Seventh Grade Curriculum

The seventh grade Life Science curriculum is designed to give all students the necessary skills to transition from elementary life science to high school biology. Students will receive an overview of common themes in life science including, but not limited to diversity of living organisms, structure and function of cells, heredity, ecosystems and biological evolution.  The Scientific Method and SI units are an integral part of this study.  This curriculum is supported by Holt’s Holt Science and Technology: Life Science and other support materials.  This may include, but is not limited to, appropriate guest speakers, field trips, educational video clips/movies, and lab activities.  Students are required to keep an interactive science notebook which allows students to think, record data, and observations, and reflect in the same manner as professional scientists do.

The 7th grade math curriculum is supported by McDougal Littell’s Math Course 3 textbook. This course focuses on rational numbers and their operations, equations and inequalities. Topics from math strands, such as real number properties, geometric formulas, and averages, are introduced early in the course and then integrated and expanded upon throughout. Later chapters include topics such as linear equations and their graphs, properties of right triangles, geometric transformations, and probability. Technology support for course content and standardized test preparation is available at classzone.com. Students will be assessed on daily assignments, supplemental activities, quizzes, and exams.

At the end of seventh grade, students take the Orleans-Hannah Placement Test. The placement test, test averages in seventh grade, standardized test scores, and teacher recommendations are taken into consideration to determine whether a student will take Honors Algebra I or Basic Algebra in the 8th grade.

The seventh grade reading curriculum focuses on developing the student’s comprehension and interpretation skills, as well as increase vocabulary through reading short stories, poetry, essays, and novels. Students identify elements of plot, characterization, and theme and interpret tone, mood, and purpose; students also support their ideas and interpretations with evidence from the texts.  These skills are some of the recently adopted English Language Arts (ELA) Common Core State Standards ( Reading – Literature and Informational Texts, Writing, Listening and Speaking, and Language). Parallel novels include but are not limited to the following:

• The Outsiders
• Roll of Thunder, Hear My Cry
• City of Ember
• A Mango Shaped Space
• Surviving the Applewhites
• Social Studies

The seventh grade Social Studies curriculum focuses on developing the student’s awareness and understanding of the historical significance of events as it relates to heritage and current cultural existence. Students begin to analyze United States’ history in context of its geology, geography, and human interaction. This curriculum is supported by McDougall Littell’s American History: Reconstruction to the Present and other support materials as the teacher provides. This may include, but is not limited to, appropriate guest speakers, field trips, and educational video clips/movies.

The benchmarks in the Physical Education Curriculum are designed to promote each student’s optimum physical, mental, and social development. This curriculum represents a student-centered approach to physical education, consisting of appropriate grade level learning activities that support and encourage physical fitness (basic movement skills; team, dual, and individual sports; physical fitness; rhythm and dance) as well as lifelong physical activities are all addressed.

Exploratory classes initiate exploration in extracurricular areas that encourage well-rounded students and inquisitive learners.  These class may include, but are not limited to, Introduction to Spanish, Art, Bible, Typing to Learn, Introduction to Computers, Character Education, and G.R.E.A.T. programming.