Grammar:
Students will experience a grammar program in 2nd-8th grade and in early years will learn to answer questions to identify words in a sentence. By middle school, students will diagram and work with all parts of the sentence Then in high school, grammar concepts will be included in a combination English class. By high school, students will be expanding vocabulary, diagramming sentences and working to develop sentence structure.
-K-2 - Early Language Lessons
-2-5th - Shurley Grammar
-6th - 8th - Rod and Staff
Writing:
Using the IEW (Institute for Excellence in Writing) method, students will develop their structure of writing and will add stylistic techniques from 2nd grade (Bible Heroes) through middle school. In high school, they will use the various methods developed over the years and will create longer essays, compare contrast papers, literature analysis and will complete their senior year with a Thesis presentation.
Literature and Great Books:
One of the core pieces of the history class in 3rd-8th grade will be to examine great pieces of literature as a historical context for the time period being studied. For example, in 8th grade, students will study the Civil War and will read The Red Badge of Courage to understand the plight of the soldier. In 12th grade, when they examine the Civil War again, they will read Uncle Tom's Cabin. The student will not only learn the history, but will also examine what authors of the time period were communicating. In 3rd-8th grade, the students are asked literature questions and are generally observing what they see in these pieces of literature. By high school, they are involved in in-depth discussions with their peers about the author, the time period and the messages written by those authors.
History:
History is taught chronologically so that the students will be exposed to the time periods 3 times in their educational career. We are excited that families will learn history together by having the entire co-op learn a time period each year. Following the stages of learning, the students will do a great deal of memorization in the grammar stage, learning dates and the 'story' of history. In the Logic stage, they will look at more of the 'whys' in history. For example, what prompted John Brown to lead the raid on Harper's Ferry...was he mad? Or was he a martyr? In high school, though, students will learn a time period each year.
-K-6th - Mystery of History (under review)
-7th-8th - All American History
-High School - Streams of Civilization
Science and Math:
In these subjects, students focus on the skills of science and math and there will be a mix of secular and Christian texts. A classical education can also offer the study of the history of math and of science, but these are carefully placed by the tutor as an 'enhancement' to the science. For example, learning how Algebra came to be is quite interesting and learning of the ethical dilemma in stem cell research can be quite helpful. In this technological world and one in which science and math are crucially important, we need to be proactive in making sure our students can enter these types of classes in college and learn well along with their peers.
-Prentice Hall, various series selections (Science)
-Abeka 1st-6th (Math)
-McDougal - Holt Concepts & Skills (Pre-Alg, Alg. 1, Geometry, Algebra 2)
Latin:
Latin is crucial in the classical methodology. Much of our early literature is written in Latin and a student that masters Latin could read some of the original texts. In addition, the English language is rooted in Latin as are other romantic languages. Understanding the grammar of Latin is helpful in understanding the grammar of English. Students who master Latin find the study of other languages to be easier.
-Latin for Children
-Latin Primers A, B, C
Logic and Rhetoric:
Students in 9th-12th grade participate in Logic and Rhetoric classes in order to learn the correct processes of creating arguments. Opportunities for debates and discussion are presented after a student completes both formal and informal logic studies.