Middle School Electives

     Ravenswood Elementary is doing something new this year with the middle school.  The enrichment staff has come together to form an electives schedule!  The concept is that the students will choose the main courses that the enrichment teachers have decided to teach for three of the four quarters  throughout the year, leaving one day of the week set aside for the P.E. to make sure the students receive a fully enriched education.  Their choices will lead them to taking each of the Arts Enrichment class at some point in the year.  For example, if a student chooses to have drama for the first quarter, they will have music and/or art for the next two quarters.  So far, I have seen a really positive turnout for all of the these classes.  Based on what the students are interested in, I have decided that my quarter courses are going to be:

• First Quarter - Set Design for Theatre
• Second Quarter - Acting and Scene Work
• Third Quarter - Directing Scenes

     During the fourth quarter, we will move back to the regular schedule to accommodate World's Fair, and continue with our usual arts integration lessons.  

     The set design group for this first quarter has been awesome all week.  As a lot of the students didn't know each other very well, being a mixed grade class, I started the course with a team building exercise.  In small groups, the students were assigned to design and build a fort using only the materials we had in the room!  In a few short minutes, the students were collaborating and creating fantastic structures using stacks of books, tables, tape, rope, and each other.  It was a sight to behold!  I can't wait to see the brilliance that is bound to come out in the next few weeks.