The seventh grade language arts program offers a variety of standards-based learning experiences.  The program is based on seventh grade Language Arts Common Core State Standards.  These standards offer   a focus for instruction to ensure an adequate exposure to a range of texts and tasks.  Rigor is infused through reading and studying the components of literature with increasingly complex text, both fiction   and non-fiction.  Students will integrate English grammar, vocabulary, literature and the writing process, along with appropriate speaking and listening skills. The conventions of writing are constantly used and edited.  Writing assignments will include all genres of writing. Students will study text structure and learn how that helps to understand the author’s meaning. They will learn to recognize the   important information in non-fiction articles, practice interpretive and critical reading, and how to read for appreciation and enjoyment. 

This three-year curriculum addresses grammatical mechanics and usage through specific exercises as well as writing tasks involving narrative, creative and expository forms.  Students work with intensive vocabulary lessons and readings in a variety of literary genres.  

 Speaking, writing and listening activities will emphasize critical thinking and creative expression. Leadership skills will be addressed through participation in individual and group projects.  Major emphasis is placed on the novel, short story, poetry, and drama using a series of thematic units which  emphasize literary analysis and terms necessary for deeper understanding of the literature.  Research skills and writing across all genres will also be emphasized.

Students can only be enrolled in gifted ELA if designated by the service hours listed in their annual IEP (Individualized Education Plan).  

This course is designed to build on the fundamental math skills developed in the 6th grade mathematics course.  The main focus of this course is really in application of their foundational math skills of the last few grade levels — making connections with those prior skills and  employing them in word problems and real-world applications.    Students will continue to  develop their skills with decimals, ratios and percents.  They will extend their understanding of whole numbers as they apply previously learned concepts to more complex problem-solving tasks.  Students will also learn to solve problems involving integers, application of ratios and percents, probability and data.  The geometry component of the course covers perimeter, area, volume and surface area.  Additionally, students will deepen their analytical skills with charts and graphs

This course is an alternative to the regular 7th grade mathematics course.  It is designed for students  capable of investigating mathematics in a challenging, in-depth fashion.  The material addressed in this course is a fast-paced pre-algebra curriculum.  The accelerated content is provided to prepare students for Algebra I or Honors Algebra I.     

Selection Process:    Students will be placed in Accelerated Math 7 based on a matrix of data.   This data will include student performance in the top 25% tier of fall/winter Winter i-Ready scores, classroom performance, and teacher recommendation. 

 Special requirements DURING the course:    Any student who has below an 80% average at the end of the 1st 9 weeks will be placed on probation.  If a probationary student has below an 80% at the semester, they will be transferred to regular math. 

Gifted math requires a passion for math, both as a rigorous daily challenge and in its  far-reaching forms of exploration. This course will offer students the opportunity to think,  communicate, and work with an enriched curriculum in a varied environment. Students will  become autonomous learners capable of learning with less direct instruction, progressing in these areas: 

•  Problem solving with confidence and tenacity  

• Developing an appreciation of the breadth and depth of mathematics  

• Developing a desire to discover  

• Using prior knowledge  

• Communicating reasoning using the language of mathematics informally and formally  

• Encouraging multiple views  

• Encouraging self-discovery 

 This course replaces regular and accelerated 7th grade, as well as regular 8th grade math.   It meets and exceeds all state 7th and 8th grade math standards.   It is designed to prepare  students for the curriculum in the 8th grade Algebra and Honors Algebra courses. . 

Gifted Math Placement Criteria: This course is designed for students who have met the criteria for gifted education after completing a district-approved screening and evaluation process.   Students can only be enrolled in gifted math if designated by the service hours listed in their annual IEP (Individualized Education Plan).  Students must meet the giftedness  requirements in either mathematics or critical thinking as determined in their diagnostic evaluation results during their initial screening.    

Students will be using an integrated curriculum during middle school.   This lab-based 7th grade science course will be covering the following disciplinary core ideas in science this year: 

•  Organism Growth, Cells, and Systems 

•  Genetics and Heredity

•  Fossils and Evolution

•  Diversity of Living Things – From Viruses to Mammals

•  Animal Behaviors in Populations and Communities

•  Ecosystems: Cycles of Matter and Energy

•  Ecosystems: Interaction/Competition/Biomes

•  Earth's Resources

The focus of this course is devoted to the history, cultures and geography of the Western Hemisphere with emphasis on New Mexico.  Students will have the opportunity to learn how people and events have influenced the development of New Mexico.  There is an emphasis on physical geography, atlas skills, interpreting and reading maps, charts and graphs.   Teaching students to read informational text is a key component of the social studies classes, along with an emphasis on writing.