7th Grade Humanities (Period 1)

Course Description
Humanities is a combination of the Language Arts and History-Social Science curriculum. Each Unit of Study in Humanities correlates with the California State Standards for 7th grade. This year as historians, we will study the people of the medieval times—Romans, Aztecs, Incas, Mayans, Japanese, Chinese, European, and Islamic. Analyzing how they interact with one another and their surroundings, as well as how they develop and change over time. All year, we will be asking ourselves how lessons from the past can help us become better leaders in the future? At the end of the year you will be using the Internet to research a civilization of your choice and use what you have learned to produce a final product. It will be our job as effective language arts students to read multiple types of text both Narrative and Expository in order to study these people. As critical thinkers we will then ask ourselves these questions: What historical lessons can we learn from each civilization and how can we connect to those lessons and apply the understanding to today? Lastly, as writers we will draft our analysis into a variety of skillfully crafted writing pieces in order to get ready for the 7th Grade STAR Writing test.

Each Unit of Study consists of:
 Pre Assessment
 Vocabulary Development and Word Study
 Grammar and Writing Convention Study
 Reading and Writing Lessons
 Independent Practice—small group, partner work, or guided group instruction with the teacher—Connected to the Lesson of the Day
 Independent Practice in Reading or Writing (student selected)
 Reflective Writing Piece
 Post Assessment
 Culminating Project


INDEPENDENT STUDY
Independent Study (or Homework) will be given every day of the week, Monday-Friday. Homework Packets will be given to reinforce the skills we are learning in class. They will be checked for completion each day. It is scientifically proven that the more you practice your reading strategies independently, the better reader you will become. Thus, the Humanities department asks our students to read 30 minutes a night and log their reading.

Student Grading Policy
Students will be assessed daily through their Class Notebooks according to the Class Notebook Rubric. Every 6 weeks, a progress report is mailed home. Every two weeks, students will receive a grade slip from Ms. Bryant. A parent/guardian signature is required to ensure that students are being held accountable for their academic progress at home. (This is worth 10 points!) Communication between Ms. Bryant and parents/guardians is essential in your success!

Throughout each grading period, students will be assessed according to the History-Social Science and Language Arts Standards for the 7th grade.
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Grading Categories:
25% Classwork
(Notebook)

30% Assessments
(Benchmarks, midterms, finals, weekly
assessments, quizzes, timed writing
assessments)

25% Projects and Quizzes
(Presentations, writing pieces,
group projects, Book Club projects)

20% Homework
(Reading logs, skill builders, etc.)

FAILURE IS NOT AN OPTION