Lessons & Exercises

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Week 1

Wednesday, June 5th

INSTRUCTIONS

Read each section conscientiously and complete the exercises for each section. As you read, stop after every paragraph and explain out loud and in your own words what you’ve just learned in the paragraph that you read.

Don’t try to do all of these lessons in one sitting. Complete the first and then take a break. Come back later and complete the second, then take another break. Just make sure to finish all of them within a three-hour period.

At the end of the day, we will discuss what you have learned and I will answer any questions that you may have. May God bless you with an increase of learning, of knowledge, and of wisdom this summer.

1. WORLD HISTORY

Today, all I want to do is getting you thinking about the following question: Why should we study World History anyway? If you don’t have a solid answer to this question, you’ll only study it because you are required to study it so that you don’t get a bad grade. But the goal of your studies is to activate your appetite for learning, and my goal is for you to fall in love with World History so that you study it because you want to, not just because you have to.

In this short reading, I will share four primary benefits of studying world history. In our discussion time tonight, I want to know if you understand these reasons, and if you agree with or not. I’d also love to know if you see other reasons why World History is important.

My reasons are as follows:

The study of world history can create thankfulness in us by helping us see and understand the many benefits and privileges of living in our time.

The study of world history can create caution in us by helping us recognize the major pitfalls people of the past fell into, and the devastating consequences of these decisions.

The study of world history can inspire us to pursue higher accomplishments in our lives by connecting us to the stories of unlikely heroes and victories against all odds.

The study of world history can inform our vision of the future by helping us see our present as part of a trajectory that began long before our time.

Let’s unpack each of these.

First, what are some examples that you can think of that illustrate the benefits and privileges of living in our time, as opposed to previous eras of World History?

One significant benefit of living in our time is modern plumbing and sanitation. Imagine the unsanitary conditions in ancient cities before the advent of modern toilets and sewer systems. In Ancient Rome (about 2,000 years ago), despite their advanced engineering, many households and buildings had private cesspit toilets that had to be emptied by hand. The public latrines (basically public bathrooms where the common people went to poop), though connected to the main sewers, were notorious for their filth and potential health hazards, such as rats and explosions of mephitic gas (like hydrogen sulfide or methane that result from the decomposition of organic matter). The streets were often filled with animal poop, garbage, and other waste, making the city smell intensely unpleasant.

Another significant benefit that comes to mind, as an African American, is living in a post-slavery world. While my great-great-grandparents were enslaved and my great-grandparents lived through the Reconstruction era, each generation of our family has achieved more than the previous one. This progression means that the life I am able to provide for you, my precious daughter, is better than what all the generations before you experienced. It is a testament to the resilience and progress of our family and our community. Furthermore, the life you will be able to provide for your children will surpass the life we have provided for you, continuing this legacy of improvement and opportunity. This progress fills me with hope and pride, knowing that the sacrifices and struggles of our ancestors have paved the way for a brighter future for you and your descendants.

A third significant benefit that comes to mind is modern technology, which drastically improves the quality of our lives. Communication technologies allow us to connect with people all over the globe in incredibly personal and immediate ways, bridging distances that once felt insurmountable. Transportation technologies enable us to travel far and wide with a swiftness that previous generations could only dream of, making the world more accessible than ever before. Additionally, information technologies provide us with fingertip access to a vast shared knowledge base, exponentially surpassing the knowledge contained in thousands of libraries. These advancements not only enhance our daily lives but also foster global collaboration, innovation, and understanding, creating a more interconnected and informed world.

Exercise Time

I hope you enjoyed and were inspired by this short reading. Now it’s time to do a quick exercise before moving on to the next section. You can complete the exercise by

clicking here⁠

2. GEOMETRY

Now we will dive right into our first geometry lesson. To make this easy, I’ve located

a YouTube video⁠

that explains all that you’ll need to know in order to complete today’s exercise. Watch the video, but stop at 3:35. This portion of the video will teach you about Lines, Segments, and Angles.

Exercise Time

Now that you have finished the video, take a few minutes to complete today’s exercise by

clicking here⁠

3. ENGLISH GRAMMAR

There are two important categories for understanding English grammar: Parts of Speech and Sentence Structure. When we speak of parts of speech, we are categorizing each word within a sentence (e.g., nouns, verbs, pronouns, adjectives, adverbs, articles, conjunctions). When we speak of sentence structure, we are describing the way words function within a sentence to convey clear and correct meaning (e.g., subjects and predicates, sentence types, verb tenses, and punctuation).

Since you are a native English speaker, you naturally understand both of these tasks quite intuitively. For example, if I were to ask you whether or not the following sentence is grammatically correct, you would undoubtedly know the answer immediately:

“Why is our children so ignorant about the subject of English grammar?”

I’m sure you immediately noticed that the word “is” is incorrect. You likely knew right away that changing “is” to “are” corrects the grammar of the sentence. But do you know why? English grammar provides a set of rules that explain why certain words are correct in specific contexts and incorrect in others.

Your command of English grammar directly contributes to your powers of communication, and can enable you to present yourself in a professional manner.

Exercise Time

Today’s exercise will be short and sweet; it’s designed simply to help me determine what you already know. You can find and complete it by

clicking here⁠

4. Spanish 2

For the Spanish portion of our study, we will work to expand your vocabulary and help you use words in sentences. You may already know many of the vocabulary words that we cover, which is good.

New Vocabulary

Learn and memorize the following three new words by saying each of them out loud 8 times:

Viaje - Trip

Aprender - To learn

Comida - Food

Grammar Lesson

Conjugate the verb aprender (to learn) in the present tense by saying each form of the verb out loud 8 times, along with its translation.

