News for week of May 17 - 20

As we enter the final week of our school year, I wanted to let you know how much I have truly enjoyed working with the 7th graders this year!

Despite all of the challenges that they have had to go through, the students never stopped having positive attitudes and working hard. This is indeed a special group of students. I'm really looking forward to seeing everyone when we return to school!

The ALP Geography assignment for this week is to work on any assignments that may have not been turned in or to work on assignments that you may have missed points on. I'm happy to give extra points to students who are in need this week.

***Please let me know when you have finished whatever it is that you are working on.

News for week of May 11 - 15

The ALP geography assignment for this week is to respond to prompts through google slides explaining which features of geography stood out to you the most, or which places that we have studied over the course of our school year you would most like to visit and why. I'm very interested to see what you found most interesting about this course! Topics covered on this assignment will be:

• Physical feature (on land)
• Body of water
• Example of Human - Environment interaction
• City
• Cultural feature
• Wild card (what is something that we've covered that stands out to you and why?)

Please add a picture and explanation for each slide.

*** In addition to this presentation, I am also including an assessment covering locations of countries throughout the world.

I am available via zoom at the following times: (There will be a link at the top of google classroom each day)

• Monday/Wednesday/Friday - 10:00 -11:00
• Tuesday/Thursday - 11:00 - 12:00
• I also am available to be reached via email at any time - saettelegreg@rsdmo.org

News for week of May 4 - 8

As we begin the final month of the school year the 7th graders will be working on assignments that draw upon many of the important lessons and themes that have been major parts of many of the units that we have covered.

The ALP geography assignments for this week will be twofold:

1. Students are asked to complete a slide presentation in which they will design their own country. In doing this, they will make claims about how their country would be structured and then back up these claims with reasoning behind it.

* Students in challenge classes are then asked to find examples of countries that closely

resemble the country in which they have designed.

2. There will be a google form to respond to with review questions having to do with many

of the important parts of our overall year in geography class.

I am available via zoom at the following times: (There will be a link at the top of google classroom each day)

• Monday/Wednesday/Friday - 10:00 -11:00
• Tuesday/Thursday - 11:00 - 12:00
• I also am available to be reached via email at any time - saettelegreg@rsdmo.org

News for April 27 - May 1

This week the 7th graders will be exploring the final continent of the 7th grade curriculum - Europe!

All of this week's school work is at the top of my google classroom page. You will find:

• A link with information about the continent
• A video
• A google assessment (All of the answers are on the attached link)
• A document to fill out with information about European cities - Grade level will choose 2 cities and challenge level will choose 3 cities.

I am available via zoom at the following times: (There will be a link at the top of google classroom each day)

• Monday/Wednesday/Friday - 10:00 -11:00
• Tuesday/Thursday - 11:00 - 12:00
• I also am available to be reached via email at any time - saettelegreg@rsdmo.org

News for April 20 - 24

I sincerely hope that everyone is doing well during this time. Please feel free to reach out with any questions or clarification you may have related to geography class. I am available via email or zoom. My contact info is below -

I am available via zoom at the following times: (There will be a link at the top of google classroom each day)

• Monday/Wednesday/Friday - 10:00 -11:00
• Tuesday/Thursday - 11:00 - 12:00
• I also am available to be reached via email at any time - saettelegreg@rsdmo.org

The ALP geography work this week focuses on the economy of China and how globalization affects the world. There are two pages in the online textbook to read (p. 574 - 575).

username - student number

password - WorldGeography07

Students are also asked to think about and research globalization and how it affects their lives and also point out pros and cons related to this issue.

Finally, the 7th graders are asked to research and identify the capitols of 8 nations in Asia.

All of this work is on a google document located on google classroom. Please remember to click "submit" when completed.

News for April 12 - 16

Hi everyone, I hope you all are doing well!

I am available on Zoom everyday at the following times:

I am available via zoom at the following times: (There will be a link at the top of google classroom each day)

• Monday/Wednesday/Friday - 10:00 -11:00
• Tuesday/Thursday - 11:00 - 12:00
• I also am available to be reached via email at any time - saettelegreg@rsdmo.org

Last week the 7th graders researched information China, learning the basics of how this nation is structured and important cultural elements.

