7th Grade Team
7th Grade
October, 2011
Don’t forget - Wednesday, November 2 (during school hours) – Project Safeguard for 7th grade parents and students!
Language Arts with Mr. Fersch just completed their first novel, Stargirl and are getting prepared for the Oratorical Contest. Each student will write a two minute speech on a topic of their choice, memorize it (after writing several drafts), and then perform it in front of their class. In addition, students have been doing a wonderful job on their vocabulary and will also be picking an independent book to read for class.
Math - In Module 1, students are learning mathematical skills that will help them make informed decisions, using ideas from statistics, probability, and algebra. Students have interpreted bar and line graphs, constructed frequency table to create bar graphs, and modeled patterns and tables with graphs, and equations. Presently, they are learning ideas of probability in order to measure the chance of an event to happen and to predict events.
Math Points for Module 1 are due in approximately three weeks. I will keep students and parents updated on Edline with quiz and test grades, Math Points, and deadlines.
Science – We started the year with a quick unit on the eye. We then moved on to space. We have investigated what the planet’s size and distances would be using one scale, if the Sun were the size of a beachball. Surprisingly, we had to move outside to see all the planets. In fact, we had to walk down the road to see some of them. The planet walk starts at the RJH sign and follows along Wallis Road. The planets are painted on the road for viewing (and I did have permission). We have wrapped up the planets by writing a postcard from space. Many students will post these on a Voicethread on their blogs. You can view (and comment) on the blogs at http://tinyurl.com/7thblog.
Social Studies is off to a great start this year. We began by exploring the origins of humans comparing Neanderthals and Cro-magnons. After studying the advancements of the Paleolithic age we moved forward into the Neolithic Revolution watching humans evolve from hunter-gatherers to food producers living in villages. This week we entered into Mesopotamia and discussed the many contributions of the Sumerians, such as the wheel, clock, and lunar calendar, all of which we still use today. They are currently working on creating a map of a Sumerian city-state and discussing the process of villages and city-states becoming an empire.
Throughout the first trimester the seventh graders are participating in a new project called World. Divided into twelve groups students are responsible for creating their own country. To do so they must decide on a name, type of government, geography, and climate. Teams generate points for their country by building its culture. Culture is built by completing a number of projects like writing a national anthem, creating a flag, writing the history, making a timeline, and drawing political and physical maps. Individual grades are determined by the level of participation and amount of points the individual student generates for their country.Using props and pictures, 7th grade French students are learning how to express likes and dislikes with nouns such as: “J’aime bien les frites.” Or “Je n’aime pas les examens.” Preferences about activities will be added. “J’adore sortir avec les amis.” J’aime mieux faire de l’equitation”. Subject pronouns have been introduced and soon regular ER verbs will be studied. Rhyme, songs, skits, video, manipulatives and games will be used to practice the new verb endings. Reminder: Most students need to study vocabulary regularly, not just before a quiz!
7th grade Spanish students have learned how to describe people using the verb “ser” with a variety of adjectives. “Juan es moreno y muy alto.” “Nosotros somos sinceros y simpaticos.” They are able to identify school subjects and use the plural of nouns and adjectives. A guessing game will be played to practice nationalities and “Jeopardy” is an excellent tool to learn how to ask questions such as: “De donde eres?” or “Quien es el muchacho?” We continue to work on listening skills and following directions. Reminder: Most students need to study vocabulary regularly, not just before a quiz!
Last updated: November 1, 2011