Wortham creatives

Beyond the core classroom, Wortham students get to explore music, art, hands-on design, and more. Here's a look at what's offered for 5th and 6th grade. 

5th Grade: Music, Art & STEAM

Every 5th grader rotates through Music, Art, and STEAM as part of their specials schedule. This gives every student a foundation across all three areas before they head into 6th grade, where they'll build on these skills and get to choose an area to go deeper into.

6th Grade: Art, STEAM & an Elective

Sixth graders continue with Art and STEAM, and add one additional elective of their choice — Band, Orchestra, Choir, or Theater — giving each student the chance to pursue an area they're passionate about.

STEAM stands for Science, Technology, Engineering, Art, and Math — but at Wortham, it's less about memorizing facts and more about understanding the process behind them. Students work through the Engineering Design Process (EDP): Ask/Research, Plan, Create, Test, and Improve.

Fifth grade STEAM builds the foundation students will carry into 6th grade, where those concepts get built upon further. The classroom encourages a growth mindset — mistakes and challenges are treated as part of learning, not setbacks — alongside respect, responsibility, collaboration, safety, and a willingness to try, fail, redesign, and try again.

The year builds toward STEAM Fair in March/April, where students showcase what they've designed, built, and discovered.

STEAM projects use a lot of hands-on materials throughout the year. Families who'd like to support the classroom can check the teacher's Amazon Wishlist — see Get Involved for links to support classrooms across campus.

Wortham's Art program gives students a creative outlet alongside their other specials, and participates in Reflections, the FISD Distric arts recognition program. Follow along with what's happening in the classroom on Instagram: @mrsrandell_art.

Green Team is a campus-wide honor open to 5th and 6th graders who want to help lead Wortham's recycling and environmental efforts. Students apply for a spot, and 36 students are selected each year for this honor — collecting recycling across campus and helping promote environmental awareness among their peers, in partnership with the City of Frisco's district-wide Green Team program.

Interested? Watch for the application window announced through email and the Wortham Word newsletter. Learn more about the citywide program at Rufus & The Green Team.

Wortham Band is part of a joint program with Scoggins Middle School, led by a full band director team. Students get registration info, handbooks, supply lists, and event calendars through the band website: scogginsband.com/wortham.

Wortham Orchestra is also a joint program with Scoggins, with its own dedicated resources for Wortham families — handbooks, events, and more — at wsstrings.com.

Wortham Choir gives students a place to grow as vocalists and performers as part of their 6th grade elective options. For more information, reach out to the choir director directly through the school.

Wortham Theater offers students a hands-on introduction to performance, from acting fundamentals to full productions. Families can stay up to date through the program's newsletter — contact the theater director through the school for the latest edition.