Logic Stage (6th-8th) Curriculum Objectives
Curriculum objectives developed by the St. Jerome Curriculum Group and used with permission from the Education Plan of St. Jerome Academy.
Sixth Grade: The Ancient Year
Seventh Grade: The Christendom Year
Eighth Grade: The New World Year
History
Knowledge
Understand the Incarnation as the decisive act of God in history
Appreciate how the coming of Christ transforms history
Understand history and culture as the human desire for goodness, truth, and God Himself
Understand themselves as part of the Israel, Egypt, Greek, Roman, Catholic story
Understand how the differences between these time periods and cultures are reflected in their civilizations: religion, philosophy, government, economics, art, architecture, music, technology, and culture
Understand key figures and events of Ancient, Medieval, Modern, and American history
Understand difference between Ancient, Medieval and Modern political forms
Understand how the lives of the saints shaped the respective historical periods within which they lived
Understand how people in the Ancient, Medieval, and Modern periods differ in their concept of God and man
Understand how the respective time periods pursue and express truth, goodness, and beauty
Know how Christianity has shaped the world and how the expansion of Christianity has brought increasing liberty, reason and culture
Understand the historical and philosophical roots of modern materialist atheism
Understand history of America in the context of Catholic and world history
Understand the novelty of America in relation to its European origins
Understand key technological developments of the different historical periods
Recognize basic geography
Recognize major periods of history by using timelines
Acquire familiarity with primary sources characteristic of each period
Skills
Acquire facility in reading primary sources of various kinds
Discuss philosophical and theological questions which arise from history
Recognize correlation between “secular” history and Biblical/Church history
Explain cause and effect of historical events
Compare, contrast, and explain the essential characteristics of cultures, governments, and figures in different historical periods
Think and write imaginatively from within the mindset of different historical periods
Analyze the importance of significant new ideas as they emerge in history
Memorize significant dates and be able to build timelines from them
Aptitudes
Deepen appreciation of history as an expression of man’s desire for God and his pursuit of goodness, truth, and beauty
Evaluate world events and historical characters from a Catholic perspective
Draw on past ideas to evaluate present assumptions and deepen self-knowledge
Appreciate the beauty of saints and the integrity and courage of heroes
Develop a desire to be both a good citizen and a faithful Catholic
Develop a sense of inquiry
Develop a comprehensive and ordered sense of the world
Cultivate a desire for wisdom
Religion
Knowledge
Know that God made us for Himself and that our hearts are restless until they rest in Him
Understand history as oriented to Christ before his Incarnation and flowing from Christ after his Incarnation
Know the major moments of salvation history from creation to the modern day
Recognize the competing claims about God (or the gods) offered by pagans and philosophers and how the Christian understanding of God is radically different
Recognize how Christianity transforms the classical inheritance
Recognize how the Christian culture of the Middle Ages is reflected in art, music, architecture, literature, the liturgical calendar, the structure of cities, organization of labor, and the code of chivalry; and how this is transformed in the Modern period
Recognize relevance of Christian faith and teachings of Church to fundamental human questions and aspirations that have animated every culture
Begin to understand how the Trinity and Incarnation reveal both God and man
Know the teachings of select books of the Bible
Begin to know the theological tradition
Begin to understand the art of apologetics and how the teachings of the Church flow from the truth about God and man
Begin to understand the claims of the Protestant Reformers, modern atheists, and moral relativists and how the Church defends the truth in the face of these claims
Begin to understand the Mass: its structure, its meaning, and its place in God’s plan for the world
Understand the basic teachings on the sacraments, especially Confirmation
Begin to understand and appreciate that a person is a unity of body and soul, created in God’s love and called to love and truth, and thus to understand the true personal meaning of their own bodies.
