RELIGION

• Topics include:Creation
• God’s revelation and promise
• The Liturgical Year
• Jesus as teacher, healer, redeemer and savior
• The church in the world
• Israel and the Northern Kingdom, Judah and the Southern Kingdom
• The church’s beginnings
• Students participating in planning mass, adoration, and reconciliation.
• The sixth grade is also in charge of creating a performance of the Living Stations of the Cross during Lent

SCIENCE

• In the sixth grade, students focus on five and eight step labs and experiments within the four units of study.  Five step labs ask a question, conduct an investigation, gather data, develop explanations, and communicate discoveries.  Eight step labs ask a question, conduct an investigation, gather data, develop explanations, think critically, recognize alternatives, communicate discoveries, and use mathematics.

READING

• Students read a variety of novels per school year. 
• Discussions regarding vocabulary, conflict, characterization and questioning  to ensure comprehension is the norm. 
• Projects are done to enhance the novel studies.  Ex. Literature Circles, Character Autopsies, and creating Book Trailers using iMovie.  
• Forms and genres of writing, plot and setting, understanding theme, how writers can be persuasive, and elements of fiction and non-fiction are studied as well.
• Students prepare for a Declamation Contest to enhance their oratory skills.

WRITING

• Sixth graders continue to fine tune their writing through the writing process.  
• Students work on grammar, write editorials, travel brochures, skits and commercials, and other creative and informational works. 
• Our classes also explore essay writing, correct ways to write a paragraph, and creative writing. 
• Students frequently keep their skills sharp by correcting paragraph and letter errors.
• All formal writing is completed in cursive or typed. 

MATH

• Four critical areas of focus are: (1) connecting ratio and rate to whole number multiplication and division and using concepts of ratio and rate to solve problems; (2) completing understanding of division of fractions and extending the notion of number to the system of rational numbers, which includes negative numbers; (3) writing, interpreting, and using expressions and equations; and (4) developing understanding of statistical thinking. 
• Students build on collaborative skills learned in 5^th grade reading and math to form a type of learning community.
• Students compare answers, verbalize their reasoning behind a solution and critique the reasoning of others. 
• This is a critical skill in developing mathematicians as they begin to use their own reasoning to determine whether an answer is correct as opposed to the teacher.  

SOCIAL STUDIES

• Our sixth-grade curriculum requires students to explore cultures and civilizations of the past to find out how our world works today. 
• The focus of our study is Ancient Civilizations. 
• We study Ancient Mesopotamia, Ancient Egypt, Ancient Israel, Ancient Greece, and Ancient China.
• We learn about our unique Earth through the regions, locations, places, environments, religions, and movements of the past and present. 
• Students also review current events and work on their map skills. 

TEXTBOOKS

The textbooks we use are evaluated on a five-year cycle. We choose books based on curriculum alignment, grade level appropriateness, and overall quality.

RELIGION

• The seventh grade places special emphasis on the role of grace in the seven sacraments and in developing the virtues.
• Students learn about God’s loving gift of revelation through creation, the prophets, the Incarnation, and the Church. 
• Grace is understood as being central to our relationship with God because it unites us with Him and allows us to share in His eternal life.

LITERATURE

• An in depth study of poetry and text analysis for meaning is the main focus of seventh grade. 
• Students are challenged by thematic units and higher thinking level questions to help them make inferences based on the context. 
• Students read several novels and have scholarly discussions.
• Students prepare for a Declamation Contest to enhance their oratory skills.
• Literature classes are separated into Traditional and Accelerated sections.

WRITING

• The students develop high level thinking skills through an in-depth study of English grammar.
• Building vocabulary is a prominent part of the curriculum.
• Our classes also explore essay writing, correct ways to write a paragraph, and creative writing. 
• Students frequently keep their skills sharp by correcting paragraph and letter errors.
• All formal writing is completed in cursive or typed. 
• English classes are separated into Traditional and Accelerated classes.

HISTORY

• Our curriculum focuses on World History.
• The program begins with a study of eastern civilizations and how they have influenced modern cultures.
• The relationship between geography and history will be thoroughly examined, including how geographic features have helped certain regions around the world to thrive.
• Map study, economics, government systems, and religions are integral to our curriculum.
• Cultural and religious diversity and tolerance are emphasized while examining the foundation of Christianity and the values that have helped shape modern cultures.
• Units of study include the Rome, Roman Civilizations, Islamic Civilizations, Imperial China, Africa Civilizations, Medieval Europe, Renaissance & Reformation.
• Coursework involves critical thinking and writing, discussion, comparing and contrasting, analyzing, and constructing.
• Students will learn practical skills, including identifying main ideas and supporting details, writing and organizing study notes, strengthening critical thinking and comprehension, and public speaking.

