Upper School (Grades 5-8)

Course Description/Mission

Adda Clevenger Upper School ELA:

Building foundational knowledge and exploring creative depths The primary goal of Adda Clevenger’s upper school ELA program is to provide student-centered ELA instruction in reading, writing, language, and philosophical inquiry, while also fostering each child’s creative potential. This is achieved by knowing every student in-depth. In fact, each year our primary texts and projects often change based on the needs and interests of that year’s students. By discovering every child’s learning style, strengths, weaknesses, and interests, and then providing them a variety of student-centered learning opportunities, as well as a safe space to explore their unique potential, students become academically competitive and creatively courageous.

In fifth grade ELA, students receive instruction over the course of four units: Magical Realism, Modern Realistic Fiction, Classics: Fantasy Fiction, and Dystopian Fiction. Each unit relates to our 5th grade yearly college and career readiness theme: A Meaningful Life. As students progress through each unit, they will ask the overarching philosophical questions, “What is meaning?” “Who decides what constitutes a meaningful life?” “What are things which I, personally, find meaningful?” “What if other people don't agree with what I find meaningful?" "How did the characters in our primary text define a meaningful life?" "Were those characters able to find meaning?" These questions regarding a meaningful life are explicitly investigated in order to facilitate the ACS mission to ensure students make the developmental, social, and intellectual progress necessary to become leaders at school and beyond.

Each student-centered unit begins with a primary reading focus and culminates with a writing performance task which mirrors the prior reading. Over the course of the year, students will receive standard-specific instruction in the following major domains: Reading: Foundational Skills, Reading: Literature, Reading: Informational Texts, Writing: Informational, Writing: Narrative, Writing: Persuasive, Language: Conventions, Language: Vocabulary. In addition to our in-class reading and writing, students will complete 600 pages of independent reading and construct two critical responses to literature to demonstrate their comprehension of the texts.

Text Examples (These Can and Often Do Change from Year to Year)

Primary ELA Texts:
The Girl Who Drank the Moon
Because of Mr. Terupt
Journey to the Center of the Earth
The Giver

READING and WRITING ACROSS the CURRICULUM 

In addition to our ELA units, students also receive 4 Reading and Writing Across the Curriculum units, 2 in Science and 2 in Social Studies.

1st Semester:
Social Studies Text - Sign of the Beaver
Science Text - George’s Secret Universe

2nd Semester:
Social Studies Text - Chains
Science Text - The Earth Dragon Awakes: The SF Earthquake of 1906

Course Description/Mission 

Adda Clevenger Upper School ELA: 

Building foundational knowledge and exploring creative depths The primary goal of Adda Clevenger’s upper school ELA program is to provide student-centred ELA instruction in reading, writing, language, and philosophical inquiry, while also fostering each child’s creative potential. This is achieved by knowing every student in-depth. In fact, each year our primary texts and projects often change based on the needs and interests of that year’s students. By discovering every child’s learning style, strengths, weaknesses, and interests, and then providing them a variety of student-centered learning opportunities, as well as a safe space to explore their unique potential, students become academically competitive and creatively courageous.

In sixth grade ELA, students receive instruction over the course of four units: Magical Realism, Modern Realistic Fiction, Classics: Fantasy Fiction, and Dystopian Fiction. Each unit relates to our 6th grade yearly college and career readiness theme: Self & Society. As students progress through each unit, they will ask the overarching essential questions, “Who am I?” “What is society?” “What are societal norms?” “Who chooses the values a society accepts?” “What if someone doesn’t fit into societal norms?” “What are my personal values?” These questions regarding self and society are
explicitly investigated in order to facilitate the ACS mission to ensure students make the developmental, social, and intellectual progress necessary to become leaders at school and beyond.

Each student-centered unit begins with a primary reading focus and culminates with a writing performance task which mirrors the prior reading. Over the course of the year, students will receive standard-specific instruction in the following major domains: Reading: Foundational Skills, Reading: Literature, Reading: Informational Texts, Writing: Informational, Writing: Narrative, and Writing: Persuasive, Language: Conventions, Language: Vocabulary. In addition to our in-class reading and writing, students will complete 600 pages of independent reading and construct two critical responses to literature to demonstrate their comprehension of the texts.

