February 11, 2021
HUMANITIES 7th grade has started our unit entitle Holocaust and Human Behavior. So far, students have engaged with the topics of identity, stereotypes, the consequences of groups, and antisemitism as we build a foundation for understanding the Holocaust. Students have also started reading the graphic biography of Anne Frank, whose diary we will start reading after the break. The students have done an excellent job grappling with difficult ideas, concepts, and facts. I encourage parents to ask their children about what we are studying in class and discuss these topics together. Sammy HEBREW Dear parents, These past few weeks, we... Read More
December 10, 2020
HUMANITIES 7th grade is finishing out the semester in a strong way. The students finished our unit on slavery by analyzing primary and secondary sources and responding thoughtfully to the documents. Students continue working hard on their analytical Animal Farm essays as well as their independent reading projects. The students have earned a break–which they will hopefully spend with a good new book! Sammy HEBREW Dear Parents, Over the last few weeks, we have been really settling into our learning routine. Our Accelerated group has been learning how to present their rooms, how to describe their schedule using exact times.... Read More
November 12, 2020
HUMANITIES Recently, 7th graders have been learning about the first contact between European and Indigenous peoples, and analyzing and debating the consequences of the integration of cultures through the 15th, 16th, and 17th centuries. We will start looking at the origins of American slavery next week. In Language Arts, we just finished reading George Orwell’s allegorical novel Animal Farm. Next, students will begin writing analytical essays, which will strive to expose a larger significance to Orwell’s work. Students have been highly engaged in the Presidential Election, have a growing understanding of how our democracy works, and will be better equipped to... Read More
October 8, 2020
HUMANITIES Right now, 7th graders are working diligently on their creative project in response to the summer reading of The Outsiders. Students are working on either an illustrated timeline of scenes from the book or creative first-person narratives from the perspective of imagined characters who witnessed scenes from the book. Their creativity is flowing! In Social Studies, students’ knowledge of the geography and spelling of all fifty U.S. states has improved impressively, which will help them as we study our country’s history throughout the year. We continue having weekly lessons on topics related to the upcoming election including how to have civil... Read More
Welcome to 7th Grade!
HUMANITIES Hi everyone! My name is Sammy Meckler, and I am very excited to start my first year as Hannah Senesh’s 7th grade humanities teacher and sixth year as a teacher. I moved to New York–mid-pandemic–from the San Francisco Bay Area where I taught 8th grade humanities at a Jewish Day School for the past three years. This year, the students will read a variety of books, build their writing skills, and develop their knowledge of U.S. history. I am looking forward to helping the students grow and learn, as well as learning alongside them throughout the year. Please feel... Read More
March 6, 2020
Humanities In ELA, we’ve been continuing to read and analyze short stories in a variety of genres. I have loved using classic texts like “The Tell-Tale Heart” and “The Lottery” to expand students’ concepts of short stories. Their freewrites based on stories like “Seventh Grade” by Gary Soto and “Amigo Brothers” by Piri Thomas were thoughtful and funny, incorporating dialogue and conflict. Students will be writing their own short stories over the next week and a half. In social studies, we are beginning to examine both the early Middle Ages, as well as elements of the Facing History curriculum. Facing... Read More
February 7, 2020
Humanities In ELA, students are putting the finishing touches on their persuasive essays, which hopefully reveal a deft balance of pathos, logos, and ethos. They are also preparing for their 150 word test on February 12th, which is a culmination of ten weeks of vocabulary study. Lastly, students are concluding their third independent reading assignment, due on Friday, February 14th. In social studies, students have embarked on chapter 13, Early African Civilizations. The time period the chapter covers is 550 BC to 1600 CE. However, we’ll be asking some questions about modern Africa as well. Math In Math class... Read More
January 24, 2020
Advisory HS Information Update from Mike Dorfman: Dear 7th Grade Parents, Thank you so much for coming to High School Night last week at Hannah Senesh! It was great meeting you, and I hope you found the session informative and helpful. I wanted to follow up with some links and info from what was discussed: 1) Please find the HS Night Powerpoint here (the first link under “General Information” that says ‘High School 2020 Winter Presentation). 1a) Many of you mentioned it would also be helpful to see the High School Timeline: that is on the resource page as well. 2) Here... Read More
January 10, 2020
Humanities In ELA, students have been finishing analysis of Beowulf: A New Telling by identifying major themes and writing theme statements about the book. We’ve been continuing our second set of vocabulary. Instead of taking a traditional quiz this week, we wrote poems, journal entries, or gratitude notes using at least five vocabulary words from weeks 1-6. I was so impressed and inspired by their creativity and thoughtfulness in this task. They wrote thoughtful, funny poems and kind notes, all using words like bestow, vaunt, renegade, incipient, and many more. In social studies, students are choosing a modern Muslim person... Read More
December 20, 2019
Humanities In ELA, students have been reading Beowulf: A New Telling. They drew fantastic comics strips of interesting moments and practiced visualizing some of the scenes from the book as a strategy for effective independent reading. Then, students began analyzing the use of symbolism in the text. Students were asked to complete their second on-demand writing assignment for the year. To write consistently for 50 minutes, aiming for a cohesive five-paragraph essay, is quite a challenge! I’m so proud of all my students. We are continuing our vocabulary study of both Wordly Wise Grade 7 words and Greek and Latin... Read More