Seventh-grade students are in the process of experiencing significant physical, emotional and cognitive changes.  Physical changes can often lead to the experience of clumsiness in both movement and self-expression.  Emotional changes lend themselves to mood swings and increasing self-absorption, while cognitive capacities begin to move toward increasing reflection, allowing students to work with notions of cause, effect and overview with greater facility.  The history curriculum that forms the leitmotif for the work in seventh grade spans from the Renaissance and the Age of Exploration to the Reformation.  Algebra begins with the study of positive and negative numbers and moves into the laws of equations.  Students study plane geometry and perspective drawing.   They are also formally introduced to creative writing, exploring poetic structure and more.  The historical transition from the geocentric to the heliocentric picture of the solar system is the focus for their study of astronomy.  Seventh graders are also formally introduced to chemistry, where they study combustion, the lime cycle, salts, acids and bases.  The study of human physiology focuses on the digestive, respiratory, circulatory and reproductive systems.  Mechanics is the topic of the seventh-grade physics curriculum, and in geography the focus is on Africa.

Main Lessons:

Renaissance, Reformation, The age of Exploration and Discovery, chemistry, physics, physiology, geography, astronomy, algebra, creative writing and poetic structure

Special Subjects:

Woodworking, Spanish, drama, handwork, fine arts, choral music, orchestra, physical education, Eurythmy