This week the students will be asked to study a key issue affecting the nation of China - What is driving it's water crisis.

The students will be exploring documents related to this issue and then making a determination about what is driving this crisis. The documents they will be studying are on classroom linked through DBQ online.

The assignment for this week is the following - Background essay, documents A, C, F and google doc response.

• Grade level classes will be writing in their claim.
• Challenge classes will be writing a paragraph response.

• Please note: There is an audio support feature at the top right of each page.

News for April 6 - 10

Hi everyone,

As we begin the second full week of the alternative learning program I hope that everyone is doing well and staying safe. There are two parts of my lessons for this week -

*There will be an open book review that goes over what the students learned about this past week. The link can be found in my weekly work page on google classroom.

*Google slide presentation focusing on China containing the following elements:

• Title page
• Elements of culture (part 1)
• Elements of culture (part 2)
• Government structure
• Make a judgement about standard of living in China (Is it high or low?, research gdp per capita, literacy rate, amount of freedom)
• Are people free?

Challenge classes will be asked to complete two additional slides focusing on -

• Human/Environment interaction example
• City life (important cities, major businesses, amount of cities in the nation with over 1 million people)

* Each slide should include at least one picture and 2 complete sentences.

In order to complete this, the students will be using the links that are attached to google classroom and can use other sources of information for their research.

I am available via zoom at the following times: (There will be a link at the top of google classroom each day)

• Monday/Wednesday/Friday - 10:00 -11:00
• Tuesday/Thursday - 11:00 - 12:00
• I also am available to be reached via email at any time - saettelegreg@rsdmo.org

News for March 30 - April 3

I truly hope that everyone is doing alright during this unprecedented time and look forward to continuing on with the wonderful classes, lessons, activities and discussions that make 7th grade geography so wonderful!

I am available via zoom at the following times:

• Monday/Wednesday/Friday - 10:00 -11:00
• Tuesday/Thursday - 11:00 - 12:00
• I also am available to be reached via email at any time - saettelegreg@rsdmo.org

As we got started with the alternative curriculum last week, the students were asked log on to the National Geographic online textbook and answer questions on a Google document.

This week the 7th graders will be working on a Google document with questions coming from our online textbook and will also be asked to compare different types of governments throughout Asia, describing the structures, functions and origins. The countries that we will be comparing and contrasting are: India, South Korea, North Korea and the United States.

There will be links attached to classroom to direct the students where to go to in order to work on this week's assignment.

Please do not hesitate to contact me for questions or clarification.

News for March 26 and 27 classes

Hi everyone,

I sincerely hope that everyone is doing well during this time and cannot wait to get back to geography class as soon as possible.

I wanted to make everyone aware that I will sending out weekly assignments via google classroom. The first "assignment" will be to ensure that everyone is able to log on to the online textbook and take a look at our next unit - South Asia.

I'll be available on Zoom everyday to answer any questions, provide clarification, or just to hang out (There may be special appearances from Maddie the cat and my guitar!).

• If you have not yet turned in your Olympic bid project, please do so immediately!
• Be sure to respond to the google form on the 7th grade google classroom page.

Looking forward to continuing on our year!

News for the week of March 9

As we move into the last week before spring break, the focus of 7th grade geography class will be to transition from learning about Southwest Asia to South Asia. The students are learning about differences in levels of freedom, standard of living and access to education in this region.

In addition to learning about this new region, the students are working on reports focusing on world organizations and the work that they do. These assignments are due on Wednesday/Thursday of this week.

The 7th graders turned in a major assignment this week. They were asked to make a google slide presentation detailing why a country they chose would be a good choice for the Olympic games. Within this presentation, they were asked to discuss topics related to items such as government structure, culture, economy, and sustainability. These assignments are worth 20 summative points.

