Academics(in this section)

Middle School for Catholic, Classical Students

The Logic Stage focuses on organizing information gathered in the Grammar Stage, making connections and learning to evaluate evidence. Here the vast array of data experienced at the grammar stage is categorized and organized with some level of integration. How basic parts and skills relate to each other, basic cause and effect relationships, and how different disciplines build upon and relate to each other is the focus at this stage.

Reasoning is explicitly developed, including an emphasis on definitions and clarity of expression and thought. Independent thinking, verbal combativeness, and defense of positions comes more naturally and with more force at this stage. Enhanced symbolic thinking in math and basic formal logic, increased ability to hypothesize and predict in science, and an increased ability to understand the interaction of various historical events and cultures comes more naturally. Students begin to show habits of independent thinking and discovery at this stage and continue to read works of literature of increasing depth in their exploration of the human experience.

Community & Culture Night – Logic Stage

Preparing students to encounter Christ and pursue excellence requires students, teachers and parents sharing the same educational vision. Our Community & Culture Night series helps parents understand more about each stage of their child’s education at Donahue Academy. Here is our school’s Community & Culture Night for the Middle School Logic Stage.

Logic Stage Curriculum

Developing Understanding – Asking “How”

Lists of texts below are illustrative and not exhaustive.

5th and 6th Grade Cognitive Taxonomy: Application

Description: Using a general concept to solve problems in a particular situation; using learned material in new and concrete situations.

Skills: Apply, adopt, collect, construct, demonstrate, discover, illustrate, infer, outline, point out, select, separate, sort and subdivide.

5th Grade

Period: Ancient (5000 BC- 400 AD)

Assessments: TerraNova

History

  • All Ye Lands (Catholic Textbook Project)
  • The Story of the World – Book I On the Shores of the Great Sea (Synge)
  • Daily Geography Practice (Evan-Moor)

6th Grade

Period: Ancient/Medieval (400 AD-1600)

Assessments: TerraNova

History

  • All Ye Lands (Catholic Textbook Project)
  • Famous Men of Rome (Memoria Press)
  • Daily Geography Practice (Evan-Moor)

Literature

  • Tales of Ancient Egypt (Green)
  • Ancient Egypt (Nardo)
  • The Trojan War (Coolidge)
  • Greek Myths (Coolige)
  • The Aeneid For Boys and Girls (Church)
  • Gilgamesh (McCaughrean)
  • Adara (Growley)
  • The Odyssey (retold by Lister)
  • Aesop’s Fables (retold by McGovern)
  • Archimedes and the Door of Science (Bendick)

Literature

  • The Bronze Bow (Speare)
  • Beowulf a New Telling (Nye)
  • King Arthur and his Knights (Green)
  • If All the Swords in England (Willard)
  • Aladdin and Other Tales from the Arabian Nights (retold by Dawood)
  • The Story of Rolf and the Viking Bow (French)
  • The Red Keep (French)
  • The Trumpeter of Krakow (Kelly)
  • Son of Charlemagne (Willard)
  • The Children’s Plutarch (Gould)
  • The Adventures of Robin Hood (Green)
  • Summer Reading: The Hobbit (Tolkien)

Language Arts

  • English for Young Catholics 5 – (Seton)
  • Classical Composition I & II (Memoria)
  • Growing Your Vocabulary 5 (Prestwick House)

Language Arts

  • English 6 for Young Catholics (Seton)
  • Reading 6 for Young Cathoilcs (Seton)
  • Classical Composition I & II (Memoria)
  • Growing your Vocabulary 6 (Prestwick House)

Religion

  • Faith & Life Gr. 5 (Casa Maria)

Mathematics

  • Sadlier Math 5

Religion

  • Faith & Life Gr. 6 (Casa Maria)

Mathematics

  • Sadlier Math 6

Science – Emphasis on Life and Earth

  • Harcourt Science 5

Science – Emphasis on Earth Science

  • Science Explorer Series (Prentice Hall Press)

Art/Music/Physical Education

  • Various Projects and Performances

Art/Music/Physical Education

  • Various Projects and Performances

7th and 8th Grade Cognitive Taxonomy: Analysis

Description: Breaking something down into its parts; may focus on identification of parts or analysis of relationships between parts, or recognition of organizational principles.

Skills: Analyze, compare, contrast, diagram, differentiate, dissect, distinguish, identify, illustrate, infer, outline, paraphrase, point out, review, select, separate, sort and subdivide.

7th Grade

Period: Renaissance-Early Modern (1600-1850)

Assessments: TerraNova

History

  • From Sea to Shining Sea (Catholic Textbook Project)
  • Humanities Reader

8th Grade

Period: Modern (1850-Present)

Assessments: TerraNova

History

  • From Sea to Shining Sea (Catholic Textbook Project)
  • Humanities Reader
  • The History of the United States (Seton)
  • Maps, Charts, Graphs: US Past & Present (MCP))

Literature

  • Johnny Tremain (Forbes)
  • Legend of Sleepy Hollow (Irving)
  • Tales from Shakespeare (Lamb)
  • I, Juan de Pareja (de Tervino)
  • Witch of Blackbird Pond(Speare)
  • Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass (Douglass)
  • Canterbury Tales (Chaucer)
  • Tom Sawyer (Twain)
  • Summer Reading: Treasure Island (Stevenson)

Literature

  • Shadows of Blue and Gray (Bierce)
  • Our Town (Wilder)
  • Animal Farm(Orwell)
  • The Red Badge of Courage(Crane)
  • Cyrano de Bergerac (Rostand)
  • Forget Not Love (Frossard)
  • The Pearl (Steinbeck)
  • Stories of Karol(Svidercoschi)
  • Les Miserables (Hugo)
  • The Song at the Scaffold (Von le Fort)
  • Death Comes For the Archbishop (Cather)
  • Summer Reading: The Hound of the Baskervilles (Doyle)

Language Arts

  • English 7 for Young Catholics (Seton)
  • Reading 7 for Young Catholics (Seton)
  • Classical Composition I & II (Memoria)
  • Vocabulary from Latin & Greek Roots (Prestwick House)

Language Arts

  • Vocabulary from Latin & Greek Roots: Book II (Prestwick House)
  • English 8 for Young Catholics (Seton)
  • Reading 8 for Young Catholics (Seton)

Religion

  • Holy Bible (Revised Standard Version)
  • Catechism of the Catholic Church
  • Faith & Life Gr.7 (Casa Maria)

Religion

  • Holy Bible (Revised Standard Version)
  • Catechism of the Catholic Church
  • Faith & Life Gr. 8 (Casa Maria)

Mathematics

  • Pre-Algebra (College of the Redwoods)

Science – Emphasis on Life Science

  • Science Explorer Series (Prentice Hall Press)

Mathematics

  • Algebra 1 (College of the Redwoods)

Science – Emphasis on Physical Science

  • Science Explorer Series (Prentice Hall Press)

Latin

  • Wheelock’s Latin (LaFleur)

Art/Music/Physical Education

  • Various Projects and Performances

Latin

  • Wheelock’s Latin (LaFleur)

Art/Music/Physical Education

  • Various Projects and Performances