Elective courses help you become a more well-rounded student. The elective classes below are offered through High School Transfer Credit. Some are only offered in one semester, so check the table to see when the class you want is offered and what format you can take it in. Below the chart, you’ll find course descriptions for each.
| Classes (Semesters offered) | Online | Correspondence |
|---|---|---|
| Art Appreciation (S-1) | X | |
| Career Planning (S-1) | X | |
| College & Career Preparation I (S-1) | X | |
| College & Career Preparation II (S-1) | X | |
| Family Living (S-1 & 2) | X | |
| Financial Literacy (S-1) | X | |
| French I (S-1 & 2) | X | |
| French II (S-1 & 2) | X | |
| Health (S-1) | X | X |
| Health (S-2) | X | |
| Music Appreciation (S-1 & 2) | X | |
| Physical Education S-1 | X | |
| Spanish I (S-1 & 2) | X | |
| Spanish II (S-1 & 2) | X | |
| Spanish III (S-1 & 2) | X |
Online
Based on the Consortium of National Arts Education Associations standards, students learn to critique, compare, and possibly influence their own works of art. Students study the history of Western visual arts (primarily painting). Students begin with an introduction to the basic principles of painting and learn how to critique and compare works of art. Students also learn about Greek, Roman, Middle Age, and Renaissance artwork. For more information, visit Apex Learning.
Correspondence
The Career Planning course is divided into 10 chapters of study using the textbook AGS Career Planning by Thomas F. Harrington and Spencer G. Niles, ©2006 American Guidance Services, Inc. Students use this course as a mechanism to plan for their future careers. Much of the focus of this course is on why making a career plan is a good idea. Students also complete a portfolio.
Online
Based on the American School Counselors Associations National Standards, students learn why good study habits and skills they develop in high school will help them in college. In the first semester, students gain a deeper understanding of what it means to be ready for college or a career. In the second semester, students learn about the college admission process, financial aid, job shadowing, and internships. For more information, visit Apex Learning.
Correspondence
Using the textbook "Married & Single Life," by Audrey Palm Riker and Holley E. Brisbane, ©1992 Glencoe Division of Macmillan/McGraw-Hill School Publishing Co., students independently study how their roles in life will change. Students learn about Erikson’s theory of personality development, Maslow’s hierarchy of needs, effective communication, responsible decision making, relationships, and life’s stages. This course will be updated by July 1, 2014.
Online
Aligned to the Financial Literacy and National Council for Teachers of Mathematics (NCTM) standards, this course helps students learn about budgeting, saving, investing, credit, insurance, buying and leasing a car, and renting and buying a house. For more information, visit Apex Learning. (Audio is available.)
Online
Aligned to the American Council on the Teaching of Foreign Languages (ACTFL) standards, French I teaches students to greet people, describe family and friends, talk about hobbies, and communicate about other topics, such as sports, travel, and medicine. Vocabulary learned includes school subjects, parts of the body, people, and idiomatic phrases. For more information, visit Apex Learning. (Kirkwood Apex Learning courses do not have a speaking component.)
Prerequisite: French I S-2
Students enrolling in French II, S-1, should have completed French I, S-2 prior to enrollment. Students will be expected to participate in reading, writing, speaking, and listening activities around the themes of popular & fine culture, the place where we belong, and home and family. Conversations with online facilitator are strongly encouraged during this course. Grammar points emphasized will be speaking about the past, subject & stress pronouns, -er verbs, and using de to show possession. For more information please visit Apex Learning.
Prior to enrollment in French II, S-2, students need to complete French II, S-1. Students will be expected to participate in reading, writing, speaking, and listening activities around the themes of going to a party, going to school, travel, and business. Conversations with online facilitator are strongly encouraged during this course. The grammar emphasized in this semester will be adjective noun agreement, direct & indirect object pronouns, future tense, and a review of all other tenses of verbs. For more information please visit Apex Learning.
