Middle School

Now more than ever, the instructional practice needs to better support student achievement, especially when it comes to 6th-12th Education. By creating student-centered virtual classrooms, your students become more engaged in tackling new concepts and take more ownership of their learning.

Dove Virtual Academy is proud to use Edgenuity’s online curriculum. Dove Virtual Academy takes full advantage of online technology to deliver diverse, engaging, and relevant learning opportunities to interest and motivate students. Courses may include video, audio, and interactive activities, as well as reading and writing assignments with project-based learning.

Dove Virtual Academy offers online courses for middle school students in grades 6th through 8th. Students are required to take 4 core courses (English, Math, Science, and Social Studies) and 1 to 3 electives per year.

The number of elective courses is determined by how many intervention courses are needed in core subjects.

The standard Dove Virtual Academy program for middle school students is shown below:

Grade 6

English Language Arts 6 *
Math 6 *
Science 6
Social Studies 6
Computer Science and Information Technology Electives
Math Intervention / Reading Intervention
Advisory (Character Education/Leadership/SEL)

*Honor courses are available.

English Language Arts 6

In this full-year course, students continue to develop reading, writing, and language arts skills by learning to read critically, analyze texts, and cite evidence through an array of reading selections. Students explore various texts of different genres, including fictional texts such as Through the Looking Glass, Holes, Esperanza Rising, and The Number Devil, and nonfiction texts such as biographies and historic speeches. Students will analyze text structure, author’s purpose, and argumentative claims. Students sharpen their vocabulary, grammar, and listening skills through explicit modeling and ample practice. Students also engage in routine, responsive writing based on an examination of the variety of texts they have read. In more extensive process-based writing lessons, students write topical essays in the narrative, informative, analytical, and argumentative formats

Mathematics 6

This course begins by connecting ratio and rate to multiplication and division, allowing students to use ratio reasoning to solve a wide variety of problems. Students further apply their understanding of multiplication and division to explain the standard procedure for dividing fractions. This course builds upon previous notions of the number system to now include the entire set of rational numbers. Students begin to understand the use of variables as they write, evaluate, and simplify expressions. They use the idea of equality and properties of operations to solve one-step equations and inequalities. In statistics, students explore different graphical ways to display data. They use data displays, center measures, and variability measures to summarize data sets. The course concludes with students' reasoning about relationships among shapes to determine area, surface area, and volume.

Science 6

In this year-long course, students continue to build on ideas and capabilities developed in elementary school to explain science phenomena across the three domains: Life Science, Earth and Space Science, and Physical Science. Students explore thermal energy transfer and its relationship to changes in the state of matter, study cell structures and body systems, and investigate the rock cycle, plate tectonics, and weather and climate.

Social Studies 6

Designed to introduce students to the study of geography, this course helps students master important concepts in physical and human geography. Comprehensive and organized by region, this two-semester middle school course helps students understand the Earth’s physical and human diversity while focusing on the western hemisphere. Students analyze population and settlement patterns and evaluate the ways that human activities modify the physical environment. While studying humans around the hemisphere students compare development, standards of living, systems of government, and economic factors. In addition, students gain a rich understanding of global cultures and the historical factors that have shaped the world around them. All units in the course are parallel and include studies in physical and human geography, ancient cultures, regional studies, and modern issues.

Amazon Future Engineering Computer Science Courses

Computer Science Explorations 1: Scratch
Computer Science Explorations 2: Artificial Intelligence
Computer Science Explorations 3: Creative Media in Python ( Available 2023-2024)

Digital Citizenship 6

The Digital Citizenship course is designed for students with no background in computer science, and there are no course prerequisites. Students will explore topics related to digital citizenship and cyber hygiene all through the CodeHS web-based platform. Students will complete a culminating course project where they will create a public service announcement. This is not a coding-intensive course, but rather students will learn the basics of internet etiquette, the importance of online safety and security, and skills related to information literacy.

Game Creation 6: Roblox

This course is designed to introduce students to the metaverse world of Roblox. Students will learn about the platform, explore the Roblox Studio game engine used to create games for Roblox, build an obstacle course ("obby"), add provided code scripts to the obbies, customize their game, and then publish their creations to Roblox for their friends and family to enjoy.

