WELCOME TO 7th GRADE (Letter sent home)
My name is Jeff Gentile, and it is a pleasure and an honor to welcome your child to Roseway Heights’ Seventh Grade Core class.
WHAT IS CORE CLASS?
7th Grade Core, like our 6th and 8th
grade Cores, is a two-hour block that covers Social Studies, Reading,
and Language Arts. Your student will receive two A-F grades from me
on report cards.
SOCIAL STUDIES: HIST. OF WEST. CIV.
7TH
Grade Social Studies asks the question: “What is this thing we call
Western Civilization and how did we arrive at the world we live in
today?” Seventh grade social studies will cover world history from the rise and fall of
Rome through the Middle Ages, up to the Renaissance, and all the way to the start
of colonization of the Americas.
Basically, we will survey more than
2,000 years in 9 months!
7th Grade Social Studies will include the following major units:
_ Review of maps and globes, latitude and longitude,
as well as the 5 themes of geography
_ Ancient Rome & concepts of citizenship,
democracy, religion and government
_ Middle Ages and the rise of feudalism
_ Development of the major world religions
_ Early American civilizations
_ Early civilizations and cultures of Africa
_ Medieval survey of Japan and China
_ European Renaissance & the Enlightenment
_ European expansion and colonization of the
Americas
LANGUAGE ARTS/WRITING
We will practice and reinforce a wide variety of types of writing in Core
class, from the standard expository reports, to short stories, to
descriptive narratives to limericks and haiku and other forms of
poetry. Please note that research and note-taking are a HUGE part of
nearly every aspect of this year’s 7th grade social studies or other non-fiction writing.
Unless otherwise indicated in class, Typing is expected on final copies
of most major assignments and students must plan on how and when they
will complete typing if they are unable to finish during time provided
in class. Computers are always available in our class before school, during lunch, and after school if students schedule in advance.
Although I completely understand parents
who wish to keep their students from communicating via email, this
technology is also a major component of 7th grade communications and students are expected (if allowed) to have an email account
that both they and parents can check for announcements, assignment notices and
instructions. If there is no computer at home, it is still possible to
sign up for free email accounts so that parents and students can check
for assignments, instructions and news online at the local library or
elsewhere.
READING
Your student is expected to read (fiction or nonfiction) 20-30 minutes per night, five nights per week. Some books are assigned in class. Some books are free choice. Current events
articles (typically one a week) will always be a part of your student’s home
reading. 2-3 books a quarter will be part of the outside reading
expectations. Many students can also choose to read comics, manuals or
nonfiction. Listening to books on tape also count as reading. ALL
reading counts. Emphasis in class is on both learning to read for pleasure, but also on what successful readers do. Strategies on HOW to be a successful reader are learned, reviewed and reinforced.
I’m looking forward to a good year of fun learning! See you all at Back to School night on Sept. 20th from 6:30 - 8:00!
Sincerely,
Jeff Gentile
jgentile@pps.net
503-916-5600
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