• Sacred Scripture
• Church History
• Sacraments
• Life in Christ

• Ratios and Proportional Relationships: unit rates and proportional relationships, sales tax
• The Number System: integers, absolute value, rational and irrational numbers, square roots, operations with fractions and decimals
• Expressions and Equations: variables, linear equations and functions, systems of equations
• Geometry: surface area, volume, transversals, geometric properties of shapes
• Statistics and Probability: collect and analyze data sets from graphs and tables, evaluate probability models, scatter plots, central tendency, independent and dependent events

 6th Grade: Eastern Hemisphere

• Early civilizations, classical traditions, world religions, and major empires
• Human systems, cultural development, and patterns of human settlement
• Global issues past and present, relationship of U.S. to other nations and world
• Structure and functions of government, economy

7th Grade: American History

• European colonization for control of North America
• Life in colonial America
• The American Revolution
• Government and the Constitution

8th Grade: American History

• Government and the Constitution
• The United States after the American Revolution
• The Civil War
• Reconstruction
• America in the last half of the 19th century

Science Notebooks

• Science Notebooks are an interactive tool that will be used throughout the year in science class.  We will use one of the binders for Science notebooks this year.
• Students will use them to write down any notes/teacher information.  In addition, they will use them to respond to, question, and comment on the information they have been given and the activities they are completing.
• Science Notebooks include “doodle notes.”  These colorful notes with diagrams and pictures may look messy.  While they are not the type of notes we are used to, there is a lot of research available that encourages such notetaking to engage the whole brain in studying.
• Students are expected to review their notes daily for a minimum of ten minutes.  This small review will pay great rewards when test time comes.

Labs/Activities

• In addition to notebooks, students will complete worksheets and assignments. 
• The focus of Science is on hands-on, interactive activities and labs whenever possible!

Topics

• Our first week will be spent defining science and scientists.
• The next two weeks will be spent reviewing the Scientific Method.  This important process will be used throughout the year, as we pose important questions, make hypotheses, conduct experiments, and analyze our results.
• By mid-September, we will move into more specific topics.  Each grade level will cover topics in Earth Science, Physical Science, and Life Science!

Science Fair

• Seventh and eighth graders will participate in the Science Fair this year.  Much more information about that will be passed along as we get closer to that event!

The English program is a three-part program.

Part 1-Grammar

• Review of previously covered grammar topics (parts of speech, punctuation, etc.)
• Practice diagramming sentences
• Common usage errors
• Correct grammar usage in context
• Revising and editing

Part 2-Vocabulary

• Introduction and usage of new, quality words that can be used in writing

Part 3-Writing

• Daily writing in a Writer’s Notebook
• Writing assignments (including stories, projects, research papers)
• Writer’s Workshop (including peer editing and publishing)

• The literature program this year will focus on novels, poetry, short stories, and informational text.  We will focus on many types of materials throughout the year.
• Definitely ask your child what book we are currently reading!  Conversations and discussions about our reading topics will be very helpful reviews for your child.
• There is no literature textbook.  We plan to read numerous different novels this year.  This may be adjusted based on time! 
• Most of these novels have won awards, such as the Newberry Award, and/or are written by award winning authors!
• We will use these books to discuss story/literary elements, including characters, plot, and setting.  In addition, we will explore new vocabulary words and utilize skills, such as inference and context clues.

• Increasing vocabulary is an important skill that the middle school is committed to.  It is important to remember vocabulary is a core subject and counts toward overall GPA. 
• The first and second weeks will be spent completing the book, which will be required to be completed in class.