7th/8th Grade Strands

Number

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Our first new unit is  math skills with money. We cover how to calculate percentages, tips, taxes,and discounts.  Students are encouraged to streamline their processes and to take pride in efficiency.  Money problems bring students  far into the territory of algebra, including systems of equations, modeling/graphing, and exponentials.  These skills will form the basis of a larger economics project — perhaps some type of class store or an investment project where students can strategize with finite resources towards some goal. Looking ahead, we will introduce computer programming as a major unit of the course, likely using MIT’s Scratch tool, a kid-friendly visual programming language that is nonetheless powerful and flexible.  Algebra, geometry, and algorithms will feature heavily in any project the students undertake, so programming feels like a natural extension of what these students have done, especially considering their success with the data science project last year

Writer’s Workshop

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Our focus is on active reading, shared inquiry discussions, and original writing. Active reading means engaging in a dialog with a text—noting key points, asking interpretive questions about how different pieces of a plot might fit together and what will happen next. From these annotations, students develop interpretations of the text—theories about why a character might have made a particular action or why the author made a decision, whether about the form or content of the piece. Students then participate in shared inquiry discussions—where they offer their interpretations based on evidence to answer focus questions written by both the teacher and students. Finally, students apply these skills to write original, evidence based arguments. While the form may vary—fiction, nonfiction, book reviews, or scripts—the critical thinking skills based on active reading and making evidence-based interpretations are fundamentally the same. With the writing process, however, emphasis is now placed on organizing key ideas, developing a sequence in which these ideas are laid out, and tying the project together with clear thesis statements or storylines.

Physics

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We began with a rough overview of the history of physics, highlighting a few major celebrities and their big ideas.  Then, we covered some introductory ideas in general science: precision and accuracy, scientific notation, units, and the main goals of a physics problem.  With those out of the way, we have begun our dive into the rich world of mathematical physics.  The algebra and geometry the students picked up last year have already served them, and will continue to do so.  We will spend some time on the basics of motion: velocity, time, distance; Newton’s equations, and the concept of energy.  Then we will turn towards the empirical side of the subject, setting up our own experiments based on classics from the past.  We will  cover some of the big ideas in astronomy as well, especially in light of the recent contributions of the James Webb Telescope that produces stunning images of the cosmos.

Great Issues in America

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This year we are studying the history of the American Civil Rights Movement and linking it to ideas of citizenship, stemming from the structure and ethos of the United States Government (Federalism, Bill of Rights, the three branches of government, the importance of civic participation, etc.). While the focus will be on key events and actors approximately between 1950-1980, we will regularly zoom out to put key issues in historical, cultural, and political context. For example, when talking about voting rights, we will talk about the constitution, reconstruction and 15th amendment, women’s suffrage and the 19th amendment, as well as the voting rights acts of 1965. Thus, there are two key goals of this strand. First, to help students understand the relationship between historical context and individual choices. For each key moment studied, we will analyze primary sources (pamphlets, diaries, newspaper articles, statistical reports) to understand the historical context that might explain how and why events unfolded the way they did. Second, more broadly, is for students to begin to think about how their own historical context has shaped their beliefs and actions. 

The Arts

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In this class students learn the basics of art training in drawing and painting. We will explore various materials and techniques commonly used by visual 2D artists such as pencils, pens, charcoal, watercolor and acrylic paint. Our first unit is drawing, and our first project is self portraits. 

Language 

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Students select to study Spanish or Mandarin.  Our emphasis is on oral fluency.  Students will be conversant in the language through song, discussion and real world activities such as shopping, eating and asking for directions.

Media

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The media strand is about telling a story. We will investigate topics of interest, gather information through interviews and research, analyze and organize that information into a format that has a clear point/ idea to be shared, and several subtopics developing that point. The final product might be a “TV news” style show, a podcast, or a newspaper article. This media will be “published” on a password protected website, podcast platforms, or hard copy.

The strand has two goals. First, for students to develop the skills to “find” stories in the world—to put together key points of interest in a way that tells a story. To do this they will learn how to analyze transcripts of interviews, create storyboards, record audio interviews, take photographs, and edit audio and images on computer software. Second, students will develop the skills to work together—to share tasks, edit each other’s ideas, and collaborate to make key decisions—often under time constraints and deadlines. 

Home learning

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Home learning assignments are intended to help students practice time management and focus when they are outside of school. They are generally assignments that support what we are learning in class, meant to help students practice key skills, or read a text to prepare for a discussion. Larger assignments are posted several days in advance so students can practice managing their time over several days—dividing up the work so it all doesn’t fall on the night before.