Cordis Academy

K-5 thru 12^th grade

The K-5 thru 12^th grade classes were developed to offer a creative classroom environment for homeschool parents to enroll their child(ren) in.  In the classroom, the teacher will present the new concepts for the week in a creative hands-on investigative manner.  Every class offers stimulating activities to teach the new academic concepts.  We create an environment where the students can use their God given creativity in learning academic subjects.

A typical day at Cordis for all grades may involve:

• the dissection of an insect or shark, etc. in science
• building their own model of an insect and labeling the parts

• purchasing with real coins items at our pretend store as they learn about money in math

• looking at a painting from the time period and listing all the adjectives that can be used to describe the painting in grammar

• sitting outside on the grass, placing a string around the student’s area and having them write about what is happening in their little area for composition

• reenacting a historical event in history class

• coming to school dressed up as a cowboy for the history lesson

• in class group projects in various classes
• making a model of a geographical area that is being studied
• trying different foods from the time period

• looking through a microscope

Within our day, we also have built in time for the students to enjoy one another’s fellowship during recess and break times.  Through out the year, we have opportunities to have special events and celebrations such as Thanksgiving, Christmas, Valentine’s Day, Easter, and any time period appropriate celebrations. 

Homework assignments will be given for the rest of the week to reinforce the new concepts that were taught in class that week.  Parents will be responsible to aid and monitor their child(ren)’s progress at home making sure that they comprehend and master the new concepts.

Class size is limited.  We only allow 12 students in a class for K-5 thru 2^nd grade and 15 in a class for 3^rd-12^th grade.

 Subject and Grade Descriptions

Bible – “I have hidden your word in my heart that I might not sin against you.”  Psalm 119:11

K-5 students will have a 20-30 minute character trait devotional and prayer time to start the day.

1^st-6^th grade we will be going through Summit Ministries Building on a Rock curriculum.  This unique curriculum is designed to help younger students begin to formulate and relate learned Bible facts with a genuine Christian worldview.  It is designed to help students interpret knowledge and build foundational beliefs and values from a Christian perspective.  The curriculum is written to cover six sections:  wisdom, fellowship, image-bearing, servanthood, stewardship and worldviews.  Each grade level goes through reviewing or introducing each section but concentrates and dives in deeply into one of the sections.  For example 1^st grade students will spend extra time learning about wisdom and will be introduced to the other sections the rest of the year.

7^th-12^th graders will have a devotional along with a prayer time led by one of the teachers during Cordis class time.  These students attend a Arts History class on their MasterKey and Portfolio class day.  This class takes students a step beyond the history of the fine arts and into the Worldview surrounding that fine art during each applicable time period.  We desire to equip our middle and high school students with the Biblical foundations needed to support their faith in secular higher education environments.

History – In depth applicable time period history for K-5 thru 6th grade

For K-5 thru 3^rd grade a unit study approach is taken.  We take specific topics from the historical time period that are not covered at Master’s Academy and develop a unit study on each historical subject that lasts 3-4 weeks.   The students are thus able to go in depth in each historical subject matter.  History comes to life as the in class teaching may involve the teacher reenacting portions of history for the students or having the students participate in the reenactment themselves. Homework assignments are hands on project oriented.  Occasional work sheets will be assigned as homework.  Class time:  45-60 minutes

4^th-6^th grade students will cover specific topics from the historical time period that are not covered at Master’s Academy.  The teacher uses innovative teaching methods to convey the historical events to the students so that they learn in a creative environment.  Reading from a designated Christian based textbook for further investigation of various historical topics will be assigned for homework as well as hands on projects and journaling.  Class time:  1 hour

7^th-11^th grade students will use Christian based historical textbooks to cover all the historical topics from the four historical time periods: Ancient, Medieval/Renaissance, Baroque/Classical/Romantic, and Modern.  Each year we will cover a different time period.  The teacher will use creative teaching methods to make history come alive to the students.  Presentations by the teacher with short video clips, power points, interactive games, etc. will be used in the classroom to enhance learning.  Use of websites (previewed by the teacher) in homework assignments in conjunction with their textbook may be used to deepen their study of the time period.  Class time:  1 hour

12th grade will be taking Economics and Government.  Class time:  1 hour

Science – Historical time period science as well as basic scientific knowledge.  Important scientists and their discoveries are studied from the appropriate time period.

4^th-6^th grade students will have a designated Christian based textbook to follow in their scientific research of the specific unit or units that they will be studying all year long.  For this age group, we want to have the students concentrate on one or two scientific topics a year in order to closely examine and learn about that unit so that they have a deep understanding of that unit.  Lab time is included in as many classes as possible.   Each month a scientist of the month and their major contributions during the appropriate historical time period will also be incorporated into the classroom.  Scientific topics to be covered for each time period:

Ancient – Geology and Botany; Medieval/Renaissance – Zoology: Land Animals; Baroque – Zoology: Birds and Insects & Zoology: Aquatic Animals; Classical – Anatomy & Medicine/Health; Romantic – Simple Machines & Physics and Chemistry; Modern – Astronomy (Space Race) & Meteorology.  For the 2010-2011 school year, the students will be studying Animals and we will be using the textbook: Exploring Creation with Zoology 1: Birds and Insects and Zoology II: Aquatic Animals.  Homework assignments will be hands on project oriented mixed with textbook reading for gathering information as well as some worksheets.  Lab time will be incorporated into the class time instruction every week.  Homework will be assigned for each week.   Class time:  1 hour

7^th-12^th grade students will be offered Life Science, General Science, Physical Science, Biology, Chemistry, Anatomy, Marine Biology, Physics classes to meet their science requirements.  The teacher takes a hands on approach to teaching the classes thus many labs are included in their class time.  Homework assignments/projects will be given each week for the remainder of the week.  Class time:  1 hour

