Junior High Curriculum

EARTH SCIENCE - BJU Press

(alternates years with Life Science)

Goals:

• To extend scientific knowledge, inquiry skills, and laboratory skills

• To guide students in applying scientific knowledge and skills in ethical ways to solve real-world problems

• To enable students to create models that describe the natural world and use them to make predictions

• To equip students with the skills to interpret informational text and apply scientific knowledge in accordance with biblical teaching

 

By the end of this course students will study:

• Geography (maps and cartography, GIS)

• Geology (earth’s structure; tectonic forces, faults, and earthquakes; landforms; volcanoes)

• Mineralogy and Petrology (identification and classification of rocks and minerals)

• Paleontology (fossilization, fossil fuels) 

• Hydrosphere (oceans, lakes, and ponds; groundwater, caves and karst topography)

• Atmosphere (composition and thermal structure, weather, clouds, storms, climate)

• Astronomy (sun, moon, planets, small solar system bodies, stars and constellations)

 

LIFE SCIENCE - BJU Press 

(alternates years with Earth Science)

Goals:

• To extend scientific knowledge, inquiry skills, and laboratory skills

• To guide students in applying scientific knowledge and skills in ethical ways to solve real-world problems

• To enable students to create models that describe the natural world and use them to make predictions

• To equip students with the skills to interpret informational text and apply scientific knowledge in accordance with biblical teaching

 

By the end of this course students will be expected to know:

• Science skills (measuring, modeling, thinking scientifically, and the scientific process)

• Cells (structure, reproduction, genetics)

• Bacteria and viruses (structure and reproduction)

• Protists and Fungi (nutrition, classification, and reproduction)

• Plants (classification and functions)

• Animals (classification, characteristics, structure, function, reproduction and development)

• The Human Body (anatomy, functions of systems)

• Ecology (ecosystems, food chains and webs, relationships between organisms, cycles of matter)

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MUSIC

Fun Music Company “Ukulele Curriculum System” (Lessons 1-40)

By the end of this course students will be expected to know:

• That worship of God through music is a gift.

• That music is a wat to integrate faith into learning, fostering a love for God through creative expression

• How to correctly hold and tune the ukulele

• The parts of the ukulele

• At least three strumming patterns on ukulele, including the ‘Hawaiian strum’

• The ukulele chords: Am7, C7, F, A, C, G7, D, G

• How to fingerpick

• How to perform and respond to music in meaningful ways

• The following music vocabulary: melody, harmony, beat, dynamics, tempo, pitch, rhythm

• The technical skills of vocal production in singing

• How to perform three-part vocal rounds

• How to engage in refinement and feedback processes to prepare for performances

• How to self-evaluate to refine musical performance

• How to evaluate progress through practice as well as recognizing performance problems and possible solutions, increasing critical thinking within a musical context

• How to create and use specific criteria in making judgements about the quality of a musical performance

 

GEOGRAPHY III

(offered every other year)

Exploring and Mapping the World, Memoria Press

• By the end of this course students will be expected to:

• locate 167 major countries

• 50 national capital cities

• major oceans, seas, lakes, rivers, mountain ranges, and deserts

• Draw an accurate map of the world based on the Robinson projection

• Human geography of each continent in four main categories: cultural, economic, political, and historical

• Basic overview of topography, climate, culture, history, religions of countries and regions

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LITERATURE

A range of novels, poetry and non-fiction texts on a two-year cycle

By the end of this course students will be expected to know:

• how to read closely to determine what the text explicitly states

• how to make logical inferences, citing specific textual evidence to support conclusions drawn

• how to determine central ideas or themes of a text and analyze their development

• how to interpret words and phrases as they are used in a text

• how to analyze how specific word choice shapes meaning and tone

• how to analyze the structure of texts, including how specific sentences, paragraphs or larger portions of text relate to each other and the whole

• how to determine figurative and connotative meaning

• how to analyze and author’s ability to develop and contrast different characters’ points of view

• how to identify key supporting details and ideas in a text

• hot to differentiate between prose and poetry

• how form or structure contributes to the meaning of a text

• how language represents and constructs how readers perceive events, people, groups, and ideas

 

WRITING

“Structure and Style for Students” 2B - IEW

By the end of this course students will be expected to know:

• how to write a key word outline (KWO)

• how to use a key word outline to create a rough draft

• how to enhance their writing by adding dress-ups such as -ly adverbs, who/which clauses, strong verbs, quality adjectives and www.asia.b clauses

