Forms 4 and 5 (7th-8th grade and 9th-12th grade) will read apologetics independently (perhaps after hearing an apologetics lesson with the family). The subjects that Form 4 and 5 students are studying are lined up with the topics in the main book Forms 1, 2 and 3 students will be learning from.
Ask Form 4 and 5 students to journal what they have learned about.
If your student plans to compete in NCFCA (National Christian Forensics and Communications Association) in apologetics, she will want to write down each subject on a 4x6 index card and keep these cards in a box. She will write verses, quotes, thoughts, and stories on these cards. To prepare your student for giving such a speech, teach her the basic outline of a speech:
Give an interesting introduction. Explain what you are going to talk about.
Share your three main points, with quotes and Scripture.
Close the speech with a conclusion and tie your introduction into it. Reiterate the three main points of your speech. End with "Thank you."
Give your student a random apologetics topic, set the timer for a four minute preparation time, and then have her give a six minute speech about the topic to the family. At first, her speeches may be short--but keep practicing!
Even if your child does not plan to compete in apologetics speeches, this is such an important life subject!
Note that Form 4 and 5 students have weekly apologetics homework as well as worldview reading. At STAR Homeschool Community, Form 4 and 5 students will be reading all of the books on this syllabus and discussing them in class. If you are using this curriculum at home, you may choose which books you would like your student to read, or, whether you would like to read a book alongside your student.
Note that students in STAR Homeschool Community will also be studying Bible, Enrichment, Hymns and Survival topics in their morning Apologetics and Worldview class. These students will be combined in a Form 4 and 5 Apologetics class this year, and their syllabus is attached as a Daily Schedule.
Form 4 Apologetics and Worldview
There are currently only two reading plans for Form 4 Apologetics, so the reading plans for Cycles 1 and 3 are the same, and so are the plans for Cycles 2 and 4, with one exception: the topics in Fearless Apologetics. Since Form 4 is really only 7th and 8th grade, it makes sense to have two alternating schedules for all of the other apologetics and worldview books.
The apologetics reading schedules really take every Form through the same apologetics question at the same time, but using books at their own level. Fearless Apologetics is the core text that Form 4 and 5 students will use every year to get through these topics.
Students will come across a topic more than once over their education, but they will use different resources, and the hope is that their own brain would begin to make some beautiful connections.
Forms 4 and 5 (7th-8th grade and 9th-12th grade) will read apologetics independently (perhaps after hearing an apologetics lesson with the family). The subjects that Form 4 and 5 students are studying are lined up with the topics in the main book Forms 1, 2 and 3 students will be learning from.
Ask Form 4 and 5 students to journal what they have learned about.
If your student plans to compete in NCFCA (National Christian Forensics and Communications Association) in apologetics, she will want to write down each subject on a 4x6 index card and keep these cards in a box. She will write verses, quotes, thoughts, and stories on these cards. To prepare your student for giving such a speech, teach her the basic outline of a speech:
Give an interesting introduction. Explain what you are going to talk about.
Share your three main points, with quotes and Scripture.
Close the speech with a conclusion and tie your introduction into it. Reiterate the three main points of your speech. End with "Thank you."
Give your student a random apologetics topic, set the timer for a four minute preparation time, and then have her give a six minute speech about the topic to the family. At first, her speeches may be short--but keep practicing!
Even if your child does not plan to compete in apologetics speeches, this is such an important life subject!
Note that Form 4 and 5 students have weekly apologetics homework as well as worldview reading. At STAR Homeschool Community, Form 4 and 5 students will be reading all of the books on this syllabus and discussing them in class. If you are using this curriculum at home, you may choose which books you would like your student to read, or, whether you would like to read a book alongside your student.
Note that students in STAR Homeschool Community will also be studying Bible, Enrichment, Hymns and Survival topics in their morning Apologetics and Worldview class. These students will be combined in a Form 4 and 5 Apologetics class this year, and their syllabus is attached as a Daily Schedule.
Form 4 Apologetics and Worldview
There are currently only two reading plans for Form 4 Apologetics, so the reading plans for Cycles 1 and 3 are the same, and so are the plans for Cycles 2 and 4, with one exception: the topics in Fearless Apologetics. Since Form 4 is really only 7th and 8th grade, it makes sense to have two alternating schedules for all of the other apologetics and worldview books.
The apologetics reading schedules really take every Form through the same apologetics question at the same time, but using books at their own level. Fearless Apologetics is the core text that Form 4 and 5 students will use every year to get through these topics.
Students will come across a topic more than once over their education, but they will use different resources, and the hope is that their own brain would begin to make some beautiful connections.
Form 5 Apologetics and Worldview
There are four reading plans for Form 5 Apologetics and Worldview: one for each Cycle. The apologetics reading schedules really take every Form through the same apologetics question at the same time, using books at their own level. Fearless Apologetics is the core text that Form 4 and 5 students will use every year to get through these topics.
Students will come across a topic more than once over their education, but they will use different resources, and the hope is that their own brain would begin to make some beautiful connections.
How to Teach Apologetics
Read an apologetics lesson aloud in a comfy location.
Pick one child (and rotate each time) and ask that child what he or she heard. (This is called Narration).
Have older children write about these subjects in a journal or on an index card if they plan to compete in NCFCA (National Christian Forensics and Communications Association).
That's it! If you would like to schedule independent reading for your children, you may do that as well.
If your children are particularly interested in something they have heard in the day's reading, explore it! Go to the library and pick up more books on the topic, or do a little research online. You may want to add more apologetics books to your home library for extra research.
Using Apologetics to Teach Language Arts
You may wish to use apologetics to teach language arts to your children, as well. This is how:
Penmanship, Spelling and Grammar
Choose a sentence from your apologetics book and write or type it out for your child to see.
Have the child copy the sentence in their best handwriting onto lined paper.
For older children, choose more than one sentence or an entire paragraph. This is called Copy Work.
Spelling, Grammar
Choose a sentence from your apologetics book with no more than three words that might be difficult for your child.
Have your child stare at the sentence for a minute or so. Ask your child to form the words in his mind, and to focus on the words he does not know.
Hide the sentence and hand your child a whiteboard and a pen.
Read the sentence aloud and have your child write what he hears.
If your child spells a word incorrectly, erase it right away and write it correctly so that the correct spelling is what sticks in his mind.
If your child struggles with this sentence, try an easier sentence the next day, or work with the same sentence again until he grasps the words.
This is called Dictation.