E n g l i s h
The emphasis of the seventh grade English course is to promote good reading habits as well as critical and analytical thinking and expression. An emphasis is also placed upon grammar, sentence structure, and word usage in the context of written expression. There are three main components to the seventh grade English class: literature, grammar, and vocabulary.

The primary objective of the literature component is to enhance a student’s interest in reading while introducing concepts of literature analysis. Students will be expected to discuss and critically analyze what they read. The class readings are selected to appeal to the seventh grade boy’s sense of adventure and heroism. Once literary concepts such as plot, character, setting, are introduced, class discussions take on a more analytical nature and lead towards the student’s appreciation of an author’s skill and technique. A variety of short stories are particularly well-suited to the accomplishment of this goal. Papers are written comparing and contrasting short stories and authors as well as the use of setting, characterization, and other literary concepts. Finally, students write their own short story in addition to their many other essays.

The seventh grade grammar component reinforces all the fundamental
grammatical concepts so that the students have a firm basis in grammar and the
application of grammar to their writing, a process that takes most boys succes-
sive years of study and practice. The grammar text is English Workshop, Second
Course, Holt, Rinehart, and Winston. It is a workbook with 25 chapters of
distinct grammatical concepts. Each chapter is divided into numerous sections
breaking the concept into easily manageable parts or segments. Every section is
followed by numerous practice exercises. At the end of each chapter are review
exercises which reinforce the retention of the concepts learned in the chapter.
The primary method of instruction is classroom presentation of the principles in
each section. Homework is assigned nightly and consists of completion of the
exercises relating to the material covered in class. The homework is graded in
class on a daily basis. The principles are reinforced by diagramming sentences
in essays written by the students.

he primary objective of the vocabulary component is to broaden the student’s
word usage and word construction knowledge. The textbook used for the vocabu-
lary component is Vocabulary from Classical Roots from Educators Publishing
Service. The vocabulary text is structured around words that use common Latin or
Greek roots. The fundamental approach of the text is to enable students to recog-
nize roots so that they may learn to discern the meaning of unfamiliar words. Often
vocabulary words are also taken from the novels read in class in order to help the
student better understand the readings.


L i f e  S c i e n c e
This course is designed to develop an appreciation and understanding of biology in
everyday life. It seeks to have students understand that the world around them is
really a collection of countless mysteries and discoveries. Developing a sense of
fascination with biology within each student is a primary goal of the course. In
addition to developing a fascination for science, a practical familiarity and base of
knowledge is developed as it is required for a more advanced study of science. The
textbook used in this Life Science course is entitled Exploring Life Science by
Prentice Hall.

The course is divided into two semesters: Environmental Science and Human Biology,
with different instructors for each semester. Environmental Science studies environ-
mental factors that affect local ecosystems, including our own campus. The course
will be accompanied by laboratory experiments that will help students answer some of
these “mysteries” with the help of the scientific method. There will be the opportunity
to complete lab experiments as well as discuss current information in the field of
science.

The Human Biology semester of Life Science focuses on learning about all the major
systems of the human body and identifying major organs. The structure of each major
organ is examined as well as how that structure relates directly to the function the
organ plays in the body. In this semester, students embark on a discovery of the
human body that is nothing less than a discovery of their own physical being.
The Life Science course seeks to develop skills within the students that will allow
them to pose questions, make observations and inferences, develop hypotheses,
design experiments, make measurements and collect data, interpret data, and draw
conclusions. Since much of learning science requires developing a new vocabulary,
students also develop a new scientific vocabulary through the use of a notecard note-
taking system. The student leaves this course with a greater appreciation and fasci-
nation for biology and how the study of biology can be found all around us and includes
the study of our own physical being.

