Focus Areas
Art, Music, Dance, Drama and Physical Education...You name them - we have them - FULL TIME! Second through fifth graders are given the opportunity to "specialize" in a selected area of interest by focusing on that area for the quarter. For example, a fourth grader who enjoys dancing may choose to take dance class every day that quarter. Students are able to excel in a focus area because of the increased amount of time spent in that class.
Click on the links to read Focus Area descriptions.
Physical Education
Art
Music
Dance
Drama
Physical Education
2nd Grade Physical Education
Fundamental Gymnastics & Movement
In this focus, students will explore and enhance their fundamental movement patterns. Such topics as balance, flow, strength and endurance will be focus of basic gymnastic movements and skills. The students will be working on such apparatus as the balance beam, horse, and mats using rehearsed stunts to build the fundamental skills of movement.
Introduction to Team Sports
Introduction to team sports is a special focus on sportsmanship and teamwork within a group. These students will participate in team building exercises that stress such issues as fairness, manners, consideration of others, and honesty while engaged in physical activity.
3rd Grade Physical Education
Working Together
This focus will stress the students forming relationships within a team and recognizing the unique contributions of each person involved in that team. Group problem solving will be a major focus in this area. Celebrating the goals reached by the team, as a whole will serve as the major motivator in their quest to contribute to the team and collaborate with teammates.
Intro to Gymnastics
This focus will build on previously taught gymnastic skills and extend to more challenging movements and skills. Preliminary inversion skills as well as two person balance stunts will be introduced following an intense safety segment that will include a written test to ensure understanding. Extension on previous learning will also include more challenging movements on apparatus introduced in previous classes.
4th Grade Physical Education
Team Sports
In this focus, the students will be involved in organized game play with each student playing various roles in the whole sport experience. Each sport unit will begin with an instructional unit and basic skills will be rehearsed prior to game play. Using the Sport Education model, the students will be placed on teams with different classmates each day on a rotating cyclical schedule.
Flips & Jumps
This focus will introduce more advanced inversion skills after a unit on safety reviewing knowledge first taught in Intermediate Gymnastics. Students will engage in more challenging skills introducing such apparatus as a springboard and combination skills. Routines consisting of a combination of simple skills will be required of each student at the end of the unit. Students will also be taught and practice observation and grading of gymnastic skills of their classmates in their routines.
5th Grade Physical Education
Intramural Experience
In this focus, the students will be involved in organized game play with each student playing various roles in the whole sport experience. Each sport unit will begin with an instructional unit as well as a written rules test. Basic skills will be rehearsed prior to game play. Duties such as scorekeeper, coaches, referees, and statistician will be included on the schedule to give the students an all inclusive experience into every aspect of the sports experience.
Advanced Gymnastics
Students in this focus will practice advanced skills initially taught in intermediate and Flips and Jumps. They will also be placed in a peer teacher role, demonstrating and overseeing the instruction of their classmates on a specific movement they have researched. Students will individually plan, practice, and perform a routine their peers will evaluate for accuracy, aesthetic quality, and an individually designed rubric.
Art
2nd Grade Art
Butterflies
Students will study the life cycle of the butterfly as they create compositions related to it through painting, drawing, clay, collage and printmaking.
All About Town
This focus area is designed to help students to create an awareness of themselves and their own community. Students will create communities and cities with cut paper collage and paint. Our compositions will include parks, gardens, homes, and businesses.
3rd Grade Art
Still Life & Plants
The third grade students will visit the North Carolina Museum of Art where they will see works by Impressionists Claude Monet, Vincent Van Gogh, and Georges-Pierre Seurat. This class will enrich this experience through drawing and painting as well as the art history associated with these famous artists.
Landscapes
This class will concentrate on famous Impressionists as they study their paintings and create their own landscapes in a variety of painting mediums. Claude Monet’s work, soon to be exhibited at the North Carolina Museum of Art, will be our inspiration.
4th Grade Art
Architecture
Houses, castles, and landscaping will bring together some of the joys of being and architect. This class will design their dream house with style and imagination. Four students will be chosen from this course to represent Conn Elementary in the countywide “If I Could Build A House” contest. A local architect will visit and speak to our class.
Set Design
Our Musical Theatre Production will be enhanced by the study and creation of real scenery. The students will learn about working backstage and creating props through art. Some after school rehearsals will be required as well as an evening performance.
5th Grade Art
The Human Figure
Students will begin this class with contour line drawings from live models in art. Through drawing, cut paper collage, painting, and clay sculpture the class will learn about the human figure and a variety of ways to express its form.
Winter Sports
Stained glass art will be created in groups with tissue and construction paper showing a variety of winter sports showing movement of the human figure. These works will be displayed in the large windows at the front of the school for all to enjoy. Additionally, painting sports figures will allow the students to create their own individual sports figures compositions.
Music
2nd Grade Music
Music Around the World
In this class, Students will study songs and instruments of many other cultures. The students will listen to, sing, and play music from other cultures. The students will also read literature from and about the cultures, identify geography, and learn about traditions of each culture. We will publish what we learn in an online blog.
3rd Grade Music
Recorder Ensemble
Students will learn basic music elements and concepts while learning to play the soprano recorder. They will develop individual as well as ensemble skills.
