7th Grade Overview

SOCIAL STUDIES

Our general hope is that students will increase their abilities to discern and clarify human ideas and activities that are part of the promises and problems of the world. It is the goal of this clarification process to foster a desire to work for positive change and cultural progress.

As citizens of the school, Sussex students participate in the social, political, and economic processes involved in the actual operation of the school. Understanding basic civics plays a crucial role in helping students develop an understanding of citizenship on both the local and global level.

It is our belief that students at Sussex, through experiences in self-government and community interaction, develop respect for fellow students, teachers, and parents, as well as for the environment. Combined efforts throughout the school bridge the gap between abstract principles and real life practices. Through participatory citizenship, students are given the opportunity to develop the competence and skills to further the common good both in their immediate school environment and beyond.

This program includes studies in such varied disciplines as current events, history, geography, government, community service, economics, law, anthropology, sociology, psychology, humanities, math, and science. Specific units are not set in stone, but instead respond to emerging current events and interests of the students and teacher.

The following units, however, are typically covered in the 7th Grade Social Studies course:

•Geography, including participation in the National Geography Bee
•Monthly community service completed as a class
•Montana State Government every other year when the State Legislature is in session. The unit culminates in a 7th and 8th grade trip to Helena. The class typically meets with the Governor, the Secretary of State, the Superintendent of Public Instruction, the Attorney General, a Supreme Court Justice, and a Lobbyist. Students also observe sessions in the House and Senate, along with various committee hearings.
•Montana Native American Tribes and current issues
•U.S. Immigration and genealogy
•The Civil War, using the Storyline Method as described in the 6th grade Social Studies curriculum
•Also, each year the whole school has a Block Week, during which one topic is studied across the grades in various hands-on ways. Often the topics are Social Studies-based, such as Missoula History, Africa, Japan, Vikings, etc.

MATH

Subjects and Skills Summary:

The Math program’s main goal is to develop the students’ problem-solving abilities, a developmental goal implicit in every subject the students study. We teach students specific math skills in order to help them conceptualize and solve problems in various ways. In 7th grade, these skills include: number theory, theoretical probability, factoring, algebraic manipulation, linear functions, exponents and percents.

The above list is a rough guideline only. We may cover more or fewer skills, depending on how the class progresses. To keep the kids excited about math, they complete several hands-on projects, which include The Polyhedra Project and Fractals.

The Polyhedra Project:

It seems likely that a basic understanding of the so-called regular Platonic solids extends far further back into the shroud of time than our present material evidence suggests. The ancient Egyptians obviously had very advanced geometric knowledge, which the Greeks no doubt gleaned long before Plato was born. Pythagoras, a predecessor of Plato by some 200 years, was familiar at least with the tetrahedron, cube (hexahedron), and dodecahedron, if not also with the octahedron and icosahedron. Nevertheless, these five regular three-dimensional shapes are known now as the Platonic Solids, perhaps because the Platonists, obsessed as they were with the idea of form, studied them with such enthusiasm.

Along with the Pythagorean belief in the essentially mathematical nature of reality came a cosmology based on these five polyhedra, one expounded by Plato. The tetrahedron, being sharp, symbolized fire, while the abrupt cube symbolized earth; the spacious octahedron symbolized air, and the nearly round icosahedron symbolized water. These four elements—earth, air, fire, and water— were long associated as the basis of all of human experience. The fifth element—the binding agent called aether by Aristotle, spirit by others, and, not less ambiguously, the universe in modern days— became linked in time with the dodecahedron.

Some 1800 years later, Kepler, himself influenced by Aristotle’s’ views, compiled information on the motion of the then known planets - Mercury, Venus, Earth, Mars, Jupiter, and Saturn. He subsequently built a geometric model of the planets’ spatial relationships using the five Platonic solids contained within and separated by spheres, each representing one of the planets. Although this model eventually failed to capture the elliptical motion of the planets, Kepler discovered two new polyhedra (small and great stellated dodecahedra), and his work became a chief component of Newton’s theory of universal gravitation.

The Universe

“As the earth turns to the sun
As the stars turn on
We are inside the most magnificent shape
We can never replace this shape
The universe
As our moon slides along each face
The stars bring stories
The stars give direction
When everything is open
The planets
The stars
The moons
The earth
All listen for the secrets, stories and warnings
Of our universe”
- Student work, 1990

The students explore this interesting history by constructing their own polyhedra. This connection between concrete and abstract concepts helps build in students an understanding of three-dimensional reasoning. Additionally, the kids incorporate other courses, particularly art and language arts, while learning the mathematical concepts by writing and decorating poems about their respective polyhedra. Formally, the mathematical concepts explored in this project include: surface area of complex shapes; simple and complex tessellations; volume of complex solids; regular and complex solid.

