7th Grade Update: September 26, 2017
Posted on 09/26/2017
Welcome Back to Putnam Avenue Upper School! We are excited to share that 7th grade has two full-time special educators: Mrs. Cunha and Mrs. (Samudio) Ghilardi. Mrs. Cunha moved up with the students to join the 7th grade team this school year. Mrs. Ghilardi joins PAUS from Boston Public Schools and was recently married. In addition, Mr. Almeida and Ms. Bui service students in our Functional and Basic Academics grades 6-8, assisted by Mrs. Cyr, Mrs. Fulkerson, Ms. Martin. Together, we service students in and out of general education classrooms based on students’ Individualized Educational Plans (IEPs).
In 7th grade English, students are learning strategies they can implement during independent reading. The purpose of the independent reading unit is to cultivate a love for reading books that students are interested in. Students should be reading for at least 20 minutes every night. Each quarter every student will present one of the books they have finished reading to the class. The goal is to have every student read a minimum of 20 books by the end of the school year.
In grade 7th math, instructional time should focus on four critical areas: (1) developing understanding of and applying proportional relationships; (2) developing understanding of operations with rational numbers and working with expressions and linear equations; (3) solving problems involving scale drawings and informal geometric constructions and working with two- and three-dimensional shapes to solve problems involving area, surface area, and volume; and (4) drawing inferences about populations based on samples.
In 7th grade science, students are starting the year by improving their close observational and inferencing skills. Our first unit, Chemistry, focuses on the driving question "how can I make new stuff from old stuff?", investigating the conservation of mass as matter is transformed during chemical reactions. Students will perform and closely observe a series of chemical reactions to collect evidence for their research this unit.
In 7th grade social studies, we are starting our year off exploring identity, connecting to our year-long essential question “why should we learn people’s stories?”. As a we move throughout this unit we will explore how our identities can be shaped by others, how stereotypes, single stories, and prejudices can harm identities. Finally, students will produce an identity chart showcasing their own identities.
Photo: This mural was created by the PAUS 7th grade students. It hangs on the wall in the 7th grade hallway for all to see throughout the day!