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Seventh Grade Curriculum 

“This Is Our Faith”  -a developmental program, based on Scripture and rooted in the teaching of the Catechism of the Catholic Church. Each grade has a particular theme, but all grades study the Trinity, Sacraments, Church, Morality, the Bible and Prayers and Precepts.

Seventh Grade:  Jesus 

Emphasis:  The main theme of the 7th grade curriculum is Jesus Christ. Students study the life, values and teachings of Jesus and are challenged to live a Christian lifestyle.

• Students learn through Scripture to appreciate the sacraments of Eucharist and Reconciliation as  signs of hope.
• Students are encouraged to develop Christian attitudes and behavior for themselves and others.
• Students study Jesus as God’s Son and as a man born of Mary.
• Students will understand and appreciate the trust Jesus had in Himself, in God and in others.
• Students study Jesus' love of his friends, his care for the suffering and his treatment of strangers and outcasts.
• Students will understand and appreciate the way Jesus handled temptations, made decisions and dealt with the problems of life.
• Students become aware of the ways in which Jesus continues to be present in the world, especially in the Eucharist and through the compassionate actions of members of the Body of Christ.

Textbook:

• This is Our Faith. Publisher:  Silver Burdett, Ginn;  Copyright, 1998

Seventh Grade Language Arts

Student Goals:

• Value reading, writing, listening and speaking as life-long processes
• Demonstrate independence and self-confidence as readers, writers, listeners, and speakers.
• Develop strategies for effective reading comprehension.
• Apply the steps of the writing process.
• Set goals and self-assess progress in language arts area.

Textbooks:

• Prentice Hall Literature:  Timeless voices, Timeless Themes
• Prentice Hall  Writer’s Solution
• Seventh Grade Bronze Level, copyright 2002

The textbooks provides integrated lessons in reading, writing, grammar, spelling, and technology, drawing from a wide variety of literary genres including novel and novella, short story, non-fiction, poetry, drama, and American folk tradition.            

See  www.phschool.com. for links to chapters with internet activities and quizzes.

Sometimes the entire class reads the same novel.  Johnny Tremain by Esther Forbes is integrated with the Revolutionary War unit in the 8th grade Social Studies Curriculum.

In addition, a wide variety of age-appropriate literature is provided in the classroom and the school library.  Students are required to read four approved novels per trimester and take Scholastic Reading Counts quizzes on the classroom computer.

Learning Objectives in 7th grade Math Include:

• The student will simplify numerical expressions involving exponents, using the order of operations
• The student will identify and describe the relationship between the subsets of the real number system
• The student will use proportions to solve problems with fractions and decimals
• The student will identify and describe coordinates on a number line
• The student will apply the order of operations to evaluate expressions for given replacement values of the variables
• The student will recognize and use grouping symbols to evaluate expressions
• The student will solve linear equations with variables on both sides of the equation
• The student will use the appropriate properties when simplifying or solving linear equation (reflexive, transitive, addition and subtraction, multiplication and division)
• The student will graph ordered pairs on a coordinate plane (in all four quadrants)
• The student will identify, describe, and verify the relationships between vertical, supplementary, and complementary angles
• The student will investigate and solve problems involving volume of cones and pyramids
• The student will find the area of polygons by subdividing them into rectangles and right triangles
• The student will identify and use ratios and proportions.
• The student will identify applications of transformations to geometric figures (rotations, reflections,  and translations )
• The student will describe, classify, and draw plane figures and solid figures (including prisms, pyramids, cylinders, and cones)
• The student will apply the Pythagorean Theorem to find the missing length of a side of aright triangle
• The student will classify angles and triangles
• The student will analyze problem situations (games of chance, board games, etc.) and make predictions
• The student will interpret and use information displayed in graphs and histograms to make comparisons and predictions
• The student will identify mean, median, mode and range
• The student will solve multi-step equations with one variable
• The student will graph linear equation with two variables on the coordinate plane (using ordered pairs )
• The student will solve problems using formulas and functions
• The student will use a variety of strategies to solve problems
• The student will identify missing/extraneous information
• The student will search systematically for patterns in simple situations
• The student will define the problem to be solved and organize relevant information
• The student will determine known information and identify unknowns and questions to be answered
• The student will select appropriate tools, strategies, concepts, and procedures to construct solutions
• The student will interpret, compare, and contrast information from a variety of sources
• The student will make conjectures and inferences based on analysis of problem situations
• The student will validate thinking and mathematical ideas; test conjectures and inferences
• The student will support arguments and justify results; check for reasonableness of results
• The student will evaluate and reflect on procedures and results by using models, known facts, patterns, relationships, counterexamples, proportional reasoning, and inductive reasoning
• The student will describe a process for collecting information, extract mathematical information from multiple sources (pictures, diagrams), clarify mathematical understanding, and organize mathematical information within given parameters
• The student will clearly and effectively express/present ideas and situation using both everyday and mathematical language appropriate to the audience

