Renaissance History! 6th to 8th grades

Renaissance History for Middle Schoolers

This is a semester long course that will cover the Renaissance, The Reformation, The Scientific Revolution, The Americas, and the Age of Exploration. Europe emerged from the Middle Ages and experienced financial, artistic, social, scientific and political growth during the Renaissance. During the Reformation, the invention of movable type and the printing press by Gutenberg and the subsequent outpouring of information opened new horizons for the common citizen. The Scientific Revolution in Europe and the Americas brought about a dramatic shift in the way that scientists described the universe and the place of the earth within it. The Age of Exploration beginning in the late 1400s was an important era in the discovery and development of land yet unknown to Europeans.

Renaissance History

Ages: 11-13 years

Thursdays, 10:30am-Noon

15 weeks: 1/26 to 5/24 with three weeks off for spring break and STAR testing

Cost: $262.50/student; may be paid in monthly installments; first 4 week session is $70/student

Instructor: Rosemary Culinan, former 7th/8th grade teacher in LBUSD

Sky Mountain vendor for the class: George A. Castro, gee!

Textbook is not required, but the class will be following "Discovering Our Past: Medieval & Early Modern Times" Glencoe-McGraw Hill. Used copies run about $25.

Classical education in the humanities refers to an educational approach that ideally teaches students the tools of learning, gives pupils independence to think on their own, and compels them to create their own perspective and defend it in speech and in writing. The humanities are academic subjects that study the human condition, using methods that are primarily analytical, critical, or speculative. For the student, ages 11 and up, classical education should be interesting, because the student gets to think and analyze and express, as opposed to just memorize and regurgitate.

Skills covered in this course:
Thinking and Writing Skills: Fact or Opinion? Judgment, Supporting Evidence, Primary or Secondary Analysis, Using Quotes, Paraphrasing, Thesis Statement, Conclusion, Outline for a One-Paragraph Essay, Rough Draft for a One-Paragraph Essay, Taking Notes, Thesis Statement for a Five Paragraph Essay, Rough Draft for a Five Paragraph Essay, Revising, Documenting Sources in a Text, Works Cited, The Cover Page and Checklist, Counter argument, Analyzing Primary Sources, Cause and Effect, Compare and Contrast.

Semester schedule: 4 weeks: The Renaissance 1/26, 2/2, 2/9, 2/16
4 weeks: The Reformation 2/23, 3/1, 3/8, 3/15
4 weeks: The Scientific Revolution & The Americas 3/22, 3/29, 4/19, 4/26 (no class 4/5, 4/12 for spring break)

3 weeks: The Age of Exploration 5/3-5/24 (no class one week due to STAR testing; should know by the end of February which week)

To sign up one student, RSVP as yourself; to sign up two students, RSVP +1 guest If you are not using charter funds, please bring payment to the first day of class. You may use paypal to send funds to gccoaching@yahoo.com Please let me know if you have any questions. Thank you!