Seventh Grade AIG
ESG, CSG, and ASG-R
7th Grade ESG and CSG
Comprehensive Study Groups (meets Mondays at 8:30 A.M.) with Mrs. Landreth
Conceptual Lens: Patterns
The conceptual lens Patterns is meant to add depth and complexity to the content we'll be studying in CSG and ESG this year. Viewing content through this conceptual lens will help students think critically about the content as well as make the learning personal to their lives. The students came up with four generalizations about Patterns:
- Patterns have segments that are repeated.
- Patterns allow for prediction.
- Patterns have an internal order.
- Patterns can limit.
The first unit has been based on Sean Covey’s Seven Habits of Highly Effective Teens. Discussions have included what habits are (patterns, really!), the seven habits identified by Covey, categorizing items that are or are not within our circle of control, and writing our personal mission statements. In a few weeks, students will be asked to create a poster of 50 Things that they want to accomplish in their lifetime. As a part of this assignment, they will be asked to prepare a presentation to their peers highlighting five of those things. In order to be successful, they will need to practice in front of a small audience at home. The focus will be on public-speaking and presentation skills, along with ways that they can give purposeful and constructive feedback to their peers.
Seventh Grade Projects in ASG - R (Advanced Subject Grouping - Reading)
The first ASG-R project of the year has been the Smithsonian Institute Middle Ages Project, which focused on research and writing. Students were asked to create an exhibit on a topic related to the Middle Ages. The challenge included targeting the exhibit for middle school aged students but taking into account that there could be both budding experts on their topic, as well as, nearly non-readers. Students learned about PAC (purpose, audience, context) and how knowing the purpose of your task (information), the audience (middle school students), and the context (an exhibit) should drive your writing planning. A particular focus was on how to incorporate challenging, content-specific vocabulary, in a way that scaffolds struggling readers but does not talk down to the budding experts. These skills are useful for any writing assignment in any discipline. Students also learned how to create QR codes and embedded them into their projects. Finally, students self-reflected on their work, received a score using a rubric, and were then able to determine if they wanted to revise the project for a higher score. Most students accepted the challenge, and spent additional time working on their exhibits. Topics included the history of the fork, medieval torture tactics, and the bubonic plague. They will be on display soon on the seventh grade hall.
The next unit in seventh grade English Language Arts is a mystery novel study. Most ASG-R students will be reading either Sweetness at the Bottom of the Pie, And Then There Were None, or Murder on the Orient Express. Mrs. Landreth is working with ELA teachers to help place students into book groups. The standards foci for this unit are citing textual evidence, understanding main idea and theme, understanding how author’s craft story elements work together to move the story forward, and using context clues to understand the meanings of unfamiliar words.