Virtual Reality Creation 6

Introduction to Virtual Reality is a mini-course that introduces students to the basics of building virtual reality worlds using HTML and the A-Frame JavaScript Library. Through this course, students will build their own virtual reality worlds that are compatible with VR devices, including smartphone VR headsets!

Internet and Network 6

Students will create a personal portfolio website showing projects they build throughout the course. With a unique focus on creativity, problem-solving and project-based learning, Introduction to the Internet gives students the opportunity to explore several important topics of computing using their own ideas and creativity to develop an interest in computer science that will foster further endeavors in the field.

Web Design 6

The CodeHS Web Design course is a project-based course that teaches students how to build their own web pages. Students will learn the languages HTML and CSS and will create their own live homepages to serve as portfolios of their creations. By the end of this course, students will be able to explain how web pages are developed and viewed on the Internet, analyze and fix errors in existing websites, and create their very own multi-page websites. Students will learn the foundations of user interface design, rapid prototyping, and user testing, and will work together to create professional, mobile responsive websites.

Introduction to Programming Microbit 6

The Intro to Programming with Karel and micro-bit course merges the Physical Computing with micro-bit and the Introduction to Programming with Karel courses. The Karel course will provide the prerequisite information needed before students apply programming concepts to their physical micro-bit device. Note: Supplemental material on variables and parameters will need to be added to the course before students use these concepts with their micro-bit devices.

Tech, App, Design Creation 6

students explore the basics of programming, web design, internet safety, and how information is represented digitally and sent over the Internet. Students will learn to code with Tracy the Turtle, go through the design process to create a website that addresses a community issue and explore the impacts of internet-based innovations. With a unique focus on creativity, problem-solving, and project-based learning, Tech Apps and Coding gives students the opportunity to explore several important topics of computing using their own ideas and creativity to develop an interest in computer science that will foster further endeavors in the field.

Grade 7

English Language Arts 7 *
Math 7 *
Science 7
Social Studies 7
Computer Science and Information technology Electives
or Math Intervention / Reading Intervention
Advisory (Character Education/Leadership/SEL)

*Advanced versions of these courses are available (Honor Course).

English Language Arts 7

In this full-year course, students grow as readers, writers, and thinkers in this middle school course. With engaging literary and informational texts, students learn to think critically, analyze an author’s language, and cite evidence to support ideas. Students explore an array of texts including The Outsiders, Dragonwings, The Miracle Worker, Helen Keller’s autobiography and the poetry of Langston Hughes and William Butler Yeats. Explicit modeling and ample opportunities for practice help students sharpen their vocabulary, grammar, and listening skills. Students also respond routinely to texts they have read. In extensive, process-based writing lessons, students write topical essays in narrative, informative, analytical, and argumentative formats. In this full year course, students develop a mastery of reading, writing, and language arts skills.

Mathematics 7

This course begins with an in-depth study of proportional reasoning during which students utilize concrete models such as bar diagrams and tables to increase and develop conceptual understanding of rates, ratios, proportions, and percentages. Students’ number fluency and understanding of the rational number system are extended as they perform operations with signed rational numbers embedded in real-world contexts. In statistics, students develop meanings for representative samples, measures of central tendency, variation, and the ideal representation for comparisons of given data sets. Students develop an understanding of both theoretical and experimental probability. Throughout the course, students build fluency in writing expressions and equations that model real-world scenarios. They apply their understanding of inverse operations to solve multi-step equations and inequalities. Students build on their proportional reasoning to solve problems about scale drawings by relating the corresponding lengths between objects. The course concludes with a geometric analysis of angle relationships, area, and volume of both two- and three-dimensional figures.

Science 7

This full-year course focuses on developing useable knowledge to explain real world phenomena in the physical, life, and earth and space sciences. In the physical science domain, students will develop models of molecules, analyze chemical and physical properties, explore the law of conservation, and use graphs to describe the relationship between kinetic energy, mass, and speed. In the area of life science, students will explore the role of photosynthesis in the flow of matter, analyze data to explain the effects of resource availability on organism populations in ecosystems. As part of the earth science unit, students analyze the impact of humans on the environment.

Social Studies 7

Examining current global issues that impact our world today, this two-semester middle school course helps students understand the physical and human diversity of the eastern hemisphere. Students analyze population and settlement patterns and evaluate the ways that human activities modify the physical environment. While studying humans around the world, students compare development, standards of living, systems of government, and economic factors. In addition, students gain a rich understanding of global cultures and the historical factors that have shaped the world today. Offering interactive content that will grow students’ understanding of the development of modern civilization and human systems, this course encourages students to analyze economic trends as well as compare global markets and evaluate modern issues.

