CURRICULUM
GRADE 7
CURRICULUM STANDARDS
Dear Parents;
This document is a brief overview of the curriculum taught at St. Patrick School. It is a combination of Diocesan and State of California Standards. It includes textbooks used at the school and special projects assigned by classroom teachers. This is a living document that will be updated each year. More detailed descriptions are available to parents in the school office and soon on the schools website.
Mrs. Kelly Stevens
Principal
Developmental Characteristics
Developmental Characteristics
Children develop in a natural sequence of growth, moving through similar, predictable stages of development. We must be careful, however, not to expect all children to move at the same pace. Children are unique individuals and will pass through the developmental stages at their own rates. Generally, children ages 10 to 15, in grades six through eight, are similar in the ways they learn. They tend to learn best by doing, experiencing and using their senses. They often require concrete models and have a need to make relevant associations between what they learn and their everyday lives. These adolescents tend to display the following characteristics:
Physical
Uneven physical growth
Rapid brain growth
Restlessness and periods of fatigue
Metabolic and hormonal fluctuation
Periods of high energy or lethargy
Underdeveloped sense of time and space
Intellectual
Short attention span
Need for relevance in learning
Response to choices
Varied ability levels
Varied interests
Inquisitiveness
Concrete thinking
Orientation to the present
Emotional
Fluctuating emotions
High level of anxiety
Extreme sensitivity
Ambivalence
Rebelliousness
Erratic, impulsive behavior
Excitability
Fluctuating moods
Extreme self-consciousness
Social
Desire for independence
Sensitivity to peer pressure
Criticism toward self and others
Social or reclusive behavior
Constantly changing interests, needs and
priorities
Need to focus on role models
Need to be accepted
Religion and Family Life
The religious and family life education program for St. Patrick School offers students a curriculum that intentionally strives from one grade level to the next to build on the cognitive foundations established in the previous years programs. Its content serves to inspire and to inform a way of life. The key learning objectives for each grade level have been grouped under the rubric of twelve basic expectations that convey the essential philosophical underpinnings of the entire program.
1. Demonstrate the ability to read and reflect on scripture and its meaning for life today
2. Demonstrate a basic understanding of the history of the church
3. Demonstrate an understanding that we are drawn to God who, in creating us, has placed a
desire for happiness in our hearts
4. Demonstrate a basic understanding and appreciation of doctrine and dogma found in the
Creedal Statements
5. Demonstrate a basic understanding and appreciation of the Trinity as the central mystery
of the Christian faith
6. Demonstrate knowledge of the Church as people of God, body of Christ and community
of faith
7. Demonstrate an understanding of the sacraments as important moments in the life of the
community, with an emphasis on the Eucharist
8. Demonstrate an understanding that the Eucharistic Liturgy (the Mass) is the communal
celebration of the Paschal Mystery in which each is called to full and active participation
9. Demonstrate a knowledge of and ability to participate in the Catholic tradition of prayer
10. Demonstrate an understanding of moral teaching, and an ability to make good moral
decisions and act in a responsible, Christian manner
11. Demonstrate comprehension of seven key principles of Catholic social teaching and have
the ability to apply them to personal and societal situations:
The life and dignity of the human person
The call to family, community and participation
The rights and responsibilities of the human person
Option for the poor and vulnerable
The dignity of work and the rights of workers
Solidarity of the human family
Care for Gods creation: The Reproductive System
Peace Education
Our seventh grade program also includes a Peace Education series for teachers and students to become,
in their living and their thinking, truly non-violent, just, and peaceful persons. The Peace Education Foundation philosophy embraces the physical, emotional, intellectual, ethical and social growth of children within a framework deeply rooted in traditional values of trust, fairness, cooperation and non-violence. The program is organized according to five main concepts: building community, pro-social skills anger management, conflict, and social responsibility. The lessons provide adolescents with the opportunity to experience higher-order thinking, explore critical reflection, and challenge attitudes about self and others in a safe and caring learning community. Respect and peace are developed through the implementation of the Rules for Fighting Fair.
History/Social Studies
Theme: World History and Geography: Medieval and Early Modern Times
Students in grade study the social, cultural and technological changes that occurred in Europe, Africa, and Asia in the years A.D. 500 to 1789. After reviewing the ancient world and the ways in which archaeologists and historians uncover the past, students study the history and geography of great civilizations that were developing concurrently throughout the world during medieval and early modern times. They examine the
growing economic interaction among civilizations as well as the exchange of ideas, beliefs, technologies, an commodities. They learn about the resulting growth of Enlightenment and the new examination of the concepts of reason and authority, the natural rights of human beings and the divine right of kings, experimentalism in science, and the dogma of belief. Finally students assess the political forces let loose by
Enlightenment, particularly the rise of democratic ideas, and they learn about the continuing influence of these ideas in the world today.
