Course Descriptions

Course Descriptions (Grades 6-9)

At First Lutheran, all of our students receive daily instruction in the Word of God and instruction in all other subjects is done in the light of God’s Word.  (All subjects are taught by teachers who teach from a Christian perspective.)  Children are taught the demands of God’s law and are comforted by the saving Gospel of Jesus Christ.  They receive encouragement and instruction to live in service to Christ and others. The curriculum for grades 6-9 at First Lutheran School is designed to provide students with an introduction to the experiences of high school.  These experiences include changing classes, having multiple teachers, and high levels of personal responsibility for organizing and completing work.  Students in grades 6-9 are to serve as examples to students in the lower grades by making God-pleasing decisions and exhibiting through their behavior our motto "Christ At the Center of All We Do!"
Math Health/P.E./Athletics Robotics	Social Studies Science Computer Classes	Art/Band Language Arts Oral Communications
Mathematics in Grades Six - Nine Sixth grade students study place value, metric measure, comparison of numbers, fractions, decimals, percentages, and graphs.   Seventh grade students practice the early studies; expand into graphs, area, volume of geometric figures, and beginning algebra.   Eighth grade students apply formulas to early studies and practice with graphing calculators.  Advanced students may take Algebra I for high school credit.   Ninth grade students will take Algebra I or geometry.   U.S. History/American History is core course for eighth grade students at First Lutheran School.  Beyond the textbook, we delve into some interesting areas.  For example, the students have learned the technique of computer video editing, and have written, directed and starred in their own documentaries.  Cross-curricular activities include art projects which help students understand our roots, as well as a unit on the history of American Popular Music.   Civics focuses on how our government works.  Ninth grade students study all aspects of government over twenty-six chapters.   Art is a part of the curriculum for all students in grades six through eight.  Sixth grade students explore the principles and elements of art as they do fun and challenging projects.  Junior high students meet twice weekly for art; learning art history as well as applied.  During the two years of seventh and eighth grades, art history from the caves at Lascaux to modern day techniques are covered in an overview.  Junior high projects are more in depth and allow the students the opportunity to be creative in a nurturing environment.  Many of our projects have won First Place ribbons in the Western Arkansas Art Assn. contest held each spring.   Band is offered to students in grades six through nine.  This program gives each student the opportunity to participate in instrumental music.  The Band program is divided into several groups.  Currently, we have the Intermediate Band which is grades six and seven, the Advanced Band which is grades eight and nine, the Jazz Band, Jazz Combo, and various small ensembles.  Students participate in the Region II Solo/Ensemble festival each year, and in past years have brought home as many as 43 First Division Ratings.  During the 2004 – 2005 school year, the Band went to Branson, MO and participated in an adjudication and festival.  The students proudly brought home a First Division trophy.   Science at First Lutheran School is designed to teach students the core concepts of science as well as letting them experience a wide variety of educational experiences.  Students will perform laboratory experiments, go on field trips and complete projects that will challenge them and strengthen their understanding of what they are learning.  The sixth grade students cover all four main fields of science, seventh grade students study Life science, eighth grade students study Earth science, and ninth grade students study Physical science.   Health is the study of physical, mental, social, and spiritual health of individuals and society.    Physical Education at First Lutheran School is designed to provide students with opportunities for enjoyment, self-expression, social interaction, to be challenged, and develop life long fitness.   Athletic programs at First Lutheran School are in place to provide our student athletes with the opportunities to develop their God-given talents in a Christ-centered environment.  First Lutheran School is a member of the Arkansas Activities Association.  We provide girls’ volleyball, cheerleading, boys’ and girls’ basketball, and track.   Language Arts Literature, grammar, vocabulary and writing each play a major role in our junior high curriculum.  All junior high students write a research paper.  Students also have pen pals and write letters to them monthly.  We work on improving ability to analyze, interpret and critique literary elements, genre, and literary devices.  Students also read various forms of literature to gain understanding and to analyze purpose, structure, tone, mood, point of view, etc.   Oral Communications This program gives students the skills they need for communicating in daily life, including strategies used for public speaking, group discussion, debate, and parliamentary procedures.  Students will build self-confidence while strengthening abilities to communicate in a variety of situations.  Students will also create a comprehensive portfolio throughout the course.   Robotics Junior high students participate in BEST – Boosting Engineering, Science, and Technology Robotics, they build a robot and compete in Frontier Trails Hub.  At kick-off students are given a kit and a problem the robot must solve.  They have six weeks to build their robot to solve the problem.  They design and build the robot and also design a web page, t-shirt, buttons, a booth and they write a “book” with all of their plans, trials and errors, and designs.  This book also consists of a research paper about the topic of the year.   Seventh Grade Computers – Input Technology Students will be expected to learn touch-typing using proper keyboarding technique, and will learn to format commonly used documents such as letters and reports.  Students will continue to strengthen keyboarding skills as they learn basic features of Microsoft Office applications.   Eighth Grade Computer – Internet Basics/Web Design In the Internet Basics portion of the course students will learn to effectively use the Internet as an educational tool.  Throughout the Web design portion of the course students will learn to use basic HTML, Java Script, and FrontPage to create Web pages.   Eighth grade students will also complete an Internet Safety program presented by the Fort Smith Police Department.  This program is designed to make children aware of how easily personal information can be found online, and how to protect themselves from child predators.   Ninth Grade Computers – Computer Applications This course offers students a hands-on introduction to Microsoft Office 2003.  Instruction will focus on: Mastery of basic features, and familiarity with advanced features of all Office 2003 applications Correct formatting techniques – arranging, placing, and spacing commonly used documents Reinforcing language skills – language skills will be integrated into formatting tasks