Hello, everyone! It is hard to believe that we are finishing up our first month of school. Time is flying by! For each of the social studies classes, as we enter a new month, we start a fresh unit of study.

6th Social Studies

This week we are reviewing chapter 2: The Stone Ages and Early Cultures. The students will have their test on Friday, October 4th. They will complete a chapter review as well as a study guide, which will outline the specific topics on the test. You may view the study guide here.

6th Religion

In religion, we are working our way through Genesis. We will be looking at how people made the choice to disobey God, God still loves and forgives them. We will be studying the stories of Cain and Abel, The Great Flood, and the Tower of Babel. These lessons will actually tie in with the next social studies unit, Mesopotamia. The memory quiz this week is continuing the Books of the Bible. This week is Isaiah through Malachi.

7th Social Studies

In seventh grade, we will start off the week by learning about the long term results of Christopher Columbus’ voyage to the “New World”. The students will use their knowledge to participate in what is called a Socratic Seminar style lesson. They will be discussing why there is a holiday celebrating Columbus, and whether or not this should exist. Later in the week we will be studying the later Spanish settlement of the Americas, and how other countries began to compete for colonies in North America.

8th Social Studies

This week we will be studying the years following the Civil War, Reconstruction, as well as the assassination plot which resulted int eh death of Abraham Lincoln. To begin the unit, the students will have a Socratic Seminar discussion on what should have happened following the Civil War. Then, we will be studying the various plans formulated by government officials, and ultimately what happened. The end of the chapter is quite bitter sweet because this time period was supposed to be a time for the Freedmen to thrive and begin new lives, but they actually lost most of their rights and lived in almost slavery for the next 100 years.

8th Religion

This week we are continuing to study the family line of Abraham and Sarah. We will be studying their son Isaac’s marriage with Rebekah, and the relationship between their twin sons, Jacob and Esau. The dysfunctional family theme will then continue with the story of Joseph being sold into slavery by his brothers. The overarching theme of these lessons is that God can use seemingly terrible, and insurmountable problems, for good, This week’s memory work is the Lord’s Prayer, which is on p. 17 in Luther’s Catechism.

Have a blessed week!