Welcome to Challenge A! This site will function as a communication tool for our class. Here you will find a weekly synopsis of each seminar, helpful tips, encouragement, and other noteworthy items. Please contact Mrs. Rosser at: youcanhavebeautifulskin@gmail.com with any questions or for more information.
Are you ready for our final Blue Book Exams this week? If you're feeling confident, GREAT!! If you're still feeling unsure, DON'T WORRY!! YOU'LL DO GREAT!! *** Remember, the purpose of our final exams is to prove to yourself and your parents how much you have learned this year and how much you have grown...NOT to trip you up and make you look or feel silly*** To ensure that you come to class prepared, I've made a helpful list of "Do's and Don't's." Read through it and let me know if you have any questions!
DON'T: * Get discouraged. * Rush through the exams. * Talk during the exams. * Leave our classroom without permission. * Look at your neighbor's test. DO: * Arrive as close to 8;00 as possible, so we can get started.
* Come prepared with 2-3 freshly sharpened pencils and an eraser. * Bring your very best attitude. * Bring a snack and a drink. * Bring a book to read if you complete your exams early. * Bring your notes for Latin, LTW, and Science. * Bring your completed apologetics paper. * Raise your hand if you need help. * Take your time. * Get plenty of sleep the night before.
Remember...you have NOTHING to worry about! You guys have got this and I know you'll do great! Have a blessed week of study!!
The countdown has officially begun. It's our last week…..I'm sooooooo sad!!! :( BIBLE
In Bible this week, we discovered that Scripture encouraged us to STUDY!!
Start off with the right attitude.
Psalm 119:15-16 I will study your commandments and reflect on your ways. I will delight in your decrees and not forget your word
Studying Scripture will help you with everyday life and temptations with sin.
Proverbs 4:10-13 Listen, my son: accept my words, and you’ll live a long, long time. I have directed you in the way of wisdom, and I have led you along straight paths. When you walk, your step will not be hindered, and when you run, you will not stumble. Hold on to instruction, do not let it go! Guard wisdom, because she is your life!
Studying helps us serve God better.
2 Timothy 2:15 Be diligent to present yourself approved to God as a workmanwho does not need to be ashamed, accurately handling the word of truth.
LATIN
We only had one small thing to learn this week: the conjugation of the irregular verb SUM, which is translated "I am." It is an irregular verb, much as it is in English. Therefore, we simply have to learn the present, imperfect, and future tense conjugations of SUM and commit them to memory.
The chart below shows the conjugation is all six tenses, but you don't need to worry about the 3 perfect tenses just yet. We'll save that for Challenge B! :)
Suggestions for parents @ home: Drill student on vocabulary & grammar rules. Check daily assignments (or have students check). Assist student is studying for final. EXAM PREP: PRACTICE THE FOUR PRINCIPAL PARTS FOR EACH OF THE FOUR CONJUGATIONS CHOOSE ONE LATIN VERB FROM EACH OF THE FOUR CONJUGATIONS AND PRACTICE CONJUGATING THOSE VERBS IN THE PRESENT, IMPERFECT, AND FUTURE TENSES. STUDY YOUR LATIN VOCABULARY WORDS. LOGIC/MATH
We had no new math terms this week, and we didn't even have time to share and discuss the math problems that everyone brought to class. We spent our seminar time discussing and solving practice problems for our final exam. Everyone seems ready, but keep studying this week!
EXAM PREP; STUDY THE MATH FORMULAS AND LAWS THAT WE HAVE COVERED THIS YEAR
LTW
Today in class we reviewed all the elements of a persuasive essay that we have learned this year. We continued discussing The Bronze Bow and everyone shared a little bit about their favorite novel from this year in preparation for the final exam.
EXAM PREP: CHOOSE YOUR FAVORITE NOVEL FROM THIS YEAR PREPARE ONE PAGE OF NOTES WITH DETAILS ABOUT YOUR FAVORITE CHARACTER AND BE READY TO WRITE ONE PARAGRAPH EXPLAINING WHY YOUR CHOSEN NOVEL WAS YOUR FAVORITE
GEOGRAPHY
Today, we reviewed for our geography final by sketching and labeling the world from memory.
