List of 12 items.

• Mathematics

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  In 7th grade students will learn how to apply the upper-level skills of arithmetic to more abstract concepts. The McDougal Littell Pre-Algebra book forms the basis of the course of learning in this class. The text was developed to meet the goals and objectives of the California Mathematics Content Standards, which correspond with the MJS Skills Continuum for this grade. Standards-based content form the foundation for clear mathematics development in each lesson. Instruction is balanced and focuses on the why, how and when of mathematics. This process enables students to understand, see connections, make generalizations and use knowledge effectively. Throughout the year students will use their understanding of arithmetic to develop a knowledge of pre-algebra and geometry. Students will develop a theoretical understanding using properties. They will solve algebraic equations and inequalities with rational numbers, explore volume and area of complex shapes, and learn to graph linear equations and inequalities. Throughout the curriculum students will practice applying past concepts into bigger ideas, and make connections between concepts and real world problems through various activities and projects. Students are encouraged to become independent learners and take responsibility for their own learning.

• Humanities

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  7th Grade Humanities examines the essential question “How do cultural encounters impact contemporary society?”
  
  Students explore what happens when cultures meet- beginning with the establishments of the Indigenous Peoples, to European exploration and settlements, the early colonies, and finally, ending the year with a brief overview of the founding documents.
  
  Fiction and nonfiction texts will be explored in order to become a well-rounded reader and thinker. Students read Morning Girl, The Witch of Blackbird Pond, and The Diary of a Young Girl, challenging students to interpret themes of cultural conflicts, intolerance, and human rights. Making connections to modern society will challenge students to analyze how we can use the past to create positive change in the future.
  
  Weekly grammar and vocabulary practice supplement these activities as students continue their middle school journey.

• Science

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  Science in Middle School is designed to spiral, which helps students explore connections across the four domains of science and engineering every single year: Physical Science, Life Science, Earth and Space Science, and Engineering Design. Students use the science and engineering practices that actual scientists and engineers use as they investigate the natural world and design and build systems respectively. Students are learning actively through inquiry.
  
  Each science unit has an overarching essential question that is particularly relevant and appropriate to the age group. These questions are meant to inspire wonder and by the end of the unit, provide opportunities for students to practice solving problems.
  
  

  7th Grade Essential Questions and other relevant additions
  
  

  Three-dimensional learning in the Amplify Science Middle School 7th Grade Course. The Amplify Science Grade 7 Integrated Science Course includes nine units that support students in meeting the NGSS. The following unit summaries demonstrate how students engage in three dimensional learning to solve real world questions and problems. 

  
  Geology on Mars
  
  

  Essential Question:  How can we search for evidence that other planets were once habitable? 
  
  

  Students make scientific arguments about whether flowing water or flowing lava formed a channel on Mars. They use models to figure out how systems (such as the atmosphere and geosphere) interact on Earth and other planets. 
  
  

  Plate Motion
  
  

  Essential Question:  Why are fossils of Mesosaurus separated by thousands of kilometers of ocean when the species once lived all together?
  
  

  Students figure out how fossils of one kind of animal came to be separated by an ocean due to tectonic plate motion over millions of years. To solve the mystery, students obtain information from articles, videos, and models, and they analyze patterns in maps. Plate Motion Engineering Internship: Students use knowledge of plate motion to design and test a tsunami alert system for the Indian Ocean. They use mathematical thinking as they analyze patterns in the results of their testing. 

  
  Rock Transformations
  
  

  Essential Question: Why are rock samples from the Great Plains and from the Rocky mountains composed of such similar minerals, when they look so different and come from different areas?
  
  

  Students write explanations and make visual models showing why rock formations in the Great Plains and Rocky Mountains are made of very similar minerals. They figure out how energy flowing through Earth’s systems transforms rock material. 
  
  

  Phase Change
  
  

  Essential Question: Why did the methane lake on Titan disappear?
  
