7th & 8th Grade Curriculum

Religion
  • 7th & 8th Graders at Zion take part in our confirmation curriculum, with the objective of knowing and showing the Christian Faith.  Students of this class will gain two things: 1) a working knowledge of the "Six Chief Parts" of Christian teaching, as drawn from the Bible. and 2) a developed and mature Christian faith and life, allowing them to discern the secular / humanistic point of view which is often opposed to a Christian world view.  
  • Knowing: The student will gain a working knowledge of...
            •       The Bible, and geography of world & holy land
            •       The Ten Commandments, with Luther's explanation
            •       The structure of the traditional Church Year
            •       The Apostles' Creed, with Luther's explanation
            •       World religions and Christian denominations
            •       The Sacrament of Baptism, the covenant of Christ
            •       The Sacrament of Holy Communion, the covenant meal of Christ
            •       The Church at work: Leadership, Confession & Absolution

    Showing: The student will confidently express faith in...
            •       Writing & presentations, expressing personal faith in Christ
            •       Art - Felt banner: personally designed and constructed
            •       Prayer - personal communication with God
            •       Devotion and Singing - hymns
            •       Discipleship - learning to share the faith with others

​Art
  • In middle school the students will learn about art and its place in society, what art is and what it is not. We discuss how art is used in the world today  and in the past. There is an art history component where students research and create a multi-media presentation for the class. They use and create with a wide variety of media, drawing with  charcoal, graphite, ink, chalk and pastels. We will learn about how artists use form and shapes, pattern and repetition to create images and meaning, printmaking with traditional carving and gel prints. We create sculptures looking at balance and form. We use computer drawing programs to create self portraits and introduce basic photographic elements of composition. The focus in middle school is to allow the students to continue to create using imagination while also building upon the skills learned in the lower grades.

Drama
  • Along with classroom dramatic activities (readers' theaters, short plays, etc.) Students have the opportunity to participate in two dramatic activities yearly. The first is our fall play presented by the 5th through 8th grades, and the second is our Christmas Eve program which is presented by students in kindergarten through 8th grade. In both productions students are required to memorize lines, deliver them in an audible manner with feeling and emotion, and work well with directors and other performers.

Health/Physical Education
  • Various health topics are covered over the two years in my classroom including social and mental health, physical fitness, good nutrition, diseases, safety and first aid, drug use and abuse, and spiritual growth.
  • In seventh and eighth grade, students display mastery of locomotor skills, as well as basic skills of volleyball, football, basketball, and badminton. They demonstrate mastery of rope jumping skills along with gymnastic and tumbling skills. They show the ability to move rhythmically and display good posture. Track and field activities are mastered. Physical fitness is stressed as is flexibility. Games are played with an emphasis on fair play, teamwork, and sportsmanship.

History/Social Studies
  • Both American History and World History are learned in 7th and 8th grade. American History explores the original 13 Colonies, Westward Expansion, the Civil War, the Industrial Revolution, and into the Twentieth Century. World History includes the Ancient Middle East starting with Creation and into Egyptian History, the Greek and Roman Empires, the Middle Ages, the Protestant Reformation, English and French History, and Science and Industry in the Modern Age.

Math
  • In 7th grade, student learn beginning geometry skills including polygons, area, perimeter, volume, and circumference. They also learn algebra skills like exponents, roots, the distributive property, order of operations, graphing lines, scientific notation, measures of central tendency, and solving algebraic equations and inequalities. Our math books are set up that every assignment is primarily a review of past lessons so that the information never becomes stale for our students.
  • In 8th grade, students learn algebra skills including functions and relations, linear equations, polynomials, inequalities, systems of equations, probability, absolute-value, and radical expressions. This book also includes review much of the time so that the information learned is constantly being put in front of the students.
 
Music
  • All seventh and eighth graders are involved in the school choir. They are also given optional choices of participating in music. They may choose to continue lessons on the instruments ukulele or recorder. These are done during recess times or before school. They may also choose to be in tone chimes. They learn to play both sacred and secular songs on "bell-like" instruments. This group also plays in church services four times a year.

Language Arts/Literature
  • Throughout the two years in my classroom, students will learn the parts of speech, such as nouns, pronouns, verbs, complements. They will also learn about subject-verb agreement and usage, as well as modifiers, prepositions, conjunctions, phrases, clauses, and complex sentences.
  • The first two quarters of each year are spent in a Literature textbook that includes excerpts from famous stories, essays, poems, folk tales, plays, and biographies. Writing assignments are included in this subject that cover topics such as persuasive writing, how-to essays, autobiographical writing, and comparison-contrast writing.  Third and fourth quarters are spent reading novels such as A Wrinkle in Time, The Count of Monte Cristo, The Giver, Journey to the Center of the Earth, and Island of the Blue Dolphins. Two to three novels are read each year.

Science
  • Over the two years in my classroom, students learn both life science and physical science. Topics covered in life science include cells, genes, DNA, classification of living things, simple organisms and plants, animals, and ecology. Topics covered in physical science include astronomy, space, solid matter in motion, fluids in motion, heat molecules in motion, magnetism, electricity, and Creation/Evolution. There is also a more involved project each year such as “Eggonauts” or building your own catapult.

Spelling
  • Each week students receive a spelling list of twenty-five words that share something in common. Examples of spelling units include compound words, irregular plurals, double consonants, words from other languages, commonly confused words, and even words that come from specific Latin or Greek roots. Students also learn the definitions of each of the spelling words in order to increase their vocabulary. Tests are given at the end of each week.  

Spanish
  • Our students will be using Duolingo, that has organically become the most popular language learning platform and the most downloaded education app in the world with more than 170 million users. Duolingo is designed to feel like a game and scientifically proven to be effective. Everyone learns in different ways. For the first time in history, Duolingo can analyze how millions of people learn at once to create the most effective educational system possible and tailor it to each student. The ultimate goal is to give everyone access to a private tutor experience through technology.

​Technology (click for more information)