Core Subjects

7th Grade

English

Advanced English 7 (ENG1012)

The English 7 course uses the StudySync Grade 7 Curriculum. Each of the six units (Conflicts and Clashes, Highs and Lows, Chasing the Impossible, Moment of Truth, Test of Time, and The Power of One) include lesson sequences and materials structured to meet the Common Core State Standards in meaningful ways and to provide flexibility for a range of learners. Formative assessments in each unit are designed to measure student progress towards mastering focus indicators for the processes and content of English. StudySync is a comprehensive English Language Arts curriculum that is designed for all 21st century learners. StudySync combines print books with a digital platform for reading and writing. Students will have their own online digital binder where they will receive their assignments, store their writing, and receive teacher and peer reviews. Students are awarded 10 SSL hours at the completion of Grade 7 English for their full participation in SSL activities.

Global Advanced English 7 (ENG1012-02)

Cohort students will go beyond this core as they learn additional content, explore deeper connections to today, engage in investigative inquiry to strengthen their writing and enhance their learning through relevant literature connections. Students will be enrolled in this course based on teacher recommendation and/or assessment data. Students are awarded 10 SSL hours at the completion of Grade 7 English for their full participation in SSL activities.

Students assigned to the Global Advanced English 7 course will be assigned to a special section of the course. The student's schedule will show enrollment in Advanced English 7.

English Language Development (ELD)

English 7 for English Learners I Double Period (ESL1015)
English 7 for English Learners II Double Period (ESL1018)
English 7 for English Learners III (ESL1021)
Advanced English 7 for English Learners IV (ENG1010) - co-taught class with ELD teacher and English teacher

English/language Arts courses build upon students’ prior knowledge of grammar, vocabulary, word usage, and the mechanics of writing and usually include the four aspects of language use: reading, writing, speaking, and listening through the StudySync English 7 curriculum. Typically, these courses introduce and define various genres of literature, with writing exercises often linked to reading selections. These courses also provide an explanation of the English language, enabling students to progress from a beginning level of understanding of English vocabulary and grammatical structures to a more comprehensive grasp of various formal and informal styles of using academic English in the context of English/language Arts. Students are awarded 10 SSL hours at the completion of English 7 for their full participation in SSL activities.

Physical Education & Health

Physical Education 7 (HPE 1004)

Each grade 7 student takes three marking periods of Physical Education during the year. By the end of Grade 7, students should know and be able to do the following:

HEALTH-RELATED FITNESS

- Apply exercise principles to the health-related fitness components to develop and modify a personal fitness plan.
- Calculate and apply methods for measurement of target heart rate and healthy fitness zone.
- Compare the relationship between nutrition and physical activity.

MOVEMENT SKILLS AND CONCEPTS

- Apply basic movement concepts related to defense and offense in personal development and tactical games activities.
- Design and demonstrate creative skill combinations.
- Develop and modify a personal movement (practice) plan.

PERSONAL AND SOCIAL RESPONSIBILITY

- Identify conflict-resolution skills and negotiation tactics to promote a healthy physical activity setting.
- Perform tasks effectively with others in physical activity settings.
- Apply effective time-management strategies to improve movement skills and fitness levels.

Students will need to wear appropriate footwear for participation in PE. Students are assigned a locker with a lock for a change of clothes or shoes.

Comprehensive Health Education Grade 7 (HPE 1001)

Comprehensive health education is taught for a term of 9-weeks (one markig period) during Grade 7. Knowledge, concepts, skills, and strategies essential to making healthful decisions are presented promoting lifelong health and well-being. Certified Health Education teachers implement a variety of learning activities to promote and practice wellness skills and health literacy. The development of lifelong positive health-related attitudes and behaviors are emphasized to promote self-reliance and self-regulation. Skills include accessing information, decision-making, goal setting, communication skills, analyzing influences, and advocacy.

Key Concepts

Mental and emotional health – self-esteem; conflict resolution skills; mental illness; self-injury; depression and suicide prevention.
Alcohol, tobacco, and other drugs - alcohol; inhalants; other drugs and drug trends.
Personal and consumer health - risk factors for non-communicable diseases; risk factors for communicable diseases; protective factors.
Family life and human sexuality - family; components of health relationships; personal health care; condom use; tolerance for sexual orientation, reproductive systems
Disease prevention and control - accessing information about sexually transmitted infections; accessing information about HIV/AIDS; analyzing influences about communicable diseases; goal setting to prevent communicable diseases.

Parents of grade seven students will receive information about the two opt-out units of Disease Prevention and Control and Family Life and Human Sexuality at the beginning of the school year through an evening meeting. Parents wishing to opt their child out of these units may check “No” on the permission form sent out during the first week of school. If no permission form is returned, the student will receive this instruction. Students opted out will receive an alternate independent study unit to be completed in an alternate location.

Science

Investigations in Life Science (SCI1023)

In seventh grade science, students will investigate the topics of Hydroponics, Body Systems, Genetics, and Biological History. The focus on the creation of a Hydroponic growing system will allow students to investigate a variety of different systems and growing mediums for raising plants. Plants will be used to introduce the structure and function of living organisms, and students will learn about the characteristics of living things, parts of the cell, and cellular processes. Unit 2’s focus on body systems will allow students to explore how the interactions of each system affect the overall performance of an organism. Students will explore how matter and energy are processed by organisms to build, maintain, and repair themselves and relate structure and function of body systems to nutritional requirements and disease prevention.

