Grade 7 Curriculum

Grade 7 is an important year in your child's life. The High Schools look seriously at the Seventh Grade report card for placement and grade patterns.

Homework should take 1 1/2 to 2 hours most nights (some will take longer, some less). Homework is not only written, but includes study time also. Even when there does not seem to be much paper work, there is always an opportunity to study vocabulary, or read further into a text. Starting a project when it is assigned is good practice. Adding extra touches and neatness to work shows effort that is positive.

Tests and Quizzes - Tests will be announced three to five days before they are given. Quizzes may be announced, but not every time.

Homework - Homework is not always individually graded but it is checked and recorded as having been done or not passed in that day. Each student starts the quarter with a 100% quiz grade. By not turning in assignments the 100% drops 10 points each time. Of course, if there are extenuating circumstances, homework can be passed in at a later date.

After School Help - There will be times during the year when a child may need some help understanding concepts missed while absent, or misunderstood in class. Extra help is available. Any student who would like to stay after school and discuss concerns should speak to the teacher and an afternoon will be chosen that is convenient for working together. There may be times that a teacher will ask a student to stay for extra help. Either way, please send your child to school with a note saying that it is fine with you and stating how the child will get home that day.

Service Projects - Grade 7 will be helping replace liturgy and music books in the church again this year. We have plans to work in conjunction with Grade 8 on some projects around the holidays. You will receive more information about our intentions as time gets closer.

Dues - Because Grade 7 is involved with the closing exercises of Grade 8 it is necessary to collect dues ahead of time. You will receive more information about our plans as time gets closer.

Social Studies

In our social studies classroom, we will work to instill a knowledge of our nation’s heritage and unity. The students will have the opportunity to learn the core values of democracy, free enterprise, economics, and the rule of law. Throughout the school year we will explore the concepts of freedom and justice, along with the rights and responsibilities of citizens through the study of the Constitution. We will practice critical thinking skills, debating, and the benefits and challenges of living in a free society.

The curriculum will begin in the 1600s and extend to westward expansion (mid 1800s). In this process we will strive to help our students master the fundamentals of history, geography, civics, and economics.

Text: The American Nation; Prentice Hall (www.phschool.com)

Some of the units included in our curriculum

• The Thirteen English Colonies
• The French and Indian War
• The American Revolution
• The Constitution of the United States
• How the Federal Government Works
• State and Local Government
• Rights and Responsibilities of Citizenship
• The Early Republic
• The Louisiana Purchase
• The War of 1812
• The Industrial Revolution
• Westward Expansion

There will be a final exam in the spring near the end of the school year.

Homework assignments are given weekly. There are two types of homework, written and reading. Just as in the case of science, reading the material is critical to success. However, the Social Studies text is significantly heavier and larger than the science text that we use at St. Mary’s. We will cover the key elements of the text in class and the expectation will be that you need to bring the text home in support of written homework.

No assignment should take more than 30 minutes on a given night, some of the assignments may have more involved questions, but they are given multiple nights to complete these assignments. If a student requires greater than 30 minutes, they should stop and see me in the morning or at the beginning of class. There will be weekly quizzes to assess students’ progress and retention of material and their comprehension of the section objectives and key ideas. Tests will come at the end of each chapter.

Each quarter the students should expect about 10 homework assignments (20%), 10 Quizzes (40%), 2 Tests (20%).

Spanish

The current Spanish curriculum has been adopted with careful consideration of local high school curricula. The goal is to provide a smooth articulation between middle and high school Spanish studies. Effective language instruction in the middle school addresses the unique set of needs and talents that middle school students bring to the classroom. (They are younger, more energetic and less experienced than their high school counterparts.) A variety of resources and techniques for language instruction support the development of middle school students into confident and successful learners.

World language (formerly known as "foreign" language) becomes an essential part of a student’s education as the world becomes a smaller place. The first objective of the middle school program is to help each student to attain proficiency in listening, speaking, reading, and writing within a minimum period of time and in a way that makes language learning a meaningful activity. The second objective is help each student to develop an understanding and respect for cultural diversity by presenting the language within the context of the contemporary Spanish-speaking world and its culture.

