Monday, October 28, 2019

Seventh Grade Curriculum Plans


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Next year my children will be in 7th and 5th grades.  I can't believe that my oldest will be entering into the second half of his schooling years! Over the years we have done a variety of schooling options.  We began homeschooling at the beginning.  We did one year of Classical Conversations.  One year I led a ScholĂ© group (I would love to do that again! Any local friends interested?) My kids attended a local classical, Christian school for two years, and the past two years we have been back home just doing our own thing.

I have learned something each year from all of these different options, which I am thankful for! My hope though, as we approach the high school years, is to settle on a path that we can be consistent with.  Right now we are really happy to be homeschooling, and I do think that it is best for our family, but some things I still think are beneficial to do in a group.  I would love to find some like-minded people to so some of these subjects with.  That will take some time to figure out, but at least I've got the basic curriculum planned out.

So far this is what I have planned for my child that will be in 7th grade next year:

Logic


I believe that each of these books covers a semester.  This will be our first year of formal logic study.  We have been preparing this year by reading the Fallacy Detective and the Thinking Toolbox. This seems like a subject that would be more fun more fun together.  If you are a local friend and have a middle school aged child, let me know if you'd like to do this as a group!

Art of the Argument by Classical Academic Press


From the publisher:

"Students who complete The Art of Argument will know how to reason with clarity, relevance, and purpose . . . and have fun along the way! They will study and master 28 logical fallacies, which will provide an essential lifetime framework for filtering good and bad reasoning as well as writing and speaking effectively."


Discovery of Deduction by Classical Academic Press


From the publisher:

"The book emphasizes the practical and real-world application of soundly structured deductive logic. Using methods such as Socratic dialogue, ample discussion, and integration of other subjects, the book teaches formal logic in the best way for dialectic students."


Science


For a few years we have casually made our way through a number of Apologia's elementary science courses. My children loved reading those books, so I figure that we might as well stick with Apologia.  If any local friends want to get together to do the experiments, let me know!

Exploring Creation with General Science by Apologia


From the publisher:

"Specifically designed to be the first course taken during junior high, it was created to give middle school students an understanding of the basic world that surrounds them each day of their lives so that they can appreciate the real-world relevance of scientific inquiry and the beauty of creation."


History, Literature, & Theology


I have had my eye on this curriculum since my kids were little.  I love the idea of intertwining these three subjects.  In the elementary years we mostly used Veritas Press history and I picked literature to go complement those studies. This curriculum progresses chronologically and is based on reading and discussion.  I think we can accomplish this discussion as a family, but I think it would be awesome to have a group of kids contemplating these ideas together.  If you are local to me, have a middle school aged child, and this curriculum looks interesting to you, let me know!

Omnibus I by Veritas Press


From the publisher:

"Designed to help enlighten, train, and develop young minds through the study of everything important, long-lasting, and true: the ideas, arguments, and expression of the Western Canon as expressed in the Great Books. Each chapter covers a Great Book, examining the author, context, significance, main characters, summary and setting, worldview, and providing an in-depth essay analyzing and teaching the important points of the work. Chapters conclude with five sessions that provide questions to consider, optional activities, reading assignments, cultural analysis, biblical analysis, application, summa questions, recitation comprehension questions, lateral thinking, review questions, and evaluation questions."

Books covered:

The Chronicles of Narnia, The Holiness of God, Selected books of the Bible, Epic of Gilgamesh, The Odyssey, Oresteia, Plutarch's Lives, Last Days of Socrates, The Early History of Rome, The Aeneid. Julius Caesar, The Eagle of the Ninth, The Screwtape Letters, Holiness of God


Math


My son loves math, but hates to have to practice concepts that he understands over and over.  Last year we started using this (new to me) program and are loving it!  It is really challenging, and is mostly for the child who really wants to know the why of math. We are finishing the Pre-Algebra book this year and will move on to Algebra by next year,

Introduction to Algebra by Art of Problem Solving

From the publisher:

"The text is structured to inspire the reader to explore and develop new ideas. Each section starts with problems, giving the student a chance to solve them without help before proceeding. The text then includes solutions to these problems, through which algebraic techniques are taught. Important facts and powerful problem solving approaches are highlighted throughout the text."


Latin

I have thoroughly enjoyed studying Latin with my children.  We started with Song School Latin and then moved on to Latin for Children.  I have not used any curriculum other than what Classical Academic Press publishes, so I do not have anything to compare it to, but we have been happy so far, so unless I am convinced otherwise, I plan to continue.

Latin Alive by Classical Academic Press


From the publisher:

"Students will be delighted by what they learn in each new chapter of Latin Alive and they will learn to see that Latin is everywhere around them. It is a rigorous and thorough introduction to this great language."



Writing/Grammar


This subject has always been a mix of things for me.  Spelling, Grammar, Writing, Poetry, Readers. Each day we would do one or two of those things.  I think next year we will drop spelling and the McGuffey Readers that I have always loved.  We will focus on writing skills and still do some grammar.  We have typically done poetry memorization and studying as a part of our morning time, so I think we will continue doing that.

Writing & Rhetoric by Classical Academic Press


These books are intended to take less than a year.  I think we will be in book 5 at the beginning of next year, but I'm not sure yet.

From the publisher:

"In this book, students will learn to identify and refute, or criticize, parts of a narrative that are unbelievable, improbable, unclear, or improper. A confirmation is a short essay that defends certain parts of a narrative. When students see parts of a narrative that are believable, probable, clear, or proper, they will confirm them. After learning to identify the parts of a story that can be attacked or defended, students will practice writing refutations or confirmations using sound arguments to explain their opinions."





Planning is my favorite part of homeschooling =) So, it feels nice to have worked on this and have it mapped out.  Things may change, and I'm sure that I've missed some things (like things we don't do every day...music, art, map drawing, skillwork, etc.), but this is at least the general idea.

I would love to hear what is working for you, what things you are thinking of changing, and if you made any major changes as your children entered the second half of their schooling years!


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