News for the week of March 2

The focus of this week will be for the students to complete their "Olympic bid" projects. These projects are worth 20 summative points. The 7th graders are asked to make a slide presentation and complete 5 slides detailing why the country they chose would be a good choice for the world to come to their country for the Olympic games. We will be finishing this on Monday/Tuesday and be presenting on Wednesday/Thursday.

The 7th graders took a quiz over the Middle East region this past week. This quiz asked the students to identify where nations are at and also involved key terms.

This week the 7th graders will continue to look at sources of conflict and compromise, learn about the recent history of the Middle East region and begin to explore the nations in South Asia.

News for the week of February 24

This week the 7th graders will begin working on one of the most interesting, fun, and extensive projects of the year in geography class. The students are asked to make an "Olympic bid" for a country of their choosing in which they will make a slide presentation with attributes about the country that they choose. These attributes include information related to:

• Government
• Resources
• Climate
• Environmental impact
• Economics/Funding
• Culture

This is a multi-day assignment and will be worth 20 summative points. Please feel free to check these presentations out during student led conferences!

In addition to working on these Olympics bids, the students will have a quiz on Thursday/Friday this week over the geography and governments of the Middle East.

The students will also be exploring the current political situation between the United States and Iran. There will be a who/what/when/where/why assignment that they are to fill out on google classroom.

News for the week of February 18

This week we will continue to learn about the Middle East this week. The 7th graders are exploring topics such as: physical geography, major cities and points of interest, major economic sectors and will note religions in this region while pointing out similarities and differences.

In addition to beginning our study of the Middle East, this week the 7th graders are asked to research and report on the contributions of an important figure in African American history. They were given a writing template including: background, achievements, and legacy. This assignment is due this week and is worth 10 points.

*** Last week the students took a unit test, covering Africa. These tests have been graded and are in infinite campus.

*** There will be a quiz over the Middle East the week of February 24.

News for the week of February 10

The 7th graders took a unit test over Africa this past week. The test was worth 35 points, covering: key terms, physical geography, a map of countries, and questions from our daily lessons.

*Students in regular classes were given a study guide to fill out which was worth 5 points.

As we move forward, the students will begin exploring our next continent - Asia this week. The Asia unit is a very large and will take a lot of time to cover which is why it is essentially split into 3 parts - Southwest Asia, Southern Asia (with an emphasis on India) and Eastern Asia. There will be an overview of the continent as a whole this week before focusing in on Southwest Asia.

News for the week of February 3

The 7th graders turned in their African standard of living response paragraphs this week. The students were asked to describe standard of living and potential economic growth opportunities in either the Democratic Republic of the Congo or Nigeria. This assignment is worth 12 points.

The students began a mini project this week in which they were asked to create a 2 part vacation in Africa to 1) a city, and 2) a continental feature. The directions for this assignment are on a google document on classroom.

**** There will be a unit test over Africa on Thursday/Friday this week. There is a study guide attached to google classroom.

News for the week of January 27

This past week the 7th graders took a quiz over the continent of Africa. This quiz consisted of key terms, mapping skills, atlas skills, and questions related to what we have been covering in class since winter break. This quiz is worth 15 summative points.

In addition to preparing and taking this quiz, the students have been writing a response paragraph in which they took a stand about standard of living in an African nation. Each paragraph includes:

• Topic sentence
• Evidence from the document
• Their own arguments about standard of living in their nation
• Thesis sentence

This paragraph is worth 12 summative points and is due Monday/Tuesday.

With the completion of our initial Africa assessment this week, the students have begun working on the second part of our Africa unit. There are new quizlet terms on my classroom page. I will also be asking the students to identify major African counties, there is a helpful country link attached to my daily agendas.

News for the week of January 21

The 7th graders have spent the two weeks since winter break learning basic geographical information about Africa. They have been reviewing maps, key terms, physical geography and current event issues. They have also been working in small groups to create posters that they will use to help them fill out a chart of information about 8 different African nations.