Text Examples (These Can and Often Do Change from Year to Year)
Primary ELA Texts:
Wishtree
Maniac Magee
The Hobbit
Animal Farm

READING and WRITING ACROSS the CURRICULUM
In addition to our ELA units, students also receive 4 Reading and Writing Across the Curriculum units, 2 in Science and 2
in Social Studies.

1st Semester:
Social Studies Text - The Odyssey, The Iliad
Science Text - Ninjas, Piranhas and Galileo

2nd Semester:
Social Studies Text - TBD
Science Text - Flush

Course Description/Mission 

Adda Clevenger Upper School ELA: 

Building foundational knowledge and exploring creative depths The primary goal of Adda Clevenger’s upper school ELA program is to provide student-centered ELA instruction in reading, writing, language, and philosophical inquiry, while also fostering each child’s creative potential. This is achieved by knowing every student in-depth. In fact, each year our primary texts and projects often change based on the needs and interests of that year’s students. By discovering every child’s learning style, strengths, weaknesses, and interests, and then providing them a variety of student-centered learning opportunities, as well as a safe space to explore their unique potential, students become academically competitive and creatively courageous. 

In seventh grade ELA, students receive instruction over the course of four units: Magical Realism, Modern Realistic Fiction, Classics: Fantasy Fiction, and Dystopian Fiction. Each unit relates to our 6th grade yearly college and career readiness theme: Perseverance. As students progress through each unit, they will ask the overarching essential questions, “What is perseverance?” “What is resiliency?” “What are ways in which I have persevered?” “In what ways have the characters in our novels demonstrated perseverance." These questions regarding perseverance are explicitly
investigated in order to facilitate the ACS mission to ensure students make the developmental, social, and intellectual progress necessary to become leaders at school and beyond.

Each student-centered unit begins with a primary reading focus and culminates with a writing performance task which mirrors the prior reading. Over the course of the year, students will receive standard-specific instruction in the following major domains: Reading: Foundational Skills, Reading: Literature, Reading: Informational Texts, Writing: Informational, Writing: Narrative, Writing: Persuasive, Language: Conventions, Language: Vocabulary. In addition to our in-class reading and writing, students will complete 600 pages of independent reading and construct two critical responses to literature to demonstrate their comprehension of the texts.

Text Examples (These Can and Often Do Change from Year to Year)

Primary ELA Texts:
The Dreamer
The Joy Luck Club
The Secret Garden
Lord of the Flies

READING and WRITING ACROSS the CURRICULUM
In addition to our ELA units, students also receive 4 Reading and Writing Across the Curriculum units, 2 in Science and 2
in Social Studies.

1st Semester:
Social Studies Text - The Once and Future King
Science Text - The Evolution of Calpurnia Tate

2nd Semester:
Social Studies Text - Where the Mountain Meets the Moon
Science Text - Fever 1793

Course Description/Mission

Adda Clevenger Upper School ELA:

Building foundational knowledge and exploring creative depthsThe primary goal of Adda Clevenger’s upper school ELA program is to provide student-centered ELA instruction in reading, writing, language, and philosophical inquiry, while also fostering each child’s creative potential. This is achieved by knowing every student in-depth. In fact, each year our primary texts and projects often change based on the needs and interests of that year’s students. By discovering every child’s learning style, strengths, weaknesses, and interests, and then providing them a variety of student-centered learning opportunities, as well as a safe space to explore their unique potential, students become academically competitive and creatively courageous.

In 8th grade ELA, students receive instruction over the course of four units: Memoir, Nonfiction: High School Admissions Prep, Humanities: Philosophy, Media Literacy/Dystopian Fiction. Each unit relates to our 8th grade yearly college and career readiness theme: Philosophical Inquiry & Critical Thinking Skills. As students progress through each unit, they will ask the overarching essential questions, “Who am I?” “Is reality subjective or objective?” “What is thinking?” “What is consciousness?” “Does life have an objective meaning?” “Are ethics and values universal or cultural constructs?” “What are biases, and how do they influence the way we experience the world?” These questions regarding philosophical inquiry and critical thinking skills are explicitly investigated in order to facilitate the ACS mission to ensure students make the developmental, social, and intellectual progress necessary to become leaders at school and beyond. 

