As students mature through their junior high years, Threads 7 and Threads 8 courses help them answer "Why?" and "How?" as they make connections across subjects and incorporate new information with the facts they memorized in their Primary years. Students meet together with their partner teachers weekly for 15 weeks in the fall and 15 weeks in the spring. It's ideal to enroll in all the subjects at each level, but the T7 and T8 classes are a la carte, giving parents and students the flexibility to select the subjects that will help them best meet their family's unique educational goals.
Students will learn to label the world's countries and major geographical features. At home, they'll research different countries' and regions' governments, economies, education, religion, and other unique features and compile it in a report and then present their country reports in class. At the end of each section, the students will play trivia for the geographical area covered in class and share items, mementos, food, etc. from another area of the world. The goals of the class are to be able to label the world, to gain a greater understanding of the world outside of Iowa, and to appreciate the variety of geographical landscapes, cultures, and nations in our world.
Using the text World History: Our Human Story, students in 7th grade will work through the first two sections of the book, beginning with the earliest civilizations, ancient Greece and Rome, and continuing into the Middle Ages in Europe and the Islamic world. Those time periods correspond to the historical literature selections that students will read for their Literature & Composition course. Students will learn how to outline a text for comprehension and recall, and assignments at home include reading and working through analytical assignments designed to provoke students' critical thinking.
Students will read and discuss an assortment of 10-12 classic historical literature selections. Over the course of the year, students will grow in their ability to discuss literature critically, analyzing character development, plot, themes, and applications. Additionally, using The Lost Tools of Writing, students learn how to write persuasive essays based on the books they read.
T7 students will study logical fallacies using The Art of Argument. Arguments are all around us, from advertisements to the news to interpersonal conversations. This class looks at the three main kinds of fallacies: arguments that are irrelevant (argument diverts or distracts from the main point), arguments that contain hidden assumptions, and arguments that are unclear or ambiguous. Through this class, students will grow in their critical thinking and their ability to analyze arguments found in the world around them.
Threads 7 will use Biology for the Logic Stage. In the fall, the students will start by studying the animals in the chordate phylum, as these are likely the most familiar. Next we will study some of the more common invertebrate phyla in the animal kingdom. Each week, the students will write a research paper about a specific member of the current kingdom/phylum/class. There will be several dissections. In the spring, students will learn about ten of the human body systems. They will write weekly research reports on these systems. We will end the year with a study of plants.
This is the perfect class for preparing your student for high school, college, and beyond. Students will learn note taking, testing strategies, time management, reading efficiency, memorization techniques, listening and communication skills, organization, research tips, work ethic, problem solving, etc. These essential skills will be an excellent foundation for Threads 8 and College Prep courses.
per student – registration: $180, supply fee: $50*
*Early registration discount cannot be applied to supply fee.
In the fall, T8 students will learn about public policy using current events as a lens. Each week, students will read or listen to and report on current events. Over the course of the semester, they will explore contemporary issues in political campaigns, domestic and international policy, economics, and social welfare. In the spring, students will take an in-depth look at the Bill of Rights for the first nine weeks. During the last six weeks, they will work collaboratively to prepare and present a mock trial, studying a case that involves one or more issues in the first eight amendments to the U.S. Constitution.
Students will begin with a Science Fair and end with an introduction to Chemistry. Between those two, the majority of the year will be spent in the classical study of Astronomy, where students will learn how to chart the movement of the Sun, understand the phases of the Moon, and map/identify the seasonal Constellations and Stars using Signs & Seasons as their curriculum. Astronomy includes both textbook reading as well as outdoor observations. Learning is done against the backdrop of a Creator God and a Psalm 19:1 reality.
In the fall semester, T8 students will read and discuss 5 novels and use The Lost Tools of Writing curriculum to write 5 corresponding persuasive essays. In the spring semester, students will read Words Aptly Spoken: Short Stories to study 10 components of a short story, which they will then use to compose their own short story. These will be printed and bound to create a class anthology. In both semesters, there is an emphasis on learning how to discuss, analyze, and apply life lessons from literature, especially through the lens of a biblical worldview.
Continuing where they left off in Threads 7 with World History: Our Human Story, students in 8th grade complete the book's final two sections, starting with the Renaissance and moving through the rapidly changing world of the early modern and modern periods. Those time periods correspond to the historical literature selections that students will read for their Literature & Composition course. The reformation, age of exploration, scientific revolution, enlightenment, industrial revolution, communism, and the world wars are among the topics covered. Students build on their outlining skills, and assignments at home include reading, writing short research reports, primary source analyses, and analysis assignments designed to increase their critical engagement with the problems of the past and how those relate to the present. (Participation in Western Civ Year 1 is not a prerequisite for enrollment in Year 2.)
T8 students will study formal logic (introductory) using The Discovery of Deduction. The Discovery of Deduction looks at the form of an argument or how the argument is put together. Arguments are all around us. They can be found in ads, on social media, on television, and even in the classroom. This class will prepare students to not take arguments at face value but rather to think critically about what they hear to determine whether it is logically consistent. This class is an excellent continuation of Art of Argument. In addition to spotting weak arguments, students will learn how to create logically sound arguments as well as think through some real world issues.