7th grade curriculum

Religion – Seventh grade students study God’s Word beginning with the New Testament. In this yearlong, 60 lesson study, they explore God’s loving action in the lives of His people. Students will be led to grow in: social, psychological, intellectual, and spiritual dimensions.  Each lesson includes: worship connections, learning facts and the truths of the Bible, and memory work.

ELA:  English Language Arts is broken into three main blocks throughout the week – a reading block, a writing block, and a word study block.  Each block begins with a short mini-lesson led by the teacher, followed by guided and independent practice, and concludes with the class regrouping to review the skill for the day.  The following skills are mastered in each block (keep in mind that this is a sampling only):  Reading Block – The following genres are explored:  fiction, non-fiction, autobiographies, biographies, poetry, drama, science fiction, and historical fiction.  The following literary terms are defined and discussed: simile, metaphor, idiom, symbolism, character motivation, irony etc.  Writing Block – The following writing pieces are mastered and entered into the students’ portfolio:  a variety of poetry, personal narrative, expository, cause & effect, comparison & contrast, opinion statement, and research reports.  Word Study Block – New vocabulary, antonyms, synonyms, affixes, analogies, and root words.  Grammar, punctuation, spelling and an emphasis on editing is practiced. The New York State Standards are a foundation and paramount in all planning.  The NYS Testing Program is administered

It is the hopes and aspirations of the Holy Ghost educators to witness the fruits of their joint efforts to produce students that upon completing the Middle School English Language Arts program possess the following skills:  

• Speak with conviction
• Listen with understanding and compassion
• Write with clarity and persuasion
• Read with comprehension and enthusiasm
• Develop a lifelong love of reading
• Work as a team member/leader
• Communicate through language and technology
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Mathematics 7 – During the 7th Grade some of our students are assessed as gifted math students and are advanced to complete the 8th Grade curriculum.  Students remaining in the 7th Grade curriculum use the Course 2 textbook from Scott Foresman. This course is aligned with the common core and focuses on numbers, computation and estimation, patterns and functions, algebra, statistics and probability, geometry, and measurement. In Grade 7, instructional time should focuses on four critical areas: (1) developing understanding of and applying proportional relationships; (2) developing understanding of operations with rational numbers and working with expressions and linear equations; (3) solving problems involving scale drawings and informal geometric constructions, and working with two- and three-dimensional shapes to solve problems involving area, surface area, and volume; and (4) drawing inferences about populations based on samples. Students can expect to make sense of problems and persevere in solving them, reason abstractly and quantitatively, construct viable arguments and critique the reasoning of others, model with mathematics, use appropriate tools strategically, attend to precision, look for and make use of structure, look for and express regularity in repeated reasoning.

Mathematics 8– Advanced 7th Grade and 8th Grade students study the 8th Grade curriculum in this class.  The course work is aligned with the New York state standards and is instructed using a variety of methods.  Technology is incorporated in instruction through the use of calculators, their chrome books, and SMART board. In Grade 8, instructional time focuses on three critical areas: (1) formulating and reasoning about expressions and equations, including modeling an association in bivariate data with a linear equation, and solving linear equations and systems of linear equations; (2) grasping the concept of a function and using functions to describe quantitative relationships; (3) analyzing two- and three-dimensional space and figures using distance, angle, similarity, and congruence, and understanding and applying the Pythagorean Theorem. Students can expect to make sense of problems and persevere in solving them, reason abstractly and quantitatively, construct viable arguments and critique the reasoning of others, model with mathematics, use appropriate tools strategically, attend to precision, look for and make use of structure, look for and express regularity in repeated reasoning.

Social Studies – Grades 7-8 are deeply involved in a 2-year study of American History. The course is filled with rich narrative and in-depth coverage, complimented by special features that make American history meaningful to the students. The program’s strong emphasis on critical-thinking, geography, social studies, reading and vocabulary skills helps develop the students’ grasp the curriculum. Year #1 covers the American beginnings up to the Civil War, and year #2 extends from that point to present time.

Life Science – More than ever, middle school students need a solid science education. In this course, students will study the various forms of life that God has created here on earth. An emphasis is placed on the underlying concepts involved in life science and how they are connected.  The 7-8 Grade life science study will include: Cells and Heredity, Bacteria and Plants, Animals, Human Biology and Health, and Ecology. Experiments and other hand-on activities will be used to give students first hand experiences with the various topics covered. Students will sharpen their skills across the curriculum as they apply math to science and science to writing. The textbook offers one resource rich in information and students are encouraged to use other resources, including investigation and research, to hone their science skill.  Technology featuring smart boards will be used to enhance instruction.

Physical Science – Physical Science contains two areas of study, chemistry and physics.  Active student involvement with the materials and activities is an intrinsic part of student success.Students in this course receives instruction that emphasizes the key concepts of physical science, and how they fit together. Teaching Science from a Christian perspective helps students to understand that almost every area of science involves some aspect of physical science. Physicists study the behavior of matter to learn how interactions between matter and energy work.  In the same way, students will be given a variety of hands on experiments and discover activities to find the meaning behind such areas as heat, light, sound, electricity. Technology and smart boards will be used to enhance instruction.  

Physical Education – Students in Grades 6-8 join together, divided by gender, in planned physical activity. These gym classes involve physical fitness training, skills development in various sports’ areas, and good Christian sportsmanship. Skills, cooperation, and enthusiasm are important components to a good physical education experience. Students are required to change clothing for gym class to promote good personal hygiene.

Life Skills – Students in grades 6-8 receive instruction in a variety of topics that prepare for the challenges experienced in life.  This course has addressed issues related to health and fitness, macro and micro economics, food planning and preparation, technology skills, sewing, personal hygiene, how to defend the Christian faith verses the secular world, and study skills.  Four units are instructed during the school year using a variety of instructional resources including technology and guest speakers from the community.

Spanish- Spanish instruction is offered at Holy Ghost Lutheran School for 7th and 8th Grade students.  The students work for these two years accomplishing curriculum goals that lead to taking the Spanish proficiency test at the end of their 8th Grade year.  Students passing the Spanish proficiency test are awarded high school credit.