Washington Jesuit Academy

Language Arts: Literature, Grammar, Writing and Oration

• Read aloud grade level appropriate narrative text and expository text fluently and accurately.
• Read and respond to grade-level-appropriate historically or culturally significant works of literature that reflect and enhance their study of history and social science.
• Progressing through the stages of the writing process: brainstorm, pre-write, rough draft, proofread, edit and revision.
• Further refine and develop grammar skills through a review of the rules and expanding their awareness of others. Enhance vocabulary awareness and understanding through the use of varied word choices to make writing interesting.
• Write a well developed five paragraph essay as a response to literature, a personal narrative and in the form of an essay question response.
• Refine punctuation and capitalization skills.
• Expand the knowledge and practice of writing appropriate narratives (using a range of narrative devices such as dialogue and suspense), responses to literature (developing and justifying the interpretation through use of examples and evidence from the text) and persuasive compositions (supporting the position with organized and relevant evidence and effective).
• Emphasize correct spelling.
• Develop listening and speaking skills through poetry recitations, oral responses to literature (developing an interpretation that shows careful reading, understanding, and insight, organize the presentation around clear ideas, premises, or images and developing and justifying the interpretation through the use of examples) and informative presentations (posing relevant questions to be completely and thoroughly answered, developing the topic with facts, details, examples and explanations from multiple authoritative sources, including speakers, periodicals, and online information).

Math: Pre-Algebra and Algebra

• Develop an understanding of algebraic relationships, analyzing and understanding the relationship between two variables and linear and non-linear relationships
• Study the Pythagorean theorem, understanding the relationship between side lengths in a right triangle, squared numbers and their roots, rational and irrational numbers and recognition of patterns in different degrees of angles.
• Understand exponential relationships, to include: patterns of growth, exponential calculations (on calculators), identify, write and utilize an exponential equation, analyze decay and graphing exponential relationships.
• Identify and understand quadratic relationships, to include: the ability to rearrange an equation to solve for an unknown variable, factored forms of quadratic equations, expanded forms of quadratic equations, utilize F.O.I.L method, determine x and y intercepts of a quadratic equation, graph and table, identify quadratic patterns, detect line of symmetry and compare and contrast quadratic relationships to linear graphs.
• Develop an understanding of algebraic equations, to include: order of operations in simplifying an algebraic expression, familiarity with distributive, associative and commutative properties and their use in simplification, equivalent expressions, strategies to solve equations (manipulating expression and factoring), the ability to organize data in a box plot, and combine knowledge of quadratic and linear equations with the process of simplifying expressions to solve for an unknown variable.
• Understand different ways to collect samples and their effectiveness in representing a population (random and nonrandom samples), and the ability to design a survey to collect data.

Reading: Moving Beyond Grade Level

• Further develop a sense for the significance of individual daily reading (DEAR) based upon grade level and personal readiness for books, exposing students to books of interest and grade level appropriateness.
• Master the skills of summary, clarification, questioning, predicting and inference.
• Understand the variety in writing forms: fiction vs. non-fiction, novels, short stories and poetry.
• Expand vocabulary through regular practice of recording, defining, understanding part of speech and usage in a sentence.
• Daily Read Aloud to the students, using books that relate to themes throughout the curriculum and topics relevant to their personal development.
• Further advance reading strategies to include: making connections, understanding context clues, awareness of setting and visualizing and evaluating a story.
• Develop strategies of skimming, use of context clues, activating prior knowledge, taking notes from reading and the ability to express impact of book on self.
• Use journal writing to express opinions and responses to readings.
• Using shared inquiry discussions to: present arguments clearly and persuasively, offer reasons for opinions and inferences, support ideas with evidence, analyze character motivation and development, learn to weigh merits of opposing arguments and to modify their initial opinions, gain confidence to shape and express own opinions of what they read and practice active listening and cooperative learning.