Homework:

By 7th grade, homework expectations are well-formed in student routines. We continue to ask that the students spend no more than 30 minutes on their math homework so that it doesn’t become burdensome or discouraging to them. How many problems they do, and how accurately, provide a constant assessment for them as well as for the teacher.

SCIENCE

At Sussex, we teach middle school science using the inquiry approach. Inquiry strives to engage students in finding explanations for things that happen in the world around them. Students construct and deconstruct their science knowledge through student run experiments that test their ideas. After experimentation, students analyze results for validity and make conclusions about their data. Inquiry at Sussex varies; at times, questions are posed by the teacher (teacher-guided inquiry); at other times, students pose their own questions (student-led inquiry).

Content-wise, Science at Sussex pushes students to develop critical thinking skills and a deeper understanding of their world. Students, therefore, study only a few topics, but in great depth.

Topics/Units of Study vary each year. The following is a current list of topics taught for the 7th grade level:

•Human Impact on Society: dams, water quality, landfills, composting, tribal land use, native species
•Ecology: food webs, predator/prey relationships, adaptations
•Evolution and Natural Selection
•Simple Machines
•Electricity
•Magnetism

To further develop student skills, teachers encourage students to engage actively in their learning. Students develop life skills that will be used outside the science classroom. Inquiry-style teaching helps students learn how to ask testable questions, evaluate the validity of results, make well-justified conclusions, as well as other skills included in the following list:

•Listening to others
•Using technology (Excel, Word, Google Earth, GPS)
•Working cooperatively
•Identifying faulty reasoning
•Making objective observations
•Writing non-fiction (technical writing)
•Collecting and recording data accurately
•Editing and revising writing and explanations
•Accepting criticism

In 7th grade, students participate in a lengthy exploration called the “Island Project”. In groups, students create an island ecosystem, as well as the animals and plants that inhabit that ecosystem. Students decide upon the topography of the island, although the location and temperature range is the same for each group. Students draw and describe each organism. They also create a food web for the island, with the goal of creating interdependent organisms that are capable of surviving in the ecosystem they have developed. After they have completed this task, imagined years pass. Each year different changes happen that alter the live of the plants and animals. Students predict whether the change will be positive or negative for each organism and then calculate changes in the population. After 10 “years” students present their population results using Excel graphs and charts. They also supply newspaper style articles describing each year.

For example, a student may develop a small, flying, herbivorous bear that feeds on blueberries. One year a non-native plant is introduced. The non-native takes over the niche normally filled by the blueberries. The population of bears is likely to decline due to loss of a food source. Students roll a die to determine what percent (10-60) that the bear population decreases. In addition, they look at other species dependent upon the bear and calculate changes in the population of each. For example, predators of the bear would also decrease in response to the decline in the bear population. From this activity, students gain a greater understanding of adaptations, the interdependence of organisms, and the chain reactions that can occur when a population of organisms is affected by environmental changes.

SPANISH

Varied in structure, the three-year middle school Spanish curriculum hopes to ensure that students will maintain an appreciation for the study of a second language and its cultures, while also beginning to feel proficient in Spanish. Students should be begin to feel that they could use the language in an authentic context, and understand short, clear conversations in standard speech. Students at this level may need information repeated, but will be able to comprehend written paragraphs about familiar topics and understand the main idea of some authentic texts. Students at this level can carry on independent conversations when given a prompt, and exchange some information of personal interest and ask basic questions. Speaking in simple, connected sentences while conversing about themselves and their needs, students will also be able to relate information about what they read and see.

Our hope is that, by the end of the middle school program, students will have a desire to use Spanish in authentic situations, feel confident in their ability to communicate with a sympathetic listener, and understand a series of sentences about familiar material in clear, standard speech. Advanced students will understand the main idea of authentic texts and be able to cull out key details. They will also be capable of carrying on spontaneous conversations with familiar material. By responding to questions and asking a variety of questions, students will obtain simple information. Students also carry on written correspondence with the teacher, speak in connected sentences, explain their opinions, and narrate stories. Writing highly comprehensible paragraphs on a variety of topics, and speaking with more grammatical accuracy are final goals for middle school Spanish students.

Middle School Units and Methods:

Teachers build proficiency throughout the year through storytelling units. This method utilizes the framework for a story that includes 2 to 4 newly acquired words each day. These are acquired through repetition, in the form of different questioning techniques, oral retells of stories, translation, and written retells. Throughout a TPRS unit, teachers may incorporate acting, drawing, games, reading, songs, videos, flashcards, quizzes, and timed writings. Grammar points are taught through the context of a story.

