Composition & Grammar

Building on the outlining, summarizing and analysis skills begun in Dialectic 1, students will read grade level editions of significant literary works. Using the essays in Omnibus II, students will begin learning to follow themes in literature, determine motives of characters, and learn to incorporate supporting evidence into their essays. Using Write Source Grade 8, students further refine and hone their grammar skills while incorporating these concepts into their compositions. Students will use their skills to complete three major writing assignments, composing their own autobiography, writing a research project on a Roman emperor and conducting a poetry analysis. Students will also memorize poetry, scripture and an essay to be recited in class.  Texts: Omnibus II, Using Write Source Grade 8, The Shakespeare Stealer, The Dragon and The Raven, A Sound of Thunder, The Pedestrian, There Will Come Soft Rains, Augustine, Farmer’s Boy of Tagaste, The Hobbit.

History

Beginning with the Early Church and concluding with the Reformation, students discover the impact of Christianity on the cultures and kingdoms of the European continent transforming that region from a multicultural battlezone to a beacon of education and civilization. Through in-class discussions, character studies, mini-art projects, and presentations students gain an appreciation for the complexity of life in the Middle Ages, the factors that laid the seeds for the Reformation, and the beauty of the Renaissance. 

Texts:  Famous Men of the Middle Ages, The 100 Most Important Events in Christian History, Rats, Bulls, and Flying Machines, Core Knowledge Foundation, Beowulf, Augustine, Farmer Boy of Tagaste, Henry V, Rule of St. Benedict, The Canterbury Tales, Church History in Plain Language.

Deductive Logic

In an effort to love God “with all our minds” the study of logic will train students to reason well. Students will discover and identify patterns or rules by which we are able to reason. This year’s study of logic includes a combination of Informal Logic and Formal Logic as they both relate to the structure of an argument. Under Informal Logic we begin with the study of terms and statements. We move from there into the area of Formal Logic and cover both categorical and propositional logic found in deductive reasoning. With this concrete system of discovering and identifying the patterns taught in logic, students will continue a smooth transition into the area of abstract critical thinking in the dialectic stage of the trivium. Text: Discovery of Deduction

Latin – Wheelock’s Level 3

Students come to their final year of Latin and work through the next 9 chapters of Wheelock’s Latin.  Using note sheets written at a Dialectic 2 level, students are guided through basic and complex Latin concepts by translating sentences from Latin into English as well as from English to Latin. Review of vocabulary as well as lesson concepts are integrated in these translations. For use at home, parents are loaned an answer key enabling them to guide their student through translation exercises assigned as homework. Participation in the National Latin Exam during the spring is a goal of this year. Text: Wheelock’s Latin