east Side Middle School

1458 York Avenue

New York, NY  10021

 

 

September 9^th, 2009

Dear Students and Families of the Seventh Grade,

Welcome to Seventh Grade Humanities! An exciting year awaits us, filled with interesting projects that will help make connections with our past and the world around us. 

Our examination of language arts and American history is integrated.  The history will guide our journey through literature and film, will inspire our writing, and challenge us to think as historians, journalists, photographers, poets, politicians, lawyers, explorers, and businesspeople.  The Humanities curriculum is designed to create enduring understandings through immersion in these professions.  To support our work and bring it to life, every effort will be made to take our studies outside the classroom.

A thematic study of history in which we draw parallels between the past and the present will trace the growth of the United States, from the period of European exploration to the Civil War.  As we look at history through a number of different lenses, these are some of the essential questions that will guide us through our study. How does geography influence history and culture? How do perspective and point of view influence interpretation? What has been the balance between freedom and order? 

The heart of our exploration of Language Arts will be a thorough examination of point-of-view.  We will look at what impacts point-of-view, and how our world view affects all of our lives, as well as the lives of those around us. Understandings will evolve through film, literature and plays.

Your capacity as critical thinkers will be strengthened as we develop tools for examining different media such as: newspapers, photographs, speeches, narrative and documentary films and maps.  This examination will be supported by the textbook A More Perfect Union, as well as Joy Hakim’s series A History of Us.

Literature will include plays, classic literature, and historical fiction that we read together and independently.  Novels and plays will include A Raisin in the Sun, Of Mice and Men, and Johnny Tremain.  An ongoing written Independent Reader’s Reflection will be required as well as a vocabulary log of words that we discover in our reading or in class discussion.  In your backpack you will always have the book you are currently reading. Various kinds of writing from reflective journals to polished pieces such as analytical essays, editorials, and stories are incorporated into the curriculum. 

In order to immerse you in the habits of mind of the Humanities’ professions, it is necessary that we maintain a culture of professionalism in and out of the classroom.  You are expected to come to every class prepared for this journey.                         

                             Sincerely,

                             Amanda Lifschultz