World Cultures continues the study of civilizations begun in sixth grade.  Students learn to think critically about historical eras, analyze primary sources for accuracy and bias, define problems, and relate historical events to the modern world.  Students acquire the patterns needed to read actively for both the main idea and increase their vocabulary.  Students focus on writing as a process. Students concentrate on the process of developing their essays through such stages as pre-writing, outlining, and first and second drafts. Students extend the depth and detail of their writing and practice writing introductory paragraphs, topic sentences, and strong conclusions.  Beginning the year in a large group, they learn the skills necessary to complete projects independently, including planning, time management, outlining, and research.  Research involves interviewing, reading for specific information, and using both print and electronic research.  In the course of the year, students practice speaking skills including, exchanging ideas; debating, and honoring ideas of others. Units include geography and the human experience with an emphasis on current world geography; Middle Ages in England, China, Middle East, North Africa, and Japan with an emphasis on mapping of culture, impact of religion, and development of political systems; and revolutions in science, Enlightenment, America, France, and Estonia.  Spring brings planning a trip to a country in the Eastern Hemisphere with an emphasis on studying the culture of a country through travel. The final unit of study involves the history of Mt. St Helens.

In Seventh grade science, we will be delving into what it means to be a scientist and how science provides a unique and powerful way to understand the world. Throughout the year, we will be asking big questions and looking closely at how science connects to our lives. Along the way, we will explore how humans have come to understand their place in the universe, consider how rare and precious life is, and investigate how our choices and actions during this brief moment in geologic time dramatically affect the environment and our fellow living members here on the one and only planet Earth.

The scope and sequence of the year can be thought of as a grand transect* that stretches from deep space to the center of the Earth. The year’s investigations are divided into five units beginning with the Nature and Processes of Science Inquiry. Following this, we will blast off into a unit on Space Science and the frontier-expanding field of computer programming and robotics. From here, we will pass through the Earth’s atmosphere and explore the living surface of our planet through the interconnected fields of Ecology and Environmental Science. Finally, we will wrap up the year by plumbing the depths of our planet to uncover its inner-workings and to figure out what the field of Earth Science has to say about the past and future of the Pacific Northwest. As a grand finale, we will wrap up the year with a four-day trip to Mt. St Helens, a local reminder of the dynamism and resiliency of our one and only planet Earth.

* Transect - a line along which a scientists travels and makes observations during a focused research study.