Geometry/Geometry Honors

One day in 2580 B.C.E., a very serious architect stood in a dusty desert with a set of plans. His plans called for creating a structure 480 feet tall, with a square base and triangular sides, using stone blocks weighing two tons each. The Pharaoh wanted the job done right. The better this architect understood geometry, the better his chances were for staying alive.

Geometry is everywhere, not just in pyramids. Engineers use geometry to build highways and bridges. Artists use geometry to create perspective in their paintings, and mapmakers help travelers find things using the points located on a geometric grid. Throughout this course, students travel a mathematical highway illuminated by spatial relationships, reasoning, connections, and problem-solving.

Projects allow students to demonstrate competence and understanding of concepts and skills by completing a career-related task. For example, the assignment might be to create a mural, a package design, a speech, a film review, or a movie set – you name it! These creative projects are about applying your learning acquired through in-depth research to real-world career tasks.

Each competency will be addressed through a project that is based on a real-life career task. Here are the careers you will explore: Gemologist, Building Inspector, Textile Designer, Transportation Planner, Irrigation Design Engineer, Package Designer, Surveyor, and Carpenter.

Please also review the competency statements to learn more about the major topics and concepts covered in this offering.

Experiences allow you to explore a career field you’re curious about while mastering competencies for school credit. Through career-focused experiential learning, you will develop and learn skills for application to tasks typically completed as part of a career rather than using traditional assessments like essays or tests. During your Experience, you’ll work with a professional in the field to support your learning whom we call an “outside expert.” You’ll earn a badge for your accomplishments to share on social media and higher education platforms, or with colleges, potential employers, peers, and colleagues to display your qualifications.

Here’s how experiences work:

1. Each competency you work on is addressed through a separate deliverable predetermined by you and your instructor.
2. Guided learning for each module consists of research and/or work with a professional in the field. Your instructor will coach you through this process.
3. Each module culminates in a final demonstration of understanding, which includes a deliverable and a discussion-based assessment with your instructor.

Here’s an example:

Let’s say you’re curious about a career in healthcare. You decide you’d like to learn about this career area, make a professional connection, earn a badge, and meet competencies for your 9th-grade English requirement. While enrolled in English 1 Experiences, you conduct research to better understand language and structure in writing. Then you may work with an Occupational Therapist to help apply your writing skills to create an informational video about adaptive equipment for patients. The video aims to advise family members of patients regarding the use of accommodations and equipment to help patients perform daily tasks. Now you’ve earned the Language and Structure in Writing competency! This is just one example of the many ways Experiences can bridge competencies to careers.

Obtaining an Outside Expert: Prior to enrollment, please have an idea for an outside expert in mind or consult with our counseling department by emailing [email protected] for help in identifying one.

*A parent/guardian permission form and background check of the outside expert are both required to work with outside experts without parental supervision.