Science: Physical Science: Energy, Matter and Motion

• Develop an understanding of energy and motion, to include: Newton’s Laws of Motion, kinetic energy, and potential energy, the manifestation of heat, the relation between objects and motion and the measurement of velocity, speed, time and distance.
• Describe electricity and energy resources, to include: the transfer of energy, distinguishing the types, open and closed circuits, the different types of electricity and how energy works with waves and sound.
• A comprehensive study of African American scientists and the contributions they have made to the world, including (but not limited to): George Washington Carver, Benjamin Bannekar, Charles Henry Turner and Ben Carson).
• Incorporate scientific articles into reading and essay response writing to the articles.
• Regular hands-on experimentation that relates directly to the curriculum, providing opportunities to witness science.
• Develop an awareness of matter, to include: the atom and the minute particles that make up matter, the electric forces of an atom, fission, fusion, temperature and its relationship to objects, neurons and the isotope, the periodic table and the atomic number and mass of an element.
• Incorporate research and peer review as part of the learning process, further advancing the approach of the scientific method.

Religion: A Study of World Religions

• Develop a comprehensive understanding of various world religions, their origins, basic tenets and the individuals behind their growth, comparing and contrasting the religions to each other and the modern world.
• A study of Hinduism, to include: history of Hinduism, texts and core beliefs, the Four Wants of Man, the Four Paths to the Goal, the stages of life and the caste system.
• A study of Buddhism, to include: history of Buddhism, Buddhism vs. Hinduism – reasons for the split, the Four Noble Truths, the Eightfold Path, the branches of Buddhism and the texts and core concepts.
• A study of Taoism, to include: The history of Taoism, wu-wei, basic characteristics of Taoism and text – The Tao Te Ching.
• A study of Confucianism, to include: the history of Confucianism, the world in which Confucius lived, rivals of Confucius, deliberate tradition and basic teachings – the 5 relationships, a good man.
• A study of Judaism, to include: the roots of Judaism, Judaism’s impact on the world, the history of Judaism – the chosen people, exile and suffering, the modern experience and the branches of Judaism, Jewish ritual and tradition, the Holocaust and its affect on Judaism and the Jews, the modern state of Israel and the Palestinian question.
• A study of Islam, to include: the origin of Islam, walking the straight path, Muhammad and the Koran, the Five Pillars, the Islamic way of life, the levels of development, the afterlife, a jihad, terrorism and Islam, women in Islam and holidays and ceremonies.
• Develop writing skills through compare/ contrast expression and analytical thinking and writing exercises as they relate to world religions.

History: The Birth of a Nation through the World Wars

• Explore/understand major events preceding the founding of the nation and relate their significance to the development of American constitutional democracy, including a study of the historical figures Washington, Jefferson, Adams, Madison and Monroe.
• Understand the foundation of the American political system and the ways in which citizens participate in it.
• Explain the foreign policy of the early American republic and the early troubles of the growing nation, including the War of 1812, Mexican War, the Manifest Destiny and Andrew Jackson.
• Analyze the multiple causes, key events, and complex consequences of slavery, states’ rights, the abolitionist movements, the Civil War and the period of Reconstruction. A study of Abraham Lincoln and his leadership throughout the war.
• Analyze the aspirations and ideals of the people of the new nation, their divergent paths and the challenges they faced in the 19th century, to include westward expansion, native American relations, the growth of industrial America and the struggle for early civil rights.
• Develop an understanding of the United States as a world power and its role in imperialism and the outbreak of World War I.
• Understand the economic, cultural, and societal growth in United States throughout 1920s, to include the Great Depression, the New Deal and the Roosevelt years.
• Explore the developments of World War II and the aftermath of the defeat of Hitler and Japan.
• Incorporate the American tradition of dissent and its meaning throughout American history, focusing on the importance of dissent in our political system and the significant figures who embody the tradition.
• Focus study on the American political system with an understanding on modern day elections (polling, campaigning, parties, candidates, issues and platforms).
• Develop writing skills to focus on research writing (using primary and secondary sources) and essay writing with greater emphasis on critical thinking skills.