P r e - A l g e b r a
The seventh grade Pre-Algebra course continues to build a foundation for advanced
mathematics by emphasizing basic skills and problem-solving techniques. Major
topics studied and reviewed include but are not limited to: converting decimals,
fractions and percents, geometric area and volume of various shapes, averaging
quantities, order of operations, changing rates, algebraic steps, ratios, word
problems, probability, exponents, square roots, scientific notation, and distance
problems. The main textbook for the course is Algebra published by Saxon mathe-
matics. The Saxon math series of textbooks is particularly useful given the way the
student is reminded of past lessons in every problem set.
The habits and skills that this course seeks to establish for students include: order
in problem solving, neatness, completeness, attention to detail, perseverance,
proper arithmetic, showing problem-solving steps, verifying solutions, and identi-
fying and correcting common sources of mistakes.

R e l i g i o n
The seventh grade religion course provides an in-depth understanding of the
doctrine of grace. The student develops an appreciation for this supernatural gift
from God given to us through Jesus Christ and God's plan for salvation. The student
will study creation, divine revelation, Adam and Eve, and the prophets. Then, the
student will study Christ as the source of all grace and the founding of the Church.
Throughout this course, students deepen their knowledge of the seven sacraments
and the virtues. The course includes familiarization with the liturgical calendar,
feast days, the lives of saints, prayers and selections from the Catechism of the
Catholic Church. The course is ultimately designed to challenge students to
increase their love for God and their hope for heaven. In order to cultivate a life of
piety and develop a prayer life, the student will have regular opportunities each
month for confession, spiritual talks and recitation of the rosary during a chapel
service held once every two weeks by The Heights’ chaplains. The primary textbook
is The Life of Grace, of The Faith and Life Series published by Ignatius Press.

L a n d s   a n d   C o n q u e s t s
The major topics covered in the seventh grade History course are World War II, the
Civil War, and geography. Students gain an appreciation for these two enormously
significant historical events and, while doing so, learn a great deal about the result-
ing geography that was impacted by each war. World War II is a vast topic often
understudied in many secondary school history classes but nonetheless consid-
ered by many historians to be the most influential event of the twentieth century.
Students study the impact of World War II on both their own country and the
countries of Europe and the Pacific. The Civil War is covered in-depth as well and
the surrounding battlefields in the area present an enriched opportunity for study
and relevance. Finally, students gain insight into the personal character and tenac-
ity of those involved in each of these two conflicts.

Most specifically, the course instructs the students in the following: the causes and
conditions during the time periods leading up to WWII and the Civil War, an under-
standing of influential military and political leaders in both wars, the major
geography of Europe, Asia and The United States including cultures, people and
physical features, and major battles that are used to explain military strategies,
tendencies of leaders and eventual results. The students use two textbooks for the
course, entitled World War II and The Civil War of the America at War Series by
Michael Golay. While accomplishing the course objectives, students develop the
following habits: organizational and note-taking skills, the self-discipline of study-
ing class notes every night, long-term planning for monthly sets of homework
projects, and analytical thinking skills as opposed to rote memorization. Finally, it
is an objective of this class to allow students to develop an interest in military
history that will last them a lifetime.

L a t i n  A
The study of Latin is an important aspect of The Heights academic curriculum
because of its connection, pedagogically and linguistically, to the liberal arts. All
Middle School students are therefore required to take Latin. The textbook
employed for the course is Vade Mecum, written by members of The Heights
Classics Department. This course covers the rudimentary facets of Latin grammar
including the first three declensions of nouns and adjectives, allowing students to
become familiar with the case uses. The conjugation of verbs in the active voice of
all six tenses is also studied. Through a rather extensive exposure to new vocabu-
lary words, the boys learn several other topics such as noun/adjective agreement, syntax, verb principal parts, the imperative mood, the vocative case, and the formation of adverbs. Simple sentences and short paragraphs are translated, both from Latin to English and English to Latin.

