As we move into the month of March, we will be starting our Poetry Unit. Students will read and analyze a variety of poems. Students will analyze how poets use structure, rhyme, repetition, figures of speech, and tone to add meaning to their writing. We will have a Poetry Quiz on March 8. We will spend time reviewing poetry and practicing poetry analysis until our Unit 5 Test on March 15. 

Looking ahead: After Spring Break, we will be starting our novel study of the year. Students will be reading The Outsiders by S. E. Hinton. If possible, we would like all students to have their own copy of the novel, as explained in the syllabus at the beginning of the school year. The novel can be found on Amazon, Thriftbooks, and in most bookstores. Students will receive reminders about this closer to April.

Recent and Upcoming Summatives:

• Argumentative Essay Final Drafts due Wednesday, February 22, 2023.

• Unit 5 Poetry Test on Wednesday, March 15, 2023.

7th Grade Enrichment is grateful for the response to Lakeside’s recent Read-a-thon. Because of the enthusiasm of Lakeside’s students and the support of their families and our community, we look forward to the addition of more awesome reading resources. We continue to enjoy the opportunity to read for pleasure and to share our love of books and reading during the school day. The goal of Enrichment is to cultivate life-long readers, and our students have enthusiastically embraced the idea that reading can be fun. Up next, March Madness!!

In 7th grade math, we are covering a variety of topics including circumference and area of circles, angle relationships, and triangles. Students should expect homework most evenings. Upcoming test dates are listed below.

Onlevel

March 3rd

Advanced

March 3rd

Accelerated

March 3rd 

 This is an exciting time in 7th grade Science!  Some classes just completed the frog dissection and the rest will be completing it 2/27 and 2/28.  Then, we will be moving into Evolution.  The focus will be on natural selection – the idea that those who are best suited for the environment will survive and reproduce and pass those advantageous traits on to their offspring.  They will have the opportunity to become birds with different beaks and attempt to “eat” different items (no actual eating involved!), so they can learn how different beaks are suited for different environments.  They will also learn about the Peppered Moths of Manchester – when a genetic mutation caused a normally light colored moth to be a darker color, and this darker color proved to be advantageous during the Industrial Revolution in England.  Some classes may also be participating in March Mammal Madness – like March Madness with basketball but with Mammals! There may be a quiz during the week of March 6, but please check itslearning for specific dates.

As we wrap up February, Seventh grade social studies is continuing to explore the history of South and East Asia. The next stop is China! We will study the rise to power of Mao and the spread of Communism across the region. It will lead into our next discussions on Vietnam and the Korean Peninsula. We expect to assess this material in a summative scheduled for the second week of March.