Grade 7 Curriculum

Grade 7 English guides students through an in-depth exploration of the many roles that stories play in their lives. As writers of stories, students practice using various genres/styles (fiction, non-fiction, personal narrative, memoir, free-verse poetry) to strengthen their understanding of the thought and craft behind storytelling. As readers of stories, students routinely determine whether they are encountering mirrors, windows, and/or sliding glass doors. In addition to identifying their personal proximity to the characters and events in each text, students learn to think critically about the choices that characters make and how those choices relate to the many facets of each character’s identity. 

Students use the Harkness discussion method to present and unpack their observations, inferences, questions, and claims about the stories they read. Working collaboratively to locate and analyze the evidence needed to prove their claims, students discover the relationship between discourse and literary analysis. The skills that students develop around the Harkness table transfer directly to how they go about planning and writing analytical paragraphs and essays. By the end of the year, students have a rich understanding of how stories can help them give shape and meaning to how they define themselves and how they view/treat others.

In Grade 7 math, students use units from Connected Math 3 (CMP3) as the primary course curriculum. Students also have the opportunity to work on extension problem sets that help them think deeply about key ideas of all middle school math. These problems are intended to be difficult; confusion is essential to learning mathematics. Students use Delta Math and IXL to practice their skills outside the classroom. Major topics include probability, linear relationships, samples and populations, and quadratic functions.

Grade 7 science introduces the principles and concepts of biology. Emphasis is on basic biological chemistry, cell structure and function, metabolism and energy transformation, genetics, evolution, classification, and other related topics. Upon completion, students should be able to demonstrate an understanding of life at the molecular and cellular levels. Laboratory exercises reinforce learned concepts and include microscope techniques, fieldwork, and virtual lab exploration.

Grade 7 social studies is based on the theme of “Conflict & Resolution.” The class starts with basic content knowledge and geography; students then use this background knowledge to contextualize the complex themes presented in 20th-century world history. From there, they are encouraged to examine why events unfolded through primary and secondary sources. Students are challenged to see multiple perspectives, how people are socially and politically conditioned, and examine the biases of both sources and ourselves.