EXAM PREP: DRAW, DRAW, DRAW!!! STUDY THE FIVE MAJOR CIRCLES OF LATITUDE AND PRACTICE USING THOSE LINES TO PROPERLY PLACE THE COUNTRIES ON YOUR MAP. DRILL THE COUNTRIES, CAPITALS, AND PROVINCES. CHECK YOUR DAILY DRAWINGS FOR ACCURACY.
SCIENCE/RESEARCH
Today was our quiz on the ear. I returned those in class, but did not grade them. We practiced drawing previous body systems and drafted example/practice questions based on the 5 Common Topics.
EXAM PREP: DRAW YOUR CHOSEN BODY SYSTEM DAILY. PREPARE ONE PAGE OF NOTES THAT CONTAINS YOUR 5 COMMON TOPIC QUESTIONS (DEFINITION, COMPARISON, CIRCUMSTANCE, RELATIONSHIP, TESTIMONY) BE READY TO STATE HOW AND WHY YOUR CHOSEN SYSTEM DISPLAYS GOD'S HANDIWORK AS CREATOR (instead of evolution)
RHETORIC
We spent our time in rhetoric playing a review game called Hit or Miss. This was our second week playing it, and I wish that I had introduced it earlier in the year. We had such fun with this game!
EXAM PREP: COMPLETE THE APOLOGETICS PAPER -due next week. It will be read in class.
Suggestions for parents @ home: Drill all catechism questions (remember they must be able to state word for word). Final exam week 15. Review outline & final apologetics paper. Have them practice reading it.
That's all we have left...2 short weeks. Excuse me. for a moment while I go have a good cry about this year coming to an end.
For Bible this week, having made it all the way through the 26 character qualities of the alphabet, I chose to focus on 4 additional qualities that will serve our children well as they grow up. Last week, we discussed persuasiveness. This week, we talked about strength. What is it? Where does it come from? We looked at what the Bible says about strength. Here is what we found: GOD GIVES STRENGTH TO THE WEARY. (Isaiah 40:29) WE ARE STRONG IN THE LORD AND IN HIS MIGHTY POWER. (Ephesians 6:10) THOSE WHO HOPE IN THE LORD WILL RENEW THEIR STRENGTH. (Isaiah 40:31) THE LORD IS OUR STRENGTH (Psalm 73:26) GOD IS OUR REFUGE AND STRENGTH (Psalm 46:1) Let's stay strong this week! As you are completing your work this week and studying for our final exams, don't be discouraged. Don't give up. Think about this: ANYONE can give up. It's the easiest thing in the world to do. Staying STRONG and FINISHING what you start is hard, and not many people choose to do it, but YOU CAN!! Ask the Lord to give you strength this week. :)
LATIN
So, this week in Latin there was good news and there was bad news. THE GOOD NEWS: We learned the 4th and FINAL verb conjugation. YAY!! If you could see me now, you would see me doing my happy dance. :) Fourth Conjugation Verbs have the infinitive ending in "-ire." 1. Present Tense:
-io
-is
-it
-imus
-itis
-iunt
Thus: venio
venis
venit
venimus
venitis
veniunt
Note that -i is the characteristic vowel of the fourth conjugation in the present tense,
changing to -iu in the 3rd person plural. 2. The Imperfect Tense has regular endings, but with the characteristic -i-:
veniebam veniebamus
veniebas veniebatis
veniebat veniebant 3. The Future Tense also shows the characteristic -i-, as well as the future tense
sign -e- as in the 3rd conjugation (instead of the -bi- of the lst and 2d
conjugations). Note, however -iam in 1st person singular:
veniam veniemus
venies venietis
veniet venient
As with all the verbs that we have have previously learned, it is VERY important to memorize all four principal parts of each new verb. Thankfully, the 4th conjugation plays fair and has an easy-to-follow pattern, with few exceptions. Still, you have to memorize the principal parts for every new verb. Thankfully, our book lists these very clearly.
Once you memorize the principal parts, all you need to do is conjugate! Mercifully, this is quite simple, since it DOES follow a pattern....a pattern we have already learned!
