Osprey Team

In science this trimester we will begin learning the routines and expectations. Class is often structured first with a lecture and then an experiential experience or lab. The focus of 7th grade science is energy, this carries us through all three units, earth science, chemistry, and biology. In the first trimester, we will be learning about earth science. Starting with how the earth formed, the processes that control it, and how energy flows through the earth. 

New year, new unit in our new text Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Into Math, 7th grade!  We began 2024 by looking at the Real Number System and the sub-catagories: rational and irrational numbers.  Throughout the trimester, we are examining number properties that are useful when simplifying math problems (commutative, associative, identity, inverse and distributive) along with equivalent expressions and equations.  These tools/skills along with order of operations are very important as we move into more complex mathematical problems.  Our focus this trimester is on Unit 2: Rational Number Operations.  Students will continue to be assigned 2-3 IXL skills at the beginning of each week to support what is learned in class.

It has been an exciting first half of the year and the focus on world religions in Social Studies has wrapped up. Students worked hard to complete an informative essay and we have moved onto our unit covering the continent of Africa.  We have a lot of interesting aspects of this diverse continent to explore and some fun events planned. We have started on the origins of humans and will move forward to important archaeological sites in Africa.  From there, we will start learning about other civilizations, such as Egypt, Ghana, Mali, and Songhai. In March, we are going to learn about the origins of some of the music we listen to today and practice some African drumming techniques. We will be completing a variety of learning activities, including an historical investigation lab and research projects. As we head towards spring and the end of the school year, students should be developing strong independent learning skills and adapting to increased expectations.

Trimester 2 has been focused on informational reading and writing skills. We recently completed a narrative nonfiction book club unit that had students choose from a selection of high-interest titles and then complete daily reading and notes to have engaging book discussions each class period. Currently students are working on a research project/magazine article on a topic of their choice. We have focused on research skills and tools such as question-driven inquiry, databases, search operators, keywords, and text features. Students will be completing their articles before February vacation. After vacation, we will complete our third Greek/Latin root vocabulary mini unit before moving on to our next class novel, the dystopian YA classic, The Giver. As always, students should be reading 20-30 minutes each night or at least 2.5 hours each week to work towards their short-term and long-term reading goals.