Yoga, Legos, Computer Animation, and Math, Writing, and Reading

It's Mini Term Time!!

Overview and Course Offerings

Every year, the weeks between Thanksgiving and Christmas, the “Mini Term” weeks, are busy ones at Mustard Seed.  There are unique units of study, opportunities for service, the celebration of Advent, and more.  Then, on the last day, we all gather in the evening to celebrate Las Posadas, as led by all our Upper School students.   Here are some of the unique experiences of the season:

Worship:  Advent and Waiting . . .   (8:30 - 9:00)

During the season of Advent, students from Kindergarten through Grade 8 gather together every morning for worship (in the gym).   Each day, we will recall the stories of those Biblical characters who, across the centuries waited in faith for the coming of Christ.

Geography:  Traveling the Ancient World

Each week, students in every classroom will prepare for the upcoming Geography Bee.  In grades 7 & 8, students will read Julius Caesar and review the geography of the ancient Roman empire and contemporary Europe.  Similarly, students in grade 6 will explore the region of Ancient Mesopotamia and the Middle East as they read portions of The Epic of Gilgamesh.   Meanwhile, students in grades 4 & 5 will continue to study the map of North America and as they complete and create regular geography challenges.

Literature : Telling & Dramatizing Old Stories

In December, grades 4 and 5 will engage in nonfiction reading about Native Americans and Pre-Columbian Civilizations.  This will also include reading Native American tales.  At the same time, there will be drama in grades 6, 7, & 8, as students read and perform scenes from the heroic quest of Gilgamesh and Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet. In grades 7 & 8, Shakespeare will be the center of attention, as usual, with the play: Julius Caesar.    In all grades, students will be asking big questions:  What makes an ordinary man a hero? What are the most important pursuits in life? How do we overcome obstacles and make the mark we hope to make on the world? In the end, who and what is most important to us?

Reading and Research:

High Volume Reading:  Two Required Reads for Everyone!

Students will read a book a week, which means two or three books in December.  During the mini-term, two books are required reads and relate directly to the chosen mini-term electives.  

Research, Grade 7 & 8

Seventh grade students will learn and practice effective research and citation techniques in preparation for their History Exhibition in the Winter Term. Students will learn about the importance of citation, ethical use of print and digital sources, and strategies for implementing citation and documentation into their writing.  At the same time, 8th grade students will study the history and form of the Psalms, in preparation for their winter homilies and in connection with their study of Ancient Civilizations.

STEAM - Grades 4 & 5:

This term, the S in STEAM stands for Social Studies. Students in 4th and 5th grade will research the ways a specific Native American tribe interacted with their surroundings and create a visual using art, construction, modeling, and/or a Keynote presentation to share their research.

Mathematics:  Solving Equations, pre-Algebra and Algebra:

In Math, students in every grade will grapple with numbers and push their problem solving skills to new levels.  In grade four, students will delve deeper into data collection, analysis, and graphing.  Fifth grade will continue to refine their computational fluency skills by applying traditional algorithms to real-life math problems.   Sixth graders will work with factors and multiples, learn and use divisibility rules, and use the Sieve of Eratosthenes to identify prime and composite numbers. Seventh Graders will be perfect their skills with negative numbers, fractions, decimals and percentages, as well as solve equations that require more complicated calculations.  Eighth Graders will take algebraic expressions and find numerous ways to restate them using the distributive, commutative and associative laws.  (This sets the stage for their thorough studies of linear and quadratic equations in the new year.)