2nd Principal Part - Present Stem + Conjugation Identifier + Personal Ending = CONJUGATED VERB
So, this week at home, be sure to make a new flashcard for each new vocabulary word, conjugate all new verbs in the present, imperfect, and future tense, and complete all 5 Latin exercises listed in the guide. Also, memorize, memorize, memorize!! I promise it will help! :) Suggestions for parents at home: Don't forget about Quizlet! If you would like to find a an online study tool for the 3rd conjugation, there are over 500 to choose from here: Fourth Conjugation Study Helps
LOGIC/MATH
This week, we did not have any new math vocabulary terms to learn. We simply shared our math problems with one another and continued to discuss them through dialectic discussion. We also discussed our upcoming blue book exam and what could expected on the test. It will follow the EXACT SAME format as the math portion of our mid-term exam. Next week, please bring in a math problem from your homework to share with the class. Any time we have remaining after our math discussion will be spent reviewing and practicing problems for the final exam. **Students should bring in a problem from their math lesson to share (can be one they struggled with; one they think will stump the class or anything they found interesting & would like to share & explain) This will help them be rhetorical!! Suggestions for parents at home: If you or your child would like some additional help understanding and visualizing our math vocabulary, check out the illustrated dictionary at MATH IS FUN. The definitions are written in a simple, easy-to-understand way and the illustrations are charming. LTW This week marks the beginning of our FINAL Persuasive Essay. We discussed our newest literature selection: The Bronze Bow and reviewed all of the Arrangement elements that we have learned this year:
ANI Chart
Five Common Topics
Comparison Chart: Similarities
Comparison Chart: Differences
Definition
Circumstance
Relationship (cause-and-effect)
Testimony (eye witnesses and character witnesses)
The students shared their completed essays based upon Crispin: The Cross of Lead. Great job!!
This week at home, your student CAN draft a question, convert it to an issue, and complete an ANI chart based on The Bronze Bow. However, we do not have three full weeks left in Challenge A to complete the entire essay, AND your child has a persuasive essay to write as their capstone essay for this year, which will be due on Exam Day. As the parent, you can decide how your child's time would be best spent.
If you elect to have your child begin working on Essay #9, and you would like for me to review their work on Wednesday, please be sure that your child brings their completed ANI chart to class. Remember to continue reading The Bronze Bow at home. It is our final literature selection this year, and we will spend time during next week's class discussing the book.
GEOGRAPHY
This week was our quiz on the entire area of Oceania. The students were given adequate time to draw and label Oceania from memory, complete with 47 individual pieces of information to identify on their maps, including country names, capital cities, bodies of water, and other features.
We had no new information to learn this week, we simply began reviewing and preparing for the final exam.
During the final exam, your student will be given a large piece of poster board on which to draw and label the entire world. So your student will need to practice, practice, practice this week at home. Next week in class, we will spend our time reviewing the world. I will provide each student with a full-size piece of poster board on which to draw and label everything that they can remember.
****Remember that at the end of the year we will be drawing the world - states, countries features - everything from memory. Students need to continue to draw areas they've been tested on. (They can draw on the large laminated maps I gave them at the beginning of the year). The more they draw the better they'll get - the more they will be able to remember.
Suggestions for parents at home: Drill student on provinces & capitals as well as geography terms. Check daily drawings for accuracy & labeling. Be sure students continue to draw previous geographic areas - adding them to new areas. Continue to drill previous states & capitals and/or countries & capitals (it is suggested that they make flashcards for review).
RESEARCH/SCIENCE
This week, we began with a quiz on the eye. I will return those next Wednesday. Everyone then presented their research papers on the ear, which were once again fascinating. I love seeing what captures each person's attention. We then spent the remainder of our class time discussing the final exam, which consists of three parts: 1)They will need to choose one body system that we learned this year and draw and label it completely from memory. 2) Using the body system that they chose, they will draft one question based on each of the 5 common topics. They may bring the questions with them to the exam, but they will need to write the answers during the exam. 3) Using the answers to their 5 CT questions, they will write a brief paragraph explaining how the features of that system prove God as Creator and not evolution. They may bring one sheet of notes to help them with this part of the exam.
RHETORIC
In class this week, we briefly discuss Chapters 20 and 21 from The Fallacy Detective.
We spent a great deal of time discussing their final paper for rhetoric, which will be a persuasive essay (using all the tools they have learned in LTW) to defend the apologetics thesis of their choice. They may begin working on the paper this week and will bring their completed essay to class on Exam Day.