Texts:

• Spanish for Mastery (DC Heath and Company)
• En Espanol (McDougal Littell)
• Related ancillary materials

Religious Education

Our mission as a Catholic school is to pass on the Catholic faith so that it is understood, valued, and integrated into the whole student’s life. Throughout the curriculum, students are taught the Gospel values of love, forgiveness, honesty, compassion and service, as well as the difference between right and wrong. While learning about Jesus this year, we seek to awaken students to a personal relationship with Jesus.

Our text for Grade Seven is Blest Are We, The Story of Jesus (Silver Burdett Ginn) . This course centers on the person and the mission of Jesus as they are presented in the Gospels. Students have heard the Gospels at Mass and in earlier religion classes. They now will have the opportunity to study the Gospels from beginning to end. The Story of Jesus is divided into five units with the following themes:

1. The Mystery of the Incarnation. The gospel accounts of Jesus’ birth and early life give us clues to his true identity as the Son of God. The stories also help to understand the holiness to which we are called as Children of God.
2. The Meaning of the Kingdom. Jesus taught us about our relationship with God and revealed the kingdom of God. We are called to spread the Gospel by living the values of God’s kingdom.
3. The Christian Life. Jesus called his followers to model their lives after his. Our call to discipleship involves putting the Gospel first in our relationships with God and our neighbor.
4. The Paschal Mystery. Beginning with the events celebrated in the Easter Triduum, our salvation in Christ was made complete by the coming of the Holy Spirit, which we commemorate with the feast of Pentecost.
5. The Good News. The first Christians, filled with the Holy Spirit, spread the Gospel message throughout their world. The same Spirit calls us to be witnesses of the message of Christ in our world today.

Our school worships together at Mass each month on Holy Days and on particular Saint’s Feast Days. Seventh graders assist at a monthly Mass as readers, servers, and gift bearers . We gather together for prayer on occasions of thanksgiving, celebration, sadness and joy. Each morning, we begin our day with prayer, scripture reading, and respect for our country led by students in the sixth, seventh and eighth grades.

As the family of St. Mary School, an important goal is to help students to be aware of the opportunities and needs of others around them. We encourage them to follow Jesus’ call to serve one another. Some of the ways that children have served others are: donating food to St. Anne’s Food Pantry; collecting winter coats, hats, and mittens for people in need. During Lent, students have earned, saved and donated money to ‘adopt’ students in Haiti to provide them with the opportunity to attend school and to receive one meal a day. One class has made and given baskets of personal items to patients at the Notre Dame Nursing Home as well as making birthday cards for the residents. Another class does the school-wide paper recycling. Last year, students collected items and sent Care Packages to people serving in the military overseas.

Math

The grade 7 class is divided in two groups for math - one works in the seventh grade classroom with Mrs. MacDonough, and the other with Ms. Lordan in the Math Room. At the end of the second marking period, the groups will switch rooms and teachers. Classes proceed at a pace suited to the group's needs and abilities. The text used is Math, Course 2, from McDougall Littell.

Major topics include:

• Number Sense, Patterns, and Algebraic Thinking
• Decimal Operations
• Data and Statistics
• Number Patterns and Fractions
• Operation with Integers
• Equations and Inequalities
• Ratio an Proportion and Percent
• Perimeter Area and Volume

Problem solving activities focus on logical thinking and mathematical writing. Homework will be assigned each class and is extremely important to developing an understanding of the material. The students will use math notebooks to record work or rules as needed, calculators when appropriate, manipulatives that apply, and technology as needed.

Science

The Middle School Science Program here at St. Mary School is designed around scientific understanding of the physical world and the process that is used to gain this understanding. The goal is to provide each student with the opportunity to understand and explore the physical world that we have before us. I look upon science as a tool for discovery, and not an end result. Science is more about asking the right questions, than getting the expected answers. Science cannot answer all questions, but it is willing to ask them. This is the approach that I take into the classroom. The science for grade seven is to consist of five units. For each unit, the students will use one of the Prentice Hall Science Explorer series texts.

