THE MOST WONDERFUL TIME OF THE YEAR!

It is hard to believe that we are already starting the fourth week of the 2013-14 school year at UC Academy! I have really enjoyed getting to know my students and teaching them the subjects that I love!

The most amazing difference in my classroom this year is the installation of an interactive projector, which can be connected to either my laptop or iPad. This has taken my lessons to an entire new level, and I am looking forward to utilizing it throughout the school year!

Another new element for me this year is that I am now the Yearbook Adviser. I have already selected my student staff and have met with them a few times, and we are beginning the creative process of producing an excellent Annual for our Junior High department!

I pray for my students and appreciate their prayers (and the prayers of their parents)! Together, we are going on a journey that will find us different than who we were when we began!

God bless!
Mr. Barnes <><

THE GREAT DEBATE!

Today in 6th Grade History, we had a wonderful debate about whether or not Confucianism is good for society. Some felt that societies needed harsh, enforceable laws to maintain order, while others felt such laws were too burdensome and would make people want to rebel. Both sides did a great job stating and defending their cases!

Confucius

 

BLOOM'S TAXONOMY AS TOLD BY "STAR WARS"

Miss Osinski shared this with me and I think it's great! Enjoy!

"STAR WARS" AND BLOOM'S TAXONOMY

A GREAT DAY!

We had a great day today! First of all, I'm so proud of my 6th Grade Bible students! I just finished grading a test about the entire life of Abraham and the average score was 97.7! It was not an easy test by any means, including four essay/short answer questions. This is one of those moments when a teacher realizes that their students know their stuff! I give additional credit to their previous teachers, parents, and Sunday School teachers & pastors!

Secondly, we had a fun Spirit Team activity after lunch, whereby the teams were required to toss color-specific wads of paper from the upstairs track down into a trash can on the gym floor below. My team won with 11 scores! Way to go, team!!

 

HALF-YEAR UPDATE

HAPPY NEW YEAR! It’s hard to believe 2012 is behind us already, with 2013 sure to bring us new challenges and blessings!

We just finished a very important chapter on Ancient Israel in History, and are now starting to learn about Ancient India. We will be studying about the Harappans and Aryans, as well as Buddhism and Hinduism. We’ll also be learning about India’s first empires, including the Mauryan dynasty. After our academic “Tour of India,” we will start learning about Ancient China! We just completed a group computer assignment on Edmodo.com!

We continue to learn more about God and His revelation to us in my Bible classes. In 6^th Grade, we are finishing up our study of the faith-filled life of Abraham! Last week, my students wrote essays about a time that God tested their families as we studied when God tested Abraham in Genesis 22. In 7^th Grade, we had a great discussion about what it means to be “born again” as found in John chapter 3. We learned about the symbolism of the snake on the staff, which is the universal sign of healing (hospitals and ambulances use it), and how Jesus used that symbol as an example of the Messiah bringing spiritual healing to human beings! We are nearing the end of my time with my first 8^th Grade Bible class, and we just started a study on the book of Romans. We have had a good half year analyzing the writings of the Apostle Paul. I will be re-teaching those lessons to the second half of our large 8^th Grade class!

My 6th Grade History students working on their computers!

THE LATEST...

It's hard to believe, but we just finished our first trimester (12 weeks) and have already embarked on the second one! How time flies when you're having fun!

In History 6, we just started Chapter 3, which is on the ancient Israelites. We will be studying that civilization for the next three weeks, and I look forward to paralleling the historical context with the biblical!

In Bible 6, we are studying the story of Noah, stressing the significance of Genesis 6:22, which tells us how Noah obeyed God despite the huge task of building such a large boat, collecting the animals, and providing enough food to sustain his family and all the animals for the duration of the Flood! We will then spend some time on the emergence of Abraham and his great faith, studying how God turned him into a great nation.

In Bible 7, we have begun a study on the Sermon on the Mount. We just finished examining the Beatitudes ("Beatitude" means "blessed") and Jesus' teaching on the meaning and significance of God's Law. Now we are moving on to the general teachings contained in the Sermon, and what they mean in today's world.

In Bible 8, we have finished our overview of I and II Corinthians and are now starting our study of Galatians. Right now, we are talking about what it means to stand up for the Truth.

I was very encouraged by how our 6th Grade Cartography class went! The students learned the shape and locations of: California, the United States, North America, South America, Europe, Asia, Africa, Australia and Antarctica. The average score on the 50 States test (identifying the states on a line map of the U.S.) was 94%! Good job, 6th Graders!

We have now begun our second Exploratory class, a study on Superheroes for 7th Graders. This is a very exciting class, as you can imagine! Over the next 12 weeks, 7th Graders will learn all about several comic book heroes, focusing mainly on not their powers, but their character. With each hero, we'll be looking for the answer to the questions, "What makes this person good?" and "How can I be like them?" We'll also be examining parallels to ancient mythological characters and applying Scripture to these heroes' character traits. I will be teaching DC characters to two sets of students, while a partner teacher is covering the Marvel characters.

So as you can see, this is a very exciting time in UC Academy's Junior High! Don't you wish you could join the fun??

A RIDDLE:
"Where did Noah keep the bees?"
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"In the Ark-hives!"

MID-TRIMESTER CHECK-UP

We are now in the middle of the first Trimester! Can you believe it? It’s exciting to see all the things my students have learned already!

Before our 8^th Graders visited our nation’s capitol, we finished studying 1 and 2 Thessalonians and are now getting into 1 Corinthians. We are studying these books in the order that Paul wrote them. In the coming weeks, we’ll be studying what the Bible has to say about Christians fighting each other, human wisdom vs. God’s wisdom, and one of my favorite lessons on Christian liberty as defined by Paul in 1 Corinthians 8:1-9:23.

Our 7^th Grade Bible class is studying the Life of Christ as presented in the four Gospels. We have learned about Jesus’ character traits of compassion and holiness, and are moving on to His authority, His temptation (and how we can resist sin—yes, we can!), and what it means to keep Jesus at the center of our lives.

In 6^th Grade Bible, we just finished the first unit on Worldviews. Ask your student what a worldview is—they’ll tell you all about them! We also learned about the three main monotheistic religions: Judaism, Christianity, and Islam. Now, we are beginning to study Genesis and focusing on God’s Creation, the Fall of Mankind, and God’s plan of redemption.

6^th Grade History has been a lot of fun! We’ve gotten in our time machines and have explored ancient Mesopotamia. Did you know that name was created by the Greeks hundreds of years later, and it means “The Land Between Rivers”? Ask your student which two rivers Mesopotamia was between! Now, we are studying ancient Egypt and how they settled in the Nile Valley. Ask your student how the ancient Egyptians were “lucky” in choosing their location, and why the geography made it difficult for hostile armies to invade!

I am really enjoying getting to know these students while teaching them about mankind and our relationship with God! This is only the beginning!