During Unit 3 students will study the principles of heredity and genetics. They will learn how organisms reproduce and transfer their genetic information to their offspring. Students will use biotechnical processes to explore the genetic characteristics of organisms and will conduct a DNA extraction. A microarray will be performed as a way of checking the genotypes of the offspring. For the final unit of the year, 7th graders will study Earth’s history and explore how organisms have changed over time. Students will examine the fossil record and construct explanations from mass extinctions. They will explore the concepts of natural selection and adaptation and will learn that traits of an organism can change as a result of environmental conditions or a need for survival. Students will explore the similarities between organisms and use biotechnical processes, such as DNA fingerprinting, as a means of identification.

Social Studies

Historical Inquiry into World Studies 7 (SOC1004)

Through the study of world civilizations and global interactions from 1000 CE to 1450 CE, students learn about political, cultural, geographic and economic systems today and in the past. They study the rise of empires and nation-states in Europe, Africa, and Latin America and the impacts of their interactions still felt today. Building on historical thinking skills learned in Grade 6, students continue to engage in sourcing, close reading, corroboration, investigation, contextualization, and historical interpretation as they examine primary and secondary sources.

UNIT 1: Geography shapes Latin America Past and Present
UNIT 2: Political Systems: Purpose and Change in Europe
UNIT 3: The Impact of Cultural Diffusion in Africa
UNIT 4: The Impact of Economics: Global Interactions

Historical Inquiry into Global Humanities 7 (SOC2121)

This course is built around the core Grade 7 social studies curriculum, Historical Inquiry in World Studies 7, that includes historical content from civilizations of Latin America, Africa, and medieval Europe as well as global interactions following Columbian Exchange. Cohort students will go beyond this core as they learn additional content, explore deeper connections to today, engage in investigative inquiry to strengthen their writing through Document Based Questions, and enhance their learning through relevant literature connections. They will also participate in the National History Day (NHD) competition to research historical topics related to a NHD annual theme. Students will be enrolled in this course based on teacher recommendation and/or assessment data.

Mathematics

Math 7 (MAT1006)

As in Math 6, students start Math 7 by studying scale drawings, an engaging geometric topic that supports the subsequent work on proportional relationships in the second and fourth units. It also makes use of Math 6 arithmetic understanding and skill, without arithmetic becoming the major focus of attention at this point. Geometry and proportional relationships are also interwoven in the third unit on circles, where the important proportional relationship between a circle's circumference and its diameter is studied. By the time students reach the fifth unit on operations with rational numbers, both positive and negative, students have had time to brush up on and solidify their understanding and skill in Math 6 arithmetic. The work on operations on rational numbers, with its emphasis on the role of the properties of operations in determining the rules for operating with negative numbers, is a natural lead-in to the work on expressions and equations in the next unit. Students then put their arithmetical and algebraic skills to work in the last two units, on angles, triangles, and prisms, and on probability and sampling.

AMP 7+ - Accelerated Math 7 Plus (MAT1016)

This advanced course follows Accelerated Math 6 by including the remaining grade 7 standards and all grade 8 standards. In this course. students will study of rigid transformations and congruence, scale drawings, similarity, and slope. Students will build upon their understanding of expressions and equations by learning how to represent relationships in different algebraic forms, writing equivalent expressions, solving one variable equations and inequalities, and begin the study of linear relationships. Students will also explore topics related to functions, volume, exponents and scientific notation, the Pythagorean Theorem, and irrational numbers.

Algebra 1A/1B (MAT2000) - High School Credit Course

The Algebra 1 A/B Course is designed to explore, analyze, and model real-world phenomena through a mathematical lens. Exploration of linear, exponential, and quadratic functions forms the foundation of the course. Students develop conceptual understanding and fluency in solving equations, inequalities, and systems by explaining and validating their reasoning with increased precision. Students deepen their understanding of functions and their ability to represent, interpret, and communicate about them. Key characteristics and representations of functions—graphic, numeric, symbolic, and verbal—are analyzed and compared. Students use these representations to model relationships and constraints, but also reason with them abstractly. One- and two-variable data sets are interpreted using mathematical models. Gathering and displaying data, measuring data distribution, and interpreting statistical results encourages students to collaborate, communicate, and explore new tools and routines. They then take these insights to a unit on two-variable statistics, where they extend their prior knowledge of scatter plots and lines of best fit. Throughout the units of study, classroom activities provide students with opportunities to engage in aspects of mathematical modeling. Modeling prompts are used so that students experience and engage in the full modeling cycle.

Honors Geometry A/B (MAT2004) - High School Credit Course

he Honors Geometry course formalizes and extends students’ geometric experiences from the elementary and middle school grades. Students explore more complex geometric situations and deepen their understanding of geometric relationships, progressing towards formal mathematical arguments. Instruction at this level will focus on the understanding and application of congruence as a basis for developing formal proofs; the relationship among similarity, trigonometry, and triangles; the relationship between two- and three-dimensional objects and their measurements; exploration of geometric descriptions and equations for conic sections; and application of geometric concepts in modeling situations. Students successful in this course will go on to take Honors Algebra 2 or Algebra 2 the following year.

Mathematics Progression

MCPS Graduation Requirements

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