The First unit involves the students using the text "Animals" to learn about the life science kingdom of animals. The year begins with the student studying invertebrates. They will then move through the more complex animals as they move toward the more familiar animals such as fishes, amphibians, and reptiles. They will complete the unit by learning about birds and mammals, and animal behavior.

The second unit involves physics, and uses the text "Electricity and Magnetism." In the first section the students will be introduced to the nature of magnetism, natural and electromagnets, and the magnetic fields of our planet. This is followed by a study of electricity. The electricity section will provide the students with an introduction to the topics of electrical current, power generation, batteries, and electronic communication.

The third unit will have the students using the text "Environmental Science". In this unit they learn about populations and communities, and how different organisms interact. They learn about ecosystems and biomes, living resources, and biodiversity. This is followed by a study of the other four main resources of land, air, water, and energy resources.

The fourth unit will have the students using the text "Earth's Waters." This unit begins with an overview of what water is and why it is so valuable. Then they will study fresh water including where it is located, how it is used, and the impact of human activity on it. This is followed by an exploration of the planet’s oceans.

The last unit also involves a study in physics. The students will be using the text "Motion, Forces, and Energy." They begin with the study of motion, and how it is measured. The next section covers the nature of force, including mass and acceleration, friction and gravity, as well as action and reaction. Following this is a section on applying this to fluids. They then will move onto a section on work and simple machines, and finish the year with the study of energy, power, and the nature of heat.

The students will have handouts to support the texts. Homework assignments are given weekly and along with the labs. The lab work is mostly data collection and recorded in a logbook, with the analysis and conclusions portion completed at home. The students are expected to read the current section in the text each night for fifteen minutes and take some form of notes (the bulk of the notes are taken in class). No assignment should take more than 30 minutes on a given night, some of the labs may have involved questions, but they are given multiple nights to complete these assignments. If a student requires greater than 30 minutes, they should stop and see me in the morning or at the beginning of class. They will be quizzed weekly, to assess the students progress and retention of material and their comprehension of the terminology. Tests will come at the end of each unit. Labs will be bi-weekly and are intended to support the material that is being covered in the text.

Each quarter the students should expect about 10 homeworks (20%), 10 Quizzes (40%), 5 Labs (20%), 2 Tests (20%).

English and Literature

In English class, 7th grade students are learning to write a five-paragraph essay, comparing and contrasting two characters from Where the Redfern Grows by Wilson Rawls.

All parts of the writing process are covered. Students will understand topic sentence, body paragraph, introductory, and concluding paragraph construction. Students will learn how to cite sources. This process is a multi-week process involving pre-write, draft, revisions and final draft. Subsequently, 7th grade will continue our writing with a Book Check and accompanying oral presentation. Students are expected to choose an appropriate book and prepare for this assignment with outside reading during the quarter.

During the first quarter students will gain an in-depth knowledge of nouns and pronouns. Following our study of nouns the 7th grade will learn verbs and verb forms.

Spelling and vocabulary lessons are an important part of the 7th grade English curriculum. Students will broaden their vocabulary by incorporating new words into their written assignments.

This year 7th Grade will be reading selections from our new Holt Elements of Literature – First Course anthology. During the first unit students will explore and comprehend prose, fiction and non-fiction. Students will work together in “literary circles” whose members will be assigned to analyze a specific literary aspect. Student insights will be incorporated into whole group discussions. Writing assignments will be coordinated with discussions of the “literary circles”.

As we continue through the school year, students will continue to strive for excellence and improvement in grammar, spelling, vocabulary and writing.

English Syllabus

The following is a brief overview of the material we will cover in English during your seventh grade year.

Vocabulary and Spelling:

Workbooks: Vocabulary Development – First Course, Holt, Rinehart and Winston.

Seventh Grade students will use both the workbook and vocabulary word from literature to expand their comprehension of more challenging vocabulary as well as assess their spelling ability. Each week, students will be assigned a new spelling and vocabulary list in addition to the exercises from their workbooks. At the end of the week, students will be tested in spelling, parts of speech, and definitions of each word. New vocabulary will be incorporated into writing assignments.

