7

th
Grade Humanities
High Tech Middle North County
2013-2014

Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change
the world. Indeed, it is the only thing that ever has.
Margaret Mead

Contact Information
Instructor:ShanaBarnett
Email:sbarnett@hightechhigh.org
Officephonenumber:7607592755
OfficeHours:Mondaysat3:154:15orbyappointment
Location:Room206
DigitalPortfolio:http://msbarnettsdp.weebly.com

About 7th Grade Humanities

WelcometoMs.Barnetts7thgradehumanitiesclass!In7thgrade,weexploretherelationship
betweenourselvesandsociety.Inhumanitiesclass,youwillgrowasareader,writer,criticalthinker,
andcollaborativegroupmember.Classissplitupeachdayintoanhourofskillstimeandtwohoursof
projecttime.Toreceiveacloserlookatthecontentcoveredthisyear,youcanrefertotheSneak
PeakoftheYearCalendar.

Classroom Norms & Guiding Questions

In7thgradehumanities,wewilllookcloselyattheconceptsandquestionsthatcomefromR.A.L.L.Y.
Whenfacedwithadilemma,whetherasaclassorinagroup,wewillR.A.L.L.Ytogetherinorderto
solveproblemsandcontinuetopursueacreative,fun,andsafeenvironmentforeveryone.

Respect What does it mean to respect our peers, staff, and our
families and community outside of school?
What does it mean to respect ourselves?
What does it mean to respect our classroom and our school?
Ask Why is it important to ask questions?
Listen Why should we listen to one another?
Learn What can we learn from one another?
How does taking multiple perspectives into consideration
help us learn?
Yearn What does it mean to yearn for more knowledge?
What does a challenge for my individual needs look like?

A Clean Classroom:
1)Absolutelynofoodordrinksintheclassroom.Waterbottlesareallowed,butifacomputerisout,
watermustbeplacedunderthetable.
2)NOGUM!!!
3)Throwawayalltrashinthetrashbinandrecycleintherecyclingbin.Rememberthatas7thgraders,
otherstudentslookuptoyou.Bearolemodelandkeepourschoolclean!

high TECH high: Technology Agreements:
1)Wearefortunatetohaveaccesstocuttingedgetechnology,including13laptopsinourclassroom.
Alwaysholdlaptopswithtwohandsandcarrythemwiththescreenclosed.LaptopsMUSTbeused
onlyatatable.Donotsitonthefloorwithalaptop.Alwayssigninandoutalaptop.Laptopsshouldbe
shutdownattheendoftheday.
2)Laptops(personalorschool)aretobeusedforschoolandresearchuseonly.Emailisusedfor
workrelatedquestionsandinformationonly.Inappropriateuseofalaptopduringschoolhourswill
resultinasuspensionofcomputeruseatschool.
3)Cellphonesmuststayofforsilentinyourbackpack.Studentsmayonlyuseacellphoneduringclass
timetotakeapictureofthehomeworkboard.Thereisdesignatedtimeeachdayforthis.Ifaphoneis
outotherthanhomeworkrecordingtime,itwillliveatMs.Wallacesdeskuntilaparentcanpickitup
afterschool.
4)Takecareofallpersonaltechnologythatyoubringtoschool.Rememberthattheschoolcannotbe
heldresponsibleforlostordamageditems.

Absence Policy:
1)Itisextremelyimportantthatstudentsattendclassandbepresentontimesinceweareaproject
basedlearningschool.Thismeansthatmostoftheworkcompletedisdoneintheclassroom.Students
whoareillshouldnotattendschool.Becauseofworkdeadlines,weencouragethesestudentstoemail
teachersandgrouppartnerswhentheyareabsent.Justlikeaprofessionaljob,weexpectallstudentsto
beinclosecommunicationwiththeirpeersandteacherswhenoutofschool.
2)Whenastudentcomesbacktoschoolfromanabsence,he/shehastwoschooldaystomakeupany
missedwork.


Contract Policy:
Ouracademicprogramdiffersfromotherschoolprograms.Studentsareoftenworkingonprojectsand
collaboratingingroups.Missedgroupworkoftentimescannotbemadeupatalatertime.Theteachers
andstaffatHTMNCsupportachallengingandpersonalizedcurriculum.Toreceiveacademiccreditfor
absencesoffive(5)daysormore,studentsarerequiredtohaveanindependentstudycontract.To
coordinatethiscontractparentsmustemailCindyWallace(cwallace@hightechhigh.org)andtheir
student'steachersatleasttwo(2)weekspriortotheabsence.Duetothenatureofprojectbased
learning,contractworkmaynotbetheexactassignmentsastudentwouldreceivewhileattendingclass.
Thismeansthatacontractwillincludecurrentprojectandhomeworkassignmentswiththeadditionof
worksheets,essays,andreading.Whilecompletingworkforacontract,studentsshouldbepreparedto
completeasignificantamountofworkwhileabsent.Allcontractworkisduethedaystudentsreturnto
school.

