At C.A. Gray, our exploratory CTAE classes are all about helping you find what you love while building real-world skills you’ll use for life.
These hands-on courses let you try new things, uncover hidden talents, and even get a head start on high school credit.

This year’s options include:

• Agriculture – Get your hands dirty, grow something amazing, and even earn high school credit through Basic Ag.
• Business – Unleash your inner entrepreneur while exploring marketing, money management, and financial services.
• Engineering – Dive into the exciting world of coding, robotics, and problem-solving.
• Family & Consumer Science – Learn practical (and fun) skills—from cooking tasty meals to mastering everyday life essentials.
• Healthcare – Step into the world of medicine as you explore basic health skills, patient care, and careers that make a real difference.

At C.A. Gray, CTAE isn’t just a class—it’s your chance to explore, create, and prepare for the future your way.

• Band
• Choir
• Visual Arts

8TH GRADE ELA
Following the Georgia Standards of Excellence (GSE) eighth grade students continue to build their skills in the areas of reading, writing, listening, speaking, and language. Students read and analyze texts of varying complexity, which may include novels, non-fiction books, articles, poems, short stories and plays. Throughout the year, students write argumentative, narrative, and informative pieces (including literary analysis) with a focus on the organization of structured paragraphs with clear claims, textual evidence, proper citation, and commentary/analysis. Students practice speaking and listening skills through structured class discussions, individual and group presentations. Grammar and mechanics are taught within the context of writing. When writing or speaking, students will practice crafting effective phrases, clauses, and sentence structures and use vocabulary that suits the audience and purpose.

8TH GRADE MATH:
In Grade 8, instructional time focuses on three critical areas: (1) formulating and reasoning about expressions and equations, including modeling an association in bivariate data with a linear equation, and solving linear equations and systems of linear equations; (2) grasping the concept of a function and using functions to describe quantitative relationships; and (3) analyzing two‐ and three‐dimensional space and figures using distance, angle, similarity, and congruence, and understanding and applying the Pythagorean Theorem.

ALGEBRA I:
Algebra I is the first course in a sequence of three required high school courses designed to ensure career and college readiness. The course represents a discrete study of algebra with correlated statistics applications.

HEALTH AND PERSONAL FITNESS
Introduces instruction in methods to attain a healthy level of physical fitness; implements a lifetime fitness program based on a personal fitness assessment and stresses strength, muscular endurance, flexibility, body composition, and cardiovascular endurance; includes instruction in fitness principles, nutrition, fad diets, weight control, stress management, adherence strategies, and consumer information; and promotes self-awareness and responsibility for fitness.  Explores the mental, physical and social aspects of life and how each contributes to total health and well-being.  Emphasizes safety, nutrition, mental health, substance abuse prevention, disease prevention, environmental health, family life education, health careers, consumer health , and community health.

WEIGHT TRAINING
Introduces weight training; emphasizes strength development training and proper lifting techniques. Includes fitness concepts for developing healthy lifetime habits.

PHYSICAL SCIENCE (40.01100)
The Physical Science curriculum is designed to continue student investigations of the physical sciences that began in grades K-8 and provide students the necessary skills to have a richer knowledge base in physical science.  This course is designed as a survey course of chemistry and physics.  This curriculum includes the more abstract concepts such as the conceptualization of the structure of atoms, motion and forces, and the conservation of energy and matter, the action/reaction principle, and wave behavior.  Students investigate physical science concepts through experience in laboratories and field work using the processes of inquiry.

GEORGIA STUDIES
In 8th grade, students experience an in-depth study of the great state of Georgia.  The year begins with a study of the state's geography and economy.  Most of the year is spent studying Georgia's history, beginning with the Mississippian Indians who lived in the southeastern United States at the time of first European contact.  Students then study each of the major time periods of American History, including: Exploration and Colonization, the American Revolution, the Antebellum Period, the Civil War and Reconstruction, the Jim Crow Era, WWI, the Great Depression and WWII, and finally, modern Georgia and the Civil Rights Movement. During each time period the focus is on how Georgia was impacted, changed and grew.  The year concludes with a study of Georgia's state and local government and the roles of the three branches of state government.  Also in this unit, students are engaged in lessons about the Juvenile Justice System; in these lessons, students learn the importance of being law-abiding citizens and what happens when they make the wrong choices.

SPANISH I (60.07100)
Introduces the Spanish language; emphasizes all skills: listening, speaking, reading, and writing skills in an integrated way. Includes how to greet and take leave of someone, to ask and respond to basic questions, to speak and read within a range of carefully selected topics and to develop an understanding of Spanish-speaking cultures. It assumes that students have minimal or no prior knowledge of the language and culture. This course is not for heritage or native Spanish speakers.