Discourse of the Day, The Silver Bullet

The Silver Bullet – Curriculum 7

Seventh Grade: Seventh grade is a transition year. Students will solidify and expand upon things they have learned in their k-6 years, mastering key concepts before advancing to new ones. Students will adjust to changing teachers and classrooms and balancing their workload over the course of a week and a quarter.

Math: Pre-Algebra: Students will be exposed to the early concepts of Algebra such as exponents, variables, and integers; while practicing and solidifying their proficiency in more complex problems of concepts they were introduced to in previous grades. Learning topics will include order of operations, place values, algebraic expressions and integers, the coordinate plane, solving equations and inequalities, decimals, fractions, factors, exponents, ratios, proportions, percentages, linear functions and graphing, spatial thinking, area and volume, right triangles, nonlinear functions and polynomials, data analysis and probability.

Science: This year’s curriculum will focus on life science. Units will cover scientific classification, a more in-depth look at the cell, genetics, biological evolution, natural selection, and the fossil record. Students will also receive a comprehensive course on sexual education.

Computer Science: Web Design: Students will learn the basics of HTML and CSS with the end goal of learning how to design their own websites.

History/Social Science: Students will study the post-Roman civilizations, with an emphasis on the political, cultural, and technological innovations that drove those civilizations forward.

Human Studies: Civics 1: Foundations of Government, democratic principles, introduction to social contract theory, influences on the constitutions, the constitution, branches of government, the rule of law, responsibilities and duties of local, state, and federal governments.

English: Weekly grammar quiz. Students will read and analyze popular pieces of fiction such as The Adventures of Tom Sawyer, The Hobbit, Before We Were Free, The Night Gardner, Call of the Wild, The Little Prince, or Kon-Tiki. Students will write a research paper each term and learn how to compare and contrast the works of different authors.

Foreign Languages: Spanish 1: Students will spend the year solidifying and revising their previous lessons in this subject. Students will focus on interpersonal communications and holding full, fluid conversations in Spanish without being forced to pause and consider their word choice or use hand gestures to communicate their meaning.

Music: Students will perform complex pieces from memory or sight reading. They will compose simple melodies using proper notation and both traditional and non-traditional sounds and sources. Students will be asked to compare and contrast two separate performances of the same work as well as analyze and compare pieces of music from differing genres, styles, and cultures.

Art: Students will perform critical analyses of art, learn how to theme a collection, compare and contrast artistic styles, explain and defend artistic choices they’ve made, and write quarterly exhibit reports. They will learn about scale and space, how to use digital tools in their works, and the basics of photography. Students will learn how to create and present mixed media projects.