Torchlight’s Level 3 curriculum for learners ages 8-12 is entitled Innovation & Inquiry. In Level 3 we are moving into the early modern era where we see the sparks of innovation start to burn bright. Looking at the flourishing art scene and honing our own artistic skill will prepare us to take on the task of art curation. Recreating historical meals will give us a look into daily life and polishing up our handicraft skills will allow us to experience the joys of historical handmade goods. Top it all off with becoming the apprentice to a clever and quirky town inventor who will task us with fun and fantastic challenges that let us flex our creative and logical skills in a safe environment where “fail and fix” is the motto.

Working with our Level 3 theme of innovation we will be studying artists and their works, being introduced to innovators throughout history, both inventors and problem-solvers, and learning all about the value of failure and perseverance. Hands-on activities are prolific in Level 3, allowing learners to play with, recreate, and experience the innovations they will be discovering.

Level 3 literature will be introducing perseverance, some of society’s historical failures, philosophy, creativity, and standing up for what is right, among other themes. Each of these will be approached using Torchlight’s Literature Primers, which provide insight into the books value, vocabulary, possible concerns to watch for while reading, and inquiry-based discussion opportunities that will prepare you without tying you to a script, making for more natural and authentic conversations. We will join a robot on his journey of adaptation and belonging, learn the value of innovators breathing new life into old stories, and how past progress sometimes comes with a price.

Science will be an integrated approach using the new Scientific Connections through Inquiry and a collection of the amazing Science Comics series. We will introduce robots and drones, the solar system, how cars work, and wild tendencies of our weather here on Earth.

We will continue to view the early modern world through the life of a child using A Child Through Time to help learners relate and make historical studies accessible. The incredible maps in When on Earth? Will bring visual clarity to complex history and geography.

Paint will be our artistic supply of choice for Level 3. While we learn about artists of the era and beyond, we will scratch our own artistic itch with weekly art projects using artistic works as inspiration, so make sure to have lots of quality paper, canvas boards, and paint on hand!

Level 3 poetry will be providing you with a choice. As we read and learn about the plays (and conspiracy theories) of William Shakespeare, your learner’s first option will be to take on passages from his plays using a special book written to allow young learners to understand and memorize Shakespeare.  If you would rather listen to these passages, but memorize something completely different, we’ve got you covered! A lovely poetry selection from famous young-reader poets inspired by paintings from the Metropolitan Museum of Arts and a book featuring not only poems, but science facts about the most extraordinary of birds will take its place.

Get ready for a fun and triumphant year of learning with Torchlight Level 3: Innovation & Inquiry!