Each student-centered unit begins with a primary reading focus and culminates with a writing performance task which mirrors the prior reading. Over the course of the year, students will receive standard-specific instruction in the following major domains: Reading: Foundational Skills, Reading: Literature, Reading: Informational Texts, Writing: Informational, Writing: Narrative, Writing: Persuasive, Language: Conventions, Language: Vocabulary. In addition to our in-class reading and writing, students will complete 600 pages of independent reading and construct two critical responses to literature to demonstrate their comprehension of the texts. 

Text Examples (These Can and Often Do Change from Year to Year)

Primary ELA Texts:
Into the Magic Shop
Getting In by Standing Out
Escape Essay Hell
Essay Heaven
Sophie’s World
Man’s Search for Meaning
KQED’s Facing History… Media Literacy Unit
1984

READING and WRITING ACROSS the CURRICULUM
In addition to our ELA units, students also receive 4 Reading and Writing Across the Curriculum units, 2 in Science and 2
in Social Studies.

1st Semester:
Social Studies Text - To Be a Slave
Science Text - Einstein’s Dreams

2nd Semester:
Social Studies Text - Bread Givers
Science Text - A Brief History of Time

As a history teacher, it is my primary goal to help produce a society of educated people able to preserve their intellectual freedom amid the complex pressures of the outside world. Examining the past is one way to continually encourage critical thinking skills, and my students should come away from my classroom with improvements in three main areas: an understanding of change over time; sharper powers of reason and analysis through careful research and evaluation of evidence; and improved articulation of historical arguments and counter arguments in their writing and class discussion. 

My goal is to show students that history is more than memorizing facts and dates, but a forum for debate and reinterpretation of sources. I think students learn history best when they:
• discuss and enter into historical debates with the primary sources in mind
• write frequently
• research and have confidence they can tackle new subjects for themselves
• have a teacher who is able to explain material in a variety of ways and emphasize the relevance of the material to students’ lives outside the classroom

To engage my students, I prefer using a variety of active learning methods. One such method is contrasting conflicting primary accounts of familiar events and leading the class in a close examination of the texts that highlights how different authors’ perspectives lead to different accounts. My students will often take different sides of a historical issue and debate it, increasing their verbal and analytical skills. I also incorporate a vast array of audio-visual aids into my lessons. I have used everything from maps, videos, historical monuments, images of old historical dresses, costumes, parchments, coins, postage stamps, statutes, sculpture, and art, to field trips to historical sites where appropriate. I find that this combination of discussion, debate, and audio-visual cues help make the students more active participants in the learning experience. 

5th grade

In Grade 5, students study the history of the United States from the early colonial period through Reconstruction. Historical content focuses on the political, economic, religious, and social events and issues related to the colonial and revolutionary eras, the creation and ratification of the U.S. Constitution, challenges of the early republic, the Age of Jackson, westward expansion, sectionalism, Civil War, and Reconstruction. Students analyze the various economic factors that influenced the development of colonial America and the early years of the republic and identify the origins of the free enterprise system. Students examine the American beliefs and principles, including limited government, checks and balances, federalism, separation of powers, and individual rights, reflected in the U.S. Constitution and other historical documents. Students evaluate the impact of Supreme Court cases and major reform movements of the 19th century and examine the rights and responsibilities of citizens of the United States as well as the importance of effective leadership in a constitutional republic. Students evaluate the impact of scientific discoveries and technological innovations on the development of the United States. Students use critical-thinking skills, including the identification of bias in written, oral, and visual material.
 

6th grade

Students in the sixth grade build upon their understanding of history by studying the people and events that led to the beginning of the major Western and non-Western ancient civilizations. During each unit of study, emphasis will be placed on the everyday lives, problems, and accomplishments of people, their role in developing social, economic, and political structures during that time, as well as in establishing and spreading ideas that helped transform the world. Students will learn, synthesize, and discuss the similarities and differences between the world then and the world we live in now.

