Seventh Grade Curriculum

Holy Spirit students in Seventh Grade will:

• Explore the Gospels as a study of Jesus: the Way, the Truth, and the Life
• Learn what it means to follow Jesus in daily life 
• Understand God’s gifts of: family, self, life, love, and community with a focus on the Catholic values associated with these themes 
• Discover multiple ways to pray and study scripture

• Analyze proportional relationships and use them to solve real-world mathematical problems 
• Solve real-life mathematical problems involving angle measurement 
• Calculate simple and compound probability as well as differentiate between experimental and theoretical probability 
• Construct and interpret scatter plots and box and whisker plots to investigate patterns
• Calculate rational approximations of irrational numbers to compare the size, locate them on a number line and estimate the value of expressions
• Explain and apply the properties of integer exponents to generate number expressions
• Represent numbers and perform operations in scientific notations
• Solve linear equations and inequalities with one or more variables
• Graph proportional relationships, interpreting the unit rate and slope of a graph
• Verify experimentally the properties of rotations, reflections and transformations 

• Strengthen their literary skills using novels, short stories and poetry
• Learn to annotate a text
• Refine and further develop their understanding of characters, setting, themes and symbolic images used by an author
• Use informational texts appropriately to determine the central idea and analyze its content development over the course of the text
• Analyze readings to find deeper meaning
• Use adaptive reading software to complements regular classroom instruction 
• Utilize Membean, an adaptive vocabulary software, to build and strengthen word recognition and understanding of more complex texts
• Learn and practice deeper thinking to find the meaning an author is trying to convey

• Elevate their writing skills through proper structure of informative, persuasive and literary analysis essays
• Analyze the central theme, character motivation, mood and atmosphere shifts in literature through their writing assignments
• Successfully apply literary devices and techniques to write original narratives
• Integrate grammar lessons into their writing practice to immediately apply new skills

• Analyze the geographic, political, economic, religious and social structures of the civilizations covered throughout the year: Medieval Europe, Middle East and Islam, Kingdoms of West Africa, Imperial China, Medieval Japan, Native Civilizations of the Americas (Maya, Aztec, Inca), Renaissance and Reformation, the Early Modern Era of Europe (Age of Exploration, Scientific Revolution and the Enlightenment)
• Compare and contrast civilizations studied throughout the year 
• Study current events
• Explore geography and practice mapping skills 
• Use a combination of reading and writing activities, STEAM projects, group and individual class work and homework and various iPad apps to enrich the learning environment
• Experience Medieval Day, an on-campus field trip filled with activities related to life in Medieval Europe and the curriculum

• Analyze how the earth’s plates, layers, and minerals affect the Earth

• Gain an understanding of energy and the effects they have on objects

• Explore the human body systems (skeletal, circulatory, muscular, respiratory, digestive, nervous, excretory and endocrine system)