7th/8th Literature:   I am very excited to teach Literature again.  This is a combined class of seventh and eighth graders. We will begin the year reading short storiesfrom a collection entitled "Choices" from CSI. The students will learn all about the story elements and strategies to identify these elements.  The students will then take a few weeks to prepare for the annual Speech Contest which is held the first week of Nov.  We hope to read a number of good novels as a class throughout the year.  We will integrate them with our History and Bible units when appropriate.   A good historical novel, even if it is fictional,  provides more insight than what a history book can provide.   The students will also be placed in Literature Circles.  These circles or groups of  three, four, or five students will select a novel which they read, discuss, and analyze and then of course are tested on.  I hope to provide many opportunites for students to read good stories which provide insights and meaning about characters and the conflicts they overcome.   These stories also provide a wonderful opportunity for me to teach the students how to discern and react to stories as children of Jesus Christ.

5/6th World Geography:   The Lord God has provided us with such a great world with many people, places and cultures to study.  The students will take a world tour which will begin with Europe and Russia.  But before we begin, we will take some time to learn all about geographic features, maps, and tools that help us learn.   After we go to Europe we visit Asia and then when the school has our "Cultural Celebration" in Feb. we will study South America.  During the last quarter of the year we will tour Australia and Africia.  When we study Africa, the students will select a country of their choice and make an extensive individual report about that country.   We copy, sketch and color a lot of maps throughout the year, so make sure your child has a good set of colored pencils.  

5/6th Bible:  The first quarter of the year will begin with the Christmas story and the early ministry of Christ. The next units will focus on the miracles and parables of Christ..  The students will have Bible Memory work every three weeks on Mondays. 

 7/8th Bible:   NewTestament study this year for the Jr. High students. We will begin the first two units with a comparsion of all the gospels and the third unit will focus on the book of Mark. 

7/8th US History:    The first semester of the year we will learn U.S. History.  We will study the 20th Century and end with the finish of the Cold War in 1989. The second semester we will study U.S. Government.