Welcome Seventh Graders
Religion:
The 7th Grade Religion curriculum focuses on the Story of Jesus: his birth, early life, relationship with God, his followers, teachings, and call to discipleship. Our Religion program also includes the Family Life curriculum. Within the Family Life curriculum, the Safe Environment lesson is taught (Charter for the Protection of Children and Young People, Article 12), as required by the Diocese of San Jose Department of Education. The students also attend one morning Mass each week.
Language Arts:
The new Study Sync Language Arts program is used for seventh and eighth grade instruction in literature. The program is online which gives students access to reading materials and videos that highlight the literary concepts and comprehension strategies that correspond to students' current selections. One highlight of the program is that it is useful for giving students instant feedback on their classwork. The program has content for students in grades six through twelve. It encourages students to work at a level that will encourage growth. Students explore pieces of literature in the 7th Grade. They become accustomed to learning vocabulary words through the text in which they are used.
The writing curriculum in seventh grade explores multiple genres over the course of the year, including response to literature essays, narratives, persuasive essays, research reports, and public speeches. The rigor in grammar is extensive. Students are asked to explore the roles of words to the most technical of details while often providing their own original examples.
Math:
Seventh grade math focuses on four critical areas. First, students begin developing an understanding of and applying proportional relationships. Second, students build on their understanding of operations with rational numbers and working with expressions and linear equations. Third, students practice solving problems that include scale drawings. They practice working with two and three- dimensional shapes to solve problems including area, surface area, and volume. Lastly, students learn how to make inferences about populations based on samples.
Science:
The focus of seventh grade science is life science. Cellular biology, genetics, evolution, and the structure and function of living systems are explored. Students learn about cell division, the difference between plant and animal cells, and how photosynthesis occurs. In genetics, students study inherited traits, alleles, DNA, life cycles and reproduction. The anatomy and physiology of plants and animals is explored as well. The reasoning used by Charles Darwin in reaching his conclusion that natural selection is the mechanism of evolution is studied in seventh grade. Students learn how to construct a simple branching diagram to classify living groups of organisms by shared and derived characteristics.
In the Spring, junior high students participate in the school Science Fair. Students work individually on an original scientific experiment. The project will include a written report and all of the components of a scientific experiment. Projects allow students to experiment, form and re-form hypotheses, test hypotheses, make conclusions and most importantly, learn more about themselves and the world.
Social Studies:
Students in 7th Grade study the social, cultural, and technological changes that occurred in Europe, Africa, and Asia in the years A.D. 500–1789. After reviewing the ancient world and the ways in which archaeologists and historians uncover the past, students study the history and geography of great civilizations that were developing concurrently throughout the world during medieval and early modern times. They examine the growing economic interaction among civilizations as well as the exchange of ideas, beliefs, technologies, and commodities. They learn about the resulting growth of Enlightenment philosophy and the new examination of the concepts of reason and authority, the natural rights of human beings, the divine right of kings, experimentalism in science, and the dogma of belief. Finally, students assess the political forces let loose by the Enlightenment, particularly the rise of democratic ideas. They also learn about the continuing influence of these ideas in the world today.
Technology:
There is a ratio of one to one Chromebooks on which the seventh graders take notes, complete online homework assignments, assessments, and classroom projects. The teacher is able to view their work, monitor their progress, and communicate easily through these devices. Many assignments are completed collaboratively through the use of the Chromebooks, and because everything they do is online, students are able to access their work from any computer.
Art:
Students in Grades 4-8 receive 1 hour of Art instruction per week with an Art teacher. There is a weekly music class taught by the school music teacher and two annual music concerts.