SPRING SEMESTER WEEK 13

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. 

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

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:

1. ANI Chart
2. Five Common Topics
3. Comparison Chart: Similarities
4. Comparison Chart: Differences
5. Definition 
6. Circumstance
7. Relationship (cause-and-effect)
8. 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. 

Study hard this week!