ANNOUNCEMENTS
Blue Book Exams are just 2 short weeks away! Since we have precious little new information to learn next week, we will spend almost all of our seminar time reviewing and preparing for our final exams.
The countdown has begun! Just three short weeks of Challenge A left this year. I'm so proud of what every student has accomplished this year, and I am equally as proud of every parent that has diligently shepherded their child through this year. We have much to celebrate and be thankful for!
BIBLE
For Bible this week, having made it all the way through the 26 character qualities of the alphabet, I chose to focus on 4 additional qualities that will serve our children well as they grow up. This week, we talked about persuasiveness. We have been studying the art of persuasive speech and writing for the past 27 weeks, but we have never looked at what the Bible says about being persuasive. Here is what we found: 2 Corinthians 5:11 Since, then, we know what it is to fear the Lord, we try to persuade others. What we are is plain to God, and I hope it is also plain to your conscience. 1 Corinthians 2: 4 My message and preaching were not with wise and persuasive words, but with a demonstration of the Spirit's power. Colossians 2: 4 I tell you this so that no one may deceive you by fine-sounding arguments. Galatians 5:8 You were running well; who hindered you from obeying the truth? This persuasion did not come from Him who calls you.
LATIN
I'm so thankful that we had an extra week over Easter Break to get my mind wrapped around the 3rd conjugation verbs! This week's new topic is: 3RD CONJUGATION VERBS in the FUTURE tense.
The Future tense differs significantly from what we have seen in the first and second conjugations. There the characteristic symbol was -bi-, inserted before the personal ending. For the Third Conjugation the characteristic vowel is -e- (with -am in the first personal singular): petam
petemus
petes
petetis
petet
petent
As with all the verbs that we have have previously learned, it is VERY important to memorize all four principal parts of each new verb. Unlike the 1st and 2nd conjugation, the principal parts of the 3rd conjugation do not have any easy-to-follow pattern. You simply have to memorize them. Thankfully, our book lists these very clearly. But, looking at all the 3rd conjugation principal parts did make me wonder: How can you tell these apart from the 2nd conjugation verbs? They look almost identical! The answer is: MACRONS. In the 2nd conjugation, there is a macron over the "-ere" in the second principal part (highlighted in green below.) In the 3rd conjugation, there is NO macron over the "-ere" in the second principal part (highlighted in blue below.) Also notice that the first principal part of each conjugation is different. That's why we have to memorize the principal parts!! 1st: -o, -āre | 2nd: -eo, -ēre | 3rd: -o, -ere / -io, -ere | 4th: -io, īre Once you memorize the principal parts, all you need to do is conjugate! Mercifully, this is quite simple, since it DOES follow a pattern....a pattern we have already learned! 2nd Principal Part - Present Stem + Conjugation Identifier + Personal Ending = CONJUGATED VERB We learned that in the 1st conjugation, the identifying letter was an "-a." In the 2nd conjugation, the identifying letter was an "-e." In the 3rd conjugation, the identifying letter in the present tense is an "-i" except in 3rd person plural present tense...then the "i" changes to a "-u." I highlighted the change in pink on the chart below. THEN FOR THE FIRST TIME, we see that the identifying letter switches back to an "-e" in the imperfect tense (highlighted in red.) Why? I wish I had the answer...it's just another thing we need to memorize. Let's looks at how you would conjugate the verb "gero, " which means "to manage." First, the 4 principal parts are gero, gerere, gessi, gestus.
Present Tense
Person
SINGULAR
PLURAL
1
gero
gerimus
2
geris
geritis
3
gerit
gerunt
Imperfect Tense
Person
SINGULAR
PLURAL
1
gerebam
gerebamus
2
gerebas
gerebatis
3
gerebat
gerebant
Future Tense
Person
SINGULAR
PLURAL
1
geram
geremus
2
geres
geretis
3
geret
gerent
So, this week at home, be sure to make a new flashcard for each new vocabulary word, conjugate all new verbs in the future tense, and complete all 4 Latin exercises listed in the guide. Also, memorize, memorize, memorize!! I promise it will help! :) Suggestions for parents at home: Don't forget about Quizlet! If you would like to find a an online study tool for the 3rd conjugation, there are over 500 to choose from here: Third Conjugation Study Helps BONUS POINT: Find one English word derived from a Latin stem and bring it to share with the class.
