Grade 7
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| Teachers: |
Sarah Boland • Tali Marotz
Dr. Lindsey Polizzotti • Pamela Aranov |
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| Room Parent(s): |
Sue Callum
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| Recess: |
| 12:25 – 12:45pm |
| Lunch: |
12:50 – 1:10pm
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| Specials: |
Art:
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Wednesday – 10:45-11:32am
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| Music: |
| Thursday – 11:35am-12:22pm |
Physical Education:
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Monday – 11:35am-12:22pm
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Tuesday – 1:13-2:00pm
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Back to "In the Classroom"
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Classroom News
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Math
Language Arts
The seventh grade language arts curriculum encompasses four main areas of study: grammar, vocabulary, literature, and composition. The focus this year in grammar is on parts of speech and sentence structure. Grammar skills learned are continually reinforced through written work. The emphasis behind the study of vocabulary is increasing students’ word bank, improving reading fluency and enhancing reading comprehension. A vocabulary unit is assigned every two weeks, and the students learn the part of speech, spelling, and definition of each word assigned; synonyms and antonyms are also discussed. Also, to further expand their vocabulary, the students are learning root words.
The literature and composition strands are intertwined throughout the seventh grade year. The seventh graders are currently reading The Outsiders by S.E. Hinton. Through detailing the story of two rival gangs, one rich and one poor, the novel examines the themes of friendship and belonging
Social Studies
The focus this year in social studies is on the ancient world. As the students study the ancient civilizations of Mesopotamia, Egypt, Greece, and Rome, they direct their attention to five guiding questions:
1. What methods do people use today to try to understand cultures of the past?
2. How did physical geography affect the growth of ancient civilizations?
3. How did the beliefs and values of ancient civilizations affect the lives of their members?
4. How did civilizations develop a government and an economic system?
5. What accomplishments is each civilization known for?
Every other Friday is "Current Event Fridays." The students are responsible for bringing in a typed summary of a news event they read in the newspaper or online OR heard on a news program.
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Jewish Studies
The Book of Joshua
After the death of Moses, Joshua took up the mantle of leadership, leading the Israelites into the Promised Land. The book provides an overview of the military campaigns to conquer the land. The students continue to explore the original text in Hebrew and English with reference to various commentaries. During the months of February, March and April, chapters 8-13 will be studied. Ethical issues and other aspects of the Israelites life are emphasized. During discussions, the students are tasked to tie together past and present issues, thus making it relevant to their personal experiences and current events.
Jewish Holidays
During the next few months, the students will explore the significance of Tu B’Shevat, Purim and Passover. They will learn about the beliefs, practices and customs that make up the historic faith of Judaism.
Jewish holidays and customs began thousands of years ago. It is clear that in every era of history and across the world, rituals and ideas have changed in accordance with the needs of the day. The students learn that despite the changes, the timeless core of the Torah has always been retained.
Hebrew
We are completing the Hebrew biography of Eli Cohen (Miragel 088) and are realizing the tremendous influence that Eli Cohen had in protecting the State of Israel by saving it from impending disaster in the Six Day War. We are concentrating on our writing and grammar skills and increasing our accuracy in possessives, conjugation of verbs and composition. We use Yesodot Halashon as our grammar guide.
Science
During January, we continued the Water Unit, investigating procedures for identifying contaminants in water, determining the source of contamination, and the steps involved in purifying water by removing the contaminants. Students also engaged in an in-class project where they utilized the engineering design process and a budget to build a device to safely deliver an egg from a two story window to the ground without breaking. The students really enjoyed this project and the majority of students were able to safely deliver their egg to the ground. We are continuing the water unit by learning about acid and base chemistry and experimenting with chemical reactions. In the month of March we will begin a new unit on energy. We will investigate the types of energy and how energy is transferred from one form to another.
Math
The students are doing great with the Pre-Algebra curriculum this year. We ended 2011 by playing dreidel and began a discussion on probability, percent, and fractions which were further reinforced in the following chapters. During the month of January, students were able to complete chapter 5 on rational numbers, converting between fractions and decimals, and expanding their knowledge of fraction rules to include variables. We will finish the second unit following the completion of chapter 6 on ratio, proportions, and probability.
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