The Prophet Grade 7 (Updated 7/12/2009)

I cannot believe he is going to be in Grade 7 this year. He has been doing so well this year. I'm very proud of the changes he has made. We are trying to follow The Well Trained Mind approach. But, he hasn't quite made it to Logic stage in many areas. Alas, Susan Wise Bauer does talk about this which is a confirmation of how I have felt all along. Some children won't make it past logic stage. But, they will still get an excellent education. I believe they can still be ready for college if they desire that path. There is nothing wrong with starting college and having to do Pre-Algebra or Algebra. Sure it's nice to skip ahead or not have to even take Math classes. Oh, wait I'm getting ahead of myself. Grade 7 it is.

History

He will be working through Story of the World 3 (1600-1850). He will do written narrations, mapwork, and notebook pages for each chapter.

He will do outlining of each topic from Usborne Encyclopedia or Dorling Kindersley History of the World.

He will keep track of important dates and people in his Book of Centuries.

Supplemental library materials (i.e. books and DVDs) will be available. He will keep track of these on his 6 week planner sheet and Goodreads.

Suggested memory work for the period are Declaration of Independence, First 12 Presidents of the United States, Major Wars for the time period, and Preamble to the Constitution.

I will do my best to create some kind of notebook ahead of time for at least the first term.

If I think it could be done I would consider the Primary resources and Critical Thinking Books, as suggested TWTM. But, I'm not sure if he would be capable of the above work. I think he would love the Critical Thinking books, though. If the budget allows, I might replace some of the work above with those workbooks.

Science

Option 1: I have Apologia General Science already. I will most likely plan this out to stretch over Grade 7 and Grade 8.

Option 2: The Well Trained Mind Suggestions for Biology. They have a lot of fun suggestions. But, I have no idea how he would do with dissections. He has some issues with clean hands.

Option 3: Real Science 4 Kids Biology 1

Language Arts

I like the methods outlined in The Well Trained Mind, but they seem to work at a slower Charlotte Mason approach with my boys. I'm using the the scope and sequence at Ambleside Online for most of our Language Arts planning. As budget permits, I will add in suggestions from The Well Trained Mind, although at lower grade levels.

Writing

I probably won't have a formal writing program for him this year. He should be getting enough writing practice via his other subjects with narrations, copywork, dictations, and outlining.

I would like to have him doing some sort of book reports though. We should be able to develop that through outlining. I might start him on some type of book report form to ease him into it. There seem to be plenty available online.

If he uses Rod and Staff there will be writing exercises as part of the program. He will continue in Italics Handwriting cursive. He just started this year and hopefully he will be able to do some of his work in cursive by mid-year.

Reading

Assigned reading list will come from The Well Trained Mind for the time period 1600-1850 page 353. He will have free reading time, as well.

Grammar

He has yet to study formal grammar. Depending on our budget he will use either Rod and Staff Year 5 or First Language Lessons 3.

He has had a difficult time with doing lots of handwritten work. I think he might find diagramming a huge chore. We are changing our plans to Winston Grammar for now. I think the more hands on approach would serve him better. Plus, it's one of those non-leveled programs and he appreciates that.

Spelling

I would prefer to use Spelling Workout D, but that is depending on budget/VA. If that is not an option, he will do studied dictation. I will pull the studied dictation from his assigned readings.

He may do both. I prefer a workbook because of the new baby.

We are going to try Spelling Power instead. I prefer curriculum that is reusable and can last a few grade levels. I can use Spelling Power with all the children and it lasts for all grade levels. There seems to be a little bit of prep, but it shouldn't be too overwhelming.

Math

He worked very hard this year to get through two years of Math U See. He is catching up wonderfully. He has been in school twice. Those two times were very different from Math U See and we had to literally start over the last time. They used Everyday Mathematics which did not work well for him at all. Our goal is that he makes it to Algebra during High School.

I would like to see him get through MUS Epsilon and most of MUS Zeta this school year.

Optional Resources

Field Trips
YMCA
Critical thinking press Mind Benders: Warm Ups A1, A2, A3, A4
Typing Program