7th grade

In seventh grade, students study the social, cultural, and technological changes that occurred in Europe, Africa, and Asia in the medieval times through the early modern times. After we review the ancient world and the ways in which archaeologists and historians uncovered the mysteries of the past, students will study the history and geography of great civilizations that were developing concurrently throughout the world during the medieval and early modern times. Additionally, students will uncover the growing economic interaction among civilizations as well as the exchange of ideas, beliefs, technologies, and commodities. Furthermore, students will learn about the resulting growth of Enlightenment and the concepts of reason and authority, the natural rights of human beings, etc. Finally, seventh grade students will assess the economic and social patterns of these cultures, examine the influence of these ideas and archaic cultures, and relate them to our world today.

8th grade

In Grade 8, students study the history of the United States from the Civil War to the present. The content in Grade 8 builds upon that from Grade 5 but provides more depth and breadth. Students will participate in the examination of; the Progressive Era, The Jazz Age, world wars and cold wars, depression, civil rights, Watergate, and America today. An in-depth investigation of historical events and periods, the fostering of multicultural awareness, the recognition of ethical, civic, and democratic values present in American history, and the development of a historical perspective in relation to contemporary events represent the major aspects of the course. Literature, music art, primary readings, videos, simulations and other activities will be used to enhance the subject.

Hands-on, Inquiry-Based Learning

The Upper School science program at Adda Clevenger develops lifelong learners who continually expand their understanding of the world around them. The nature of science seeks to provide explanations for natural phenomena and is focused around scientific literacy, scientific inquiry, and scientific knowledge. Through inquiry-based learning, curiosity is triggered and students are able to become the experts of their own questions. 

At Adda Clevenger, students take an active lead in this endeavor through guided labs, engineering design projects, scientific research, hands-on activities, interactive demonstrations, and scientific debates based on logical thinking. Students are encouraged to think beyond the application of vocabulary terms and apply systemic knowledge to answer questions, predict outcomes, and deepen discussion. Through the exercise of the scientific method and engineering design, content outlined by the Next Generation Science Standards comes alive in the students’ daily experience.

One of the highlights of the year is the culmination of student research, experimentation, and analysis in the science fair. All Upper School students take part in the yearly Adda Clevenger Science Fair (grades 5- 8th), with top students moving on to the San Francisco Science Fair (grades 6-8th).

Fifth grade science builds on a solid foundation of scientific inquiry and exploration provided in fourth grade. The course includes the fundamental concepts of life, physical, chemical, earth, and space sciences. Inquiry focuses on systemic design, energy flow, and matter transformations. Students will begin engaging in scientific debates, engineering models, experimental design, and scientific communication.

Unit 1: Energy and Matter in Ecosystems
-Energy in animals’ food was once energy from the sun.
-Movement of matter among plants, animals, decomposers, and the environment.
-Plants get the materials they need for growth chiefly from air and water.

Unit 2: Space Systems
-The gravitational force exerted by earth on objects is directed down.
-The apparent brightness of the sun and stars is due to their relative distances from earth.
-Patterns of daily changes in length and direction of shadows, day and night, and the seasonal appearance of stars.

Unit 3: Physical and Chemical Changes in Matter
-Matter is made of particles too small to be seen.
-Total weight of matter is conserved regardless of change.
-Measure and identify materials based on physical and chemical properties.
-Determine whether the mixing of two or more substances results in new substances.

Unit 4: Earth Systems
-Model ways the geosphere, biosphere, hydrosphere, and/or atmosphere interact.
-The distribution of water on earth is stored in various salt and freshwater reservoirs.
-Communities use science ideas to protect the Earth’s resources and environment.

Sixth grade science examines the concepts of change through the study of energy and material transformations throughout earth systems. Students will examine the structure of earth, the forces responsible for its changing surface, interactions between its various systems, and effects of large-scale phenomena. Students will gain exposure through research papers, quantitative hands-on labs, model engineering, and inquiry-driven activities. 

Unit 1: Earth Systems
-The cycling of earth’s materials and the flow of energy driving the process.
-The distribution of fossils and rocks, continental shapes, and seafloor structures provide evidence of the past plate tectonics.
-Natural hazards and forecasting of future catastrophic events inform the development of technologies to mitigate their effects.