Begin to understand how the Christian vision of love and Catholic sexual morality flow from the truth about God and man
Skills
Give more advanced theological explanations of Church doctrine
Defend the tenets of the faith against heresy and atheism, as well as the major moral teachings against confusion
Begin to think theologically
Memorization of Scripture and scriptural arguments
Aptitudes
Cultivate and reflect on longing for God
Deepen the habit of contemplative prayer
Deepen the familiarity with and participation in the liturgical life of the Church
Deepen appreciation of silence
Examine conscience, go to Confession, "offer up" a sacrifice
Strengthening of the conscience to begin to love God's will and wish to avoid sin
Heed the double commandment to love God and neighbor
Cultivate friendships based on virtue
Art
Knowledge
Begin to understand how truth is expressed in the beauty of art
Understand the significance of the Christian contribution to art and how art reveals the depth of the Christian mystery
Compare and contrast pagan and Christian art, and how Christians incorporate or transform pagan themes in their art
Appreciate the development of art in its historical, philosophical, and stylistic dimensions
Give more complex explanations and interpretations of works of art
Understand how art is the expression of a culture’s desire for truth, goodness, and beauty
Continue rendering
Deepen understanding of the principles that constitute a work of art
Skills
Continue to learn how to look at, examine, and see a painting and other works of art
Give more complex explanations of artworks
Learn how to justify why something is beautiful or not
Reflect on the experience of beauty and its relation to longing
Develop drawing, painting, and sculpting skills
Develop creativity on the basis of imitation, tradition, and discipline, not in opposition to them
Aptitudes
Deepen the habits of attending and noticing
Sit still and observe carefully works of art and subjects to be rendered
Deepen love and appreciation of beauty
Deepen reflection on the experience of beauty and its effect on the soul
Begin to look at art contemplatively as revealing objective beauty and truth
Deepen appreciation of art and beauty in the life of faith
Be able to question artworks for their meaning
Language Arts: Literature, Grammar, Composition, Logic, Latin, and Drama
Knowledge
Understand literature as a reflection of history and culture
Understand literature and poetry as vehicles for the revelation of truth
Understand literature as culture’s way of seeking and manifesting truth, goodness, and beauty
Learn to think poetically
Know the elements of good speaking in order to speak truthfully, persuasively, beautifully, and well
Possess a command of English grammar
Recognize a variety of writing styles and how to employ them
Understand the elements of argument
Acquire a basic facility in reading, praying, and translating Latin
Ponder the relationship between the Word of God (Christ), the word of God (Scripture), and the words we use
Skills for Literature
Make connections to related topics, especially history and religion
Identify and evaluate the effectiveness of tone, style, and use of language
Analyze the effects of elements such as plot, theme, characterization, style, mood, and tone
Discuss the effects of such literary devices as figurative language, dialogue, flashback, allusion, irony, and symbolism
Analyze and evaluate themes and central ideas in literature
Recognize relevance of literary themes to contemporary problems and one’s own life
Analyze relationships between characters, ideas, and experiences
Discern an implied main idea, draw an inference, and recognize how different texts address the same fundamental human questions
Deepen the ability to question the text and characters
Develop ability to discuss literature intelligently and insightfully with proper grammar and diction
Skills for Grammar and Composition
Master all facets of English grammar, demonstrable through the ability to diagram sentences
Properly express the relationship of ideas in a sentence, paragraph, and essay
Recognize and correct stylistic errors such as sentence fragments and run-on sentences
For Narrative Writing:
Write original narrative and descriptive passages
Write coherent and logical prologues, epilogues, sequels, dialogues or alternative endings for fiction and nonfiction
Incorporate effective narrative techniques into a short story focusing on the following:
Point of view (first person, third person)
Setting, including time and place
Character development
Elements of plot structure
For Descriptive Writing:
Write descriptive passages focusing on one of the following: person, place, object, event, works of art, plants and animals
Use evocative imagery (vivid words, active voice verbs, colorful modifiers)
Use figurative language (e.g., simile, metaphor, personification, allusion)
For Persuasive Writing:
Develop a rhetorically persuasive, logical writing style
Develop a thesis that makes a disputable claim
Support a thesis with logically organized and relevant evidence
Develop and logically support a position addressing reader concerns and counterarguments
For Analytical/Expository Writing:
Develop interpretations exhibiting careful reading, understanding, and insight
