Seventh Grade

Most seventh graders have now fully entered the first large crisis of a human life: puberty. Helping children to move through the puberty crisis is one of the most important tasks at this time. Without a healthy puberty crisis, students find more difficulties as they move into adulthood. As they go through this “gestation period” before giving birth to their authentic self, independent of their upbringing, education, and social context, we adults need to clear the space completely. We ensure the space and atmosphere at school is safe where they are free to explore their own capacities for feeling, thinking, and making decisions based on criteria they have learned to gather through their school and home lives. The students explore observational thinkers like Galileo Galilei and the Age of Exploration, the Renaissance and Reformation, Creative Writing and Poetry, Physics, Chemistry, Marine Conservation, Anatomy and Physiology, and Health & Nutrition.

Humanities:

• Observational Thinkers 
• Age of Exploration 
• Renaissance and Reformation 
• American History to the Revolution 
• Health and Sexuality

Language Arts:

• Creative Writing and Poetry (themes of love, presence and attention, light, and the universe)
• Techniques for composition, including five paragraph essays
• Literature Appreciation (6 or more class readers)
• Research, report writing, and presentations
• Note writing practice 
• Class Play (Shakespeare)

Mathematics:

• Arithmetic Review
• Measurements: Metric / US Standard Conversions
• Units: Ratios / Rates / Proportions / Percentages
• Geometry: Angle Measure & Area of Complex Shapes
• Necessary Tools for Algebra
• Business Math and fundraiser for 7th grade trip to Europe where each student self-finances $3,500

Science:

• Physics: Mechanics, Acoustics, Optics, Electricity, Electromagnetism through hands-on experiments and projects
• Astronomy with emphasis on the Copernican system
• Chemistry: Study of combustion, acids and bases, changes of state, and the nature and properties of water and salt
• Anatomy and Physiology: system of the body, nutrition and health
• Environmental Studies, Climate Studies, and Marine Conservation

Spanish:

• Independent reading and writing
• Comprehension through written responses
• Mastery of regular and irregular verb conjugation

Handwork:

• Create a variety of handwork crafts to sell at the Winter Faire to help finance the 7th grade trip. Then they learn how to sew with leather. Project: leather moccasins

Woodwork:

• Projects: box, discus, stool

Travel:

• 7th Grade: three-week self-financed trip to Europe typically Spain, Italy, and Greece.