Seventh Grade Curriculum

Like all Middle School students, seventh graders are issued a Chromebook for use throughout the school day.  Students follow a bell schedule and change classrooms each period enabling them to work with teachers who are focused in a single area of study.

RELIGION
The seventh grade Religion curriculum is centered around the life of Jesus and integrates the Catholic doctrine (sacraments, teachings, and rituals) with this very important element of Christianity. We look at the family tree of Jesus and events leading up to his birth. After Christmas we study his early life moving into his death and resurrection on Easter.  Following Jesus’ resurrection, we learn about the Holy Spirit and the spread of Christianity. 

Seventh graders begin their preparation for the sacrament of Confirmation which they receive in eighth grade.

LANGUAGE ARTS 
Middle School Writing follows a Writer’s Workshop framework. Aligned with the Common Core Standards and the incorporation of the Chicago Archdiocese’s Beyond the Core Standards, all middle school students receive writing instruction and experience in argumentative, informational and narrative writing. Pointed mini-lessons, independent application of skills, peer conferences, and one-on-one teacher conferences are the components of each writing class. As students migrate from one grade level to the next their writing skills for planning, researching, organizing, producing and sharing their compositions advance. In doing so, students learn and implement strategies to manage time and independently work.

READING
Middle School Reading classes are aligned with the Common Core State Standards and the Archdiocese of Chicago Benchmarks. Seventh graders read a variety of texts including novels, short stories and informational texts. Students continue to focus on comprehension and begin to critically analyze texts. Writing assignments focus on citing text evidence and constructing a well-written paragraph. These constructed responses serve as the building blocks for critical essays. Students practice reading and writing skills using iReady.

MATH
Big Ideas is the online math curriculum used in all sixth through eighth grade math classes. “Students master content through inductive reasoning opportunities, engaging activities that provide deeper understanding, concise stepped-out examples, rich thought-provoking exercises, and a continual building on what has been previously taught. Big Ideas Math delivers a unique and revolutionary curriculum providing a balanced instructional approach of discovery and direct instruction. This approach opens doors to abstract thought, reasoning, and inquiry as students persevere to answer the Essential Questions that drive instruction” (Big Ideas Learning, 2017).


SCIENCE
All Middle School students receive a high quality, rigorous science education at St. Luke School. Our curriculum reflects the three dimensions of the Next Generation Science Standards: Science and Engineering Practices, Crosscutting Concepts, and Disciplinary Core Ideas. Studies in these areas provide opportunities for continual hands-on experimentation; the application of mathematics; and collaboration, communication, and creativity. In seventh grade students study Life Science. As part of their study, students are required to participate in our school Science Fair by completing a detailed experiment, formal research paper, and formal write up on a science topic chosen by the student. Students present their findings to a science fair judge. St. Luke School is proud to have had many students move on to compete in the Regional and Illinois State Science Fairs.

SOCIAL STUDIES
In seventh grade, students explore a large number of modern day countries and study both our American and Illinois Constitutions. The first trimester is spent learning about Latin America, from the Rio Grande to Puerto Rico to the Tierra del Fuego.  The second trimester is spent looking at the continent of Africa.  In the last trimester, the seventh grade spends four weeks studying the American Constitution and two weeks studying the Illinois Constitution. The remaining time is spent on Central and Southwest Asia. Our year culminates with an all day field trip to the state capital, Springfield, Illinois, visiting historic sites and viewing our state government in action. 

Please refer to the Specials/Fine Arts page to learn more about our seventh grade curriculum in the areas of Art, Music, Physical Education, Spanish, and Technology.