Unit 2: Cyclic Patterns of Space
-The earth-sun-moon system provides explanations for the cyclic patterns of lunar phases, eclipses of the sun and moon, and seasons.
-Model the role of gravity in the motions within galaxies and the solar system.
-Scale properties of objects in the solar system.

Unit 3: Geologic History
-Evidence from rock strata for how the geologic time scale is used to organize earth’s 4.6 billion year old history.
-Geoscience processes have changed earth’s surface at varying temporal and spatial scales.

Unit 4: Weather, Climate, and Ocean Systems
-The motions and complex interactions of air masses result in changes in weather conditions.
-The unequal heating and rotation of the earth causes patterns of atmospheric and oceanic circulation that determine regional climates.
-Evidence-based identification of the causes of rise in global temperatures over the past century.

Unit 5: Human Impacts
-Scientific principles are used to design a method for monitoring and minimizing human impact on the environment.
-Construct arguments supported by evidence for how increases in human population and per-capita consumption of natural resources impact earth’s systems.

Seventh grade science emphasizes a more complex understanding of change, patterns, and design in the living world. Students explore cellular organization and complex functioning, changes resulting from transmission of genetic information, ecosystem interactions, and the dynamics of evolution. Students expand their inquiry skills through formal lab reports, design creation, variable manipulation, experimental error, and evidence-based discussion.

Unit 1: Structure, Function, and Information Processing
-Living things are made of cells, either one cell or many different numbers and types of cells.
-Model the function of a cell as a whole or ways parts of cells contribute to the function.
-The body is a system of interacting subsystems composed of groups of cells.

Unit 2: Growth, Development, and Reproduction
-Environmental and genetic factors influence the growth of organisms.
-Structural changes to genes located on chromosomes may affect proteins and result in effects to the structure and function of the organism.
-Asexual reproduction results in offspring with identical genetic information and sexual reproduction results in offspring with genetic variation.

Unit 3: Interdependent Ecosystem Relationships
-The effects of resource availability on organisms and populations of organisms in an ecosystem.
-Prediction of patterns of interactions among organisms across multiple ecosystems.
-Design solutions for maintaining biodiversity and ecosystem services.

Unit 4: Natural Selection and Adaptations
-Patterns in the fossil record document the existence, diversity, extinction, and change of life forms throughout the history of life on earth under the assumption that natural laws operate today as in the past.
-Natural selection may lead to increases and decreases of specific traits in populations over time.

Unit 5: Human Systems
-A body is a system of interacting subsystems composed of groups of cells.
-Sensory receptors respond to stimuli by sending messages to the brain for immediate behavior or storage as memories.
-Functional systems of the human organs.

Eighth graders take a deep dive into understanding the natural world’s complexities through the lens of matter’s structure and energy characteristics. Complex material interactions, trends and reactivity in the Periodic Table, energy transformations, force, and wave behavior are cornerstones of the eighth grade curriculum. Students expand their scientific skill set through organization and mathematical analysis of data, hands-on labs and demonstrations, manipulation of variables and repeat trails, literature review, and technical engineering.

Unit 1: Structure and Matter
-Atomic composition of simple molecules and extended structures.
-Changes in particle motion, temperature, and state of a pure substance is altered when thermal energy is added or removed.
-Atomic and molecular interactions can explain the properties of matter that we see and feel.

Unit 2: Chemical Reactions
-Analyze properties of substances before and after the substances interact to determine if a chemical reaction has occurred.
-The total number of atoms does not change in a chemical reaction and thus matter is conserved.

Unit 3: Energy
-Kinetic energy and its relation to the mass and speed of an object.
-The arrangement of objects interacting at a distance changes, and different amounts of potential energy are stored in the system.
-Test similarities and differences among several design solutions to identify the best characteristics of each that can be combined into a new solution.

Unit 4: Forces and Interactions
-Newton’s Third Law can be used to design a solution to a problem involving the motion of two colliding objects.
-The change in an object’s motion depends on the sum of the forces on the object and the mass of the object.
-Gravitational interactions are attractive and depend on the masses of interacting objects.

Unit 5: Electromagnetics and Waves
-Mathematical representations describe a simple model for waves that includes how the amplitude of a wave is related to the energy in a wave.
-Waves are reflected, absorbed, or transmitted through various materials.

