Inside Mrs. Agate's Class...

We are almost to the end of the first quarter!  The students are on track and even ahead of the curriculum in some areas.  Woo hoo!  Please look in their English binders and at their Bible study guides for more information on each element below.  Here is just a glimpse of what is currently happening in middle school English and Bible...

7th English

• Short Story Literature Unit: We are in the midst of reading ten classic short stories.  We are learning the various elements and writing techniques of a variety of genres.  We are enhancing higher level thinking skills as we learn what the author is trying to say through discussion of themes.  
• Vocabulary: We are increasing our vocabulary through our current Analogies unit and also through the literature we are reading.
• Grammar Unit 6: We are practicing classifying sentences, and we are learning verbals. 
• Writing: We are working on Persuasive Five Paragraph Essays and learning how to create a strong thesis statement. The students also do written responses to stories which assesses their reading comprehension through writing.  There is a weekly writing prompt as well.

7th Bible

• Unit Three: Job and the Books of Wisdom
• We are learning through Job that we can be refined through trials and tribulations and tested to be made pure, just as gold goes through the fire.  Students also learn to be godly friends in this unit and are encouraged to be a spiritual encouragement to others.  Looking at Job and the other Books of Wisdom also strengthens our faith in understanding that all will be well because God is in ultimate control.  
• Current memory passage is Ecclesiastes 3:1-14 ESV.  This will be a fill-in-the-blank assessment. 

8th English

• Holocaust Literature Unit: We are in the midst of reading The Hiding Place (on chapter 14).  We are also reading various poems from the prisoners held in concentration camps.  We learned about Anne Frank and skimmed the play The Diary of Anne Frank in our literature books.  
• Vocabulary: The next vocabulary unit will begin next week and will coincide with an Analogies unit.  
• Grammar Unit 5: We are continuing to practice grammar sentence classifications and strengthening grammar through writing.
• Writing: The students are writing a thesis paper on why eighth graders across the nation must visit Washington DC.  The format for this writing was explained in class; the students were given an essay outline as well as an example paper.  We are working on organizing ideas in structured writing and supporting thoughts with strong evidence and intelligent vocabulary.  The students also do written responses to assess reading comprehension as well as writing skill.  
• PLEASE NOTE:  Due to the classical poetry we have at the end of the second quarter, call me crazy, but I am extending the Poetry Portfolio due date to that time.  (See website for exact date.)  You will have to trust me that there is a method to my madness.  

8th Bible

• We are just finishing up Unit Two and moving on to Unit Three by next week.
• Students have learned about the start of the early church in terms of how church leaders are chosen to understanding what a believers life should look like even today.
• The current memory passage is Galatians 5:13-18 ESV
• Students are also to be familiar with chapter 11 of Hebrews ("The Faith Chapter") as well as chapter 12 of Hebrews which speaks of how we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses.  Students recently turned in a "Person of Faith" mini-report.  

And here is a random sampling of "twin day" during Spirit Week.  :)