Organize interpretations around several clear ideas, premises, or images
Develop a thesis that makes a disputable claim
Make an argument for the thesis providing reasons, details, and examples
Write a response to literature demonstrating a comprehensive understanding of the text and justifying the interpretation through use of examples and textual evidence
Begin to explore the connections among characters, incident, setting, symbol, and conflict
Write a character analysis
Skills for Logic:
Learn the basics of logical reasoning
Learn and identify logical structures, logical fallacies, and biases in speeches and various non-fiction texts
Express own arguments logically and clearly through speech and the written word
Skills for Latin:
Master basic declensions, conjugations, and simple grammar
Possess a solid vocabulary
Memorize Latin prayers, hymns, and liturgical responses
Know how to translate complex sentences and short stories from Latin to English
Compose sentences in Latin
Skills for Drama:
Perform a play, preferably Shakespeare or a Greek tragedy
Analyze and discuss characters and their motivations
Design costumes, props, and set
Aptitudes
Develop a love of reading and of language
Appreciate the beauty, playfulness, and logical possibilities of language
Explore own ideas through writing
Draw on literature for deeper self-knowledge
Habitually look to poetry and literature as vehicles of truth
Deepen love for listening to stories
Deepen habits of concentration, stillness, and memory
Develop ability to penetrate literature and plumb the depths of its meaning
Nurture the habit of listening
Foster sustained concentration
Touchstones
Every week students and teachers in Grades 3-8 will engage in a Touchstones discussion. The readings will occasionally integrate nicely with the time period being studied, though the primary purpose of Touchstones is to develop the habits of Socratic inquiry. Teachers and students will engage in close study of philosophical and literary texts and will learn, over time, to speak clearly and listen attentively. The skills acquired in Touchstones will be carried over into all aspects of school and home life. Students and teachers will:
Acquire the habit of asking questions
Learn to seek understanding together through group discussion
Think more deeply about fundamental human matters
Learn to read a text carefully
Learn to respect and listen to their peers
Relate texts to issues in classroom and life
Be exposed to samples of good writings of literature, philosophy, art, math, and science from many different cultures
Exhibit manners and respect for others
Nature Studies
Knowledge
Contemplate important questions, such as: What is life? What is nature? How does ‘world’ differ from ‘environment’? What makes a human distinct from other animals?
Be familiar with different historical answers to these questions
Name and employ the Four Causes of Aristotle in the explanation of nature
Understand more deeply the relation between science and philosophy in the study of nature
Recognize the study of nature as part of the human endeavor to understand the world
Understand science as one aspect of the study of nature which must be integrated into a more comprehensive vision of reality as God’s creation
Acknowledge nature as God’s creation and so behold nature in a different way
Recognize persons and animals not as historical accidents or the sum of their mechanical parts, but living wholes that transcend their parts and are irreducible to them
Understand how this wholeness is exhibited in the relation between the parts of an animal
Understand how this wholeness is visible in animal form and patterns, whose meaning in the animal’s life is not reducible to utility or survival value
Understand that as living wholes, organisms possess an inexhaustible depth and are worthy of our awe, wonder and affection
The human organism is always a person: an indivisible unity of body and soul
Human beings, because they are made in the image of God, possess a unique dignity among creatures
Understand that nature is therefore hierarchically arranged according to a capacity for self-transcendence:
All organisms, including plants, exhibit some form of metabolism that relates them to the world through appetite
Animals exhibit metabolism as well, but also a capacity for self-movement and an awareness through the senses
Human beings, in addition to these, move and transcend themselves through reason and will, are able to contemplate God and the world, and can offer themselves in love
Beginning with the study of living things, students should be able to:
Successfully grow and tend to plants, recording the stages of development
Render detailed observations of different organisms
Distinguish between genera in the plant and animal kingdoms
Specify essential differences between species
Identify unique characteristics in different forms of animal life
Identify essential differences distinguishing human beings from other animals
From this basis, students should proceed to the interior world of plants and animals:
Botany
Anatomy
Physiology and biological processes
Human anatomy: the correlation between the physical structure of the human body (e.g., upright form, opposable thumbs, etc) and uniquely human characteristics associate with the soul (e.g. desire to know, longing for God, human craft, etc.)
