7th grade students at Bettendorf Middle School in Bettendorf, Iowa will be examing weekly themes focused on water to explore how they can play a role in making the world a better place through their own habits and mindsets. Additionally, students will be working with partners from around the world to make real change that will better serve people in need.

1. Find evidence from literary or informational texts to support thoughts and research.

2. Use technology to produce writing and cite sources as well as work with others.

3. Include multimedia parts and visual displays in presentations to clarify claims and findings and emphasize important points.

4. Produce clear writing in which the development, organization, and style are appropriate to the purpose and the audience.

5. With some help from peers and adults, develop and strengthen writing as needed by planning, revising, editing, rewriting, and focusing on how well purpose and audience have been addressed.

6. Write opinions to support ideas with clear reasons and proof.

7. Complete short research projects to answer a question, using several sources and thinking of additional related, focused questions for further research and investigation.

8. Brainstorm, gather, and organize information about a topic to create an informative piece of writing.

9. Gather appropriate information from multiple print and digital sources, using search terms effectively; assess the usefulness and accuracy of each source; quote or paraphrase the information and conclusions of others while avoiding plagiarism and using citations.