Grade 8

English Language Arts 8 *
Math 8 *
Science 8 *
Social Studies 8*
Computer Science and Information Technology Electives or Math Intervention / Reading Intervention
Advisory (Character Education/Leadership/SEL)

*Advanced versions of these courses are available (High School Course).

English Language Arts 8

In this full-year course, students build on their knowledge and blossom as thoughtful readers and clear, effective writers. A balance of literary and informational texts engage students throughout the course in reading critically, analyzing texts, and citing evidence to support claims. Texts include The Call of the Wild, The Land, Anne Frank's diary, and works from Fredrick Douglas and Randy Pausch. Students sharpen their vocabulary, grammar, and listening skills through lessons designed to provide explicit modeling and ample opportunities to practice. Students also routinely write responses to texts they have read, and use more extensive, process-based lessons to produce full-length essays in narrative, informative, analytical, and argumentative formats.

Mathematics 8

This course begins with a unit on input-output relationships that builds a foundation for learning about functions. Students make connections between verbal, numeric, algebraic, and graphical representations of relations, and apply this knowledge to create linear functions that can be used to model and solve mathematical and real-world problems. Technology is used to build deeper connections among representations. Students focus on formulating expressions and equations, including modeling an association in bivariate data with a linear equation, and writing and solving linear equations and systems of linear equations. Students develop a deeper understanding of how translations, rotations, reflections, and dilations of distances and angles affect congruency and similarity. Students develop rules of exponents and use them to simplify exponential expressions. Students extend rules of exponents as they perform operations with numbers in scientific notation. Estimating and comparing square roots of non-perfect squares to perfect squares exposes students to irrational numbers and lays the foundation for applications such as the Pythagorean theorem, distance, and volume.

Algebra I

This full-year course focuses on five critical areas: relationships between quantities and reasoning with equations, linear and exponential relationships, descriptive statistics, expressions and equations, and quadratic functions and modeling. This course builds on the foundation set in middle grades by deepening students’ understanding of linear and exponential functions and developing fluency in writing and solving one-variable equations and inequalities. Students will interpret, analyze, compare, and contrast functions that are represented numerically, tabularly, graphically, and algebraically. Quantitative reasoning is a common thread throughout the course as students use algebra to represent quantities and the relationships among those quantities in a variety of ways. Standards of mathematical practice and process are embedded throughout the course, as students make sense of problem situations, solve novel problems, reason abstractly, and think critically.

Science 8

This full-year course focuses on continuing to develop useable knowledge to explain real world phenomena in the physical, life, and earth and space sciences. Students learn about and then apply Newton’s Third law to design solutions to problems involving colliding objects, they gather information to determine the factors that affect electric and magnetic forces, and construct arguments regarding the nature of gravitational forces. In life science they explore how environmental and genetic factors influence the growth and success of organisms and how humans have influenced the inheritance of desired traits in organisms, while also researching the similarities and differences of modern and fossil organisms to infer relationships between them. In the earth science domain, students develop models to describe the cyclical patterns and relationships between the earth, moon, and sun.

Social Studies 8

Offering an interactive and comprehensive overview of American history, this year-long course engages and inspires students to learn about the rich and diverse history of the creation of a new nation from the American Revolution through the Civil War and Reconstruction Era. Middle school students enrolled in this course will analyze the major causes and events of our nation's beginnings as well as learn about the important personalities of the time. Students will explore the factors, documents, and political ideas that led to the formation of the United States government.

Online Learning & Digital Citizenship-Required for all new students

Online Learning & Digital Citizenship - Required for all new students

This one-semester course provides students with a comprehensive introduction to online learning, including how to work independently, stay safe, and develop effective study habits in virtual learning environments. Featuring direct-instruction videos, interactive tasks, authentic projects, and rigorous assessments, the course prepares students for middle school by providing in-depth instruction and practice in important study skills such as time management, effective note-taking, test preparation, and collaborating effectively online. By the end of the course, students will understand what it takes to be successful online learners and responsible digital citizens.

English Language Arts and Math Intervention/ Honor Courses

In addition to their grade level ELA and Math courses, students may be assigned a different level of Intervention Course for each of these subjects based on their NWEA percentile and committee recommendation as part of OITS’s Access to Success Program.