Literature – classical literature from the appropriate historical time period

K-5 thru 3^rd graders will have age appropriate classical literature read to them in class.  The teacher will bring classical literature to life by using different teaching techniques during the class so that the students develop a love for the classics.  There will be in class discussion on the plot, setting, and characters from the story – dependent on the age group.  A hands-on activity to help them remember the reading will be completed in the classroom.  Some age appropriate literature will also be assigned to the students to be read at home.  Homework assignments will include some reading during the week.  Class time:  30-60 minutes

For 4^th-6^th grade students will be reading age appropriate classical literature that was written during the historical period.  Students will also learn the different elements found in reading non-fiction, fiction (short stories and novel), poetry and plays.  Students will be taught on how to examine the plot, setting, characters, theme, dialogues found in each reading that they are assigned to.  How to compare and contrast various literature pieces will be covered in class. The teacher will use creative methods in bringing the literature to life such as sculpting with clay a character from the book being studied based solely on imagination and written description.  Homework assignments will include reading literature books from the time period as well as assignments in conjunction with the reading such as comprehension questions and creative literature assignments.  Class time:  1 hour

7th -12^th grade students will be reading time period literature: fiction, non-fiction, plays, short stories as well as poetry to match the hisotircal time period covered in history.  They will be taught the different kinds and parts of non-fiction, fiction, plays, short stories, and poetry readings.  Class discussion will be centered on the different readings assigned for the week. Teachers create a passion for the classics by open class discussion of the readings assigned and creative class interaction all with a “coffee shop” classroom ambiance. Homework assignments for the week will consist of comprehension questions, vocabulary, and/or creative projects.  Class time: 1 hour

Composition and Grammar – our goal is to teach the students the grammar and writing process so that they can effectively communicate in their writing

K-5 thru 3^rd graders will have age appropriate writing assignments for them to develop from K-5: writing a simple sentence, 1^st grade: writing more complex sentences, 2^nd: grade writing a paragraph, to 3^rd: grade writing three paragraphs.  The teacher will also focus on helping the students develop ideas for writing, organizing their writing, sharing their feelings in their writing, and using descriptive words in their writing.  Punctuation, spelling and grammar will also be emphasized in class.  Various homework assignments will be given to reinforce the concepts covered in class.  Class time: 1 hour

4^th-12^th grade students will develop the six main traits of writing: 1. Ideas (focusing on a specific topic with ideas and details to support topic); 2. Organization (beginning, middle, ending); 3. Voice (a special way a writer shares ideas and feelings); 4. Word Choice (using strong verbs, specific nouns, colorful adjectives); 5. Sentence Fluency (beginning sentences in different ways and have different lengths); 6. Conventions (punctuation and grammar).  Students will be taught how to write descriptive, narrative, expository, persuasive, creative, research writings and a response to literature writing as well as a compare and contrast writing for 8^th-12^th graders.  Because class sizes are small, teachers are able to give individual feedback and support for improved writing skills. These different writing assignments will be spread through out the different subjects: literature, science, and history and spread out through out the course of the year.  The composition teacher will be working with the different subject teachers and monitoring the writing in all the different subject areas.  Greek and Latin root words will be taught to expand their vocabulary words.  Vocabulary words from literature, history, and science classes will also be focused on in each class.  Homework composition assignments will vary each week and is dependent on the subject the assignment is for.  Weekly grammar homework will be assigned to the different grade levels.  Class time: 1 hour

Phonics – using a multi-sensory approach in learning phonics

For K-5 thru 2^nd grade phonics is taught using a multi-sensory approach to appeal to students with auditory, visual, and kinesthetic learning styles.  Throughout the primary grades, special emphasis is put on literacy skills as reading and writing are clearly the foundation of all other learning. Our program regularly implements the following strategies: systematic phonics instruction; phonemic awareness; sound-symbol relationships; decoding; word-attack skills; spelling instruction; writing instruction; reading comprehension instruction; and independent reading of high quality literature.  Our teachers strive to make instruction as creative as possible to create a stimulating learning environment. Classroom and homework instruction includes: learning fun songs, completing craft activities, playing games, reading high interest literature, reading comprehension games and activities, writing skills, and ‘out-of-the-box’ spelling activities.  Creative homework assignments will be given each week to reinforce what was introduced in class.  Class time:  30-60 minutes

Math – Appropriate age mathematics are taught to the students. 

For K-5 - 6^th grade various manipulative materials and activities/games are used to introduce the various mathematical concepts for each week. Real life mathematical application opportunities are given to the students. The teacher uses pertinent activities and centers in class to reinforce the new concepts.  Homework for the rest of the week from their math textbook will be assigned to the students.  Class time:  2 thirty minute blocks of teaching time or 1 block of 60 minute teaching time.

7^th-12^th grade math offered will consist of Math 7, Pre-Algebra, Algebra 1, Algebra 2, Geometry, Advanced Mathematics, Calculus, etc.  New concepts will be introduced in class as well as reviewing previous concepts to allow for mastery in math.  Homework assignments are assigned for the rest of the week.  Class time:  1 hour

Foreign Language – Spanish, Latin

7^th-12^th grade The class consists of conversation time in the foreign language, grammar, vocabulary, etc. 

Students will also learn about the different countries that speak that particular language as well as the culture.  Various assignments for the week will include practicing speaking, memorizing vocabulary words as well as the grammar.  Hands on projects/activities will also be assigned to help them enhance their learning of the foreign language.  Class time:  1 hour

Students are offered various levels of Spanish from Spanish A & B for 7^th and 8^th graders as well as Spanish 1, Spanish 2, Spanish 3. 

Latin 1 & 2  Class offerings are dependant on interest level of students and enrollment.