7th Grade

In the departmentalized 7th grade program, teachers work collaboratively to develop organic cross-curricular connections as they shepherd students through the first year of comprehensive two year high school level courses in English, history, math, science, and Spanish. Students are challenged to become more individually independent and active in their academic experience as they develop strong interpersonal and communication skills in inquiry-based classes. Students participate in a combination of enrichment and elective classes in art, music, technology, performance, and design that appeal to their individual interests and stimulate creativity and collaborative skills.

ENGLISH
Are human beings essentially good, evil, or neither? What, if anything, makes us any different from animals or computers? What, if anything, do we all have in common? In this course, we will explore the essence of human nature through our analysis of both literary and visual texts, history, current events, and our own experience of the world. Our analyses will take the form of critical questioning, class discussion and debate, formal essays, creative pieces, oral presentations, and artistic representations in a variety of media. Central to our intellectual journey will be the development of literacy skills through regular and rigorous close reading, vocabulary assignments, and grammar exercises. By the end of this course, we will have developed the tools essential to read, understand, and write about different texts and the analytical ability to question various views on the nature of mankind.

HISTORY
The first area of focus in 7th grade History is World History from the fall of the Roman Empire to the Age of Enlightenment. While Europe is certainly an area of study throughout various points in the year, the class curriculum also explores civilizations and cultures in the Middle East, North Africa, West Africa, China, Japan, Central America, and South America. Using the text series from McDougall Littell as our primary guide, students first look into how to study history and why studying history is important to understanding our world as a whole, no matter the time period. From there they begin to understand cultural differences as well as realize the interconnectedness of cultures throughout the world as information, ideology, art, technology, and more diffuse from one culture to another. Additionally, students learn to examine places and cultures of the world with open minds while relating events in history to the events of their own lives. Throughout the course of the year, students incorporate expository writing skills on a weekly basis and develop skills in the presentation of information in multiple project forms (posters, artwork, sketches, short films, etc.) at least once per unit as they analyze numerous events in history and their impact on civilizations. The second area of focus is geography. While this certainly emphasizes map skills and learning where places are, there is also significant focus on how geography has shaped cultures around the world as well as our own. In recognizing this, coupled with the history portion of class, students develop cultural sensitivity and civic responsibility.

MATH
In 7th grade math, students focus on pre-algebra as a transition from arithmetic to algebra.  Students move from working with concrete expressions to abstract concepts.  Students review and hone their computational skills in arithmetic and focus extensively on problem solving, utilizing methods such as working backward and inverse operations.  Although functions are not specifically introduced, students understand and learn to describe relationships that exist within problems by using variables and other mathematical notation.  The directions and vocabulary used in algebra become part of students’ mathematical schema, and students learn to communicate through mathematics.  The accelerated section of pre-algebra allows students who have the ability to progress through concepts at an accelerated pace and benefit from more challenging enrichment within the curriculum.  This course provides thorough preparation for high school level algebra.

SCIENCE
The focus of this curriculum is to reinforce student understanding of change, cycles, patterns, and relationships in the living world. Students build on basic principles related to these concepts by exploring the cellular organization and the classification of organisms; the dynamic relationships among organisms, populations, communities, and ecosystems; and change as a result of the transmission of genetic information from generation to generation. 

SPANISH
Seventh grade builds on existing vocabulary and expands grammar knowledge by incorporating irregular verb conjugations in the present tense, commands, the present-progressive tense, and the formation of questions.  Students are able to converse about what they do in their free time, describe their families, talk about household chores, and order in a restaurant.  Teacher instruction in and student use of the target language is amplified.  Students sit in groups to facilitate conversation and comprehension.  Cultural units are designed around student interest and change from year to year.