  

  Students develop and use models to figure out if a lake on Titan, a moon of Saturn, froze or evaporated. They explain how energy transfer and attraction between molecules affect molecular motion at a small scale and phase change at a large scale. Phase Change Engineering Internship: Students analyze data as they design devices that use phase change materials to keep babies warm. They obtain information from articles and hands-on investigations about how energy transfers as matter melts or freezes. 
  
  

  Chemical Reactions
  
  

  Essential Question: Why is there a mysterious reddish-brown substance in the tap water of Westfield?
  
  

  Students figure out how changes at the atomic scale caused a large-scale problem in a town’s water supply. They ask questions, use models, and read articles to learn about properties of substances, atoms and molecules, and chemical reactions. 
  
  

  Populations and Resources
  
  

  Essential Question:  What caused the size of the moon jelly population in Glacier Sea to increase?
  
  

  Students figure out why a population of jellies in an ecosystem is increasing dramatically. They plan and conduct investigations to figure out how stability and change in populations of animals is affected by resource availability. 
  
  

  Matter and Energy in Ecosystems
  
  

  Essential Question: Why did the biodome ecosystem collapse?
  
  

  Students construct explanations for why a fictional biodome ecosystem collapsed. They figure out cause-and-effect relationships in ecosystems related to the cycling of carbon atoms during photosynthesis and cellular respiration.

• Religion

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  7th-grade Religion focuses on the Life of Jesus Christ and the study of the New Testament, with a focus on the synoptic Gospels. Students learn the core principles of Catholicism and Christianity, grounded in Incarnational theology. They also study the history of the early Church and its impact on the world. The course uses the Bible as its core text as well as literature, poetry, drama, memoir, and biography to explore themes of faith, freedom, justice, hope, and equity. Students delve into key concepts, Bible stories, Saints, and Biblical figures, as well as the teachings of Jesus through the Parables, Beatitudes, Armor of God, Fruit of the Spirit, prayers, Psalms, Proverbs, etc. The students learn how to cultivate a consistent and confident prayerful practice, recognize their gifts, apply Jesus' lessons to their lives, practice Visio Divina, and begin to grow in their understanding of social justice and the value of serving others.

   

  Sources:

  Living as a Disciple of Christ, Spirit of Truth Grade 7
  LIVE Youth Bible, Catholic Edition NRSV

• Health and Personal Development

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  The middle school health and personal development program builds on what the students have learned in the lower school and expands their knowledge in the areas of physical, emotional and social health. Areas of focus include: interpersonal relationship and communication skills, understanding who they are as individuals as well as citizens of their community and world, learning about various aspects of health, including sexuality education, being physically fit, understanding body image and eating disorders, drug and alcohol education, learning about the impact of media and technology and how to be good digital citizens, and how to exercise effective and educated decision-making skills in all aspects of their lives. Students leave Mayfield confident in their life skills and with a deeper understanding of their personal development and physical, emotional, and social health.

• Art

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  In this three-unit art course, seventh graders focus on the application of personal experiences and expression in their sculptures, paintings, and drawings. Students create drawings of common objects, such as their hands, pencils, and tools such as screwdrivers, and apply the Elements of Art, line, texture, value, and Principles of Design to emphasize balance and contrast of shape and forms in their work. The sculpture unit consists of an architectural letter of the alphabet. Students design and construct a three dimensional letter using one of the initials of their name. Students create the shape of their letter using cardboard, tape, and plaster cloth. The surface can be decorated with words and images that are personally meaningful and unique to the student’s identity. Seventh graders spend a large part of the year working on the painting unit. Students are asked to create a landscape painting using acrylic paints on stretch canvas. Their paintings must convey feeling and mood. With the painting unit, students work with the components of the Elements of Art and Principles of Design. Students look at landscape paintings by famous artists from the Western and Asian traditions. Seventh graders end the year with a unit on self-portrait drawing and look at self-portraits by artists such as Henri Rousseau, Marc Chagall, Rembrandt, and Albrecht Durer. They are then asked to draw themselves using photos and mirrors.

