At a Glance: Seventh Grade at St. Peter s School

At a Glance: Seventh Grade at St. Peter s School Seventh Grade Special Events, Traditions and Celebrations Interscholastic Sports Seventh Grade students continue to participate in interscholastic soccer and basketball games. Riding the school bus with teammates and representing St. Peter s School at away matches gives our oldest students the opportunity to share their talents and sportsmanship with opponents. During Basketball season, our team enjoys the opportunity to have home matches at Old Pine Community Center. Upper School Chorus All Fifth through Eighth Grade students sing in the St. Peter s School Chorus. Regular rehearsals are used in preparation for special performances at Grandparents and Special Friends Day, Celebration of Light, Arts Festival, Harvest Festival and Graduation. Fall Leadership Retreat Each fall the Seventh and Eighth Grades, along with faculty, go on a three day Leadership Retreat. This trip fosters camaraderie and leadership as the students work together to overcome challenges and solve problems. Paired with environmental science learning, the leadership retreat is a favorite privilege for our oldest students. Renaissance Fair Trip The Seventh Grade attends the annual fall Pennsylvania Renaissance Faire where they participate in the Middle School Educational Day. During the trip students have been knighted, played courtly games, created their own heralds for St. Peter s and attended many interactive sessions about this fascinating time period. Washington D.C. Trip

The students travel to the Holocaust Museum to connect history with their reading and studies of the Diary of Anne Frank. Hawk Mountain Located in east-central Pennsylvania, Hawk Mountain is the worlds first refuge for birds of prey. Our students enjoy scenic vistas, 8-miles of ridge and valley trails, a Visitor Center and the chance to observe large numbers of hawks, eagles and falcons as they migrate past the mountain lookouts. Pine Barrens Trip The Seventh Grade travels to southeastern New Jersey for a two-day excursion. The group studies birds, tests water quality, identifies flora and fauna, explores Historic Batsto, and travels to the Woodford Cedar Run Wildlife Refuge. Seventh Grade Curriculum Details Art Painting o Stand-up easel painting for a longer period of time o Using color inks Drawing/sketching o Linear perspective with mechanical drawing tools o Human figure drawing Clay sculpture o Form a clay head or human figure Mixed Media o 3-D sculptures Wood Sculpture o 3-D bridges using popsicle sticks and glue Collage Wire Sculpture o 3-D aluminum wire sculpture o Aluminum wire heads Artist Series o Constructing a study on aesthetically pleasing bridges o Study of bridges French Grammar o Comparisons o Possessive adjectives o Adjective placement and agreement o Irregular verbs - avoir, faire, etre and aller o Near future tense o Interrogative and demonstrative adjectives o Contractions to the and from the

o Stress pronouns o Irregular verbs mettre and venir o Additional regular verbs o Pronoun on o Stem changing er verbs o Reading comprehension o Review of er verbs o Regular ir verbs o Regular re verbs Vocabulary o People o Extended family o Adjectives o Sports and games o Places in town o Instruments o House and furniture o Transportation o Clothing and descriptions o Giving directions o Nationalities o Ordinal numbers Culture o French holidays and traditions o French history and culture History The Renaissance Roots of Democratic Institutions is the content focus that allows the following skills and concepts to be studied: Deepening exploration of culture to understand the influences of religion, science, literature, education and art upon each other. Study the evolution of monarchies, and the importance of alliances and relationships to stability and progress. Exploration of ethical aspects of leadership by examining personalities and achievements of the leaders of the period. Study of the complex relationship between religion and the politics of the period. Study of the concept of precedent and representative self-government in Europe as a means to understanding civil war and revolution. Skill development focuses on the following: The formulation of research questions Formal outlining Use of primary and secondary resources Works Cited List MLA format Utilizing electronic resources to create Works Cited lists Five-paragraph essay writing Test Preparations/Study skills

Developing test preparation skills and habits Developing test taking skills and habits Learning a variety of note taking forms Learning outlining skills Learning how to respond to different types of test questions True/false Short answer Essay/paragraph Language Arts Reading o Vocabulary o Comprehension o Main idea o Inferences o Scanning o Summarizing o Outlining o Skimming o Literary appreciation and analysis Writing o Parts of Speech o Five paragraph essays o Poetry and prose creative writing Text: Language Exercise G Exercises in English Grammar II American Heritage Dictionary The Merriam Webster Thesaurus Literature Beginning in the Seventh Grade, English and History are no longer connected across curriculums. The study of Literature in Seventh Grade focuses on one theme: o The Climb Out of Childhood Literary skills further developed include: o Study of plot structure o Characterization o Theme o Literary devices with a focus on the specific theme of Seventh Grade English. Study of the following selections: o Sounder o The Miracle Worker o Anne Frank: The Diary of a Young Girl o The Adventures of Tom Sawyer o To Kill a Mockingbird

