about humanities class
7th Grade
General Overview In 7th grade Humanities, you will develop as readers, writers, speakers, listeners, and thinkers. Additionally, you will learn to present your work to audiences in and beyond Dummerston School. Finally, we will study the past and the present to try to answer important questions about the world. Today, or any time throughout the year, please speak to me or email me if you have any questions or thoughts to share. Units of Study Now that I have described a little bit about what our class will be doing, I will step back and describe a typical humanities unit. Throughout each unit, we will be studying both History/Social Studies and English Language Arts. Our social studies work will include the Ancient World, Shakespeare, and local and national current events and politics. While we examine these topics, we will focus on three essential questions: What does it mean to be human? What is civilization? and Explore the meaning of justice: what is the world we wish to see? Our study of English Language Arts will be based on the Common Core State Standards, so we will be honing our skills in reading, writing, speaking, listening, vocabulary, and the mechanics of the English language. Throughout the year we will study (and enjoy) historical non-fiction documents, novels, short stories, and poetry. In addition, you will practice a different type of writing in each unit which will help you to become more skilled at communicating your ideas in writing. Our daily schedule will give us a predictable routine and ensure that we have a balance of different types of activities throughout the week. What’s New? Expectations for seventh graders Seventh grade is an important year, the year when we truly start looking ahead to high school. As such, there are some cultural shifts that occur in seventh grade. The general intention of these gradual changes is to increase your independence and ownership over your school work and your learning. Access to our gradebook The first change is that you have access to-and are expected to regularly check-the STEM and Humanities online gradebooks. These regular checks, combined with regular reflections on your progress, ensure you are aware of upcoming assignments, any missed assignments, and your current grade in the class. You will soon receive information about how to log in to the gradebook portal. Students, own your learning! Giving you the tools to monitor your own assignments and grade allows us to work toward another important change: we want to create a culture in which you own your learning. To make this possible, we will work with you to develop habits that demonstrate ownership, such as:
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8th Grade
General Overview In 8th grade Humanities we are going to continue our work developing your reading, writing, speaking, listening, presenting, and thinking skills. Additionally, we will keep studying the past and the present to try to answer important questions about the world. Today, or any time throughout the year, please speak to me or email me if you have any questions or thoughts to share. Units of Study Now that I have described a little bit about what our class will be doing, I will step back and describe a typical humanities unit, which will be structured in a way that is similar to units last year. Throughout each unit, we will be studying both History/Social Studies and English Language Arts. Our studies will include early U. S. History, the Holocaust, and local and national current events and politics. Our study of English Language Arts will again be based on the Common Core State Standards, so we will be honing our skills in reading, writing, speaking, listening, vocabulary, and the mechanics of the English language. Throughout the year we will study (and enjoy) historical non-fiction documents, novels, short stories, and poetry. In addition, you will continue to practice a different type of writing in each unit which will help you to become more skilled at communicating your ideas in writing. Expectations for eighth graders Eighth grade is an important year, the year when you make your final preparations for high school. The changes that began in seventh grade, with the goal of increasing your independence and ownership over your school work and your learning, should be solidifying as new habits of thinking and doing develop. Our expectations are detailed below. Access to our gradebook You are still expected to regularly check the STEM and Humanities online gradebooks. These regular checks, combined with regular reflections on your progress, ensure that you are aware of upcoming assignments, any missed assignments, and your current grade in the class. Students, own your learning! By now, you have acclimated to the middle school culture in which you own your learning. This year, we will continue to work with you to develop habits that demonstrate ownership, such as:
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