La tienda de ropa is a unit that builds upon a chapter in the TPRS series of stories. In addition to learning vocabulary commonly used in a clothing store, students reinforce and add to an extensive list of clothing words that they have learned throughout previous years. These are practiced through trying on and describing actual clothing, performing partner activities in order to discover the prices of articles of clothing, drawing and describing clothing, word finds, and even a Sudoku puzzle made up of clothing vocabulary. Students also practice having an interaction in a clothing store, during which they play the roles of customer and salesperson. We also discuss the practice of bargaining throughout markets in Spain and Latin America.

La corrida de toros is our bullfighting unit, during which students learn about the different sides of the controversy of bullfighting. They develop their own opinions and learn to argue in favor of or against this tradition. In addition to learning bullfighting vocabulary, students practice reading dates, times, and locations on bullfighting posters and they go on to produce their own poster. We practice reading proficiency through the use of the book, Ferdinando, in the beloved Spanish translation, about a bull who didn’t want to fight. Aural and oral skills are also practiced through the use of “La cogida y la muerte”, an ode to a torero who is killed, written by the Spanish poet, Federico García Lorca. Students practice the use of adjectives in descriptions of the different players in a bullfight, and they produce their own poems about bullfighting.

ART

Elements Emphasized:

•Form
•Line
•Shape
•Color
•Texture
•Space
•Value

Art Principles Emphasized:

•Emphasis
•Balance
•Harmony
•Variety
•Movement
•Rhythm
•Proportion
•Unity

We use a variety of approaches to engage students. A sample lesson follows: 7th graders look at sculptures from ancient Greece and Rome that depict the mythical hero, Hercules. Specifically, students discuss how posture and attributes, in this case, reinforce the powerful subject matter. The students may then create their own heroes from clay with a focus on form, shape, space, emphasis, balance, proportion and scale, and movement.

Additional lessons may include: throwing clay pots on the pottery wheel and attaching hand-built features, such as handles, lids, or even facial features; researching an artist, creating a brief biography of this artist, and emulating his or her style through a work of art; participating in a Sussex campus beautification project, such as creating ceramic tiles to be hung on the exterior of our newest buildings to honor the donors; creating 4-color linoleum block-printing with chine colle; creating large-scale collaborative paper-mache sculptures influenced by Pop art and artists.

PHYSICAL EDUCATION

General Goals for Students in Physical Education at Sussex School are the following:
•To be inspired by a passion for health enhancement
•To be aware of the importance of a healthy and active lifestyle
•To follow community agreements
•To be prepared for class
•To challenge themselves to work hard each time they have P.E.

We warm up for class by playing tag, running, and doing fitness activities. The younger students play more tag; the older students run and do more fitness activities. We learn and review basic psychomotor skills designed to enhance fitness and hand-eye coordination. We play small-sided games against the other students in class where we focus on having positive interactions with classmates and on learning how to win and lose with class. Above all, we attempt to expose the students to a variety of activities that will help them live an active and healthy life.

We hope that 7th Grade students will continue to challenge themselves to improve upon or master previously learned skills. We expect them to be prepared for class with clothes that are designed for active play, to be respectful to everyone in class, and to challenge themselves each day in class. These expectations help foster a vibrant PE environment at Sussex.

Students now have 60-minute class periods in P.E.; therefore, we can dedicate more class time to fitness activities and skill development work, still having plenty of time to play lead-up games and small-sided games with the students. By now the students have been exposed to the skills necessary to play the games we play in P.E. class. Now we continue to work to improve these skills and start to add some more complex lead-up games and drills.

The specific skills that the students work on throughout the school year include, but are not limited to, the following: running, dodging, kicking, dribbling, throwing, catching, and striking.

Ultimate Frisbee, a favorite activity among students, offers us an opportunity to refine both small and large motor skills. We work on forehand and backhand throws, one-handed and two-handed catches, overhand throws and catches, and catches above and below the waist. We perform lead-up games that help the students learn how to move to open space during a game, then play small-sided games against our classmates.

During our Soccer unit, we focus on ball control, passing, and shooting. We perform lead-up games that reinforce these skills while also getting the students to look for open space on a playing field. Small-sided games against classmates give students a chance to see more touches on the ball than they would normally get in a large-sided game. Typically we will play on a small field with small goals and no goalies.

Another mainstay in the PE curriculum is our Fitness Stations unit. These activities are designed to develop an appropriate level of physical fitness, while helping the students realize the importance of regular and sustained physical activity. The students use a variety of exercise equipment in this unit. We mainly focus on cardiovascular strength and balance.