Students needing intensive intervention will be placed in the foundation level course. These courses are designed to meet a student where he/she is academically to help assist them to be ready for their on-grade level course. Students will be assigned individualized coursework through MyPath.

Students needing moderate to little intervention are placed in the support level course. This course is focused on helping students meet the Oklahoma State Standards while filling in any gaps that may exist. Students will be assigned individualized coursework through MyPath.

Students needing no intervention may be eligible to be placed in the Honors Course. This course will focus on extending learning beyond the grade-level standards. Please refer to the Honors course policy for more information.

Any student, regardless of course level, may require remediation and will be assigned additional coursework as needed.

Students’ course placement will be reviewed at end of each semester by Access to Success Program team.

Intervention Courses

Support Courses

Honors Courses

Feature extended instruction and assignments for complete coverage of Oklahoma Academic Standards

Feature instruction and assignments to meet Oklahoma Academic Standards

Have additional instruction and/or assignments to extend learning

Contain below and on grade level assignments and extra practices. (Include foundational standard)

Contain on grade-level

assignments. (May include foundational standard)

Contain more rigorous assignments

Electives-Computer Science and Information Technology

Students who attend OITS will be exposed to careers in Computer Science and Information Technology that include coding, software, networking, web design, and engineering. The program is designed to offer career pathways through partnerships with tech businesses and corporations, offering career opportunities after graduation. Beginning in the 8th grade, students will participate in activities that expose them to many of the career pathways. From 8th grade on, students will take Intro to CS /IT and begin diving into their own pathways.

Computer Applications: Office 2016

This full-year course introduces students to the features and functionality of the most widely used productivity software in the world: Microsoft® Office®. Through video instruction, interactive skill demonstrations, and numerous hands-on practice assignments, students learn to develop, edit and share Office 2016 documents for both personal and professional use. By the end of this course, students will have developed basic proficiency in the most common tools and features of the Microsoft Office suite of applications: Word®, Excel®, PowerPoint®, and Outlook®.

Intro to Computer Science

This course introduces students to the foundational concepts of computer science and challenges them to explore how computing and technology can affect the world. Students have creative, hands-on learning opportunities to create computer programs, develop web pages, design mobile apps, write algorithms, and collaborate with peers while building strong foundational knowledge. This course provides a solid foundation for more advanced study as well as practical skills that students can use immediately

Microsoft Office Specialist

This two-semester course introduces students to the features and functionality of Microsoft® Office® 2016 while preparing them for the beginning, intermediate, and advanced levels of the Microsoft User Specialist (MOS) certification program. Through video instruction, interactive skills demonstrations, practice assignments, and unit-level assessments, students become proficient in Microsoft Word®, Excel®, PowerPoint®, Outlook®, and Access®. By the end of the course, students are prepared to demonstrate their skills by obtaining one or more MOS certifications.

Business Computer Information Systems

This course is a high school elective that explores the use of technology applications in both business and personal situations. The course provides key knowledge and skills in the following areas:

communication skills
business technology
word processing applications
spreadsheet applications
database applications
telecommunications technology
desktop publishing technology
presentation technology
computer networks
computer operating systems

The course is intended to help students arrive at the following understandings:

Effective communication skills and productive work habits can increase employees’ success.
Technology solutions can help employees be more productive and effective.

Keyboarding is a stated prerequisite for this course. While there are some keyboarding reviews in the course, there is no keyboarding instruction

Fundamentals of Programming and Software Development

This course will provide students with an understanding of basic software development concepts and practices, issues affecting the software industry, careers within the software industry, and the skills necessary to perform well in these occupations.

Students will learn details about core concepts in programming using Java, including writing and debugging code, proper syntax, flow of control, order of operations, comparison operators, and program logic tools and models. They will learn the function of key program techniques including if statements, looping, and arrays. They will also learn about web development using HTML and drag-and-drop development of user interfaces in an Integrated Development environment.

