Outdoor Study Group

The Thinking Series

First Semester

  • Ethics 1: Making Good Decisions from the Head and Heart

  • Career Fair for Kids: Live Speaker Series, Part 1

  • The Art of Public Speaking- Part 1

Second Semester

  • Ethics 2: Living Out My Core Values and Conscience

  • Are You A Fallacy Detective?

  • Career Fair for Kids: Live Speaker Series, Part 2

  • Social Media Mastery

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Literature Studies

“You don’t have to burn books to destroy a culture.

Just get people to stop reading them."

– Ray Bradbury

 

In 2011, Keith Oatley published an article in “Scientific American Mind” called, “In the Minds of Others” in which he explains how fiction helps readers understand people. “The process of entering imagined worlds of fiction builds empathy and improves your ability to take another person’s point of view,” he writes. “It can even change your personality ... The emotional empathy that is critical to our day-to-day relationships also enables us to picture ourselves living as the characters do when we read fiction.”

 

Through the books in our literature program, we aim to turn out thinkers who wield power through language. We want our students to love books, to learn how to navigate through a variety of situations,  and to establish what is moral and good; we want our students to learn through their readings how to be the best person they can be in any.

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First Semester

  • ​Adventure

  • Bravery

  • Animals

  • Family

Second Semester

  • Courage

  • Wise Choices

  • Compassion and Determination

  • Exploring

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Language Arts Studies

“Words cast spells. That's why it's called spelling.

Words are energy. Use them wisely.”

--Author unknown

 

This rigorous writing series focuses on developing the skills to write in various styles to accomplish an array of purposes. We will follow the steps to writing a successful essay, including prewriting, drafting, revising, editing, and publishing. We will also take time to complete our penmanship and spelling studies; expanding our vocabulary to include Greek and Latin roots, suffixes, and prefixes in preparation for standardized tests and more advanced literature study; and enhance our grammar skills.

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First Semester

  • Developing the Paragraph:

       Compare/ Contrast Essay

       Grammar and Vocabulary: Greek and Latin Roots

  • Persuasive Writing:

       Literature Responses, Character Analysis

       Grammar and Vocabulary: Greek and Latin Roots 

Second Semester

  • Descriptive Writing:

       Expository Essays (analytical writing and research reports)

       Grammar and Vocabulary: Greek and Latin Roots

  • Creative Writing-Short stories:

       Research Paper

       Grammar and Vocabulary: Greek and Latin Roots

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American History

“American history is longer, larger, more various, more beautiful, and more terrible than anything anyone has ever said about it.”

-- James Baldwin

 

Join us on our exciting journey through American history, from the Ice Age hikers to the development of the document that would inspire countries around the world, our American Constitution. We will discuss how the early Americans included far more than the native Americans; we will discuss how Europeans, Africans, and Asians came together to form a new nation on the American continent-- a nation dedicated to freedom and self-government.

 

First Semester

  • America’s Prehistory through Puritans (Prehistory through 1630)

  • From Colonies to Country

Second Semester

  • Our New Nation

  • Liberty and War

Students in a Science Class

Science

“I never teach my pupils. I only attempt to provide the

conditions in which they can learn.”

-- Albert Einstein

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First Semester​

  • Basics of Geology

  • Cells and DNA

  • Second Semester

  • Basic Inheritance

  • Chemistry Basics I