CLASS SEVEN
The Renaissance is the historical focus for this turbulent year. Twelve and thirteen year-olds question, argue, and rebel, and study the lives of men and women who argued and questioned and thereby changed the world.
In astronomy, students learn how Copernicus and Galileo began a new age of science. Students chart the sun, moon, and stars using the geometry skills learned last year. This block ends with a trip to eastern Washington for backpacking and stargazing.
While students study Shakespeare and Milton, they also write their own poetry and short stories. In physics, they make their own camera obscura. The physics block ends with a study of mechanics and the six simple machines: wedge, screw, lever, wheel, pulley, and inclined plane. Using this knowledge, students design their own inventions.
In handwork they create human figures, beginning with the head and bones. In woodwork they make wooden toys with moveable parts. Opportunities for literary, artistic, and musical expression are balanced with blocks of algebra, chemistry, geography, history, and human physiology.