This week the students will be taking a quiz on Thursday/Friday over key terms, class notes, and physical geography of Africa. I recommend reviewing the class handouts that the students have been told to study as well as the quizlet terms that are attached to google classroom.

We will also be working on a response paragraph this week in which the students construct an argument relating to how wealthy or poor a region of Africa is. They will have the option to choose whichever part of this continent they would like, and will be drawing on information related to standard of living and economic issues that we have been learning about over the course of 7th grade.

Both the quiz and paragraph will be worth summative points.

News for the week of January 13

The students spent this week learning about the 3rd unit of our year - Africa. Throughout this unit, we will be learning about human/environment interaction, economy and how culture is shaped by cultural and physical characteristics in Africa.

This week the students will be finishing up posters that they have been working on that focus on one particular country. Their research includes information on physical geography, culture, nature and government/economy. These are due on Wednesday/Thursday this week.

The 7th graders will be taking a quiz over Africa terms, features and class notes the week of January 21. I recommend going over the links attached to classroom to prepare for this.

News for the week of January 6

I hope that everyone had a wonderful winter break! I am looking forward to not only getting back to geography class, but am also looking forward to beginning another unit this week! The 7th grade geography curriculum follows the continents. We spent the first semester learning about North and South America. We will be spending the next several weeks exploring Africa with particular emphasis on how humans interact with the environment.

Over the winter break I graded two assignments that were due at the end of the first semester. These assignments were a global issue slide presentation which asked the students to explore and report on an issue that is affecting the world on a large scale. This assignment was worth 20 points. The other assignment that was graded over break was the Brazil DBQ response. This assignment was worth 15 points.

News for the week of December 16

This past week was a very big week in 7th grade geography class! The students put the finishing touches on their global issue projects and also turned in their response paragraphs for the document based question that we have been studying over the past several weeks - "How wealthy is Brazil?"

In addition to completing these assignments, the students also took a quiz that mainly covered economics and how money works around the world.

This week the students will start to explore the third continent (and unit) of our year - Africa.

News for the week of December 9

The 7th graders recently started working on a "World Issue" project. The students are researching and reporting on something that affects our planet in some way. The students had free reign to choose an issue that is important to them, popular topics were things such as (but not limited to) pollution, poverty, hunger, equality, etc. This is a slide presentation consisting of 8 total slides. It will be worth 25 total summative points and is due the week of December 16.

In addition to working on this project, the students will be taking a quiz over mainly economic terms and ideas on Thursday and Friday of this week. Unit 2 focuses on South America, but there is a particular emphasis on economic understanding. I recommend studying the quizlet terms that are attached to google classroom.

News for the week of December 2

This week the 7th graders will continue to learn about the continent of South America with an emphasis on economics. Reviewing things like inflation, GDP, interest rate and resources will be a focus this week. There will be an upcoming quiz over this material. I suggest going over the quizlet terms that are attached to my google classroom page.

In addition to learning about these items, the students will be continuing to work on the document based question project which will ultimately lead them to answer the question "How wealthy is Brazil?" This week we work on all of the documents related to this question and will then begin working on a paragraph response to this question.

News for the week of November 25

This past week the 7th graders took a quiz over South America, key terms, and graphs and charts having to do with South America. The grades for this assessment have been updated in infinite campus.

The students are also in the midst of working on their second document based question which asks them to consider and ultimately respond to the question "How wealthy is Brazil?" Interpretation of text based documents, pictures, charts, and graphs go along with this assignment.

Unit 2, which focuses in on the continent of South America also pays particular attention to how economies work. With this in mind, many of the lessons that the students are learning about contain information having to do with how companies, non-profits, and labor unions affect communities.

News for the week of November 18

We are currently in the midst of creating booklets about nations in South America that will be part of a continent map. These booklets contain information having to do with:

• Government
• Economy
• Nature
• History
• Culture in relation to geography
• Answer the question "Are people free" in this country

In addition to working on these booklets the students are preparing for a quiz that will take place on Wednesday/Thursday. The students received a study guide for this assessment this week.