LOGIC/MATH
·Index: For
example, the index of the square root of 64 is 3, because 43=64.
(This word was highlighted as a term in the text but was not included in the
glossary.)
·Slope: the number
that represents the slant of the graph of a linear equation. Slope = rise/run
I introduced each of the new terms very briefly and showed an example of each term using a math problem. Each week we will continue to review the previous weeks' concepts through dialectic discussion with the problems brought in by each student. In each problem we work through, we will ask the same questions (based on the 5 common topics.) The students are beginning to lead the discussions. Again, we focused on showing our work - talking about "math sentences" and each individual step in solving/evaluating a problem.
BONUS POINT: Bring in a math problem from their homework to explain to the class. **Students should bring in a problem from their math lesson to share (can be one they struggled with; one they think will stump the class or anything they found interesting & would like to share & explain) This will help them be rhetorical!! Suggestions for parents at home: If you or your child would like some additional help understanding and visualizing our math vocabulary, check out the illustrated dictionary at MATH IS FUN. The definitions are written in a simple, easy-to-understand way and the illustrations are charming. LTW This week marks the Elocution portion of our ninth essay in LTW. The students shared with me their completed ANI charts, their sorted information, and their completed outlines. This week's seminar FINALLY brought the FINAL piece of new information to add to our persuasive essay: ASSONANCE. Assonance is similar to alliteration because it uses a repeated phonetic sound. However, instead of using a repeating consonant sound, assonance uses a repeating VOWEL sound. For example:
Have you seen the clean machine?
As we learned before, alliteration is the basis for every tongue twister (or nursery rhyme) ever written. But, assonance, is the basis for poetry! When you use a repeated vowel sound, you create rhyming words in your writing. I reminded the students that assonance, like alliteration, is a decoration, and therefore must be used sparingly. In their essay, both assonance and alliteration should only be used one time each. To make the schemes of assonance and alliteration easy to identify, use 3 words to repeat the pattern: Billy bought a piece of bubble gum. -OR- The dance stirred romance in Mrs. Hanson's heart. For a subtle, less obvious way to add them to your essay, you can simply use 2 words to repeat the pattern: Billy paid for his bubble gum. - OR- The dance stirred romance in her heart. Here is a quick video with an example of how to incorporate this in your next essay:
Throughout this week, your student should use their outline to complete their essay on Crispin: The Cross of Lead. There is just one new worksheet to utilize in their student workbooks, so in addition to completing that, they will need to use the seven other Elocution elements that they have already learned this year to help transform their outline into a persuasive essay:
Parallel Words
Strong Verbs
Parallel Phrases
Antithesis
Similie
Metaphor
Alliteration
Assonance
Please be sure that your child brings their completed ANI chart, completed outline, and completed essay with them to class next week. Remember to continue reading The Bronze Bow at home. It is our final literature selection this year, and your student will need to have the book read by next week so that we can discuss it in class. Suggestions for parents at home: If you need clarification on the topic of Assonance, don't forget to watch your LTW Parent Video on the Circe website! BONUS POINT: Find one example of assonance in a book that you are currently reading and bring that book to share with the class. GEOGRAPHY
This week was our quiz on the entire continent of Australia. The students were given adequate time to draw and label Australia from memory, complete with 31 individual pieces of information to identify on their maps, including country names, capital cities, bodies of water, and other features.
I introduced our next map: Oceania. We discovered that Oceania has 47 items to memorize and label...a few more than Australia, but nothing that is too difficult. However, we have only ONE WEEK to learn everything! We wrote yet another silly sentence to help us remember and identify all the feature and bodies of water in Oceania:
I was able to show everyone a super simplified map of Oceania that should make it easier to draw and memorize:
So your student will still need to practice, practice, practice this week at home. Students should bring in the maps that they've drawn. They'll show their best map to the class.
In addition to drawing their maps and drilling their memory work, your child should define and illustrate the new geography vocabulary words this week:
VALE
VALLEY
VEGETATION
VOLCANO
WATERFALL
DRAW FOR POINTS!!! Students will earn 1 point for each map drawn each week, up to 8 points.
