Seventh Grade Curriculum

My daughter starts junior high this year...at home. I often wonder how the time goes by so very fast when individual days sometimes seem quite long. When we started homeschooling years ago when Amber was in first grade, one of the questions we were asked was, "What about high school?" I laughed then because high school seemed ages away for my little first grader but now it's right around the corner.

Amber's independent workload does increase this year. I am adding Spanish, a structured writing program, and more independent work in literature, science, and history. Hopefully, she will be able to get all of her work done during the day since she has swim team every night. One thing for sure - we will be getting an early start each day here at home!

I have also added a structured art program - Atelier Art. I am very excited to get started with this program! I am also committed to doing at least one day of nature study a month and I have already put all of the dates on our master school calendar.

Because I love hands-on projects, lapbooks, art projects, and lots and lots and lots of books - our curriculum plans are always a bit messy! I try to do as much together as a family as we can as well which simplifies but also complicates curriculum planning. After much, much thought and hours and hours of choosing materials - the following is my curriculum list for Amber this year. I will post about what I am using with my third and fifth grade boys separately.

Language Arts

• Growing With Grammar 7
• Spelling Workout Level G
• English from the Roots Up Volume I
• Learning to Write the Novel Way (Creative Writing)
• Put That in Writing: Level One: Mastering the Paragraph
• Figuratively Speaking, Using Classic Literature to Teach 40 Literary Terms, The Learning Works
• Latin Everywhere, Everyday
• Happy Scribe Copybooks - Ancient Greece, Colonial Times, Stars and Planets
• Writing assignments related to unit studies in Science and History.

***While Amber will complete Growing With Grammar 7, Figuratively Speaking, and Spelling Workout Level G this school year, I am much more flexible with the other resources. I use English from the Roots Up Volume I with all three of my children together. I try to cover a few word roots each week and include lots of review. This year, I am adding Latin Everywhere, Everyday. I plan to work through this book with all three of my children together, covering just a few phrases each week.

Amber loves to write so she is writing a novel using Learning to Write the Novel Way. My primary role is to encourage her and offer feedback on completed chapters. She started writing her book over the summer so my goal is for her to finish the novel by the end of the school year (next June). I plan to spend two years covering Put That in Writing, Level One: Mastering the Paragraph with Amber.

Reading

Reading assignments will be related to the history and science unit studies that we complete throughout the school year. I have been working on planning our Ancient Greece Unit Study, Ancient Greek Myths Unit Study and our American Revolution Unit Study this summer so I know the books she will be reading to coordinate with those units.


American Revolution Unit Study

• Johnny Tremain by Esther Forbes
• Johnny Tremain Study Guide - Progeny Press
• The Fighting Ground by Avi
• Thematic Unit Revolutionary War - Teacher Created Materials

Ancient Greece Unit Study

• Black Ships Before Troy, The Story of The Iliad by Rosemary Sutcliff
• The Wanderings of Odysseus, The Story of the Odyssey by Rosemary Sutcliff
• D'Aulaires' Greek Myths
• D'Aulaires' Greek Myths Student Guide by Cheryl Lowe and Leigh Lowe
• The Lightning Thief by Rick Riordan

Math

• Finish Teaching Textbooks 7
• Teaching Textbooks Pre-Algebra
• Focus on Using Estimation Level G

Foreign Language

• Rosetta Stone Spanish Level 1

Geography

• Trail Guide to U.S. Geography
• Trail Guide to U.S. Geography Student Notebook

We used this resource throughout the year last school year. We finished the New England states (Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Vermont, Connecticut, Rhode Island), the Mid-Atlantic states (New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, West Virginia, Delaware, Maryland), and we started on the Southern States completing North Carolina, Virginia, Kentucky, Tennessee, South Carolina, Georgia, Alabama, and Mississippi. My goal is to finish working our way through the states this school year.

Science

• Great Science Adventures: Discovering the Human Body and Senses
• Great Science Adventures: Discovering Atoms, Molecules, and Matter
• Stratton House: The Astronomy Adventure

Science is completed with all three of my children together in unit studies with as many hands-on projects as possible.

History

We will definitely be studying Ancient Greece, Greek Mythology, and the American Revolution this year. We may also study Early 19th Century American History if we have time this school year. I am almost done with planning the unit studies for Ancient Greece, Greek Mythology, and the American Revolution. I will post with my master plans for them when I am done.

Art

• Atelier Art Level 5

Nature Study

• Outdoor Hour Challenges: Nature Study Close to Home by Barbara McCoy
• Handbook of Nature Study by Anna Botsford Comstock

In my master school-year calendar, I have blocked off one day each month to devote to Nature Study. Ideally, I would love to do Nature Study every week. . . we will see. Regardless, I know I have plans for a hike and Nature Study at least once a month.

Physical Education

• USA Swimming Team - Practice 5 times per week for a total of 10 hours of practice per week. Swim meets are held on the week-ends.