Textbooks:  

• Transition Math, Scott Foresman, 1995

Helpful sites:
The Math Forum
Math.com – The world of math online    
Cool Math for Kids

Seventh Grade Science

• The student will identify organisms based on existing classification systems
• The student will classify organisms based on how they accomplish life processes and by similarities and differences in external and internal structures
• The student will analyze basic structures, components and functions of various cells
• The student will identify functions of specialized cells in multicellular organisms (e.g. muscle, nerve, immune-response)
• The student will know that similarities in internal anatomical features can be used to infer degrees of relatedness among organisms
• The student will relate heredity to the process of reproduction
• The student will explain the basic principles of heredity and genetics
• The student will understand that all organisms rely on two primary food composed of microscopic ocean plants, and the other composed of land plants
• The student will understand how populations are categorized by the function they serve in an ecosystem
• The student will describe how sunlight is the major source of energy in an ecosystem
• The student will describe the factors that limit the number of organisms an ecosystem can support
• The student will understand how the interaction among the senses, nerves and brain make possible the learning that enables humans and other organisms to respond to environmental changes
• The student will investigate the interdependence and similarities of organisms and their physical environment (e.g. mimicry, camouflage)
• The student will explain the impact of human societies' use of natural resources on the quality of life and health of different ecosystems
• The student will understand the effects of biological adaptations on species-changes in structure, behavior or physiology-that enhance survival and reproductive success in an environment
• The student will understand how extinction, natural selection and species diversity are results of biological evolution
• The student will design and conduct an investigation that involves systematic observation, making accurate measurements, and identifying and controlling variables
• The student will use appropriate tools and techniques, including the use of computers, to gather, analyze and interpret data
• The student will choose appropriate units for reporting various magnitudes
• The student will keep an accurate and complete notebook for scientific investigations .repeat investigations several times to obtain consistent results
• The student will think critically and logically to make the relationship between evidence and explanations -decide what evidence should be used and account for anomalous data
• The student will seek explanations for conflicting descriptions of the same event
• The student will clearly and effectively express and present ideas and situations using both everyday and scientific language appropriate to the audience
• The student will understand that current scientific knowledge and understanding guide scientific investigations
• The student will understand that scientific knowledge is subject to modification as new information challenges prevailing theories and as a new theory leads to looking at old observations in a new way

7th grade uses the Prentice Hall Science Explorer middle school series. The links below take you to this program series.

Textbooks:

• Cells, copyright 1996
• Parade of Life: Animals, copyright 1996
• Parade of Life: Monerans, Protists, Fungi, and Plants, copyright 1996

Seventh Grade Social Studies

• The student will understand historical time, chronology, and causation
• The student will analyze the historical development of events, people, places, and patterns of life in U.S., World, and WA State history
• The student will examine the influence of culture on U.S., world, and WA State history
• The student will analyze historical information
• The student will be able to organize and record  historical information
• The student will distinguish fact from judgment and opinion; recognize stereotype, compare and contrast historical information
• The student will use and construct maps, charts, and other resources  
• The student will recognize spatial patterns on Earth's surface and understand the processes that create these patterns
• The student will describe the natural characteristics of places and regions and explain the causes of their characteristics
• The student will describe the patterns humans make on places and regions
• The student will identify the characteristics that define the Pacific Northwest and the Pacific Rim as regions
• The student will identify and examine people's interaction with and impact on the environment
• The student will analyze how the environment and environmental changes affect people
• The student will examine cultural characteristics, transmission, diffusion, and interaction
• The student will investigate and explain the economic advantages and disadvantages of WA State's economy as it relates to international economic regions

Textbooks: 

• Pearson/Prentice Hall Geography:  Tools and Concepts, copyright, 2003.
• Directed Media, INC Washington: A State of Contrasts, copyright,  2001.

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