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Sometimes one girl stepped forward and took charge of the call, to be followed by the others, then she stepped back into the group and the chorus continued.

It was a grand display of enthusiasm and control, of individuals working together to produce a dynamic whole.

In a classroom nearby, 10 students were sitting with baby dolls, answering questions about the care of real children on this last day of a babysitting class. The class is one of the most popular after-school courses offered at the school and is repeated several times throughout the year, said Emily McDonell, recreation specialist for the Silver Spring region.

‘‘It was very educational, basically everything I need to know to be a babysitter, like first aid and how to handle infants,” said Reed Speaker, a 12-year-old sixth-grader.

Reed took the class because, after working as a mother’s helper for a family friend, he ‘‘wanted to get more training and be more prepared.”

‘‘I will try to become a neighborhood babysitter,” he said.

Babysitting teacher Ayesha Anwar, youth health co-coordinator for Adventist Health Care, ended the class by talking about the business of babysitting. She walked the students through negotiating pay rates and problems that may occur if parents do not come home when expected. She even helped students create a resume.

The babysitting class and the Step Team, along with several other clubs and activities are offered through RecExtra, a Montgomery County Recreation Department program that operates three days a week in all 38 county middle schools.

‘‘Every school is a little different,” said Karen Jordan, recreation supervisor with the teen team. ‘‘We survey the students to find out what the students want and ask for information from the teachers.”

Then the school matches the wishes of the students with the abilities of teachers who are available to supervise the activities and the year’s schedule is created.

‘‘Our objective is to get kids involved in programs so they won’t be on the streets,” McDonell said.

This year Takoma Park has more than 150 students taking part in activities that include a Multimedia Club, a Horticulture Program and special offerings such as the three-day babysitting class, which is taught in partnership with Shady Grove Adventist Hospital.

Among the most enthusiastic are the 18 seventh- and eighth- grade girls in the Blu Divas Step Team.

The Blu Divas Step Team creates its own routines, working out a pattern to the stomping, clapping and reciting that creates the rhythmic whole.

‘‘They totally own their step routines,” said sponsor and coach Nicole Crutchfield, who is also a special education teacher at the school.

‘‘It’s fun,” said eighth- grader Tiona Matthews, 13, who likes practicing, performing and going to competitions. ‘‘It’s not just step, it’s talking and acting.”

Practicing with the team is a great way to spend time after school with friends, according to the team members.

Statistics cited by the Recreation Department estimate that 70 percent of Montgomery County teens go home to an empty house each day after school.

The RecExtra program started in 1999 in 10 middle schools to augment after-school activities in the community, McDonell said. It went countywide last year.

The program is one way of providing a place for middle school students after school. It is also a way for them to try new activities. It attempts to draw in students who do not usually take part in after-school activities.

Another benefit is that students have adults who know what they are doing after school and care about them, McDonell said.

‘‘It is fabulous that we have this program,” said Renay Johnson, principal of Takoma Park Middle School. ‘‘My philosophy is please be a part of something, because if you are involved you have to keep your grades up. I’m all about kids getting involved.

‘‘I was principal in a high school and saw some of the choices [the students] made and I thought, ‘if only you could be in a club.’”