Students will also learn about the Software Development Life Cycle and the different variations used to create software. They will learn about different programming languages and paradigms. They will learn about the importance of usability and user centered design processes. Students will also learn about careers in the software industry, the education and skills required to work in the industry, and related career resources. Finally, the capstone project will allow students to explore and state opinions on key issues and trends impacting the software industry, and to learn about the experience of working in the industry

Intro to Coding

Intro to Coding covers a basic introduction to the principles of programming, including algorithms and logic. Students engage in hands-on programming tasks in the Python programming language as they write and test their own code using the approaches real programmers use in the field. Students will program with variables, functions and arguments, and lists and loops, providing a solid foundation for more advanced study as well as practical skills they can use immediately.

Intro to Information Technology

This course introduces students to the essential technical and professional skills required in the field of Information Technology (IT). Through hands-on projects and written assignments, students gain an understanding of the operation of computers, computer networks, Internet fundamentals, programming, and computer support. Students also learn about the social impact of technological change and the ethical issues related to technology. Throughout the course, instructional activities emphasize safety, professionalism, accountability, and efficiency for workers within the field of IT.

Intro to Information Technology Support & Services

This course focuses on real-world application including common industry best practices and specific vendors that offer tools for technicians, project managers, and IT leadership. Emphasis should be made that the purpose of the IT department of an enterprise is to support the overall mission of the company, and it is not simply a standalone component of the company’s infrastructure. Students will continue to apply their knowledge of hardware and software components associated with IT systems while exploring a variety of careers related to IT support and services. Students will analyze technical support needs to perform customer service, perform configuration management activities, and evaluate application software packages and emerging software. Students will demonstrate and apply knowledge of IT analysis and design by initiating a system project and evaluating applications within the IT system. Information Technology is a dynamic discipline that is continuously evolving.

Intro to Network Systems, Network System Design

How can we automate the transfer of information from one computer to another? To answer that question, this course introduces students to the fundamental technology and concepts that make networking systems possible. The question itself is a very practical one and the concepts taught are more concerned with practices and processes rather than theoretical generalities.

The most important concept introduced is that of the OSI reference model and its bottom four layers, which are most directly concerned with networking instead of computing. Each networking layer is explored in a three-lesson chapter. By the end of the course, every student should be comfortable reading a sentence that says something like, “X is a protocol working at the third layer.”

The course also explores a good deal of technology, specifically the software and hardware supporting LANs, WANs, and Wi-Fi networks. Particularly important are the protocols in the TCP/IP stack that are used to communicate across a network, but the students are also introduced to the hardware, including hubs, switches, bridges, routers, and transmission media. The student is expected to learn that a network is not some mysterious idea out there in cyberspace. It is a mechanism that is fully dependent on its parts working properly.

Once the students understand the fundamentals of the layers and network hardware, they can be introduced to questions of security, network management, and network operating systems. In particular, they should understand the role of the server. They have already encountered many examples of client-server relationships, and the material later in the course should introduce them to the many roles that a server can play as a part of a network

New Applications: Web Development in the 21st Century

New Applications introduces students to the rapidly evolving world of apps, or applications. The introduction of the Apple II in 1977 followed by the IBM PC and scores of compatible computers just four years later created strong consumer demand for software programs, as these applications were referred to at the time. Capable of formatting spreadsheets, composing and proofing hundreds of lines of text, or supporting classroom instruction, computer programs were initially sold by specialty stores, college bookstores, or through the mail.

The explosive growth of the Internet that followed at the beginning of the twenty-first century with the introduction of high-speed networking, the dynamic World Wide Web, and most recently the development of affordable smartphones and web tablets have all contributed to global, cultural, and societal change.

This course begins with a historical tour of the Internet and World Wide Web as well as the programs and applications that made it possible for computer users on every continent to begin to explore and better understand their world. Then, through astep-by-step introduction to WordPress, students gain the tools and insight necessary to create their own web pages and discover their online voice.

In addition to learning how to use WordPress and other applications that promote students' presence on the World Wide Web, this course discusses how the web has become the foremost channel for the distribution of applications that increase the functionality of the web and support a global hub of social networking and communication. Students are introduced to the evolution of networking and data-transfer capabilities beginning with early HTTP protocols continuing through to the recent introduction of smartphones capable of connecting to sites on the World Wide Web without having to rely on a browser for navigation.

Software Development Tools

This course introduces students to the variety of careers related to programming and software development. Students will gather and analyze customer software needs and requirements, learn core principles of programming, develop software specifications, and use appropriate reference tools to evaluate new and emerging software. Students will produce IT-based strategies and a project plan to solve specific problems and define and analyze system and software requirements.

More courses will be added