Pre-Logic “Badger”
Taking Flight with English Composition, Analytical Grammar, and Literature Analysis and Mastering “Pre-Pre-Algebra” Arithmetic Skills
Ages 10-12
Our Pre-Logic class is designed so that students may spend 1 or 2 years at this level, depending on their age and mastery of the content. Students should be entering Logic no later than 13 years old and no earlier than 12. Pre-Logic students will be challenged to master the Latin, Math, Grammar, and Composition presented. All students will be well prepared to enter our Logic program after their time in Pre-Logic.
Literature: Using the Memoria Press’ literature curriculum, students will read, and discuss great works of literature. Students will develop stamina and discipline to read larger sections of literature in a shorter amount of time. Students will also practice forming analytical answers to comprehension questions based on textual evidence found in the literature and will expand their vocabulary by defining words and recognizing those words in the context of the chosen literature books. Titles at this level include: Heidi, Lassie, and Twenty One Balloons (Year A), and The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe, The Bronze Bow, and The Hobbit (Year B).
Composition: Pre-Logic instruction expands on the skills students learned from I.E.W in Levels D and E. Students will write several descriptive essays. Students will also begin to compose thesis driven paragraphs, while defending their thesis using concrete examples (textual evidence) from the literature books. As students advance, they will develop a thesis and support that thesis with paragraphs that include textual evidence and analytical connections that prove the thesis statement. The end result will be a well organized, five paragraph essay. Writing skills developed in Pre-Logic include: Direct and Indirect Characterization, Telling and Showing Sentences, Descriptive Analogies and a Toolbox of Writing Rules. A final writing project in Year B will showcase all that the student has learned as they complete a six paragraph Encomium essay on Bilbo Baggins from The Hobbit.
Grammar and Dictation: Students will continue to parse sentences and increase their memorization and application of English grammar rules. Recognizing the different parts of speech and their function in a sentence is practiced daily with a memorized question and answer flow. Students will learn to classify the three attributes of a sentence: the purpose, structure, and pattern. They will study the four sentence structures: simple, compound, complex, and compound-complex. As students advance, they will practice diagramming sentences. A question and answer flow helps the student identify subject, verb, direct object, predicate nominative, predicate adjective, indirect objects, adverbs, adjectives, prepositional phrases, appositives, interjections, conjunctions, and more! Students will practice using correct grammar through dictation exercises, and in all of their work throughout the school day.
Latin: Continuing in Memoria Press’ Latin program, students will complete First Form Latin. By the end of their second year, they will have mastered the six indicative active tenses of the first two verb conjugations, five noun declensions, first and second declension adjectives, and 185 Latin vocabulary words.
Math: Students will receive Math instruction at the level they are academically ready for:
Arithmetic 5. (Click for Scope and Sequence) Students will review and extend concepts learned in previous grades. With an emphasis on word problems, students will also study place value to hundred billion, decimals to thousandths, basic units of the metric system. Students will learn factoring and prime numbers, how to multiply and divide fractions, understand ratio and proportion, and how to calculate fraction-decimal-percent equivalents. Students work with line graphs and learn how to find volume and are introduced to basic geometry concepts of lines, points, and angles.
Arithmetic 6. (Click for Scope and Sequence) Students will review and extend skills learned in previous grades. They will be introduced to the concepts of greatest common factor, lowest common multiple, and learn how to do mental shortcuts in calculation, multiply and divide decimals, find decimal-fraction equivalents, calculate percents, construct circle graphs, and convert English and metric measurement. Students will also study basic geometry concepts of perimeter, circumference, and angles.
Spelling: Students not yet proficient in spelling are encouraged to follow a spelling curriculum at home in order to build skills required to write and spell at this level. Curriculum choices will be recommended upon request.
Christian Studies: Building upon the foundation of Bible literacy begun in Levels A-E, students will continue with a survey of the Bible using Memoria Press’ Christian Studies II (Old Testament History) or III (New Testament). The courses are alternated every other year. Students will also memorize Psalm 91 and longer portions of scripture monthly.
Extended Day Option: History and Science: For students participating in our extended day option, they will have time to complete their math and writing homework as well as study science, history, and geography. Igniting a passion and interest in history and geography through reading and discussing quality literature is the goal in Pre-Logic. In a Charlotte Mason style, students will read selected books, then narrate and discuss what they are learning about the history of America and the world during the Early Modern (Year A) or Modern (Year B) Eras. In Science, students will watch videos, narrate, discuss, and answer questions from Science Shepherd in Earth Science (Year A) or Physical Science (Year B).
Subjects to be covered at home: Life Skills, physical fitness, fine arts, family discipleship and spiritual formation, and nature study.