The 7th graders will be starting in on another document based assignment this week. The students will be answering the question "How Wealthy is Brazil?" They will interpret 5 documents relating to this issue and will use these documents to write a response paper in which they take a side on this issue backing up their side with evidence from the documents.

News for the week of November 11

The 7th graders are in the midst of exploring our second continent - South America. The students have been given roles of citizens in the Amazon and are conducting research about the history of these citizens, what they want, and will be looking at ways ways to potentially cooperate with other citizen groups in this region.

In addition to this mini project, the 7th graders took our unit 1 test this week. The updated grades will be infinite campus Monday, November 11. These tests were worth 20 points.

We will be having a quiz covering a map of South America, key terms, and notes the week of November 18. I suggest reviewing the items linked through my daily agendas and class handouts for this assessment. The students will be given a study guide at the end of this week.

News for the week of November 4

The 7th graders will be taking their unit 1 test on Monday/Tuesday this week. Each students has a study guide and we have had several review sessions in class to prepare for this assessment. I recommend looking over the unit 1 review quizlet page that is attached to my daily agenda.

This week the DBQ response paragraphs were due. The students were asked to choose one consequence of climate change that they think is the most important based on the documents that we have been studying. They were given an outline to go off of when writing their response paragraph. This assignment is worth 16 points. (4 points for each of the 4 parts of the outline).

This week we will officially begin unit 2. This unit will focus on South America, focusing on economies, government, natural resources, culture, and how physical geography has shaped this continent.

News for the week of October 28

The 7th graders took their final quiz of unit 1 which focused on Central America and the Caribbean. This quiz is worth 17 points. After the quiz, the students were given a unit 1 test study guide.This study guide covers many of the items that we have studied over the course of our first unit. This test will be given the week of November 4.

In addition to preparing for and taking these exams, the students are in the process of writing their DBQ response paragraphs. They are to decide which is the biggest consequence of climate change from the documents that we have been studying over the past few weeks.

News for the week of October 21

The students spent this week finishing their "Amazing Race" presentations. These presentations consisted of information about physical features, government, cuisine, culture and industry in a country in Central America or the Caribbean. This assignment was worth 15 points. The students did a wonderful job, they are included in their leadership portfolio which will be shown during student led conferences.

As we move forward, the 7th graders will be taking a Central American/Caribbean quiz on Thursday/Friday. We are in the process of filling out a study guide that the quiz is based on. I also recommend studying the quizlet terms and map game that are attached to my agendas on google classroom.

The 7th graders are also in the process of answering questions in our dbq assignment (Document Based Questions). All of the documents that the students are studying are related to the issue of climate change. After reviewing these documents,the students will be asked to write a paragraph response explaining which consequence of climate change is most important to them.

News for the week of October 14

The 7th graders are hard at work making their own version of an "Amazing Race" throughout a country in Central America or the Caribbean. They are allowed to work with one other person and report on physical features, food, government, traditions and industries. This slide presentation is somewhat based on the tv show. Each student is to make 3 of the 6 slides required for this project. It will be worth 15 points.

In addition to working on this presentation, the 7th graders are beginning to work on the first DBQ of the year. DBQ stands for document based question. The students will be interpreting documents related to the issue of climate change culminating with a paragraph response detailing what they think the most important consequence is. This assignment will be a major focus of the next several weeks in geography class.

Completion of the documents will be counted towards formative points. The paragraph response will be counted towards summative points.

News for the week of October 7

The students took a quiz over U.S. Government this past week over Branches of Government, Rights and Responsibilities, and roles that government plays in our lives. There will be opportunities for retakes and opportunities for the students to earn points back this week.

They also turned in Canadian travel brochures that included maps, facts, a paragraph detailing a major destination, human/environment interaction and push/pull factors relating to why Canada is becoming a place where immigrants from around the world are coming to. The students did excellent work! These brochures are worth 10 points.

Moving forward, the 7th graders will be learning about features of Mexico including: culture, daily life, economy, map skills and history.

