Most students will have their 13th birthday during this year; some will enjoy a cultural ceremony or celebration to mark this milestone. Almost all students will have reached puberty, and be in the early stages of adolescence with accompanying highly charged emotions. Balancing the physical and emotional changes are the burgeoning intellect and a developing capacity for logical thought.
During this time your seventh grader may also be feeling the need to explore limits, and express their own opinions. For many, this is a time of life for questioning authority, challenging conventions, and asserting independence.
The teachers provide the adolescents with new perspectives, particularly by directing their attention into the world. The seventh grade curriculum focuses on important epochs: the Renaissance, the Age of Exploration, the Scientific Revolution and the Reformation. The explosion of creativity and knowledge during these times in history provides an elegant parallel to your child’s experience of adolescence and also spark the child’s developing engagement with—and questioning of—the world.
During this year the students also hear biographies of innovative thinkers whose thirst for knowledge came with a fearless need to question and defy authority.
Your seventh grader will learn
Language Arts: Creative writing and composition, grammar, speech and drama
Literature: Classics, biographies, creative writing and poetry
Mathematics: Geometry, negative numbers, powers, roots, pre-algebra
Science: Physics, chemistry, human physiology and nutrition
History: The Renaissance and The Reformation
Geography: African geography
French and German: Each student compiles a portfolio that showcases their understanding of grammar, phonetics, vocabulary and culture
Physical Education: Circus arts including juggling, balance skills, acrobatics and gymnastics and team sports including volleyball, soccer and basketball.
Handwork: Hand sewing and embroidering a bag for a first grade buddy and woodworking projects
Music: Recorder, singing and string ensemble
Art: Painting, clay modeling, charcoal and perspective drawing