****Remember that at the end of the year we will be drawing the world - states, countries features - everything from memory. Students need to continue to draw areas they've been tested on. (They can draw on the large laminated maps I gave them at the beginning of the year). The more they draw the better they'll get - the more they will be able to remember.
Suggestions for parents at home: Drill student on provinces & capitals as well as geography terms. Check daily drawings for accuracy & labeling. Be sure students continue to draw previous geographic areas - adding them to new areas. Continue to drill previous states & capitals and/or countries & capitals (it is suggested that they make flashcards for review).
RESEARCH/SCIENCE
This week, due to some family limitations, Mrs. Watson stepped up to substitute for me and teach both science and rhetoric. This week, we started with a quiz on the neuron. Mrs. Watson sent those home with your students. Everyone then shared their research presentations. Our new topic of study this week is the ear. The new definitions were discussed during class and Mrs. Watson shared with them how to draw the ear.. At home, students will need to memorize the new terms, and DRAW, DRAW, DRAW!! They need to be drawing the system every day - at least twice per day - and labeling it. The **** is one of the more simple body systems to draw this year, so I think that there may be some temptation to not work as diligently on the drawings this week. Please use the extra time that you have to practice drawing and labeling the eyeball. After the first few days of drawing, they need to "test" themselves by drawing & labeling it from memory. In addition to drawing the ear, students will need to continue to draw the eyeball in preparation for the quiz next week. Try drawing from memory only as if testing to see what's missing. The quiz on the ear will be next week.
STUDENTS SHOULD BRING IN THEIR DRAWINGS TO CLASS. I have truly enjoyed listening (and answering) the questions that your students have created based on the 5 Common Topics. In an effort to continue strengthening this skill, each student will be assigned one of the 5 Common Topics per week. Their task is to create one question based on their assigned Common Topic that pertains to the subject we are researching in science for the given week. This week they will need to create a question that pertains to the ear. Here are a few examples: What is the ear lobe? (definition), How is the ear similar to the eye? (comparison), What happens when the water flows into the ear and cannot drain? (circumstance), How are the ear and your balance related? (relationship), What does God say about our ears? (testimony). As a reminder, here are the assigned topics:
DEFINITION :: BEANA
COMPARISON :: FAITH
CIRCUMSTANCE :: MYKAELA
RELATIONSHIP :: EMILY
TESTIMONY :: JACKSON
And finally, to help ensure that everyone chooses a different structure in the ear to research this week, please let everyone know which topic you plan on presenting in class and let us know! You can either:
1) Comment on this post at the bottom of the page in the "Post a Comment" box -OR-
2) Send us a group text with your chosen topic!
RHETORIC
In class this week, Mrs. Watson discussed chapters 17 and 19 from The Fallacy Detective, which discussed Loaded Questions and Part-to-Whole Fallacies. A loaded question or complex question fallacy is a question that contains a controversial or unjustified assumption (e.g., a presumption of guilt). For example, the question, " Have you stopped lying to your parents about the broken window?" implies guilt, with little room for the person answering the question to state an answer without incriminating themselves.
A part-to-whole fallacy is when someone states that when a PART of something is true, then it must be true for the WHOLE thing. For example:
Standing up at a football game allows me to see better, therefore if everyone stands at a football game, we will all be able to see better. (wrong)
Next week, we will continue with our Catechism Jeopardy Review Game, so be sure to STUDY THOSE CATECHISM QUESTIONS!!!
ANNOUNCEMENTS
It's time to start preparing for our Blue Book Final Exams. I will be sending an email out later this weekend with more details on the process and questions. We will also spend a more focused amount of seminar time during the next few weeks preparing for our final exams.
Our End-of-the-Year Celebration and Awards Ceremony was originally scheduled for Wednesday, April the 27th. HOWEVER, due to my family's rapidly changing circumstances, we are going to join forces with the Foundations and Essentials families in our community and have ONE ceremony on Saturday, April the 16th.This is not a required event, but it is a chance to recognize each child in our Challenge A class, to acknowledge all their hard work, and to publicly praise our Heavenly Father for His graciousness to us throughout this year. I will include more specific details in the email I send out later this weekend.
And finally...
WE MISSED YOU MYKAELA! We know that you were having fun with your family, but we missed having you in class and we look forward to seeing you next week!