4th Grade Music <
Keyboarding
In this class, students will learn to play a keyboard instrument. The class is designed for students with no previous keyboard experience. Basic fundamentals of reading music and correct playing technique will be presented. There will be a piano recital at the end of this quarter.
5th Grade Music
Keyboarding
In this class, students will learn to play a keyboard instrument. The class is designed for students with no previous keyboard experience. Basic fundamentals of reading music and correct playing technique will be presented. There will be a piano recital at the end of this quarter.
Musical Theater Production
Students in this class will team with the drama and dance students to perform a musical play. Through the rehearsal and performance of vocal and instrumental music, students will experience the creative process of preparing for a stage production that incorporates singing, acting, and dancing. Some after school rehearsals may be required. There will be an evening performance for which attendance is mandatory.
Dance
2nd Grade Dance
When I Dance, I...
Students will express their ideas and feelings in dance as they explore the basic elements of movement: time, space, energy, and shape. The focus will be on developing the natural creative skills of each child and heightening kinesthetic and spatial awareness.
Multicultural Dance
As students learn the steps and rhythm patterns of dances from many countries, they will develop such skills as basic timing and coordination. Students will also learn geographical and historical information about the different countries and dances.
3rd Grade Dance
Multicultural Dance As students learn the steps and rhythm patterns of more complex dances from a wide variety of countries, they will continue to develop such skills as basic timing and coordination while performing longer sequences of movement. Students will explore geographical and historical information about the various countries and dances.
Tap
This class will introduce students to the technique of tap dancing and the history of the art form. The focus will be on rhythmic perception, balance, coordination, and fun.
4th Grade Dance
Dance Ensemble
Students in this two-quarter course will focus on dance technique, choreography, and performance. This class will pair with the 5th grade Dance Ensemble to create and perform a modern dance piece for an in house demonstration, the Magnet Fair, and the Pieces of Gold auditions. After school rehearsals and attendance at performances and the audition are required. Students will continue this course in the 3rd quarter.
Dancing/Creativity/Performing
This class is designed for students to gain an appreciation of dance as an art form and as a method of maintaining fitness. The students will explore the qualities of movement and range of motion through rigorous warm-up, floor work, and movement sequences while working on proper alignment, dance performance, and musicality.
5th Grade Dance
Dance Ensemble
Students in this two-quarter course will focus on dance technique, choreography, and performance. This class will pair with the 4th grade Dance Ensemble to create and perform a modern dance piece for an in house demonstration, the Magnet Fair, and the Pieces of Gold audition. After school rehearsals and attendance at performances and the audition are required. Students will continue this course in the 3rd quarter.
Musical Theater Production
Students in this class will team with the drama and music students to perform a musical play. Through the creation, rehearsal and performance of choreography, students will experience the creative process of preparing for a stage production which incorporates singing, acting, and dancing.
Drama
2nd Grade Drama
Creative Dramatics
Students will participate in theatre games and creative role-play activities to develop and strengthen the essential tools for drama: mind, body, and voice. We will explore stories and how to tell them in different ways. We will also create our own stories using original characters and settings.
Puppets & Masks
Puppets and masks are a wonderful way to strengthen an important tool for the actor: the voice. In this class students will use voices to bring puppet characters to life. They will create puppets for scripts and build their own creative characters. They will also create scenery and perform short puppet plays for small audiences. Students will create masks to expand their collection of characters.
3rd Grade Drama
Introduction to Theater
Students will explore the history of theatre from cave men to the ancient Greeks and Romans, to modern theatre in its many faces. They will play theatre games, do improvisations and create scenes and scripts using and strengthening the essential tools for all actors past and present – the mind, the body, and the voice.
Scriptwriting
In this focus area, students will come away with a portfolio of dramatic writing. Students will take part in whole group and small group playwriting. We will focus on conflict resolution through dialogue as well as character development and some creative writing. Students will create characters, settings, dialogue, and finally, an entire play of their very own. <
4th Grade Drama & Technology
Community Theater
This class will explore what it takes to run a community theatre. We will tour Raleigh Little Theatre and then create our own community theatre in our classroom. The class will choose a play to produce and the students will take on the responsibilities of actor, director, techie, scenic designer/builder, costume designer, and box office manager.
Tech Theater
Students will learn how to design lighting, sound, and publicity for a theatrical production. Students will also be introduced to stage management and assistant directing. Students will create and run lights and sound and create publicity for the fifth grade production to be performed at the end of the quarter. There will be some after school rehearsals to attend and evening performance in which students are expected to participate.
5th Grade Drama & Technology
Script Writing
Students will advance their writing skills developing characters, advancing plots, and creating and resolving conflict. We will be experimenting with pod casting and radio shows writing for an audience that may not be able to see the action. Emphasis will be placed on dialogue and vocal expression.
Musical Theater Production
Students in this class will team with the dance and music students to perform a musical play. Through the creation, rehearsal and performance of characters, students will experience the creative process of preparing for a stage production that incorporates singing, acting, and dancing. Some after school rehearsals may be required. There will be an evening performance for which attendance is mandatory.
Coming to You Live... Students in this focus area will be in charge of broadcasting the daily news using the video mixer and other broadcasting equipment, creating special reports using movie editing software, and working on communicating effectively using your voice and body language.
