7th grade is a time when students grow their thinking from more concrete to more abstract and build upon their 6th grade learning to tackle new, tougher questions that may not have clear-cut answers.
It is a time for students to take academic risks and make mistakes, to learn organizational strategies that work for them, and to grow their thinking about their impact and roles in the wider community.
Who Was Rachel Carson?
Rachel Carson is best remembered as the woman who began the modern environmental movement. During her lifetime, she was one of very few women studying and working the field of science. When her research on pesticides exposed the dangers of DDT to the environment, she found herself in a legal battle with big industry.
Rachel needed to be gritty to withstand the criticism of scientists around her. She also showed tremendous perseverance when she kept writing, Silent Spring, when she was not only very sick, but working alone.
We celebrate Rachel's contributions towards informed decision making and conservancy and continue her work to connect children to the natural world and each other to help them become stewards of nature.