Online (S-1 only)
Based on the National Science Teachers Association (NSTA) standards, students develop knowledge and skills in a variety of health-related subjects, including mental and emotional health; nutrition; physical activity; substance use and abuse; injury prevention and safety; and personal health, environmental conservation and community health resources. For more information, visit Apex Learning.
Correspondence
Using the textbook "Health: Skills for Wellness," by Pruitt, Crumpler and Proghrow-Stith; ©1997 Prentice Hall, students study wellness, personality and self-esteem, stress management, mental disorders and suicide, families, relationships, violence, reproduction and heredity, pregnancy and birth, childhood and adolescence, adulthood, aging and death, food and nutrition, and diet and weight management in the first semester. In the second semester, students study digestive and excretory system; skeletal, muscular, and nervous systems; respiratory and cardiovascular systems; exercise, rest, and recreation; skin, eyes, and ears; alcohol; tobacco; legal and illegal drugs; infectious disease; AIDS and sexually transmitted diseases; noninfectious diseases; their environment; public health; safety and first aid.
Online
This two-semester course offers students a world-view of music and cultures. In the first semester, students learn about primitive musical forms, classical music and American jazz. The second semester covers gospel, folk, soul, blues, Latin rhythms, rock and roll, and hip-hop. Students also study how the global society and the Internet are bringing music from around the world together in a whole new way.
Online
Students registering for this course should plan on taking a minimum of 12 weeks to complete it. Based on the Presidential Council on Physical Fitness and Sports standards, Physical Education is a course designed to give students more in-depth knowledge of cardiovascular exercise and care, safe exercising, building muscle strength and endurance, injury prevention, fitness skills and FITT benchmarks, goal setting, nutrition and diet, and stress management. Students are required to be physically active at least three times per week and turn in documentation of such activities signed by a parent/guardian.
Online
Aligned to the American Council on the Teaching of Foreign Languages (ACTFL) standards, Spanish I teaches students to greet people, describe family and friends, talk about hobbies, and communicate about other topics, such as sports, travel, and medicine. Vocabulary learned includes school subjects, parts of the body, people, and idiomatic phrases. For more information, visit Apex Learning.
Prerequisite: Spanish I S1 & S2
Students enrolling in Spanish II, S-1, should have completed Spanish I, S-2, prior to enrollment. Students will be expected to participate in reading, writing, speaking, and listening activities around the themes of news & politics, the media, the performing arts, and literature. Virtual face-to-face conversations will occur at least 4 times during the course of this semester-length course. Grammar points emphasized will be the preterite regular and irregular verbs, -ar verbs with spelling changes, positive and negative language, plurals of nouns, ser and estar, and verbs like gustar. For more information please visit Apex Learning.
Prior to enrollment in Spanish II, S-2, students need to complete Spanish II, S-1. Students will be expected to participate in reading, writing, speaking, and listening activities around the themes of going to a restaurant, going shopping, accessories, cities, transportation, traveling, hotels, and classrooms. Virtual face-to-face conversations will occur at least 4 times during the course of this semester-length course. The grammar emphasized in this semester will be a continuation of irregular preterite verbs, preterite versus imperfect, interrogative words, reflexive verbs, ya, and saber versus conocer. For more information please visit Apex Learning.
Prerequisite: Spanish II S-2
Students enrolling in Spanish III, S-1, should have completed Spanish II, S-2, prior to enrollment. Students will be expected to participate in reading, writing, speaking, and listening activities around the themes of family, childhood, personal characteristics, and homes. Virtual face-to-face conversations will occur at least 4 times during the course of this semester-length course. Grammar points emphasized will be indirect object pronouns, more preterite versus imperfect verbs, stem-changing verbs, the use of expressions with hace, and the long forms of possessive adjectives. For more information, please visit Apex Learning.
Students enrolling in Spanish III, S-2, should have completed Spanish III, S-1, prior to enrollment. Students will be expected to participate in reading, writing, speaking, and listening activities around the themes of theater, music, television, and arguing & making up. Virtual face-to-face conversations will occur at least 4 times during the course of this semester-length course. The main grammar point for this semester is the use of the subjunctive. For more information please visit Apex Learning.