Late Work Policy:
Workinneveracceptedaslate.Ifmoretimeisneededforprojects,scheduleanappointmentduring
officehoursandbepreparedtobeclearandhonestwhyyouneedmoretime.(don'tmakeexcusesfor
procrastination)
***Withmanyessays,IreviseandedityourFIRSTdraft.Itiscrucialthatyouturninyourworkon
timesothatyoucancontinuetogrowasawriterandastudent**

Supplies/Wishlist:
1.Two1inch3ringbinderswewillbedoingportfoliosforeachprojectinfirstsemester,soitis
imperativethatyouorganizeyourworkintoabinder.
2.WritingutensilpencilHaveonewithyoueveryclass!
3.Homeworkagenda(thiscanbeusedinallclasses)
4.AnindependentreadingbookReadwhenyouarefinishedearlywithanassignmentinclass.

Ifastudentisnotabletoprocureanyoftheitemsonthislistforwhateverreason(noexplanation
necessary),thenIwillprovidethematerialsatnocharge.

Donations:Wealsoappreciatedonationsofthefollowingitems,butthisisstrictlyvoluntary.

TheConstitutionoftheStateofCaliforniarequiresthatweprovideapubliceducationtoyoufreeofcharge.Subject
tocertainexceptions,yourrighttoafreepubliceducationmeansthatwecannotrequireyouoryourfamilyto
purchasematerials,supplies,equipmentoruniformsforanyschoolactivity.Ifyouhaveanyquestions/comments
aboutthis,pleasecontactSusanBattistuzormyself.

Grading Policy:
Eachassignmentisbasedonapointssystem.Thepointsvarywiththeassignment.Forsomefinal
assignments,youwillreceiveacommentonpowerschool.Themorepointsanyassignmentisworth,the
moreweightitcarrieswithinyouroverallaverage.Studentsreceivepointsinthesefivecategories:
Writing
ProjectPortfolios
Benchmarks
Classwork
ReadingSkills
90100A
8089B
7079C
Below70F



Timeline of Events & Content Covered This Year:

Project Title Historical &
Language Arts
Concepts
Accompanied Readings Dates*
Semester 1
Self and Society
Part 1

Identity
-Narrative
writing

Wonder-R.J. Palacio

Short story
The Cop and The Anthem
-OHenry
8/29-10/
17
10/17=exhi
bition
project
Perspective
Empathy
-Research
writing

Excerpts from Chicken
Soup for The Teenage
Soul: Teens Talk Middle
School by Jack Canfield

Excerpts from Dear Bully
by Megan Kelley Hall and
Carrie Jones


Challenge Option
Reading (TBD)
Week Break:
World Geography
World
Geography
concepts

Intro to
Dystopia
-Response to
literature
Short story
Harrison Bergeron-Kurt
Vonnegut

Short story
The Pedestrian-Ray
Bradbury

10/18-11/1
Self and Society
Part 2
The Power of the
Few
Governments
in World
History
Social
Activism
-Creative
Writing




SLCs

Literature Circles:

The Hunger Games-
Suzanne Collins

Divergent-Veronica Roth

The Giver-Lois Lowry

Among the
Hidden-Margaret
Peterson Haddix

11/4-12/18
POL Prep Public 1/7-1/23
Speaking
One of A Kind
Project &
Independent
Reading
Project
Semester 2
Show me, dont
tell me
-Persuasive
Writing
Independent reading 1/27-1/31
Mind, Body, Voice

Spring
Exhibition
Project
(Humanities/Mat
h-Science/Drama
Project)
Segregation
& Civil
Rights in The
United States
-Research
based and
Reflective
Blog Posts
Famous Speeches

Biographies & articles of
historical
figures/historical
protests



2/10-3/21
Penny For Your
Thoughts--Joint
Humanities
Project

Model UN
Conference



Testing,
testing, 123
Historical
Events



Test Prep
Research (Expository)
Writing
4/8-5/9
Healers of the
world
World
Cultures
Rituals
Nature vs.
Nurture
Genetics
-Research
paper
Frankenstein- Mary
Shelley

5/10- 5/31
tPOL prep 6/2-6/13





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