During our Basketball unit, another highly anticipated unit, students review dribbling with dominant and non-dominant hands, bounce and chest pass, set shots, and lay-ups. We perform lead up games and start to introduce the concept of setting screens to help teammates get open during games.

The Floor Hockey unit finds students reviewing the following skills: stick handling (traveling on the floor with the puck), passing, and shooting. We perform some basic passing and shooting drills, then play small-sided games against our classmates. Typically, we play games of 4 versus 4.

Team Handball is another activity that allows students to engage a rich variety of skills. The students review the following skills—throwing and catching, running, dodging, moving to open space, and playing a zone defense—then students play lead-up games designed to reinforce these skills.

During our Tennis unit, students review forehand and backhand ground strokes, and forehand and backhand volleys. We play various tennis instruction games to reinforce these skills. We may take the students to local tennis courts to introduce the serve and the overhead strokes.

Long Ball is a Sussex tradition, an original game that students love. Students review the following skills: throwing, catching, fielding, running, dodging, and hitting. The students play warm-up games and games against their classmates, culminating in a whole-school Long Ball game on the last day of school.

FRENCH

French is offered at Sussex School in the 6th through 8th grades. Beginning in 6th grade, students may choose to continue studying Spanish or to begin a study of French. The level of French progresses through each grade. Classes meet for a total of two hours each week. While not full-immersion, the French program does serve as a wonderful introduction to the language, helping students feel excited about another language and culture.

Typically, students who graduate from Sussex go on to French II or III in Missoula County Public High Schools. Placement in private high schools can vary depending on the program. Sussex does not use a textbook. The class is designed by the instructor, and is consistently interactive and hands-on.

Generally, the year begins by circling back through language skills acquired the previous year, introducing new games and activities that refresh students’ knowledge of the material. We begin to work on reading short passages and writing French stories, with students acting out various situations in French. We use Total Physical Response Storytelling, or TPRS, during which the teacher tells a story with actions and asks many quick questions. Immediately engaged, students quickly pick up a great deal of vocabulary.

7th graders often study the regions of France, with each student picking one region to write a short report. Cooking meals from the region, writing descriptions of geography and customs, students engage with the culture on multiple levels. Students also write letters to French pen pals, developing relationships while honing linguistic skills. Students at this level are exposed to the four irregular verbs “être”, “avoir”, “aller” and “faire” and general “-er” verb forms. They begin to examine French grammar, mostly in present tense.

MUSIC

7th Grade music students have countless options and instruments to explore. Options include:

Continuing Guitar, where students review basic knowledge of chords, progressions, and tab music from 6th grade. New students are paired with an advanced guitar player “buddy” to help reinforce basic teaching points. Students play ensemble music together as well as spend time working in small groups and on individual projects. The curriculum often includes a field trip to a guitar shop to see how guitars are built.

African Drumming, where students are taught a unit on drumming from a selected African country. These lessons are ntegrated into a study about the culture and social history of that particular country. Students learn the vocal part in the native language and demonstrate the ability to play various parts of an African ensemble on Tubano or Djembe drums, as well as on various percussion instruments.
As students strengthen their aural perception skills, they begin to recognize drum breaks and become able to identify different sections of the ensemble. Students work together to form a cohesive drum ensemble. Students are also offered the opportunity to learn African dancing when applicable.

Additional Instruments: Students have a chance to play specialized instruments in music class and during concerts. There are also opportunities to try different instruments that are showcased throughout the school year. If a student is interested in private lessons, the music teacher can provide a list of recommended private teachers.

Another unit in the middle school music curriculum is The History of Rock and Roll, in which students are taught about on the 1970’s and how music of the ‘70’s related to the social and cultural climate of the country. We study various artists of that time, listen to their music, sing their music, and have a chance to play various instruments to accompany those songs. Students will research an artist of interest; during the Annual 8th Grade Battle of the Bands, they represent the artist in costume on the panel of judges.

Students are expected to respect and encourage their classmates in developing their individual and unique musical talents. By working together as a team to create, arrange, and perform music on various instruments, students help create a cohesive class.

Numerous concerts highlight our year. Students perform at two all school events during the year: one in December at the Holiday Program and one in the spring at the Community Meeting. In addition, they participate in a city-wide drum tour and have the opportunity to play at one or two Samlings during the year to highlight what they have been studying and learning in music class. All students are expected to be at performances unless they have an excused absence.

As for homework, students are not required to do homework for music outside of class, but the guitars are available to check out for practicing at home. Students are required to return the instrument the next day or make arrangements to have the instrument brought in if they are absent.