• all six sentence openers and use these effectively in their writing

• how to check for ‘banned’ words eg. Say/said, see/saw, go/went

• the title rule to create a title for their writing

• all nine structural models (note making and outlines, retelling narrative stories, summarizing a reference, writing from pictures, summarizing multiple references, inventive writing, formal essay models and formal critique)

• how to revise their writing to review content

• how to edit their writing to tackle mechanics such as correct spelling, grammar and punctuation

• how to provide peer feedback (positive and constructive improvements) to help others enhance their writing

• how to produce a final draft to submit for teacher feedback

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GRAMMAR

“Fix-it Grammar Level 4: Mowgli and Shere Khan” - IEW

By the end of this course students will be expected to know:

• How to identify and correctly use the following parts of speech: noun, pronoun, verb, preposition, conjunction, adjective, adverb, interjection.

• How to identify and correctly use nouns of direct address and plural nouns

• Capitalization rules including capitalization with proper nouns, proper adjectives, personal pronouns, interjections and quotation marks

• How to use the three end marks correctly, commas in 18 different grammatical situations, apostrophes in contractions and possessive adjectives, hyphens in compound adjectives, and quotation marks

• The following clauses: who/which clause; that clause; adverb clause; dependent clause, main clause

• How to use prepositional phrases, verb phrases and -ing phrases

• Fused sentences and comma splices

• The following usage: pronoun agreement; subject/verb agreement; verb tense; who/whom/whose

• A variety of stylistic techniques including strong verb, quality adjective, who/which clause, -ly adverb, adverb clause, #1 subject opener, #2 prepositional opener, #3 -ly adverb opener, #4 -ing opener, #5 clausal opener, #6 vss opener

 

BIBLE

“Connecting with God and the Bible; New Testament Survey” by Timothy Foutz/ Gary Gordon by Purposeful Design Publications

By the end of this course students will be expected to know:

• God’s Word is Living and Active- fully true!

• Memorize New Testament Books of the Bible

• See God at work in the 4 Gospels: verse by verse through book of Mark.

  • Jesus is Son of God and Son of Man. Jesus is Savior. Jesus came to serve and give His life as a ransom for us.

• See God at work through Revelation.

  • Jesus has all authority. We have eternal life because of Jesus’ work on the cross. We do not fear God’s wrath to come- we are safe in Jesus. God will judge the earth and make a new heavens and new earth.

• Students understand the book of Acts: How the Holy Spirit came at Pentecost, the start of the church. How Christ came for all nations- Jews and Gentiles.

• Students will grasp the Epistles.

• Students will complete an in-depth Epistle project, on one of Paul’s letters to the churches.

• Students will understand the different genres of the NT books.

• Students will be able to study any passage of Scripture using Observation, Interpretation, and Application.

• Students will be able to make personal applications- letting Scripture transform their hearts and actions.

• Students will complete pages in the curriculum, overviewing each book of the NT, understanding its theme and author.

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SEVENTH GRADE MATH

Fundamentals of Math, BJU Press

By the end of this course students will be expected to know:

• Number Sense & Operations

  • Solidify understanding of whole numbers, decimals, fractions, and integers.

  • Reinforce number-theory concepts including exponents and square roots.

• Algebra Readiness & Expressions

  • Build skills with algebraic expressions, equations, and inequalities.

  • Encourage modeling of real-world situations using mathematical language.

• Geometry & Measurement

  • Analyze geometric shapes (plane and solid figures), calculate area, surface area, and volume.

• Ratios, Percents & Proportional Reasoning

  • Develop operations with percentages and proportional relationships.

• Functions

  • Introduce the concept of functions and their application.

• Probability, Statistics & Data Analysis

  • Understand probability theory and compare expected vs. actual outcomes.

  • Learn to collect, interpret, and represent data (simple, descriptive, and inferential statistics).

• Real-World Problem Solving & Modeling

  • Apply math to “real-life” problems using problem-solving strategies and mathematical modeling.

  • Engage in STEM projects that reinforce concepts in practical contexts.

• Biblical/Worldview Integration

  • Reinforce a biblical worldview of mathematics, focusing on reasoning, ethics, and stewardship through designated exercises.

• Grade-Level Differentiation

  • Lessons are tiered into minimum, standard, and extended tracks to meet a range of learner needs.​