Middle School Microcourses
Microcourses
MS Astounding Architecture
Students will investigate the impacts of innovative architecture while exploring their own ideas of what makes a great architect. Through a guided discovery of architectural trends, particularly the Tiny Home Movement, students will seek to understand the cost of architectural creativity and apply what they learn by implementing the architectural design process to their own project proposal and plans.
MS Brick by Brick
This microcourse is in Minecraft! Humans are pretty small on the face of this planet, yet we strive to great heights by building enormous feats of architectural grandeur that dot the map all over the world. Landmarks have long been a way humans have left a lasting legacy of and snapshot of a span of time. Why are landmarks built? Why are they important, and who gets to decide? Maybe you’ve been lucky enough to have seen one of these great landmarks in person—The Eiffel Tower, The Statue of Liberty, or the Great Sphinx in Gaza? Tour the astounding feats of human ingenuity as we learn about landmarks around the globe in our digital space. Then try your hand at creating a digital landmark in a Minecraft world. How will your landmark measure up, and will it be capable of standing the test of time?
MS Dystopian Societies
Welcome to dystopian fandom! In this course, you will discover the differences between a utopia and a dystopia. You will learn about dystopian literature and why this type of literature is so exciting to read. Through a guided exploration, you will discover how the districts, the reaping, the training, and the main game found in the well-known book/movie series “The Hunger Games” serve the dystopian society, Panem. But, could utopian and dystopian societies be open to interpretation? How different are they really? In the end, it is up to you to decide by creating a project based on a plot of your choosing.
MS Fun with Physics
Students begin the course by observing thrilling experiments to spark their curiosity about how and why the world around them works, including everything from electricity to space. By the second week, students are ready to examine the laws of physics that make these phenomena possible and design their own experiment, showing how what they’ve discovered works in a process or product of their own creation by the end of week three.
MS Outer Space
Join us for a virtual space exploration for three weeks where you will discover outer space, space technology, and rocket science. Through an exploration of planets, galaxies, and moments in current events such as the creation of the United States Space Force, students will evaluate the important role of space exploration in our past, present, and future. Together we will observe and apply the engineering design process, conduct hands-on experiments to figure out the how and why of what we observe, and create an out-of-this-world project worthy of a real mission!
MS Science of My Sport
Students take the role of inventor in this course as they find a problem in the sport of their choice, take information scientists have provided, and create an object or a process to solve that problem. Anything from protective athletic gear to menu plans for athletes in recovery could be the next discovery one of our students makes!
MS Strategic Money
Students will discover various aspects of the financial world including savings, investments, interest, and stocks, and engage in money management tasks with the goal of increasing their (imaginary) holdings by the end of the course. Students will create a portfolio of how and why they saved, invested, or spent their money.