Learning the many forms of Latin words significantly develops the student’s ability
to memorize. As there are an exceedingly large number of English words derived
from Latin, the course will expand the students’ English vocabulary as well as foster
an aptitude for deciphering the meaning of new words based upon their Latin roots.
The fixed and clear structure of Latin grammar will give the boys a greater under-
standing of English grammar and of the nature of language in general. This
discipline is intended to form students as comprehensive readers, expressive
writers, and clear thinkers. The improvement of note-taking and organizational
skills and the attainment of proper test-taking techniques are additional goals of
the course.

H o n o r s  L a n g u a g e  P r o g r a m
This introductory, elective class is designed to build the basics of Spanish which
will be necessary in order to improve a student’s competency in Spanish. The class
moves quickly through the material and a foundation is laid for an advanced study
of Spanish in the years to come. The focus is on reading, writing, listening, and
speaking in Spanish. During this first year, grammar and vocabulary are empha-
sized since they are the foundation for these four basic skills. Daily activities,
homework, periodic quizzes, and short presentations will be a part of regular classes. News programs, videos, newspapers, magazines and maps will also be used to practice listening, comprehension, and versatility in the student’s use of Spanish.The students should also use opportunities for speaking in class to enhance their pronunciation skills and fluency. Class participation will enhance the student’s mastery of Spanish as well as his understanding of the spoken word. The primary text for this class is ¡En español! published by McDougall Littell.



W r i t i n g
This semester-long elective class concentrates on the fundamentals of writing and
grammar and acts primarily as a writing workshop supplementing the regular English
class. A structured approach to essay development and outline organization is
utilized. The primary objective is to further develop the skills of the student to
enhance his ability to write a well-organized, thoughtful, five paragraph essay, essen-
tial to success in high school and college. The students learn from a highly structured
initial approach that writing is a multi-step process rather than a stream-of-
consciousness-style series of words. The process includes: a written brainstorm, an
outline, an initial draft, an editing phase, a redrafting phase and then a final paper.
Essays are assigned two out of every three weeks. The initial essays are drafted by hand with the final copies typed. Once the writing concepts are familiar, an on-line inter- activewriting program is utilized – Criterion. With this program, the student enters his first draft via the Internet and Criterion reviews the piece for major errors in structure, grammar and spelling. It also prompts the student to check whether the essay contains aspects such as a thesis and a conclusion as well as main idea sentences for each paragraph and detail sentences that follow the main idea. The teacher then
reviews the draft on-line and enters appropriate suggestions for improvement. The student then redrafts and turns in his final draft. The final draft is then graded and the student often redrafts again based upon the comments of the teacher. Students learn that writing requires an attention to detail and an editing process with the necessary commitment to find the best way to express one’s thoughts.



M u s i c / A r t
This semester-long course is dedicated to an appreciation of the arts and divides a week
with three days allocated to the study of music and two days allocated to the study of art.
Building upon the foundations of rhythm, melody, and sound production studied
in sixth grade music, the seventh grade music class explores music theory and
history as well as music from other cultures and regions of the world. Students put
their knowledge to work by writing, arranging, and performing individual composi-
tions. When studying great works, the focus is on the Baroque, Classical, and
Romantic eras followed by an introduction to the American style of jazz and the
evolution of a popular modern music style.

The seventh grade Art class is a survey class that studies perspective, realism,
architecture, and color through a variety of media. Students are expected to draw
and sketch as well as understand and appreciate great works of art. This blend of
experiences is intended to develop an aesthetic awareness in the student. The
opportunity is provided for longer-term projects and an after school Art Club is
available for additional developmental time.

P h y s i c a l  E d u c a t i o n
Students participate in physical education class on a daily basis. The emphasis of
this class is on fitness, skill development, understanding the rules of a variety of
sports, engaged participation, and sportsmanship. Students are encouraged to
engage in healthy competition and are given the opportunity for exercise on a daily
basis. Depending upon the season, soccer, basketball, baseball, and lacrosse teams
practice during this class period under the supervision and direction of their
coaches. All other middle school sports teams practice during times outside of
physical education class.