HORIZONS PROGRAM

A Remarkable Middle School in the Making !

Working to Meet the Needs of Our Gifted Students In a Middle School Setting

Horizons Course in a Content Area This model takes the standard curriculum as defined by the Georgia Performance Standards and compacts, accelerates, and enriches that curriculum. These classes are taught by a Gifted certified teacher.

6 th Grade Content Course in Horizons Language Arts Reading Writing Grammar Participate in a school or county sponsored contest. Reflections, Honoring our Heroes, Young Authors, Oratorical contest, Technology Fair, etc.

Sample Unit Plan for the novel The Watsons Go to Birmingham-1963 By: Christopher Paul Curtis Sample Unit Plan for the novel The Watsons Go to Birmingham-1963 By: Christopher Paul Curtis A four-six week independent novel study STUDENTS COMPLETE THE FOLLOWING ACTIVITIES EACH WEEK: *Read assigned chapters for homework *Complete high level comprehension questions *Complete Literature Circle role sheet and participate in Literature Circle discussion * Participate in a focused lesson on a different element of literature each week (atmosphere/mood, character, dialogue)

In addition, the students also complete a variety of activities depending on the novel. explore the setting of the novel: 1960’s (clothing, hairstyles, cars, toys, Civil Rights Movement) through viewing of video clips write a paragraph with direct examples and quotes supporting one of the themes of the novel read a parallel short story and create a comparison/contrast Venn diagram

 Horizons Courses in Language Arts, Science, and/or Social Studies  Homework for advanced courses average about 1 hour per course per night. 7 th and 8 th Grade

Three Year Horizons Program At A Glance 3 Years of Advanced Language Arts 2 Years of Advanced Content Study in Science and/or Social Studies Could have 3 Years of Advanced Math if Recommended *Math is not a Horizons course.

The Schedule Six classes for approximately one hour periods and one 30 minute advisement class: 1 st Period – Language Arts from 9:00 – 10:00 2 nd Period – Math from 10:05 – 11:05 3 rd Period – Science from 11:10 – 12:15 4 th Period – Social Studies from 12:20 – 1:50 (includes 25 minute lunch) 5 th Period – PRIDE from 1:55 – 2:25 6 th Period – Connections from 2:30 – 3:20 7 th Period – Connections from 3:25 – 4:15

Dare To Be Remarkable!