Fetal development
Beginning organic chemistry
Heredity and genetics
Evolutionary development
Students should then proceed to the external world, understanding the Earth as home for life:
Ecosystems
Natural processes which support life (e.g. weather, soil formation, water cycles, atmosphere)
Geological processes (e.g., plate tectonics, volcanoes, erosion)
Earth’s place in the solar system: the finely-tuned astronomical factors necessary to support life
Astronomy
Skills
Ask philosophical and scientific questions of nature
Describe various creatures using Aristotle’s Four Causes
Observe animals and plants in their natural habitats
Render animals and plants through art
Employ scientific method
Continue to develop the skill of observing, rendering, and cataloguing this knowledge in a 'nature notebook'
Relate different parts and systems of nature to comprehensive whole
Explain and defend the distinction between the animate and the inanimate
Aptitudes
Appreciate the wholeness of animals and plants
Develop wonder and appreciation of the natural world and the mystery of living things
Recognize beauty of creation
Develop enthusiasm for examining nature and acquire the habit of curiosity regarding the physical world
Desire to inquire into the lived life of organisms and the world that sustains them
Acquire reverence for nature as God’s creation
Mathematics
Knowledge
Master arithmetic necessary for algebra: order of operations; fraction, decimal, and integer operations
Develop more advanced number sense (integers, irrational numbers, percentage, scientific notation, absolute value, exponents, roots and radicals)
Understand factors and multiples; find greatest common factor and least common multiple/denominator
Understand measurement concepts
Master developmentally appropriate algebra and geometry
Read and use a coordinate plane
Recognize mathematical and geometrical patterns in nature and art
Begin to understand the philosophical and theological history of mathematical symbolism
Skills
Think algebraically and geometrically
Use logic and hands-on experience to solve problems
Convert fractions, decimals, and percents
Rewrite fractions using factors and multiples
Solve problems using rate, proportion, common formulas, and percentage applications
Use estimation techniques
Use mental arithmetic
Use and convert customary and metric measurements
Solve developmentally appropriate functions, equations and inequalities and graph them on a coordinate plane
Calculate slope
Write and use formulas to solve problems
Combine like terms
Add, subtract, multiply, divide, and factor polynomials
Represent simple quadratic functions
Identify properties of and congruency between angles, parallel lines, triangles, quadrilaterals, other polygons, and common three-dimensional figures
Calculate area and perimeter or circumference of two-dimensional figures
Calculate surface area and volume of three-dimensional figures
Use the Pythagorean Theorem to solve problems
Use a coordinate plane to translate, rotate, and reflect a given image
Calculate simple probability
Read and create bar graphs, line graphs, circle graphs, and stem-and-leaf plots representing data; make predictions from statistical data
Analyze musical compositions for mathematical properties, particularly Baroque music (Bach, Vivaldi, Pachelbel, Albinoni, etc.)
Understand Christian iconography in relation to dimension
Analyze poetic meter
Recognize sacred number in writing and art
Aptitudes
Appreciate mathematics as one way humans give an account of reality
Appreciate relevance of math to music, art, science, and architecture
Enhance logical reasoning
Acquire a foundation for logical reasoning through math
Be attuned to the relevance and significance of number and shape
Begin to appreciate the 'aesthetics' of number through recognition of patterns
Music
Knowledge
Understand the elements of music
Understand the essential differences between genres of music, especially within classical and sacred music
Appreciate the theology inherent in sacred music
Recognize the characteristic differences between different composers
Be able to recognize beautiful music and explain why it is beautiful
Be able to sing and, if possible, play an instrument
Be able to read music
Memorize lyrics and know how to sing liturgical music and traditional Catholic hymnody
Appreciate carols, ballads, and authentic folk music from different historical periods and cultures
Sing plain chant in Latin and English
Deepen understanding of the mathematics of music
Skills
Acquire some musical skill singing and/or playing an instrument
Be able to concentrate on, listen to, and discuss a piece of music
Sing or play various parts of a musical piece (applying an understanding of melody, harmony, and rhythm)
Aptitudes
Deepen love and appreciation of beautiful music and its power
Appreciate the profundity and playfulness of music
Understand the contemplative and mystical dimension of sacred music
Acquire the habit of patient, attentive listening, and active participation
Physical Education
Knowledge
Understand embodiment and physical excellence as a gift
Recognize unity of psychic and physical powers in playing well
Know and be able to regulate the rules of major sports and races
Recognize importance of discipline for achieving bodily excellence
Understand dynamics of competition
Skills
Achieve facility in throwing, catching, hitting, and kicking
Be able to transfer these skills to new sports and activities
Learn to work as a team in order to achieve a goal
Compete against other students of similar skill level
Learn basics of contra, square, and ballroom dancing
Aptitudes
Practice teamwork and good sportsmanship
Aspire to physical gracefulness
Admire excellent athletic performances, especially their aesthetic qualities
