Students entering seventh grade are encouraged to build on their acquired academic skills and are challenged to soar to the next level in their scholastic journey. Seventh grade continues to strengthen organization, time management and study habits to ensure academic success as the students’ transition to junior high and are preparing for high school.
The seventh grade Religion curriculum is currently working with Blest Are We, based on the four pillars of the Catholic doctrine, Believe, Worship, Live and Pray. Students at the seventh grade level focus primarily on the teachings of the New Testament. Students are guided in developing an understanding and appreciation for the Word of God. Through Outreach Projects, Gospel Reflections and Self-Reflection, students are continually growing in faith and accepting the challenge of the Gospel message to know, love and serve God and others.
St. Emily’s Junior High Literature program is comprised of three parts. Students are placed in the level that is appropriate for their individual needs and where they can find the most success to be prepared for high school.
- In the Comprehensive Literature level students receive instruction in the many and varied skills necessary to enhance both their oral and silent reading abilities. Concentration is on the basic understanding of facts in the novels they read, as well as on more in-depth critical thinking processes like inferences, sequence of events and authors’ themes.
- Students in the moderately-paced Literature class will read various novels written by American and British authors. Finding the conflicts and resolutions while increasing their basic understanding will be taught to students as they explain the themes, settings, and characterizations in each novel. Additionally, students must fulfill the independent reading of eight books throughout the course of the school year.
- In Advanced Literature students are required to keep up with this fast-paced class. In addition to independently reading eight novels for monthly book reports, they are exposed to various genres of American and British writers. Discovering the themes, conflicts, resolutions, and settings will be stressed as well as participation in the discussions of the character and plot developments.
- Vocabulary will be incorporated into their Literature classes for a separate grade on their report cards. We use Sadlier-Oxford’s Vocabulary Workshop – Level B. The format of the quizzes is based on knowledge of the definitions as well as the correct spelling of each word. It revolves around the analysis of words for use in the students’ reading and conversation, and they are encouraged to use these words in their writing.
St. Emily School Junior High Math program continually strengthens students’ foundation of basic mathematic skills and challenges students in problem solving applications. The diversity in pacing and content depth in St. Emily’s multi-level program offers the opportunity to meet the needs of each student with proven success in local and standardized assessments
- The General Math level currently works with the McDougal Littell Middle School Course 2 curriculum which serves as an outstanding tool in helping our students acquire the knowledge, skills, and problem solving abilities necessary to meet our high mathematics standards.
- The Pre-Algebra level builds on the skills developed in the younger grades while introducing the beginning of Algebra skills, including abstract thinking skills. Problem solving skills and solving all types of equations are the main focus of this class. The pace is determined by the individuals in the class.
- The Accelerated Pre-Algebra level is a faster paced course that covers the same material as the Pre-Algebra class, but it is covered in greater depth and at a faster pace. Students are challenged with more difficult material that incorporates abstract problem solving skills. When students complete this course, they should be prepared to enter a high school Algebra level course.
- The goal of all of the Math levels is to have the students prepared with the proper skills to help them find success in high school, as well as on standardized assessments.
The seventh grade Social Studies curriculum covers the time period of Colonization to Pre Civil War, the United States Constitution, Geography Studies, and Current Events. In addition, the students develop the following Study Skills: Outlining, Note taking, Summarization, Critical Thinking, Compare/Contrast, Cause/Effect, Studying and Preparation, Test Taking Strategies, Interviewing, and Presentations/Speeches.
In junior high, the goal of the Science curriculum is to allow the students to learn about the natural world through the study of earth science, physics, biology and chemistry. However, the 7th grade curriculum concentrates more on life science. Some of the subject areas that are covered in 7th grade include: Life’s Structure (Cell Structure & Viruses) and Classification (How Living Things are Classified); Cell Processes & Reproduction; Heredity; Human Body Systems (Circulatory, Respiratory, Digestive & Excretory); Skin and the Muscular, Skeletal & Nervous Systems; Minerals, Rocks & The Rock Cycle; Plants; Evolution; Energy Resources and Conservation. We do a lot of hands on science were the students will be expected to type up a lab report on experiments. We also do various projects throughout the year.
The seventh grade English curriculum covers Parts of Speech, Mechanics/Daily Oral Language, Communications and Writings and Research. In addition, the students develop the following Study Skills: Prewriting, Drafting, Editing, Revising, Research Skills, Critical Thinking, and Presentations/Speeches. The students use the Perfection Learning’s Write in Style, which conforms to the MLA Handbook for Writers of Research Papers.
The 7th grade students will continue to hone and expand upon their knowledge of Spanish vocabulary, pronunciation, sentence structure, essay writing, verb conjugation, grammar, cultural traditions, expressions, and prayer in written, listened, and spoken forms. They will attend Spanish class three times a week.
Each week’s lessons will include new vocabulary and grammar concepts, as well as review of material covered in previous classes and in the previous school year. Vocabulary and grammar curricula will derive from Avancemos, a high school-level beginner Spanish textbook. Material covered will be the equivalent to the first semester of Spanish I in high school.
Click on the link to visit our Junior High website: https://sites.google.com/site/stemilyjuniorhigh/