MATH

• On-level Pre-Algebra: In this course introductory concepts of algebra are developed with applications interwoven throughout. 
• Topics include but are not limited to, operations with integers, solving single and multi-step equations, functions, graphing, exponents and roots, and ratios and proportions, and two-dimensional and three-dimensional geometry.
• Emphasis is placed on critical thinking and problem solving.
• Our mathematics curriculum is designed to be challenging and motivating for all students.  The correct placement of students is essential for student success. 
• Math classes are separated into Traditional and Accelerated sections.

SCIENCE

•  Students will develop their exploratory skills by generating their own questions, recognizing and explaining relationships that develop from scientific labs and activities.
• Students focus on the study of Biology.
• Students participate in real life dissections of worms, frogs, cray fish and cow hearts.

TEXTBOOKS

The textbooks we use are evaluated on a five-year cycle. We choose books based on curriculum alignment, grade level appropriateness, and overall quality.

RELIGION

• The eighth grade covers the history of the Church – its founding by Christ, its birth and life in the Holy Spirit, the marks of the one true Church, the Fathers and Doctors of the Church, the saints, and the role of religious communities in Church history. 
• Also covered are the structure and hierarchy of the Church, the Magisterium, clergy, religious, and laity. 
• Students come to know and love the Church as Christ’s Body, to better understand the nature of their life in the Church, and to respond to the teaching of the Magisterium as the sure voice of Jesus, strengthening their lives in the Church and leading them to discern their specific vocations and to live lives Christian holiness in the world today
• Students prepare for the sacrament of Confirmation within the classroom. 

LITERATURE

• In eighth grade, students analyze how a modern work of fiction draws on themes, patterns of events, or character types from myths, traditional stories, or religious works such as the Bible, including describing how the material is rendered new. 
• The children also learn about Radio Plays and the impact of oral tradition on literary works.

WRITING

• Students prepare for high school through informational writing across the curriculum to fine tune their abilities to express their academic knowledge through the craft of writing. 
• Students write a formal research report and write daily in the content areas. 
• We also finish our study of English grammar in preparation for high school level courses.

HISTORY

• Our students explore history, geography, economics, government, and culture to gain a better understanding of their world. 
• They are encouraged to relate past and present through the study of history and current events.
• The study of American history involves names and events, discoveries and conflicts.
• Through the study of the facts, students will begin to see the relationships between individuals and groups that have shaped the history of the United States.
• It is important to present concepts that help students to understand the cause and effect of how historical circumstances have influenced the American experience. 
• This course will primarily focus on Westward Expansion, Jacksonian Democracy, Civil War, Reconstruction, Progressive Era, World War I, Great Depression, World War II and Cold War. 
• Essay writing, analysis of historical events, note taking and memorization are all skill areas that students will work on in
• This grade will also participate in a class trip to Washington D. C. and surrounding areas in the spring of their academic year.  

SCIENCE

• Students will have the opportunity to study various topics in the categories Chemical Interactions, Matter and Energy, and Waves, Sound, and Light.
• Students will develop their exploratory skills by generating their own questions, recognizing and explaining relationships that develop from scientific labs and activities. 
• Students in 8th grade have the opportunity to make their own hot air balloons, trebuchets, toothpick bridges, and solid fuel rockets.
• There is a strong focus on engineering skills like troubleshooting, problem solving, and design improvement.

MATH

Our mathematics curriculum is designed to be challenging and motivating for all students.  The correct placement of students is essential for student success. Careful consideration of student abilities is critical to self-esteem.  It is very important that all students be placed appropriately.  This class is separated into Traditional and Accelerated sections.

• In this course, the foundations of Algebra I are developed with applications interwoven throughout.   
• Emphasis is placed on critical thinking and problem solving.   
• Students will study the language of Algebra, single and multi-step equations and inequalities, graphing, functions, linear functions, systems of equations and inequalities, polynomials, quadratic functions, and radicals. 
• By successfully completing this Algebra 1 course in 8th grade, students may be able to progress ahead in their high school math programs at an accelerated rate.  
• Students have the opportunity to place in to Honors Algebra I.  This class is taken at the neighboring  high school. Completion of that course will place a student on an accelerated track for high school.

TEXTBOOKS

The textbooks we use are evaluated on a five-year cycle. We choose books based on curriculum alignment, grade level appropriateness, and overall quality.