Research & Critical Thinking I - 6th Grade
In Research I, students will explore the history of culture, thought, and art while producing creative and thought-provoking academic studies on a variety of topics.
As a part of this class, students will:
read complex and compelling texts
effectively implement and explain evidence and evaluate arguments
craft informed opinions, and support those opinions with evidence from multiple sources
evaluate the arguments of others
locate, evaluate, and synthesize information
construct a well-reasoned argument
write well-crafted essays
deliver eloquent speeches
create multimedia presentations
Develop note taking and summarizing skills
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- By systematically learning and practicing these skills, students will develop academic habits that will serve them for a lifetime. With this in mind, Research I will focus not just on what students learn, but how they learn. The purpose of this course is to provide a rigorous, writing-heavy immersion in fundamental research skills through the accompaniment of cross-curricular subjects (specifically World History and Language Arts). Students will be challenged to not only learn humanities and writing skills, but apply them in practical academic settings with advanced expectations. This course will encourage critical analysis of source documentation to create and develop written and oral academic arguments.
Students will be delving into difficult and challenging texts and resources. They will be asked to question their knowledge and understanding of the nature of thought, learning, language and the meaning of the world around us. We will question, reflect, discuss, and create. This course is intended to take academically outstanding students and give them a strong foundation in academic philosophy, questioning, and interpretation.
TEXTS THAT WE HAVE READ
Allegory of the Cave- Plato
Epic of Gilgamesh
The Odyssey
Julius Caesar- William Shakespeare
Theogony of Hesiod
Assorted Myths
TEXTS THAT WE HAVE READ
Anthem - Ayn Rand
Fahrenheit 451 - Ray Bradbury
The Tragedy of King Richard the Third - William Shakespeare
Selected works of Sir Thomas More, Philip K. Dick, Ray Bradbury, and Kurt Vonnegut
Edgar Allan Poe - An examination and exploration of his collected works
Selected works by Emerson, Thoreau, and Crevecoeur
Research & Critical Thinking II - 7th Grade
In Research II, students will continue the studies they began last year in Research I, with a focus on producing quality academic reasoning, writing, and speaking about a variety of topics.
As a part of this class, students will:
read complex texts
consider evidence and evaluate arguments
craft informed opinions, and support those opinions with evidence from multiple sources
evaluate the arguments of others
locate, evaluate, and synthesize information
construct a well-reasoned argument
write well-crafted essays
deliver eloquent speeches
create multimedia presentations
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By systematically learning and practicing these skills, students will develop academic habits that will serve them for a lifetime. With this in mind, Research II will focus not just on what students know, but how they know.
As a part of this process, we will be tackling some heavy issues, including ethics and ethical dilemmas, logic and argumentation, the purpose of government, and the concept of national identity. We will read closely, think deeply, and debate. Ultimately, we will become better readers, thinkers, and writers.