7th Bible: We are in Unit 6: Prayer. We are looking to God's word and what His people have modeled for us in terms of prayer throughout generations. We are also doing daily devotions as a two-week assignment. Memory work includes The Prayer of Saint Francis and Colossians 3:16-17.
7th English: We are in Unit 7 of our Literature Texts studying myths, legends, folktales, and fables. Every day we do 20 minutes of writing and/or grammar and 20 minutes of literature. I am truly enjoying this class due to their awesome work ethic and amazing attitudes. The current grammar concepts include complex sentence classifications, subordinating conjunctions, and sentence mechanics in writing. Classical Greek and Latin roots in vocabulary also continues.
ALL ENGLISH CLASSES: Please note the general change in middle school in terms of the time we have to devote to our subject areas and the grades received in each category. In K-6th grades, they have separate classes and grading marks for reading, spelling, and English/grammar. In 7-12, one English class includes grammar, writing, literature, and vocabulary-- all in one class for a single grade. This is why we switch gears so much at this level in this class. This is also why a student who struggles in grammar but may have excellent reading comprehension or high level thinking skills can succeed. I ask that you look at RenWeb or contact me to see what specific area(s) your student can work on. Also, please take advantage of after-school tutoring sessions every Monday until 4PM. We do grammar and writing reinforcement, and all are welcome! I usually only have 3-6 students and would like to see more jump on this opportunity. It's free! :) Obviously, my students can come to me ANY time (before school, after school, lunch, study hall, etc.) and don't have to wait for our designated Mondays.
8th Bible: We continue to move through church history and are currently studying The Reformation and the Counter-Reformation. The current memory passage is Romans 1:16-17. We are enjoying learning about what God's word says about church and also about the individual congregations and denominations represented right within our own classroom!
8th English: We just finished our MLA research papers. Please look at your student's writing rubric which explains each individual element of the paper. The students were given rubrics and checklists ahead of time, so there are no surprises. Next Monday we begin a short story unit (which happens to include my favorite, Flowers of Algernon) before we get into our next novel, Lord of the Flies. Grammar and vocabulary will of course continue. For now, we will finish up our classic novels and present those on March 8th. The current grammar concepts include dangling modifiers, appositives, and complements. The current vocabulary unit is lesson 7&8 and includes a continued discussion of Greek and Latin roots.
