A Closer Look at 7th Grade Charlotte Mason Curriculum
Do you have a 7th grader you’d like to homeschool using a Charlotte Mason-inspired curriculum? Well, Revival to Revolution is a Charlotte Mason-inspired, complete, literature-based, Christ-centered curriculum written specifically for 11 to 13 year-olds. It works well for 7th grade and includes all your student needs for a complete year of Charlotte Mason-style curriculum! Let’s take a look at this inspirational 7th grade Charlotte Mason curriculum!
A Charlotte Mason Living Books’ Approach to History
Told in story form, Heart of Dakota’s Revival to Revolution provides students with a chronological and narrative overview of American history within the context of world history from the Revivals to the Industrial Revolution, including Church history and missions. This 7th grade Charlotte Mason curriculum provides a fascinating chronicle of the Great Awakening, the American and French Revolutions, the Victorian Age, the American Civil War, the Industrial Revolution and more. With a unique blend of living books, engaging activities, and a biblical perspective, Revival to Revolution gives students a clear picture of the upheaval and social reform that came after the Reformation. As students ‘travel’ chronologically through history, they chronicle their journey by keeping a timeline in a beautiful, full-color notebook. Very Charlotte Mason-inspired!
Full of ‘can’t put them down’ books, Revival to Revolution’s history weaves an exciting, coherent, and memorable timeline. Just as Charlotte Mason advocated, students at this age read a portion of their history independently. George Washington’s World, The Story of Napoleon, The Story of the Great Republic, and The Growth of the British Empire, provide the perfect Charlotte Mason-style books for students to read independently. However, students aren’t the only ones that get to have fun reading Charlotte Mason-style books! Parents enjoy reading aloud the Charlotte Mason-inspired Storytime set of books. So, together, students and parents read Charlotte Mason-style living books to make this time period come to life!
A Charlotte Mason Approach to Geography and to Independent History Study
Charlotte Mason matched geography lessons to the historical time period, and Revival to Revolution does as well. Map Trek and the United States History Atlas correspond with living book history readings to further bring the time period to life. Students complete this geography study independently, creating colorful maps that help them see how history was impacted by the geography of the times.
Revival to Revolution’s Independent History Study uses What in the World? Volume III; Draw and Write Through History: Napoleon to Lady Liberty – The World of the 1800’s;Â Thomas Jefferson’s America; and Abraham Lincoln and the Heart of America to further make this time period come to life! Audio presentations, copywork of quotes and verses, notebook entries, guided drawing lessons, timeline study, and black and white historical pictures for students to color are all 7th Grade Charlotte Mason-inspired history-themed parts of the plans!
A Charlotte Mason Approach to 50 States’ Study and Signers’ Study
Revival to Revolution gives students the option to complete a 50 States’ Study with Fifty States Under God. This study provides a narrative overview of the building of our nation, state by state! In the course of studying events of particular interest to each state, the student sees, from a Christian perspective, how these events affected that state and our nation as a whole. The body of the book contains state-specific pages. Each state includes four pages to provide a narrative overview of that state. These stories are fascinating and are often written from a spiritual perspective.
Students also have the option to complete a Signers’ Study with The Signers: The 56 Stories Behind the Declaration of Independence. This narrative study introduces students to the brave men who risked their lives to sign our nation’s Declaration of Independence! The fifty-six men who signed the document were, in the eyes of the English, committing treason. Who were these men? Why did they risk their lives in this way? Why was signing the document so important to them? Superbly written, and illustrated with unique black and white woodcuts, this book gives the reader a fascinating overall view of the revolutionary years and of the men who gave the struggle direction and strength.
A Charlotte Mason Approach to a Composers and Classical Music Study
Revival to Revolution provides an unforgettable look at the legacy of classical music! It invites students to discover what makes each period of music unique. As students journey through time, they listen to enduring music, learn about the instruments, and study famous composers to see what makes their work so timeless. Delve into the world of classical music through The Story of Classical Music, an audio that provides a glimpse of the lives of more than 90 colorful composers, along with facts from history. Each era of history has composers’ biographies paired with famous snippets of music – 150 in all – performed by world-class musicians.
Additionally, students create a timeline of composers, a book of musical periods, a keyboard of musical terms, a collection of composer cards and more with the Composers: Hands-on History Pak printable CD. Listen to 29 musical masterpieces. Complete engaging activities that use beautifully detailed pages to make learning exciting! By the end of the year, students will be able to assemble a colorful Lap Book™ using the projects they have completed.
A Charlotte Mason Living Books’ Approach to Science
Resurrection to Reformation features a unique, Charlotte Mason living books approach that focuses on physical science, with an emphasis on inventors. The Story of Inventions, Michael Faraday: Father of Electronics, Four American Inventors, Henry Ford: Young Man with Ideas, Always Inventing: A Photobiography of Alexander Graham Bell, and The Wright Brothers: They Gave Us Wings introduce students to these famous inventors in a living books’ way that inspires! This study focuses on fascinating, true-life stories of those who used physical science principles to pave the way for growth in power, manufacturing, production, communication, and transportation.
Full-color Inventor Student Notebook pages include places to record Charlotte Mason-style written narrations, a timeline to update in each unit, and pictures of the main inventors and some of their inventions. Finally, Exploration Education provides textual materials, hands-on experiments, and real-life projects. Experiments use lab sheets and the scientific process. Notebooking entries about inventors, oral narrations, timeline entries, and written narrations encourage students to apply what they’ve learned.