Grammar:

Workbook & Text, Writing and Grammar Bronze Level, Prentice Hall

• Parts of Speech:
  • Nouns
  • Pronouns
  • Verbs
  • Adjectives
  • Adverbs
  • Prepositions
  • Conjunctions
  • Interjections
• Parts of a Sentence:
  • Direct and Indirect Objects (Subject Complements)
  • Predicate Nouns and Predicate Adjectives (Subject Complements)
  • Adjective and Adverb Clauses
  • Kinds of Sentences – Declarative, Interrogative, Exclamatory, Imperative
  • Verb Tenses – Forms and usage
  • Capitalization and Punctuation

Writing Skills:

• Styles – Narrative, Descriptive, Response to Literature, Poems, Expository
• Process – Pre-writing, drafting, revising, editing, publishing

Expectations for Home and School Assignments:

1. Every assignment must be turned in on time. If an assignment is late, then the possible grade is based on a score of 89 instead of 100. Therefore, an “A” grade will not be possible with a late assignment unless you have been absent or excused by the school.
2. Classroom behavior matters. When you have shown that you can control your own behavior in class, you will be assigned to do group assignments. Some students will earn this privilege before others.
3. Oral presentations as well as some lengthier writing assignments will count as test grades. Spelling and vocabulary tests will count as quiz grades. Workbook assignments, homework, and class work will be checked. Keep a notebook, please!

Literature Syllabus

The following is a brief overview of the material we will cover in Literature during the first half of the seventh grade year:

Review and test on summer reading (1st week):

• Where the Red Fern Grows, Wilson Rawls
• Petey, Ben Mikaelsen
• The Light in the Forest, Conrad Richter

The objectives of the Seventh Grade Literature curriculum are to encourage a love of reading, to develop vocabulary, comprehension and analytical skills, and to expose students to a range of literature. Using the Holt, Rinehart and Winston anthology, Elements of Literature – First Course the seventh grade will read targeted selections of fiction, non-fiction and poetry. Class assignments and discussions will provide practice in identification and analysis of key components and forms of fiction, non-fiction and poetry.

Writing assignments aligned to literature being read and discussed will be assigned. All phases of the writing process will be reviewed from pre-writing, through to draft, revisions and final copy. Students will be asked to create a variety of written pieces, all of which will reflect the classroom readings.

There will be two Independent Reading Assignments and Oral Presentations. Students will read books of their own choice and report on them following specific guidelines. These assignments will also incorporate an oral presentation where students will practice speaking in front of an audience. Tentative due dates, October 20 and December 5. (Select from attached Reading List).

Expectations for Home and School Assignments:

1. Every assignment must be turned in on time. If an assignment is late, then the possible grade is based on a score of 89 instead of 100. Therefore, an “A” grade will not be possible with a late assignment unless you have been absent or excused by the school.
2. Except for at-home reading assignments, much of your Literature work will be done during class time. I want to observe your writing process to better help you to refine your writing skills. No classroom assignment may be done at home unless specifically assigned by me.
3. If you have worked on a classroom assignment at home, you must bring a copy back to school on a CD or USB drive so that you can continue to work on it at school. DO NOT LEAVE ASSIGNMENTS AT HOME ON YOUR HOME COMPUTER!
4. Classroom behavior matters. When you have shown that you can control your own behavior in class, you will be assigned to do group assignments. Some students will earn this privilege before others.
5. Oral presentations as well as some lengthier writing assignments will count as test grades. Short in-class assignments will count as quiz grades. Homework and class notes on reading assignments will be checked. Keep a notebook, please!

Technology

Technology is integrated across the curriculum in Grades PreK-8. The Massachusetts Department of Education Recommended Instructional Technology Standards can be found here. The following is a sampling of technology use and is subject to change based on new applications and curriculum. Students in Grade 6 through 8 use desktop computers in their classroom and have weekly technology classes using the wireless computer lab. Weekly Computer Activites:

• Create a 3 column brochure using Print Shop- use scanner, add graphics, change font, font color and font size.
• Word processing using Word.
• Internet research using search engines.
• Create a Power Point slide show of up to 15 slides; technology grade based on rubric covering text items, layout, and animations/sound.
• Oral presentations using laptop and LCD projector.
• Writing stories of 5-6 slides using Smart Board software.
• Use Excel for graphing data for science class.