June 9, 2023
SCIENCE In 7th grade science, students have taken their knowledge on environment and ecology to present a mock city board meeting. In this scenario, a wastewater treatment plant is due to open in Brooklyn and must pass legislation. Each group represents different interests such as aquatic ecologists, politicians, residents and activists. Students are responsible for researching, planning and presenting a strong argument. This presentation will connect politics, debate skills and environmental science. Shina HUMANITIES As we finish our year in Humanities, 7th graders have just finished our study of The Diary of Anne Frank in which they grappled with... Read More
Friday, March 3, 2023
HUMANITIES 7th graders have wrapped up our unit on short stories by reading and reflecting on the collection of short stories entitled Flying Lessons as well as creating short stories of their own. We started by outlining stories around real events that happened in our lives and subsequently fictionalized some, none, or all of the details in the stories. Ask the 7th graders to share their completed stories with you! In social studies, we have started preparing for our Boston Massacre mock trial. There are eight teams preparing to either defend or prosecute the soldiers or captain involved in the... Read More
January 27, 2023
HUMANITIES 7th graders are engaging with Revolutionary America, writing essays in response to the question: Was the response of the American colonists to the Stamp Act justified? They have been engaged with primary and secondary sources to develop a myriad of reasons defending their position. Asking your student where they stand and why! Meanwhile, in ELA we have started reading a collection of short stories entitled Flying Lessons and Other Stories. We have discussed story structure and the elements that are necessary for a story to be a story. Students will work their way towards writing their own short stories... Read More
December 16, 2022
HUMANITIES Next week, the seventh grade will complete two big milestones in Humanities. They will finish the historical fiction novel, Chains. Students have written thoughtful analyses of the character traits of the book’s protagonist, Isabel, along with creative illustrations representing her character traits visually. Additionally, students are finishing their projects revolving around the story of Ona Judge, an enslaved woman who ran away from George and Martha Washington and was never caught. Through analyzing primary and secondary documents, students have created projects ranging from comic books to diary entries demonstrating the factors that played into Ona Judge’s ultimate decision to... Read More
November 11, 2022
HUMANITIES 7th graders are tackling intense subject matter in both Social Studies and English Language Arts. We started reading Chains, a historical fiction novel from the perspective of an enslaved girl set in New York City during the American Revolution. While reading Chains in ELA, we are continuing our study of Early America, focusing on the Atlantic Slave Trade. In both classes, we are focusing on the theme of freedom and what it means to be free. Ask your seventh graders when they feel most free; they have a lot of interesting ideas to share! Sammy MATH While adjusting... Read More
October 7, 2022
HUMANITIES In Humanities, 7th graders are finishing their work around The Outsiders and a mini-geography unit in Social Studies. They are in the process of writing the final drafts of letters of advice to specific characters from the book, in which they are either giving or seeking advice, while using text-based evidence. If only the teenagers from the book could have received these letters earlier! Next, we will read select Sherlock Holmes stories in English Language Arts and begin focusing on Early America, before and after 1492, in Social Studies. Ask your children about their letters of advice; they might... Read More
September 2: Welcome to 7th Grade!
HUMANITIES I can’t wait to welcome all of you into 7th grade! This year, we will read a variety of literature ranging from the historical fiction novel, Chains, to The Diary of Anne Frank, analyzing characters, plot, and so much more. In Social Studies, we will focus most of our year on Early America and United States history. Prepare yourself for a variety of writing and projects in both English Language Arts and Social Studies. I’m excited to learn with all of you this year! Sammy MATH Welcome, 7th graders! This year, we will be using a new math curriculum... Read More
June 15, 2022
HUMANITIES What a year we’ve had in 7th grade Humanities! The 7th graders closed out the year with their showcase “Tales of the American West,” through which they analyzed and shared different perspectives on life from the American Southwest in the 19th century. It has been such a joy getting to know and teach all of the 7th graders this year. I hope everyone has a fantastic summer; I’ll see you across the hall when you are all in 8th grade! Sammy HEBREW Dear parents, I cannot believe this is the last blog I’m writing this year! Your children have... Read More
May 20, 2022
HUMANITIES 7th grade has been very active as we head into ERB week. We have been practicing reading comprehension, analogy, and vocabulary test-taking while continuing our other course work. Students are finishing reading The Diary of Anne Frank and their study of the Holocaust along with it; their final assessment is to create an illustrated timeline of several events from 1918-1939 including a written portion about who could have made different choices surrounding the event and what lessons we can learn. The past two weeks we have also been studying the play School Girls; Or, the African Mean Girls Play with... Read More
April 8, 2022
HUMANITIES 7th graders has one week left to complete their class novels for the NaNoWriMo (National Novel Writing Month) project. With a healthy amount of debating, arguing, and compromising, each class’ novel is coming into form. The 7th grade is also in the midst of our Holocaust and Human Behavior unit. Students have read Anne Frank’s graphic biography, will start reading her diary next week, and have learned about the evolution of antisemitism, World War I, the Treaty of Versailles, and the struggles of the Weimar Republic. Today, the students listened to the story of Holocaust survivor Sami Steigman, and... Read More