7GRD Do-Aheads

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General

  1. Gather supplies. I have them all listed on this 7GRD supplies pdf, every notecard, map, and worksheet.
  2. Buy Science Supplies. I’ll make a list soon.
  3. Construct a realistic schedule.  For a realistic estimate on actual reading time required for history, see THIS POST. It’s really uneven.  You need to know what’s coming.  We never even got to the Sutcliff books at the end of the year.
    • Poetry: The performances are HOURS long, so schedule accordingly on those weeks.

English

  1. Read over the text book. Make yourself notes where you need to brush up before the lesson.  My 6GRDer found it really difficult last year to be patient while I was re-learning “predicate nominatives” during his lesson.
  2. If you use BLP, get ready to make note cards. There are a lot, but at least the book is printable so there’s no need for notebook paper.

History

  1. Look over the history/religion assignments, overviews, and the books themselves. Herodotus is read-aloud.
  2. Make a plan for history discussion. Read the books!  If you can’t read them all, fine, but shoot for over 50%.  I’m trying to get summary guides going. I’ll tell you when I get there.
  3. Print out my timeline assignments. Or make plans of your own.  It’s not a simple task and it will catch you both off-guard if you haven’t already got it laid out.
  4. Get your maps and keys ready. Or Print mine.
  5. Check the paper assignments. Really, if you haven’t heard the STAGE talks by Laura, this paper seems like a much bigger deal than it is.  The Writing Manual and Language Arts Overview will tell you how to gently guide the child through revisions. Plan for revisions in your schedule.

Latin

  1. Get your vocab in order. Use Quizlet, Memrise, or print cards from Quizlet.

Music/Art

  1. Bookmark my youtube playlist for 7GRD grade music.
  2. Find an alternative for Art Memo, like these or the Renaissance set, but not the modern one, blech.
  3. You will also need “large” prints and a couple of books for reading about artists.

Poetry

  1. Bookmark my youtube playlist for 7GRD grade St. Crispin’s Day speech.
  2. Get the Henry V on DVD or rental. We like the Brannaugh version, but the Olivier one might be free on Prime. We also enjoyed watching the Tempest on Prime before he read it.  Julius Caesar with Brando as Antony is on Prime for $2 or something.  My consultant gave us some amazing advice.  Watch the Shakespeare movies with your child and talk him through it. (She used Cliff’s Notes.  I used Shmoops.  It’s sassy and had naughty words, but for MY comprehension, it was great. I didn’t read it to him word for word.  HA!)  By the middle of the movies, you need to say less and less.  Their ears get tuned.

Religion

  1. Print out 5 or more of THIS FORM for daily oral report notetaking.
  2. Buy THIS book for Acts if you don’t have a Bible that can fit in the backpack. Also when you go to discuss it, that version has notes that help parent understanding.
  3. Consider getting THIS BOOK if you aren’t going to be reading aloud scripture.  (You may recognize the author from the knee-hugger grade syllabi) I had him read it first, then read the Bible to help his comprehension.
  4. Look over Story of the Church AND the assignments.  The format of the book/assignments really threw my kid.  Me too for a sec.  It kind of reminds me of how P&P didn’t put it’s chapter numbers at the beginning so it was hard to figure out where you were from the assignments. Try reading through the syllabus assignments with the book nearby so at least one of you understands the organization.

Spelling

  1. Print my Spalding Marking Key for Wordly Wise 4.  I can’t promise it’s perfect, but it’s the best I could do