• Drama: The Mayfield Players

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  In 7th grade, “Comedy Improv” is an elective course and “Performance” is an enrichment rotation. for students interested in honing their craft. Students use their dramatic skills and talents to synthesize ideas from other content areas and innovate within their craft. They are expected to work as a team of artists, playwrights, directors, choreographers, designers, and actors to producing scenes, skits, and monologues. Finally, they learn to think on their feet as they perform comedy improv in front of their peers.

• Design & Engineering

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  In 7th grade, students continue to develop their computational thinking skills through various projects. They create both visual and physical prototypes, such as the Pinball Machine, which helps them to develop a mindset of being curious and working to discover how parts function. They are encouraged to develop their skills with more advanced tools like laser cutters, cricut machines, and glue guns. They also gain an understanding of plug and play and coding tools like Makey Makey and Scratch. Students learn to look closely at materials and how they are used in different ways and identify multiple ways to solve problems. Ample opportunities are given to demonstrate resilience. Students are introduced to design and engineering concepts such as food engineering, mechanical engineering, and identifying materials and their benefits and strengths. Opportunities for student reflection are provided through in-class written/oral assignments. Students also continue to have opportunities to showcase their work at Maker Faires.

• Music

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  Students are able to read at sight intermediate-level music literature in both the treble and bass clefs and can transcribe simple aural examples into melodic notation. They compare music from various cultures as to some of the functions music serves and the roles of musicians. Students learn to apply criteria appropriate for the style or genre of music to evaluate the quality and effectiveness of performances, compositions, arrangements, and improvisations by oneself and others. They compare and contrast the differences between one performance of a specific musical work and another performance of the same work. Students can identify similarities and differences in the meanings of common terms used in various arts and other subject areas. Seventh graders are able to describe how music functions in the media and entertainment industries and identify various careers for musicians in the entertainment industry.

• World Languages: Spanish

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  In this course, students continue their formal study of Spanish as they review and expand upon previous vocabulary. This Spanish course involves valuable communicative activities and engaging collaborative projects including dialogue battles, reading dramatic novels, leisurely traveling the world while learning to overcome and navigate traveling obstacles all the while mastering complex grammar skills. This year students are introduced to the Senderos Textbook series, Voces digital/ Vista Higher Learning (comprehensible input-based online platforms). They also expand their grammar by reviewing new verb forms and conjugations (stem-changing verbs and reflexive verbs). Students are able to read and write in various verb tenses, including the near future, recent past, present progressive and preterite. 

• World Languages: Latin

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  Who says Latin is a dead language? It lives at Mayfield Junior School. While the structure of the three year Latin program (grades 6-8) centers on learning Latin, the side benefits include developing "word attack" skills which aid reading comprehension through recognizing Latin root words, exposure to classical epics and myths, and understanding and using English grammar better. Students start their exploration of Latin using the Oxford Latin Course text and continue through the series on a pace fitting each class. Each unit has an enriching cultural element that develops students' appreciation for the classical world and its legacy in our modern times. Additionally, students are invited to attend Southern California Junior Classical League co-curricular activities with other Latin students across the Southland.

• Physical Education

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  Seventh grade physical education students transition into an interscholastic athletics curriculum. Coaching and instruction is offered during each season in major team sports and individual sporting events, such as flag football, volleyball, basketball, soccer, track and field, softball, baseball, swimming, tennis and golf. 
  
  To challenge and engage students, opportunities will be provided for participation in both competitive and non-competitive teams, encouraging a spirit of friendly competition and the development of teamwork skills. The curriculum will focus on enhancing their knowledge of game strategy and tactics, helping them make informed decisions and understand the complexities of each sport. The curriculum will also emphasize the importance of taking responsibility for one's own physical fitness and health and encourage students to follow the school’s motto of "actions not words" when representing the school in athletic competition.