March 11, 2022
HUMANITIES 7th graders of been working on two concurring projects in Social Studies and English Language Arts. In Social Studies, students have been researching different ways in which housing insecurity affects our society and our communities. They have diligently been finding useful information to incorporate into letters that they are writing to inform and exhort people not to sit idly by while this problem persists. They are presenting some of their findings to the rest of the school next week while culminating the supply drive they’ve organized. In ELA, 7E and 7F have just begun the NaNoWriMo (National Novel Writing... Read More
January 28, 2021
HUMANITIES 7th graders have been working hard in Humanities, blending their English Language Arts and Social Studies classes across several different units and projects. They have been writing persuasive letters on topics of their choice, practically preparing for more focused and research-based letters centered around the seventh grade’s service project focused on housing insecurity. At the same time, we are reading a book of short stories curated by Ellen Oh entitled, Flying Lessons and Other Stories, in which we are focusing on the structure and elements of a short story while analyzing how the diverse series of characters in each story... Read More
December 17, 2021
HUMANITIES 7th graders have been working hard on drafting, editing, revising, and re-editing their literary analysis essays of the book, Chains. Students have embraced the writing process; they should be proud of the work they’ve put into their essays. Students have also created graphics demonstrating their understanding of the Triangular Trade, the economic exchange of goods and people between continents during the time of the Atlantic Slave Trade. We are finishing the semester with analysis of the Salem Witch Trials, focusing on why and how they happened and how the events in seventeenth century Massachusetts relate to our lives today. Enjoy... Read More
November 12, 2021
HUMANITIES On Wednesday, the students conducted mock trials in which they either defended or prosecuted British soldiers who were involved in the events of March 5, 1770, known to history as the Boston Massacre. The trials culminated weeks of research, collaborative work, and writing, all while weaving the events of 1770 Boston into the larger picture of Colonial America. Ask your children what they thought of their performances; odds are they are harder on themselves than the jury! We are almost done reading the historical fiction novel, Chains, which is narrated by an enslaved black girl during the American Revolution. We... Read More
October 15, 2021
HUMANITIES After weeks focusing on skills and ideas such as close reading and what it means to be a historian, we are starting two new units that integrate English Language Arts and Social Studies. We are starting the historical fiction novel, Chains, by Laurie Halse Anderson, a story told from the perspective of an enslaved girl living in New York City during the American Revolutionary War. We will discuss the different meanings of freedom while analyzing the literal and metaphorical use of “chains” in the novel. We are also starting a unit on Early America, centered around the Boston Massacre... Read More
September 17, 2021
HUMANITIES It has been wonderful meeting the seventh graders during this truncated first week! In ELA, we’ve started discussing their summer reading, The Outsiders as well as their other chosen books and introduced some of the reading expectations for this school year–by Monday, everyone should be bringing a book to school every day! On the social studies side, we are starting to develop historian’s skills by tackling questions like: -What is truth? -What is the difference between objective and subjective truth? -How do we incorporate different types of evidence, including primary and secondary evidence, in order to develop informed opinions? I’m... Read More
June 7, 2021
HUMANITIES The students did a great job arguing their cases in the trial of Romeo and Juliet. Thank you to those of you who joined to bear witness to the trial; I hope you enjoyed seeing the product of the 7th graders’ hard work and preparation. We are finishing the year by studying the Bill of Rights and answering some final questions about Romeo and Juliet, such as: -Is Romeo and Juliet’s relationship an example of true love? –Does Romeo and Juliet belong in 7th grade? Should Sammy teach it again? –In Shakespeare’s time, should parents have taken their children to see this... Read More
May 6, 2021
HUMANITIES We are in the thick of Romeo and Juliet. Romeo is in exile in Mantua, and Juliet is trying to figure out how to be with her new husband. Once we are finished, the seventh graders will actively argue over whether or not Romeo and Juliet were truly in love and who is to blame for their tragic deaths. In Social Studies, we are analyzing the US Constitution and the founding of the United States. Students are grappling with different sections of the nation’s founding document with rigor, questioning why the founders made certain decisions as well as how... Read More
April 15, 2021
HUMANITIES The 7th grade is finishing up our Holocaust and Human Behavior unit, in which the students are putting their final touches on projects ranging from illustrated timelines, fictionalized diary entries, and argumentative essays. I have been proud of the learning and growth students have shown during this unit. This week, we are starting to read Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet. We will be reading the play with an accompanying modern English translation, as well as watching selected scenes from the 1968 and 1996 film versions of the play to enrich the experience reading the play. I am looking forward to diving... Read More
March 11, 2021
HUMANITIES The 7th grade has been deeply engaged in our unit, Holocaust and Human Behavior. We are studying the Holocaust chronologically and analytically while reading and discussing The Diary of Anne Frank. This week, students analyzed Nazi propaganda, the Nuremberg Laws, and decisions average Germans faced under the new Nazi regime. The students have shown an impressive level of engagement, interest, and insight during this difficult unit. Sammy להורים שלום, אני מקווה ששלומכם בטוב. שבוע שעבר סיימנו לעבוד על יחידה מורכבת ומסועפת מפרקים שונים בהיסטוריה בנוגע להתפתחות ״זכויות הילד״. במסגרת היחידה התלמידים צפו בסרטים דוקומנטריים, קראו טקסטים, ערכו דיונים בכיתה,... Read More