The goal of the ACS math program is to create confident, flexible thinkers and to promote personal growth. Personal growth is obtained by setting and achieving goals pertaining to the grade as well as reflecting on individual strengths and weaknesses. Goal setting is an instructional focus marked by the desire to add the ‘why’ to math work instead of just the ‘how’
of math work.

Our goal will be to take students beyond learning mathematical methods, to challenge our students to think about how to solve problems, how to investigate and find mathematics and
patterns in the world. We aim to make the experience of every student in math class more practical and engaging from kindergarten through eighth grade. 

The upper school math program begins in fifth grade. Our program teaches math in sequence, using age and grade appropriate math activities to progressively build understanding, skills, and
confidence, creating a firm foundation for students that allows them to excel within an accelerated mathematics curriculum. Throughout the year our students make decisions about how to approach a problem. Students develop their ability to grasp underlying mathematical relationship without relying on rote memorization. They should successfully generalize from concepts they have mastered. They should improve their problem-solving skills, confidence, abstract-thinking skills, and hopefully their love of mathematics. They will express solutions clearly and logically using the appropriate mathematical notation. Students will develop generalizations, represent them in algebraic form and apply them in new situations. They will take clear notes from classroom instruction and demonstrate their understanding through assigned tasks, working in groups and individually. Students will take an assessment test at the end of each section of study. They will receive short and long-term homework assignments that will require them to demonstrate good study skills and manage their time effectively.

Math 5 begins to build the bridge between arithmetic skills learned in lower grades with the analytical problem-solving skills used in middle school mathematics. The course focuses on explaining the "why" of mathematical problem solving, not just the "how" of working problems. The introduction of variables opens a huge door to the abstraction of algebraic thinking, coupled with expanding the study of numerical systems to include decimals and fractions. Students will use fundamental properties i.e. commutative, associative, and distributive, to solve problems more effectively. A second core concept explored in fifth-grade math involves building an understanding of patterns and algebraic thinking. The overall goal of Math 5 is to build flexible thinkers open to multiple ways to solve problems, comfortable with adapting to new ways of thinking about math.

Students will build on their understanding of the structure of the place value system by extending that understanding to decimals. By the end of the unit, students will have a deep understanding of the base-ten structure of our number system, by comparing this system to another base and comparing and contrasting each base system. 

Students will continue thinking about other bases to introduce fractions and why operations with fractions are complicated in a base ten system. Students will obtain competency and a strong
understanding of computing operations with fractions, decimals, and multi-digit numbers. 

In the second semester, 5 th graders will begin identifying, observing, and expressing patterns. They will study displaying patterns and coming up with skills to identify them. This includes graphing on the coordinate-plane and determining how they want to represent patterns. Students will apply this thinking to functions and real-world data, learning ways to characterize
data, visually display, and organize data. 

Students will end the year converting between units of measurement and learning about fundamental geometric concepts. Students will explore the compass and straightedge capabilities and think critically about how to construct regular polygons and bisections. Lastly, students will explore volume of cubes and rectangles and think critically about the volume of pyramids and cones.

The sixth-grade mathematics course at ACS is based on some key ideas fostered throughout the curriculum. These define the type of math student we are developing at ACS. These 'big ideas' include an ability to reason and make sense of math, the productive use of discourse to explain and justify mathematical thinking, computation with flexibility, accuracy and efficiency, use of various tools to represent math ideas, and most importantly, confidence and perseverance in solving problems. 

Beyond the big ideas underlying math study at ACS, the sixth-grade student is engaged in the study of pre-algebra concepts and ideas. Developing algebraic reasoning beyond arithmetic
skills is crucial as students prepare for the more abstract world of algebra involving variables, functions and equations. As noted by authors Ann Lawrence and Charlie Hennessy, algebraic thinking includes: using or setting up mathematical models, gathering and recording data, organizing data and discerning patterns, describing and extending those patterns, generalizing findings into a rule and using findings to make predictions.

All of these abilities need to be developed within each student through repeated explorations and reflections on those explorations. To accomplish this, students build their conceptual
understanding through a wide variety of real-world, hands-on experiences involving pictures, tables, graphs, models and eventually symbols, throughout this course. 