Student Learning Outcomes
Analyze the remote past and investigate theories of archeologists and historians
Analyze the causes and effects of the vast expansion and ultimate disintegration of the Roman Empire
Analyze the geographic, political, economic, religious, and social structures of the civilizations of Islam in the Middle-Ages
Analyze the geographic, political, economic, religious, and social structures of the civilizations of China in the Middle-Ages
Analyze the geographic, political, economic, religious, and social structures of the sub-Saharan civilizations of Ghana and Mali in Medieval Africa
Analyze the geographic, political, economic, religious, and social structures of the civilizations of Medieval Japan
Analyze the geographic, political, economic, religious, and social structures of the civilizations of Medieval Europe
Compare and contrast the geographic, political, economic, religious, and social structures of the Meso-American and Andean civilizations
Analyze the origins, accomplishments, and geographic diffusion of the Renaissance
Analyze the historical developments of the Reformation
Analyze the historical developments of the Scientific Revolution and its long lasting effect on religious, political, and cultural institutions
Analyze political and economic change in the sixteenth, seventeenth, and eighteenth centuries (the Age of Exploration, the Enlightenment, and the Age of Reason)
Language Arts
Vocabulary and Concept Development
Identify idioms, analogies, metaphors, and similes in prose and poetry
Use knowledge of Greek, Latin, and Anglo-Saxon roots and affixes to understand content area in vocabulary
Clarify word meanings through the use of definition, example, restatement, or contrast
Reading Comprehension
Read and understand narrative and expository text (social studies, science, etc.) appropriate
to seventh grade
Identify and trace the development of an authors argument, point of view, or perspective
in text
Assess the adequacy, accuracy, and appropriateness of the authors evidence to support claims and assertions, noting instances or bias and stereotyping
Literary Response and Analysis
Read and respond to historically or culturally significant works of literature that reflect and enhance their studies of history and social science
Identify events that advance the plot and determine how each event explains past or present action(s) or foreshadow future action(s)
Analyze characterization as delineated through a characters thoughts, words, speech patterns, and actions; the narrators description; and the thoughts, words, and actions of other characters
Identify and analyze recurring themes across works (e.g., the value of bravery, loyalty and friendship)
Contrast points of view (e.g., first and third person, omniscient) in narrative text
Writing
Write clear, coherent, and focused essays containing introductions, supporting evidence
and conclusions
Create an organizational structure that balances all aspects of the composition and uses effective transitions between sentences to unify important ideas
Write fictional or autobiographical narratives
Write research reports
Write responses to literature
Write persuasive compositions
Write summaries of reading materials
Write documents related to career development, including simple business letters
Revise writing to improve the organization and word choice after checking the logic of the ideas and he precision of the vocabulary
Write with a command of standard English conventions (e.g., sentence structure, grammar, punctuation, capitalization and spelling)
Create documents by using word-processing skills and publishing programs
Assess writing using the 6 trait method
Listening and Speaking
Deliver focused, coherent presentations that convey ideas clearly
Evaluate the content of oral communication
Ask probing questions to elicit information, including evidence to support
the speakers claims and conclusions
Determine the speakers attitude toward the subject
Organize information to achieve particular purposes and to appeal to the background and
interests of the audience
Arrange supporting details, reasons, descriptions, and examples effectively and
persuasively
Deliver narrative presentations
Deliver oral summaries of articles and books
Deliver research presentations
Mathematics
Students are adept at manipulating numbers and equations and understand the general principals at work. Students understand and use factoring of numerators and denominators and properties of exponents. They know the Pythagorean theorem and solve problems in which they compute the length if an unknown side.
Students know how to compute the surface area and volume of basic three-dimensional objects and understand how area and volume change with a change in scale. Students make conversions between different units of measurement. They know and use different representations of fractional numbers (fractions, decimals, and percents) and are proficient at changing from one to another. They increase their facility with ratio and proportion, compute percents of increase and decrease, and compute simple and compound interest. They graph linear functions and understand the idea of slope and its relation to ratio.
Number Sense
Know the properties of, and compute with, rational numbers expressed in a variety of forms
Use exponents, powers, and roots and use exponents in working with fractions
Algebra and Functions
Express quantitative relationships by using algebraic terminology, expressions, equations, inequalities, and graphs
Interpret and evaluate expressions involving integer powers and simple roots
Graph and interpret linear and some nonlinear functions
Solve simple linear equations and inequalities over the rational numbers
Measurement and Geometry
Choose appropriate units of measure and use ratios to convert within and between measurement systems to solve problems
Compute the perimeter, area, and volume of common geometric objects and use the results to find measures of less common objects. Know how perimeter, area, and volume are affected by changes in scale
Know the Pythagorean theorem and deepen their understanding of plane and solid geometric shapes by constructing figures that meet given conditions and by identifying attributes of figures
Statistics, Data Analysis, and Probability
Collect, organize, and represent data sets that have one or more variables and identify
relationships among variables within a data set
Determine theoretical and experimental probabilities and use these to make predictions
about events
Mathematical Reasoning
Make decisions about how to approach problems
Use strategies, skills, and concepts in finding solutions
Determine a solution is complete and move beyond a particular problem by generalizing to
other situations
Science
The seventh grade science curriculum focuses on life science. It is designed to introduce students to the vocabulary and central concepts of life science (through text) while allowing them to investigate and observe aspects of all forms of life.
Cell Biology:
All living organisms are composed of cells, from just one to many trillions, whose details usually are visible only through a microscope.
Genetics:
A typical cell of any living organism contains genetic instructions that specify its traits. Those traits may be modified by environmental influences.
Structure and Function in Living Systems:
The anatomy and physiology of plants and animals illustrate the complementary nature of structure and function.
Evolution:
Biological evolution accounts for the diversity of species developed through gradual processes over many generations.
Investigation and Experimentation: