Greetings 7th Grade Families!

This week students will be working on their "Get a Life" project. Earlier in the quarter, students investigated various careers based on their interests, and now they will be using that as the starting point for this project. Students will calculate their income taxes and monthly income based on their unique career. Students will also be learning about debt-to-income ratio so they don't spend too much of their money on debt. We researched the average student loans for their careers and will calculate those monthly payments. Finally, I gave each students $8,000 in credit card debt and we will look at different payment plans and the effect of interest. Later students will look for a place to live and a car to fit within their budget based on their debt-to-income ratio.

Please email with any questions or concerns.

Sincerely,

Mr. Rowan

Greetings 7th Grade Families!

This week students will begin their unit on Financial Literacy. We will be learning some important vocabulary to begin. Students will then complete various surveys and checklists that ask about their interests, abilities, and values. This information will be input into a website that will show them career clusters related to their answers. Students will use this information to pick a career for their "Get a Life" project. In this project students will calculate their taxes, monthly income, any debt related to college or credit cards and then use their leftover money to buy a car and buy/rent an apartment, condo, or house.

Please email with any questions.

Sincerely,

Mr. Rowan

Greetings 7th Grade Families!

This week students will finish up their preparation for the United Nations Socratic Seminar where they have taken on the role of an Israeli or Palestinian and will discuss the 5 unresolved issues based on the details of their given biography. On Tuesday, Fairouz Abu-Ghazaleh will be a guest speaker in our class. Her bio is as follows: “ I'm of Palestinian origin but grew up in Jordan because my father's family were forced out of their home in Jerusalem after the creation of the State of Israel in 1948. I still have family in the West Bank and some in Jerusalem, but most are scattered around the world because of the diaspora.” We are looking forward to hearing the history of her family as it directly ties into what we have been studying. On Wednesday and Thursday, students will participate in the UN Socratic Seminar.

Please email with any questions or concerns.

Sincerely,

Mr. Rowan

Greetings 7th Grade Families!

Last week students learned about the 5 unresolved issues to peace between Israel and Palestine: Jerusalem, Borders, Security, Refugees Right to Return, and Israeli Settlements in the West Bank. They worked in groups to summarize the issue, outline the Israeli and Palestinian perspectives, and then create solutions for this issue. This week students will look at primary sources concerning these issues and determine if it is being said from a Pro-Israeli, Pro-Palestinian, or Neutral perspective. Students will then move between the groups, read their summaries on each issue, and have a chance to add other solutions to these issues. Finally, students will be given a mini-biography of either an Israeli or Palestinian and they will need to read that biography and then create talking points around each of the 5 unresolved issues to prepare for a round table discussion. 

Please email with any questions or comments.

Sincerely,

Mr. Rowan

Greetings 7th Grade Families!

This week students will be wrapping up learning about the history of the conflict between Israel and Palestine. Students will review for a quiz on this history on Tuesday and take the quiz on Wednesday. Thursday and Friday, students will be looking at the 5 main barriers to peace: Jerusalem, Borders, Right of Refugees to Return, Terrorism/Security, and Israeli Settlements in the West Bank. Students will work on solutions to these barriers and share ideas in a gallery walk.

Please email with any questions or concerns.

Sincerely,

Mr. Rowan 

Greetings 7th grade families!

This week students will continue deepening their knowledge of the history of the conflict between Israel and Palestine. Students will practice taking the vocabulary quizzes they created last week to give them the basis for understanding the conflict. They will then watch two videos and take answer questions relating to the historical events of this conflict. At the end of the week students will take a quiz on this information.

Please email with questions or concerns.

Sincerely,

Mr. Rowan

Greetings 7th Grade Families!

This week students will be working on their Middle East country research project by asking and answering questions about their country's history, government, economy, religion and culture. Students will spend Monday - Wednesday researching and Thursday and Friday turning that research into a presentation they will then present in front of the class. Please ask your student which country they are researching and what they are learning about their country.

Please email with any questions or concerns.

Sincerely,

Mr. Rowan

Greetings 7th Grade Families!

This week students will spend the first two days finishing of their guiding questions for the Create Your Own Country Project and adding that information to their presentation. They will then use the checklists provided to create a physical and political map for their country as well as a flag and description of what the colors and symbols mean. These are both due on Friday. We will finish and give the presentation at the beginning of Quarter 3.

Please email with any questions or concerns.

Sincerely,

Mr. Rowan

Greetings 7th Grade Families!

 

Students have been completing various assignments to learn about the four main types of economic systems: traditional, command, market, and mixed. We will review for a quiz on Monday and B Class will take their quiz on Wednesday while D Class will take their quiz on Tuesday. 

 

Students will be taking MAPS tests on Tuesday and Wednesday. B class will not meet on Tuesday. D class will not meet on Wednesday.

 

Students will begin their "Create your own Country" project on Thursday. Students will create their own country with it's unique geography, religion, achievements, government, and economy. This will be a way for students to creatively use what they have learned during Quarters 1 and 2.

 

All late and missing work is due this Wednesday, and final grades will be posted Friday. 

 

Students will work on their final project the last week and a half of school and that grade will be posted in Quarter 3.

 

Please email me with any questions or concerns.

 

Sincerely,

Mr. Rowan

Greetings 7th grade families!

This week students will begin a mini-unit on the four different types of economic systems: traditional, command, market and mixed. Students will begin with a pre-assessment. Once that is completed students will take notes, watch videos, and read passages to learn about the various types of economic systems. Student will then be presented with different country scenarios where they will need to determine which economic system the scenario is describing. Students will be taking a post-assessment at the end of this week or on Monday of next week.

Please email with any questions or concerns.

Sincerely,

Mr. Rowan

Greetings 7th Grade Families!

This week students will learn about the different types of governments and the purpose of governments. They will read, watch videos, and discuss these types of governments, the role of governments, and the ways governments balance the common good with protecting its citizens.

Please email with any questions or concerns.

Sincerely,

Mr. Rowan