Note about high school arts curriculum: High school curriculum generally requires some sort of study and credit in the arts. Most schools offer experiences and study in a variety of areas in the arts. Some examples are:

• Animation
• Architecture
• Casting
• Ceramics
• Choral music
• Computer graphics and applications
• Construction
• Dance or other creative movement
• Digital arts
• Drama (including mime, storytelling, and technical aspects of theater)
• Drawing
• Film
• Graphic design
• Improvisational music
• Instrumental music
• Jewelry-making
• Metal Sculpture
• Mosaics
• Painting
• Photography
• Printmaking
• Sculpture
• Textiles and fiber art

In the study and practice of any of the performance or visual arts, students encounter such topics and sharpen such skills as:

• Watching, listening, and responding to works of art
• Background and elements of particular art form
• Understanding of the processes and techniques of particular forms
• Principles of design
• Vocabulary of particular art forms
• Interpretation, analysis, and evaluation of works of art
• Reflecting on own experiences and creations or performances
• Art history
• Well-known artists and works of visual or performing art forms
• Cultural contexts and expressions of art
• Style, materials, and techniques used in a work of art
• Generating questions about a work of art
• Considering messages and purposes of a particular work of art
• Responding orally, in writing, or some other way to works of art
• Reflecting on the contributions of artists to society
• Careers in art
• Discipline and mindset for improving and developing skills in art
• Fostering of creativity and self-expression
• Development of artistic awareness, imagination, perception, skill
• Experimenting with a variety of media, forms, and techniques
• Solving design problems
• Use of digital media and tools for producing, viewing, or responding to art
• Polishing and furthering personal skills in a chosen area of art
• Participation in collaborative discussions about works of art
• Participation in collaborative creation of works of art
• Proper safety procedures for activities in the specific arts

1) Many students begin high school level math in the middle grades, completing Algebra I and even Geometry before high school. See mathematics category in grades 10-12 for typical course of study information for higher-level math courses.

2) Mathematics curriculum at any grade level or for any topic identifies what students should know and be able to do at a particular grade level or course. However, intricately connected to and supporting all mathematics content and curriculum are mathematical processes that are common to all strands and specific expectations. Students at all levels need experiences with and growing proficiency in these practices. Educators and parents keep these in mind and integrate them constantly into mathematics instruction. These processes describe ways that students need to engage with mathematical subject matter increasingly as they progress through the grades.

1. Make sense of problems and persevere in solving them.

2. Reason abstractly and quantitatively.

3. Construct viable arguments and critique the reasoning of others.

4. Model with mathematics.

5. Use appropriate tools strategically.

6. Attend to precision.

7. Look for and make use of structure.

8. Look for and express regularity in repeated reasoning.

Source: National Council of Teachers of Mathematics process standards, National Research Council’s report on helping children learn mathematics, Adding It Up.

1. In the high school grades, there is significant variation in science courses offered or required in the sequence of science courses. In addition to courses in biology or life science, earth science, chemistry, and physics that may be the standard courses, students may be offered such options as basic physical science, environmental science, ecology, principles of technology, urban ecology, botany, geology, astronomy, basic physical science, anatomy and physiology, and biochemistry.

2. The Next Generation Science and Engineering Standards (developed in 2013 in a joint collaboration among the American Association for the Advancement of Science, the National Research Council, the National Science Teachers Association, and Achieve) describe scientific practices that scientists use as they investigate the natural world and engineering practices that engineers use as they design and build models and systems. In addition, they present seven crosscutting concepts that apply across all the topics and fields of science. The teaching of science topics and the corresponding standards at all grade levels K-12 are intricately interwoven with these practices and crosscutting concepts. Students need consistent experience and connection with these two dimensions of science education (practices and cross-cutting concepts) as they work with the third dimension (core science content topics).

Science and Engineering Practices

1. Asking questions (science) and defining problems (engineering)

2. Developing and using models

3. Designing and carrying out investigations

4. Organizing and interpreting data

5. Using mathematics and computational thinking

6. Constructing explanations (science) and designing solutions (engineering)

7. Engaging in argument from evidence

8. Obtaining, evaluating, and communicating information

Crosscutting Concepts

1. Patterns

2. Cause and effect

3. Scale, proportion, and quantity

4. Systems and system models

5. Energy and matter: Flows, cycles, and conservation

6. Structure and function

7. Stability and change

1. These ten themes of social studies serve as a background framework for the teaching of the social sciences at all grade levels. They weave through all content and are interrelated with one another. Students need exposure to and development of these themes throughout the grades.

Source: National Council for the Social Studies

Ten Themes of Social Studies

1. Culture

2. Time, continuity, and change

3. People, places, and environments

4. Individual development and identity

5. Individuals, groups, and institutions

6. Power, authority, and governance

7. Production, distribution, and consumption

8. Science, technology, and society

9. Global connections

10. Civic ideals and practices

2. In addition, there are social studies practices and habits and literacy skills that should be fostered and integrated with all social studies content. Students at all levels need grade-level appropriate experiences that develop and polish these practices.

1. Gathering, interpreting, and using evidence from various sources

2. Applying critical thinking skills to organize, use, and evaluate information

3. Problem solving and decision making processes

4. Chronological reasoning and understanding of causation

5. Comparing and understanding events and relationships in context

6. Comparing different ways of looking at an event or problem

7. Understanding how people might be affected by events, changes, settings, or problems

8. Communicating knowledge, research conclusions, and ideas in written, oral, and visual forms

9. Geographic reasoning and use of geographic tools

10. Describing and explaining economics and economic systems

11. Civic understanding and participation

General goal for high school students: Use technology within all content areas to collaborate, communicate, generate innovative ideas, create original works, and investigate and solve problems.

• Demonstrating proficient keyboarding skills
• Understanding of operating system tools, applications, and storage devices
• Use of a variety of common applications and productivity tools
• Creating products combining text, images, sound, music, and video
• Creating and publishing stories, games, animations, problems, and solutions
• Creating Web pages
• Use of spreadsheet and concept-mapping software
• Use of interactive tools to design polls or surveys to gather data
• Making contributions to blogs, wikis, and other digital collaborative forums
• Use of online databases or simulation software to interpret and predict trends
• Increasing knowledge about many cultures through digital content
• Communicating with multiple audiences through a variety of formats and media
• Increasing understanding of a local or global issue
• Researching and using information fluently
• Choosing appropriate search engines, directories, and online applications
• Selecting appropriate, relevant sources for a purpose or audience
• Analysis and synthesis of information to make decisions or develop solutions
• Assessing the credibility and validity of online sources
• Use of bibliography tools to cite sources from digital sources
• Reporting and sharing results or solutions
• Exploring ways to receive feedback from multiple, appropriate audiences
• Demonstrate understanding and avoidance of potential online dangers
• Understanding health hazards of frequent technology use
• Demonstrating safe and legal use of online sites and information
• Use of passwords, virus prevention, and other protective procedures
• Understanding risks of social networking sites; safe sharing of personal information online
• Understanding privacy issues and how data are kept and available publicly
• Practicing ethical and respectful behavior online
• Careful, responsible use and maintenance of digital equipment
• Demonstrating openness to learning new technologies and procedures