Culturative History

This two hour course includes history, humanities, literature, art, architecture, music, geography, speech and science in a four year study of Western Civilization. Year one the middle school or dialectic students’ study will focus on Creation, Ancient Civilizations, Greece and the Founding of Rome. Year Two explores the Roman Empire, Byzantine Empire, the Middle Ages through the Reformation. Year Three starts with the Elizabethan Era and explores Western culture through the beginning of the 19th Century. The final year of the 4 year cycle examines end of the Progressive Age in the 19th century, surveys the 20th century and researches modern day events.

Students will enjoy independent research each quarter while creating a project for either an integrated Culturative History class or an all school convocation time. This forum encourages public speaking and presentation skills, as well as participation by the student body to ask questions and explore related events. This intensive study of Western Civilization generally includes a field trip to Europe in the spring of the year. Students will investigate art, music and architecture of each time period studied and the underlying worldview of the creator. Students will compare and contrast Christian and pagan worldviews as they study these artifacts, while designing their own Christian worldview consistent with Christian principles. Simulations, role-play, debates and student produced videos are some of the mediums used to engage students in learning. Weekly essays, persuasive arguments, narrative, poetry and research papers will be written, edited and revised at this level to provide students with documents to commemorate this year, as well as obtain the necessary skills of communication.

English

The English course utilizes the Institute for Excellence in Writing (IEW) curriculum at all grade levels to build a basic writing structure for beginning writing. An introductory course in IEW is REQUIRED for all new upper grammar, dialectic, and rhetoric students and recommended for new parents. This course is given in the summer, prior to the first day of school as well as during the Christmas holidays and interim term in February. In addition, to IEW, Grammar, and a spelling program, a book report will be required approximately once a per quarter or as assigned. Students at all levels will select an appropriate work of fiction from a list of recommended books.

Journals, paragraphs, letters, essays, research papers, and narratives are the core writing lessons for this level. This level of study emphasizes basic sentence structure, writing, composition, organization, and descriptive writing. There will be one or two major papers, a historical fiction, and a biography.
 

This course aims to teach analytical skills, gives a broad understanding of literature, and prepares the student for rhetoric writing. Two major papers are assigned over the one-year course with additional weekly writing assignments. Students are expected to keep a daily journal.