Yo aprendo - I learn

Tú aprendes - You learn

Él/Ella/Usted aprende - He/She/You (formal) learns

Nosotros/Nosotras aprendemos - We learn

Vosotros/Vosotras aprendéis - You all learn

Ellos/Ellas/Ustedes aprenden - They/You all (formal) learn

Short Story

Read the following short story:

Title: "Un día en el mercado"

Story: Ana fue al mercado de su barrio. Compró frutas frescas, verduras y una deliciosa tarta. Mientras caminaba, vio a su amigo Carlos, y hablaron sobre sus planes para el fin de semana. Ana le contó que iba a aprender a cocinar una nueva receta. Después de un rato, Ana regresó a casa muy contenta con sus compras.

5. Physics

We will begin learning physics by studying the contents of

this YouTube video⁠

. Today your job is to watch up to 6:38, then stop the video and go to (or call) someone and explain the concepts that you learned in the video in your own words. Then come back here and continue with the section below.

Recap of Lesson

So to recap, the video starts with explaining the difference between distance and displacement. Distance is a scalar quantity and it only has magnitude. Displacement, on the other hand, is a vector quantity and it has both magnitude and direction.

Distance: This is how much ground you cover, no matter which direction you go. It's just a number (magnitude) without any direction.

Displacement: This is how far you are from your starting point, considering the direction. It's a number (magnitude) plus a direction.

Example:

If you walk 8 meters east and then 3 meters west:

Distance: You walked a total of 11 meters.

Displacement: You are 5 meters east from where you started, because you moved back a bit.

Exercise Time

Now that you understand this concept, you are ready to complete today’s exercise by

clicking here.⁠

⁠

6. Bible

Scripture Passages:

Exodus 24:12 (NKJV)

"Then the Lord said to Moses, 'Come up to Me on the mountain and be there; and I will give you tablets of stone, and the law and commandments which I have written, that you may teach them.'”

Exodus 31:18 (NKJV)

"And when He had made an end of speaking with him on Mount Sinai, He gave Moses two tablets of the Testimony, tablets of stone, written with the finger of God."

Exodus 32:15-16 (NKJV)

"And Moses turned and went down from the mountain, and the two tablets of the Testimony were in his hand. The tablets were written on both sides; on the one side and on the other they were written. Now the tablets were the work of God, and the writing was the writing of God engraved on the tablets."

LESSON

This summer you will begin learning the Bible in a deeper way than you’ve ever learned it before. But what you will learn of the Bible is the story of the Bible. This summer, we will focus on the Old Testament, and in a future session, we will study the New Testament together.

At first, it might seem odd to you that we are beginning the story in Exodus 24, rather than Genesis 1. But we are beginning here for a very important reason: to underscore and emphasize the fact that the first words of Scripture were not written by a man; they were written by God. This moment here on the mountain was the beginning of Scripture, the beginning of God speaking to human beings through the agency of the written word. And this experience Moses had on the mountain with God changed the world forever.

So, what happened? Well, Moses was born an Israelite slave in Egypt but was adopted by Pharaoh’s daughter and raised in Pharaoh’s house. When he grew up, he tried to deliver Israel from slavery but completely failed in his mission and ended up running for his life into the wilderness of Sinai. There in the wilderness, he found a family, married a wife, had children, and got a job from his father-in-law leading a flock of sheep around the desert, looking for water and food.

One day, as he is tending his flock, he sees a bush burning on the side of the mountain but notices that it doesn’t burn up. So he hikes up the mountain to figure out what he was seeing. As he approached the burning bush, the voice of God speaks to him from the bush. “Moses, Moses.” And God went on to tell him that He was the God of his father, Abraham, and that He was sending him to Pharaoh with a simple message: “Let my people go.”

We will cover this story in more detail later, but suffice it to say, Moses obeyed God and went, and after the ten plagues, Pharaoh let Israel go. Moses led them through the Red Sea, which God parted for them, and then brought them back to Mount Sinai, the same place where he had seen the burning bush. And there on that mountain, God revealed Himself to the whole congregation of Israel, more than 1.5 million people! Whereas God spoke to Moses out of a burning bush, He spoke to the whole congregation of Israel out of a burning mountain!

Then God called Moses up to the mountain, which was covered in a thick cloud of smoke (which was God’s glory). Moses obeyed the voice of God and walked into the cloud, disappearing from the view of the people. He hiked all the way up to the top of the mountain, and there he spent 40 days with God with no food or water. It was during this time that the finger of God carved the Ten Commandments into the tablets of stone. God gave Moses the tablets and then sent him back down the mountain to the people.

We will cover the rest of this story in more detail in a later session, but what is important to know today is that the Ten Commandments were written by God. And this means that the first words of Scripture were written by God and not by men. Moses then takes the people of Israel into the wilderness of Sinai, where they wander for 40 years. During that 40-year period, Moses writes the books of Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, and Deuteronomy. And it is in the wilderness of Sinai during these 40 years that the people of Israel hear the stories of Adam and Eve, of Cain and Abel, and of Abraham and the patriarchs.

The first five books of the Bible (Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, and Deuteronomy) are called the Pentateuch because they are the five Books of Moses. The term "Pentateuch" comes from the Greek words "penta," meaning five, and "teuchos," meaning scroll or book. Beginning the story with Moses provides us with the opportunity to go back to Genesis 1 and hear the story as the wilderness wanderers of Israel would have heard it as it came to them through Moses.

SCRIPTURE MEMORY VERSE

Begin memorizing this verse by breaking it into two or three parts and then reciting each of those parts 8 times. Then try to put the whole verse together and recite it 8 times.

Exodus 31:18 (NKJV)

"And when He had made an end of speaking with him on Mount Sinai, He gave Moses two tablets of the Testimony, tablets of stone, written with the finger of God."

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