A reading activity module based on the newspaper was designed for students in grades 6-8 who have had two years of instruction in French as a second language. The module includes the teacher's guide, the facsimile newspaper, and transparencies for class activities. Module objectives are to introduce students to both newspaper reading and…

Activities to stimulate interest in and knowledge about economics among seventh graders are described in this paper. Major activities include: (1) initiating a round of student team interviews with parents and other working adults, (2) presenting a case-study simulation whereby a panel of community experts evaluates student decision-making and…

Presents the results of a major survey (n=14,051) of secondary students' sense of Canadian identity, pride, unity, and purpose. The survey covered all ten provinces and the two territories. Results showed students throughout Canada share similar perceptions of a myriad of issues and concerns, demonstrating that Canadian studies courses were…

This article reports the results of a two-week minicourse designed to teach seventh graders about exceptionalities. Concludes that the unit provided an encouraging demonstration of the receptivity of students at this age to a program designed to teach about differences. (JDH)

Using William M. Harnett's 1884 oil painting "After the Hunt," this lesson introduces students in grades seven through nine to the style of realism popular in the late nineteenth century. The lesson is also designed to show how art reflects the values of the society in which it was created. (JDH)

The relationship in the Pythagorean Theorem is introduced to low-ability seventh graders using Cuisenaire rods. The sequence of instruction is described. (MNS)

Spanish explorer Hernan Cortes encountered the Aztecs in 1519 and conquered them in 1521, claiming their empire for Spain. He then destroyed the Aztec capital city of Tenochtitlan and rebuilt a Spanish city in its ruins. In this lesson plan, it is the year 1527 and an Independent Counsel has been chosen by the College of Cardinals of the Catholic…

Explains how Sir Joshua Reynolds' paintings and William Blake's etchings enriched the study of Blake's "The Chimney Sweeper" in a seventh-grade class. (JL)

Describes activities around which a seventh grade religious studies unit is developed. Describes the building of a timeline, the game "Human Bingo," a hunt for Christian artifacts, creation of biography partners to study Jesus Christ and Mohammed, a jigsaw activity to discover Islamic principles, and a group activity using Jewish and Islamic…

Describes how a teacher shared her love of poetry once a week with a class of seventh-grade students who hated poetry, and how, in a few short months, students who had hated poetry for years became poetry lovers. (SR)

Describes how teachers can rethink traditional questioning to make it a more authentic and powerful impetus to learning for students. Shows how authentic questions stimulated a six-week study of the Holocaust undertaken by a seventh-grade teacher and her students. (SR)

Describes the use of constructivism in teaching human anatomy. Provides directions for constructing arm-hand and leg-foot models that include extensor and flexor muscles and that are easily and cheaply constructed. Lists resources that provide ideas for using such models depending upon the curriculum implemented in a school or the course that is…

Describes a year-long project for seventh graders that incorporates all aspects of language arts. Relates how the project culminates in a videotaped dramatic production of student writing. (MM)

Presents a lesson plan for seventh-grade students in which they learn respect for themselves and others and apply social studies skills. Explains that the students create timelines, interview someone of an older generation, and create a Venn diagram comparing that person's life to their own. Includes suggestions for writing assignments based on…

Describes the "quick book share," an activity used by a seventh-grade reading and language arts teacher, in which students in small groups share with each other their passion for a particular book, thus getting recommendations from each other, and letting the teacher know what books are being read in the reading workshop. (SR)