on personal interests established through classroom learning. Students become curious about science, mathematics, history, and literature as they form contexts for those subjects related to their personal and classroom experiences. As students explore academic areas through reading, they develop favorite subjects and become confident in their verbal discourse about those subjects. Reading across the curriculum develops students’ academic and personal interests in different subjects, as well as their understanding and expertise across subject areas. As students read, they develop both content and contextual vocabulary. They also build good habits for reading, researching, and learning. Reading Across the Curriculum standards are the same for grades 6-12.

Mathematics

The Mathematics curriculum in the Tift County School district follows the state standards. Math classes challenge students to achieve beyond the minimum requirements. Topics are represented in multiple ways including concrete/pictorial, verbal/written, numeric/data-based, graphical, and symbolic. Concepts are introduced and used in the context of real world phenomena.

By the end of grade six, students will understand the four arithmetic operations as they relate to positive rational numbers; convert between and compute with different forms of rational numbers; understand the concept of ratio and solve problems using proportional reasoning; understand and use line and rotational symmetry; determine the surface area and volume of solid figures; use variables to represent unknown quantities in formulae, algebraic expressions and equations; utilize data to make predictions; and determine the probability of a given event. Instruction and assessment includes the use of manipulatives and appropriate technology.

Science

The Science Curriculum in the Tift County School district follows the state standards. Science classes challenge the students to achieve through the use of higher level skills for problem solving. The goal for Tift County is for students to “Do Science, not View Science.” 

Sixth grade students use records they keep and analyze the data they collect. They observe and explain how an aspect of weather can affect a weather system. They use different models to represent systems such as the solar system and the sun/moon/earth system. They use what they observe about the earth’s materials to infer the processes and timelines that formed them. Sixth graders write instructions, describe observations, and show information in graphical form. When analyzing the data they collect, sixth graders can recognize relationships in simple charts and graphs and find more than one way to interpret their findings. The students replicate investigations and compare results to find similarities and differences. The middle school earth science course is designed to give all students an overview of common strands in earth science including, but not limited to, meteorology, geology, astronomy, oceanography, resources, and human impact on the earth.

Social Studies

The Social Studies Curriculum in the Tift County School district follows the state standards. The Georgia Performance Standards for Social Studies were designed to develop informed Georgia citizens who understand the history of the United States and our place in an ever increasing interconnected world. It is essential that students understand their past and how that past influences the present day and the future. To accomplish our goal of informed citizens, it is essential that social studies teachers:

1. Bridge essential understanding about the past to contemporary events.
2. Assist students in understanding the nature of historical inquiry and the role of primary and secondary sources.
3. Encourage the consideration of multiple perspectives on events.
4. Engage students in speculation about the known and unknown motives and actions of historic figures.
5. Integrate the strands of Social Studies.

Yearlong Study: LATIN AMERICA and CANADA, EUROPE, AUSTRALIA and OCEANIA.

In sixth grade, students begin the study of major world regions. The four strands are integrated, with history as the central strand. The history strand focuses on historical developments essential to understanding a specific region in the modern world. The geography strand relates the importance of geography to each region’s development. The civics strand examines political structures in each region. The economics strand continues to build basic economic concepts and introduces students to the economic development of each region.