Twelfth Grade: Seniors are for all intents and purposes adults and should be treated as such. They believe that means doing whatever they want. What it really means is holding them accountable for their own choices and education rather than leaning on their parents. You have to give respect to get respect as the saying goes. This is the culmination of everything they’ve worked for and often they can’t wait to get out the door. If you don’t stimulate their curiosity and their passion your not going to get anywhere with this group. Math: Calculus Science: Physics Computer Science: Computer…
Category: The Silver Bullet
The Silver Bullet – Curriculum 11
Eleventh Grade: The penultimate year of education. Students are now taking leadership roles around campus and controlling more of their own educational decisions. This is the best time to teach the lessons that will shape them for the years to come. Math: Trigonometry Science: Chemistry Computer Science: App Design History/Social Science: U.S. History Human Studies: Psychology English: American Literature Foreign Languages: Mandarin, Hindi, or Arabic 1 Music: Music Theory Art: Art History
The Silver Bullet – Curriculum 10
Tenth Grade: Tenth grade is a formative year. Now that students have adjusted to high school and know what to expect from the school year its time to dig in and get to work. Math: Statistics Science: Biology Computer Science: AP Computer Science History/Social Science: World History, plus regional specific elective history. Human Studies: Theology English: World Literature Foreign Languages: Spanish IV Music: Music History Art: Visual Arts
The Silver Bullet – Curriculum 9
Ninth Grade: The final transition year. Ninth graders are so excited to finally be in high school that they often forget it still means they are in school. It’s important to ease into the school year lest they become overwhelmed. Math: Geometry Science: Natural Sciences Computer Science: Advanced Java History/Social Science: Geography Human Studies: Ethics English: Intro to Literature Foreign Languages: Spanish 3 Music: Music Appreciation Art: Art Appreciation
The Silver Bullet – Curriculum 8
Eighth Grade: Eighth grade is a graduation year. Students will get a case of senioritis towards the end of the year so its important to cover important topics early and wrap up major projects towards the beginning of the fourth quarter. It is important to work these students hard and keep them engaged otherwise the prospect of high school and adulthood will lead these brand new teenagers astray. Math: Algebra 1: Expressions and equations, linear equations, graphing linear equations, linear inequalities, systems of linear equations, polynomials, factoring and quadratics, rational equations, radical equations, algebraic functions,converting word problems into multi-variable equations.…
The Silver Bullet – Curriculum 7
Seventh Grade: Seventh grade is a transition year. Students will solidify and expand upon things they have learned in their k-6 years, mastering key concepts before advancing to new ones. Students will adjust to changing teachers and classrooms and balancing their workload over the course of a week and a quarter. Math: Pre-Algebra: Students will be exposed to the early concepts of Algebra such as exponents, variables, and integers; while practicing and solidifying their proficiency in more complex problems of concepts they were introduced to in previous grades. Learning topics will include order of operations, place values, algebraic expressions and…
The Silver Bullet – Curriculum 5-6
Fifth Grade: Fifth grade is a very important year for students to achieve big steps forward in their education. It is a year without significant upheaval and is the last year before students hormones enter the mix. It is important for educators to take advantage of the lull between big life events to push for fuller, more comprehensive responses, thoughts, and reports. Much like kindergarten planted the seeds for grades 1-4, so does fifth grade lay the groundwork for grades 6-8. Math: Topics at this level include: Ratios and rates; multiplying and dividing decimals; percentages; areas of compound and complex…
The Silver Bullet – Curriculum 3-4
Third Grade: Third grade is an unofficial graduation year. The lessons and methods of the students younger years are left behind as students are expected to be more independent in managing their workload. Learning topics cease to be general overviews and basic building block and are now more complete units with depth and details the students are expected to dive in to. Math: Topics will cover multiplication tables, long division, mixed operations, estimating and rounding, patterns, graphs and data, probability and statistics, fractions and decimals, area and perimeter. Science: This year students will focus on scientific investigation: lab tools, how…
The Silver Bullet: Grades 1-2 Curriculum
Having previously looked at what I believe to be the minimum requirements for a comprehensive Kindergarten curriculum, in this post I will break down what I believe are the appropriate learning goals for first and second-grade classrooms. First Grade: Much like Fourth, Seventh, and Ninth grade; First Grade is both a transitional and foundational year. Students are ecstatic to be with “the big kids” and begin “real” school. It’s important to keep students at this level engaged and focused on moving forward through the material. Math: By the end of this grade students should have mastered counting to one hundred,…
The Silver Bullet-Kindergarten Curriculum
As the song says “Let’s start at the very beginning, a very good place to start.” When we’re talking about a comprehensive curriculum that will give America’s youth the tools they need to compete in a global economy that beginning is Kindergarten. Don’t get me wrong. Pre-K educational programs are extremely important. And if you are looking to give your child the best start possible, you should absolutely enroll them in one or more such programs. But those programs are hard to codify and have few structural similarities with the more formalized grades. For me to try and sit here…