This balance of 7th Grade Charlotte Mason living books, hands-on experiments, and scientific methods, provides an enjoyable way to learn science. It also meets the National Science Education Standards. Students draw connections between science and history. Topics, people, and events naturally overlap between the two subjects. As students learn about the advance of scientific achievements, they will be able to visualize the historic backdrop behind the discoveries.
A Charlotte Mason Living Books’ Approach to Composition and Literature
A Charlotte Mason’s living books approach recognizes the importance of connecting composition to well-known authors! The Exciting World of Creative Writing follows Charlotte Mason’s advice by providing engaging examples from well-known authors. This gives students inspiration and guidance in their own writing. Topics include writing descriptions; forming paragraphs; using similes and metaphors; avoiding worn-out phrases; adding liveliness and depth to writing; supporting a main idea; letter writing techniques; using poetry styles, techniques, and devices; developing characters; devising a plot; focusing on a theme; finding your voice; choosing a title; writing dialogue; outlining a story; creating powerful beginnings and endings; incorporating a Christian philosophy of writing; editing with proofreading symbols; revising your manuscript; and publishing your writing.  By the end of the year, students will be well on their way to writing for God’s glory!
With Drawn into the Heart of Reading, students read captivating books, explore nine different genres, learn common story elements, discover Godly character traits, and complete fun activities. This flexible literature program will help your 7th grader become passionate about books, while still teaching necessary reading skills. Based on clear instructions and engaging activities, this innovative program will work with any literature. You can even choose your own books! Or, use our engaging Level 6/7 or 7/8 Book Packs instead! This 7th grade Charlotte Mason curriculum takes a beautiful living books’ approach virtually every subject it can!
Oral and Written NarrationsÂ
Oral and written narrations provide important Charlotte Mason assessments, and Revival to Revolution‘s plans include both! Just as Charlotte Mason recommended, only narrative, living books provide the basis for narrating. In response to their independent history living books’ readings, students write 10-14 sentence written narrations. Next, they use the provided Written Narration Tips to edit their narrations. Written narrations focus upon the whole Reading About History daily reading. This helps students chronologically narrate their way through their living books’ readings. Likewise, students work through the Written Narration Tips one at a time when they are editing. This helps seventh grade students develop strong written narration skills!
In response to the history-based living books read aloud for Storytime, students orally narrate their way through stirring historical fiction, thought-provoking biographies, inspiring nonfiction, and classic literature read-alouds. Students also give oral narrations in response to their inspirational science inventors’ biography readings. Build retelling skills through Charlotte Mason-style oral narrations. As students sift and sort information, they make connections with the text and draw their own conclusions. This 7th grade Charlotte Mason curriculum helps students learn to successfully narrate in both oral and written form!
Charlotte Mason’s Method of Dictation and Grammar
In Revival to Revolution, the Charlotte Mason method of studied dictation is used. In this method, students study the passage prior to having it dictated. This is an important step in learning to visualize the correct spelling of words. All items in the passage must be written correctly, including punctuation marks, before going on to the next passage. Studied dictation focuses on the goal of using correct spelling within the context of writing. Multiple levels of dictation are provided, so you can place your student properly. Rod and Staff English instruction is also included to teach students proper grammar.
Handwriting/Copywork, Common Place Books, and Scripture Memorization
Inspirational daily practice of handwriting is scheduled from a variety of excellent copywork sources. Students keep a Charlotte Mason-inspired Common Place Book. In this special book, they copy anything which is timeless, memorable, or worthy of rereading. It is for copying text and not for original writing. Bible verses, classic poetry, and memorable quotes are written in the Common Place Book in Revival to Revolution.
In their Bible Quiet Time, students use their own Bible to memorize all of Hebrews Chapter 11 and the first part of Chapter 12 through repetition and copywork. Students also copy all of these Hebrews scriptures in their Common Place Books. Two days in each unit focus on a Biblical worldview study called Who Is God? And Can I Really Know Him? With this student-directed, Bible-based curriculum, your children will learn how to use Scripture as a lens through which to view the world around them. They will learn to see everything the way God sees it and to know the truth.
Charlotte Mason-Style Poetry Study and Worthy Words Study Using Primary Source Documents
Revival to Revolution includes a compelling poetry study that enhances the history readings. As students read classic poetry, they will gain a deeper understanding of historic events as they delve into the emotions, actions, and people of the time period. This ambitious, more challenging poetry study will provide an excellent stepping-stone to reading and understanding higher-level literature. Read and appreciate classic poems written by famous poets. Each poem has been chosen for its enduring quality, its ability to withstand the test of time, and its historical significance. Discuss the purpose and context of each poem, examining subject matter and piecing together the intentions of the author. In Revival to Revolution, students will engage with the poetry through intriguing questions, copywork of selected stanzas, connections with history, and pertinent background information about the poets.
Finally, this 7th grade curriculum includes a Charlotte Mason-inspired Worthy Words study. Each unit includes reading Worthy Words from a primary source that directly relates to the history study for that day. A primary source is something that originates in the historical time period being studied. Letters, journal entries, and the text of speeches written during the time period are primary sources. The Revival to Revolution Student Notebook contains all the primary sources needed for this inspirational 7th Grade Charlotte Mason curriculum!
In Christ,
Julie