Main Learning Targets (Goals and Objectives) and Skills: Each unit planned for this course incorporates these big ideas, with the goal of weaving together the previous year’s strands of solving expressions and equations, working with ratios, sampling populations, and geometry into a coherent understanding of linear equations, functions, and moving shapes in space. Main learning targets include:

a. Learning to reason about and with expressions and equations, including square and cube roots and both positive and negative integer exponents.
b. Modeling the connections - including proportional relationships and other patterns of association -- between two variables with a linear equation. Solving both single and pairs of linear equations with a variety of methods.
c. Gaining familiarity and confidence in understanding what functions are, how they can be compared, and how they are used to show relationships between different amounts.
d. Knowing how to work with and describe changes to figures in space through a variety of formats, and further explore applications of the Pythagorean Theorem.

Seventh-grade math students at Adda Clevenger begin an intensive Algebra 1 course, setting them up for a solid foundation and advanced placement high school. Symbolic reasoning and calculations with symbols are central in algebra. Through the study of algebra, a student develops an understanding of the symbolic language of mathematics and the sciences. In addition, algebraic skills and concepts are developed and used in a wide variety of problem-solving situations. In seventh grade students will:

- Identify and use the arithmetic properties of subsets of integers and rational, irrational, and real numbers, including closure properties for the four basic arithmetic operations where applicable. Students use properties of numbers to demonstrate whether assertions are true or false.
- Understand and use such operations as taking the opposite, finding the reciprocal, taking a root, and raising to a fractional power. They understand and use the rules of exponents.
- Solve equations and inequalities involving absolute values and solve multistep problems, including word problems, and provide justification for each step. Students simplify expressions before solving linear equations and inequalities in one variable, such as 3(2x− 5) + 4(x − 2) = 12.
- Graph a linear equation and compute the x- and y-intercepts (e.g., graph 2x + 6y = 4). They are also able to sketch the region defined by linear inequalities (e.g. they sketch the region defined by 2x + 6y < 4). Students verify that a point lies on a line, given an equation of the line and are able to derive linear equations by using the point-slope formula. They understand the concepts of parallel lines and perpendicular lines and how their slopes are related, and they are able to find the equation of a line perpendicular to a given line that passes through a given point.
- Solve a system of two linear equations in two variables algebraically and interpret the answer graphically. Students are able to solve a system of two linear inequalities in two variables and to sketch the solution set.

Throughout the year our students make decisions about how to approach a problem. Students develop their ability to grasp underlying mathematical relationships without relying on rote memorization. They should successfully generalize from concepts they have mastered. They should improve their problem-solving skills, confidence, abstract-thinking skills, and their love of mathematics. They will express solutions clearly and logically using appropriate mathematical notation. Students will develop generalizations, represent them in algebraic form and apply them in new situations. They will take clear notes from classroom instruction and demonstrate their understanding through assigned tasks, working in groups and individually. Students will take an assessment test at the end of each section of study. They will receive short and long-term homework assignments that will require them to demonstrate good study skills and manage their time effectively.

Geometry is about finding creative ways to solve for unknowns related to shapes, figures, and coordinate points. To summarize the process one must infer, eliminate, and execute, in no particular order. To master these skills, students must seek out and identify all information known, given and inferred. The student must also be able to eliminate unnecessary information that isn't required in the solution. This process happens in no particular order and there is not an algorithm to solve problems most efficiently. Geometry is a collaborative learning experience, working together is key and unraveling the mysteries is thrilling!

To build up these skills and to execute them successfully, students must build up a database of properties, postulates, and theorems. In accomplishing this first task, students must be exposed to all characteristics, properties and theorems. Students must be exposed to all characteristics and properties of shapes, solids, and different functions on the coordinate plane and understand the terms and new vocabulary associated with them. Students will derive their own properties and re-derive them to solve future problems.

Students will reflect on the parallels between algebra and geometry and overlap their skills to solve problems from both perspectives. This will be apparent in the coordinate plane transformations, distance formulas, use of the Pythagorean theorem, and solving for unknowns. Students will strengthen their algebraic skills and continue their growth using geometry as a medium and primary focus.