BIBLE
- understand that the Bible is one continuous story, linking believers of the past with us today
- develop a commitment to live according to the biblical message in ways appropriate to their age
- understand reasons why the Kingdom split - cause and effect, obedience and disobedience
- understand God’s covenant relationship with His people
- understand the nature of prophecy and its fulfillment
- identify God’s use of other nations in His redemptive plan
- recall God’s continuing faithfulness to His people during their exile and examples of God’s faithfulness today
- study what was happening to Israel during the 400 year period between the Old and New Testaments
- know the background - political, geographical, and religious - at the time of Jesus’ birth
- know the birth and early ministry of Jesus through study of the synoptic gospels
- become aware of past/present day missionaries
MEMORY WORK
a wide variety of Old and New Testament scriptures are assigned weekly
LANGUAGE ARTS
- view language in its entirety as a gift from God requiring careful stewardship
- understand the unity and diversity of the various components of English (writing, literature, grammar, vocabulary, and speech) in the goal of effective communication
- appreciate different literary genres (short story, poetry, nonfiction, drama, novels)
- critique literature through scriptural principles and teachings
- demonstrate oral reading ability
- read a minimum of 2,000 pages of non-text novels for personal enjoyment
- read the novels, The Giver, Old Yeller, and The Light in the Forest, Across Five Aprils
- prepare occasional reports on the out-of-class reading
- comprehend content vocabulary, and expand vocabulary usage and knowledge
- demonstrate knowledge of grade level vocabulary
- understand and use basic spelling rules
- demonstrate and use knowledge of the writing process throughout various writings
- understand and apply the six writing traits in a variety of formal written assignments (personal narrative, expository, persuasive, and comparison/contrast essays, along with poems, short stories, speeches, and letters)
- continue writing for differing audiences (teachers, classmates, parents, principals, and community figures)
- apply research skills to a major research report, using available research tools
- identify parts of speech and use them correctly in writing
- demonstrate knowledge of sentence structure
- continue to experience speaking in front of audiences
NOVELS
(Minimum requirement)
- The Giver
- Old Yeller
- The Light in the Forest
- Across Five Aprils
PRE-ALGEBRA
- understand God created the universe in an orderly and precise manner
- understand our Christian responsibilities within God’s creation
- integrate problem solving strategies with other disciplines
- apply knowledge of order of operations
- demonstrate ability to solve equations by adding, subtracting, multiplying, and dividing using decimals, fractions, and integers
- write numbers in standard, expanded, and scientific notation
- demonstrate mental math strategies in computation and problem solving
- read, gather, and study data, and organize it using graphs and charts
- recognize geometrical shapes and find perimeter, circumference, area, and volume
- solve equalities and inequalities
- develop understanding and utilization of probability
- graph ordered pairs and linear equalities using slope
- understand prime and composite numbers
- change fractions, decimals, and percent
- change ratios and proportions
- learn and practice logical reasoning, critical thinking, and cooperative decision making
- find least common multiple and greatest common factor
SCIENCE
*on a rotation schedule with 8th grade
- understand science as the study of God’s creation
- understand and use the periodic table of elements appropriate to grade level
- understand and use graphs to display and interpret data
- trace the history of the atomic model
- understand a variety of chemical reactions and interactions
- understand energy use and alternative energy sources
- understand properties of waves
- understand motion, force and work
- understand electricity, current, and simple circuits
SOCIAL STUDIES
- understand God’s sovereignty through the study of history
- develop map skills
- become aware of events - political, cultural, geographical, and spiritual - occurring in our world
- connect God’s promises in the Bible with events happening in our world
- American History from exploration and colonization to the settling of the west, including the American Revolution and the Civil War
- identify causes of the American Revolutionary War
- discuss major battles and outcomes of the Revolution
- identify causes of the Civil War
- discuss major battles and outcomes of the Civil War
- do a major history project
- examine our Constitution and understand how government was established.