News for the week of September 30

The 7th graders are in the process of moving on from learning about the geography of the United States and have begun to study Canada. We are looking at graphs, charts, maps and culture of Canada. They are currently working on a pamphlet which asks them to find information about Canada and show off all of the qualities of this nation. This brochure is due on Thursday/Friday of this coming week. The guidelines can be found on google classroom.

This week the students will be taking a quiz over government of the United States. Branches of government, local/state/national governments, and rights and responsibilities will be covered. The students have been given handouts relating to all of these items. We will also be reviewing these items as quiz day approaches.

News for the week of September 23

The 7th graders took their second quiz this week focusing on maps, key terms, and types of government that are found throughout the world. The grades for these quizzes are updated and on infinite campus. After this quiz was taken the students started to learn about and focus in on how the United States is run from a national, state, and local level.

Over the course of the next several weeks there will be many activities and assignments with the structure of the United States in mind. We are currently putting together posters having to do with the main elements of the Constitution. Next week the students will be working on a hyperdoc that explains the differences between the levels of government of the United States and local areas.

I recommend reviewing the key terms that are linked through google classroom page and going over student handouts.

News for the week of September 16

The 7th graders will be taking a quiz over types of governments, states and landforms and key terms on Monday/Tuesday this week. The quiz was originally scheduled to be this week, but I wanted to give the students as much time as possible to prepare and have also made study guides to insure success.

After the quiz, we will move away from culture and landforms of North America and begin to research and understand how the government of the United States is designed and what that means for citizens. In addition to this, the 7th graders will be learning about topics such as: rights/responsibilities, the Federal System, 3 branches of government and individual rights.

News for the week of September 9

This week the 7th graders will continue to begin to explore our first unit, North America. Key topics covered this week will be:

• Key terms
• A map of North America - Landforms
• Types of government
• States

There will be a quiz over these items on September 16/17. I recommend studying the handouts that have been given out during class and studying the chapter 1 (part2) quizlet terms that are attached to my daily agenda.

In addition to preparing for this quiz, the 7th graders will be learning about economic terms such as entrepreneurs and how innovation has shaped society.

News for the week of September 3

Over the course of the previous week the 7th graders took the first quiz of the year covering key geographic terms. In addition to taking the quiz, the students were asked to fill out a google document detailing areas throughout the world that the find interesting and wanted to "explore". After this, they plotted the points of interest on google "mymaps" to see exactly where these places are located.

Moving forward, the 7th graders will begin our first official unit - North America this week. As we begin to explore this continent, there will be particular emphasis on identifying the 50 states, understanding rights and responsibilities of citizens, and reviewing the different types of governments that countries have around the world.

News for the week of August 26

Over the past week the 7th graders continued to review the basics of geography. There will be a quiz over these terms on Thursday and Friday (August 29 and 30) of this week. The students will be receiving a review sheet on Monday/Tuesday to go over. I also urge them to play some of the quizlet games which can be accessed from my google classroom page under the agendas.

In addition to working on basics of geography, the students worked on a physical features booklet while in class. These booklets are due in class on Monday/Tuesday if they are not yet completed.

Moving forward, the 7th graders will be working on a "Explore the World" document in class this week which will ask them to research cities around the world that they find interesting and find fill in political, geographic and other pertinent information about these places.

News for the week of August 19

It has been wonderful to get to know all of the 7th graders this week! We are off to a great start in Geography class and have begun laying the foundations for many of the themes that we will be exploring over the course of this year!

During the course of the first week, the students reviewed class guidelines and began to study the 5 themes of geography, making a slide presentation with examples and descriptions of their choosing. We also went over chapter 1 terms and how to interpret maps.

This week the students will be learning about a variety of landforms and will be making a book containing pictures and descriptions of landforms that we will be discussing throughout the course of the school year that they may not be familiar with (i.e. - Basins, Plateaus, Archipelagos, etc.)

In addition to working on this book, the students will be creating a google doc with information about a place that they would like to visit from each of the continents that we will be covering this year.

Once again, it was awesome to meet the students this week and am truly excited to lead the students through their 7th grade year!