Sixth grade students are often interested in establishing structure and order, and in finding lawful relationships; the study of Ancient Rome and the medieval times are the perfect backdrop to explore these themes.
The mood of the Middle Ages, with a focus on cloistered monks and chivalry, satisfies the sixth grader’s quest for beauty, contemplation, and justice. They look for lawfulness in the heavens through a study of astronomy, and then delve into the structure and make-up of the earth as they study mineralogy.
In physics, the sixth graders study acoustics, heat, and optics. The dynamics of light, dark, and color are further explored through painting and charcoal drawing. The study of physical world geography helps students see patterns in the geographic distribution of biomes and how the natural forces such as climate, ocean and wind currents, plate tectonics, erosion, etc. influence the physical environment.
Language arts focuses on the rules and laws of grammar, while math focuses on business math and percentages.
CURRICULUM HIGHLIGHTS
Many seventh graders look forward to the social and learning opportunities this year as sailors about to embark on a voyage. The Age of Exploration, which meets the students' inner drive to see over the next ridge and to find a path no one has ever found before, is a main lesson study block that encourages each student to broaden their view and consider new possibilities.
Explorers from around the world are introduced and their complicated legacies are engaged with. Scientific discovery and the rise of modern science is also covered through the biographies of people who pushed beyond the bounds of what was known and promoted a new way of thinking.
Building on the Physical World Geography of sixth grade, Cultural Geography is a main focus this year and each student is given windows into a range of cultures from around the world. In Math, algebraic concepts are introduced and practiced in preparation for eighth grade Algebra, along with the basics of Euclidean Geometry.
Seventh grade students are also introduced to the art of Perspective Drawing. Through this study, they learn the exacting applications of geometric laws and the accompanying artistic skill to draw what they see in a scientific way. Geometry has immediate practical value. To make an accurate drawing of a house, of the interior space of a room, or specific details of a staircase requires perspective constructions. This develops an awareness and sense of objective observation. Students are encouraged to work together, creating a peer learning environment.
CURRICULUM HIGHLIGHTS
Eighth grade marks the culmination of an eight-year primary school journey, and brings students to a crossroads as the time with their grades teacher comes to an end. Class work also becomes more challenging as preparations for the independent thinking that will be expected in high school begins.
This is also the year when Main Lessons conclude with formal and graded tests. The work is precise and filled with many layers, be it the lofty language of Shakespeare or the complex processes of organic chemistry.
During this year, the students step wholeheartedly into adolescence. With this leap comes a deepening capacity for judgment, a call to greater responsibility, and the quest to discover who they are and what they will become.
If the seventh grader is said to be on a voyage of discovery, the eighth grade student can be thought of as a revolutionary. Revolutions are studied in history, the world in geography, the short story in Language Arts and the platonic solids in Geometry. Anatomy and Physiology add to the student’s knowledge of him/herself, and Meteorology enhances his or her understanding of the greater world.
As students leave the grade school, their sense of authority turns inwards, and they begin to look for direction within themselves.