o The Snow Goose o Little Worlds, Short Story Anthology o 101 Famous Poems, Poetry Anthology Math Quantitative Concepts o Square root o Algebraic patterns leading to addition, subtraction, multiplication and division Counting and Numeration o Scientific notation for large and small numbers o Understanding sets of natural numbers, whole numbers, integers, real numbers, rational numbers, irrational numbers, pi and the square root of 2 Measurement o Standard and metric measurement o Measuring distance, volume and area o Temperature in Fahrenheit and Celsius Estimation o Estimating all problems before solving Telling time o Time used as an independent variable Operations o Order of operations, parentheses and brackets o All operations with negative numbers o Properties of all operations Place value o Scientific notation for large and small numbers Word problems o Applying Polya s methods to more difficult multi-step problems Decimals o Decimal notation o Multiplying decimals o Relationships between decimals, fractions and percentages Sets o Sets of whole numbers, integers, real, rational and irrational numbers Fractions o Complex fractions o Fractions in equations Geometry o Types of angles o Measuring volume o Congruence and similarity o Pythagorean Theorem o Constructions with compass, ruler and protractor Algebraic concepts o Combining terms o Functions

o Using variables o Algebraic properties o Formulas o Solving one and two step equations and inequalities Graphing o Predicting outcomes from a graph o Scatter graphs, lines of best fit o Graphing linear equations o Slides, flips, rotations Rounding o Rounding, up, down, and truncating in different situations Probability o Outcome of random events, odds o Relative frequency Factors and Multiples o Prime factorization Equalities and Inequalities o Solving one and two step equalities o Solving one step inequalities Ratio and Proportion o Ratio vs. rates o Formulas for rates o Solving proportions Functions o Graphing linear functions o Dependent and independent variables Calculators o Using calculators for most work including negative and positive exponents Scientific Notation o Understanding powers of 10 and scientific notation o Understanding positive and negative exponents Statistics o Mean, median, mode and range o Collecting/displaying data o Interpreting data Music Singing o All Upper School students sing in the St. Peter s School Chorus Playing Instruments o Advanced hand bells o Orff instruments Music Literacy o A continuation of Orff and Kodaly is used for choral music reading o Creative projects

o Advanced hand bells. Movement o Interpreting music through creative movement o Drama and folk dance Listening o A variety of music from folk to classical to world music is used in the classroom Improvising and composing o Students create music in group projects through singing and playing classroom instruments Form o Identifying forms such as Sonata-Allegro and Rondo form. Style o Study of the Classical Era. Performances o Declamations o Harvest Festival o Grandparent s Day o Celebration of Light o Graduation o Opportunity to perform in recitals o English country, modern American and International Folk Dancing at May Day Science Skills built and/or reinforced over the course of Seventh Grade Science include: o Content reading o Note taking o Test preparation o Research and writing o Observation o Data acquisition (analog and digital) o Graphing and data interpretation o Safe lab practices o Scientific method o Critical thinking o Oral expression o Defining and distinguishing concepts o Discussion of current events o Classification o Using scientific keys o Understanding Latin as applied to scientific naming o Identifying organisms o Structural understanding o Observation o Microscope and slide preparation

o Dissection technique o Off campus study Topics studied in 7 th Grade Science include: o Taxonomy o Scientific naming o Birds of prey o Migration o Extinction o Plant reproduction o Animal reproduction o Mitosis o Meiosis o Sexual reproduction o Human development o Atomic theory o Atoms and elements o Isotopes o Chemical bonds o Polarity o Balancing chemical equations o Acids vs. bases Sports Fitness o Exercises and Stretching o Running/Distance Running o Track and Field 220m, 400m, mile run, broad jumps, hurdles Manipulative Skills o Baseball/Softball/Kickball Throwing, catching, hitting, base running Interscholastic games o Soccer/Basketball Dribbling, passing, shooting Interscholastic games o Floor Hockey o Swimming o Lacrosse Team Sports/Interscholastic Competition o Soccer o Basketball o Softball Technology Office Tools

Use any MS Word or Google Apps for Education document feature without assistance; use help files and online documentation to learn about the use of features Create simple documentation and tutorials for MS Word and Google Apps for Education Use MS Excel and Apps for Education Spreadsheet to perform mathematical functions and create graphs from changing data Use Prezi and similar to create presentations for other classes Design Work with stand-alone tools such as The GIMP to perform advanced photo editing using masks and layers. Create websites with interactive content and embedded media Create three-dimensional models and landscapes using Google Sketchup Design music videos by syncing multiple video sources with original music Research Evaluate online resources by through side-by-side comparison of content Programming o Create simple interactive animations using Macromedia Flash; control program flow with simple Actionscript scripting It is important to note that our Curriculum Committee, with the help of our faculty, is constantly assessing the content of the curriculum. Adjustments are made to keep the curriculum relevant and to address changing needs.