Category: Grade 7

Grade 7 • When the Beat was Born: DJ Kool Herc and the Creation of Hip-Hop

Published October 1, 2024 by kwang13

When the Beat was Born: DJ Kool Herc and the Creation of Hip-Hop

the snowy day book cover

Lesson Summary

Reading “When the Beat was Born,” we learned about DJ Kool Herc’s journey from Jamaica to the Bronx and how his experiences led to the creation of hip hop through his innovative use of turntables to create “breakbeats.” This musical revolution, facilitated by advancing recording and playback technologies, brought communities together through dance. Today, we have access to Digital Audio Workstations (DAWs), allowing hip hop to flourish in the digital age. In this lesson, students will analyze the interactions between individuals like DJ Kool Herc, technological advancements, and the cultural ideas of hip hop. Students will then create a 36-measure hip hop composition using Earsketch, applying programming concepts such as looping, conditional statements, variables, and functions. Through this process, students will reflect on their role as modern-day creators, drawing parallels between their work with digital tools and DJ Kool Herc’s analog innovations. This activity will deepen students’ understanding of how personal creativity, technological progress, and cultural contexts interplay to spark musical revolutions across different eras.

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ELA Standards:

Analyze the interactions between individuals, events, and ideas in a text (e.g., how ideas influence individuals or events, or how individuals influence ideas or events).

 

DLCS Standard

6-8.CT.d.4: Implement problem solutions using a programming language, including all of the following: looping behavior, conditional statements, expressions, variables, and functions.

Video

When the Beat was Born: DJ Kool Herc and the Creation of Hip-Hop read by Mr. Alicea

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Grade 7 • The Mess That We Made

Published October 1, 2024 by kwang13

The Mess That We Made

the snowy day book cover

Lesson Summary

A great garbage patch in our oceans is growing because of our trash. Develop a decision matrix to compare solutions to this problem and evaluate the designs, identifying benefits and limitations of each.  

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ELA Standards:

Presentation of Knowledge and Ideas 

  1. Present claims and findings, emphasizing salient points in a focused, coherent manner with pertinent descriptions, facts, details, and examples; use appropriate vocabulary, eye contact, volume, and pronunciation. (See grade 7 Language Standards 4–6 for specific expectations regarding vocabulary.) 
  2. Include multimedia components and visual displays in presentations to clarify claims and findings and emphasize salient points.
  3. Adapt speech to a variety of contexts and tasks, demonstrating command of formal English when indicated or appropriate. (See grade 7 Language Standards 1 and 3 for specific expectations.)

 

STE or Math Standards:

7.MS-LS2-5. Evaluate competing design solutions for protecting an ecosystem. Discuss benefits and limitations of each design. 

Video

The Mess That We Made read by Kathryn Hahn

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Grade 7 • The Secrets of Vesuvius

Published September 26, 2024 by kwang13

The Secrets of Vesuvius

the snowy day book cover

Lesson Summary

Students will develop a communication system that could have been used by the people of Pompeii & nearby towns to warn others to evacuate in the days leading up to the eruption of Mount Vesuvius.

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ELA Standards:

Presentation of Knowledge and Ideas 

  1. Present claims and findings, emphasizing salient points in a focused, coherent manner with pertinent descriptions, facts, details, and examples; use appropriate vocabulary, eye contact, volume, and pronunciation. (See grade 7 Language Standards 4–6 for specific expectations regarding vocabulary.) 
  2. Include multimedia components and visual displays in presentations to clarify claims and findings and emphasize salient points.
  3. Adapt speech to a variety of contexts and tasks, demonstrating command of formal English when indicated or appropriate. (See grade 7 Language Standards 1 and 3 for specific expectations.)

 

Tech/Eng Standards:

7.MS-ETS3-5(MA). Use the concept of systems engineering to model inputs, processes, outputs, and feedback among components of a transportation, structural, or communication system. 

7.MS-ETS3-1(MA). Explain the function of a communication system and the role of its components, including a source, encoder, transmitter, receiver, decoder, and storage. 

7.MS-ETS3-2(MA). Compare the benefits and drawbacks of different communication systems.

Video

The Secrets of Vesuvius read by Joseph Baptist

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Grade 7 • The Magician

Published September 26, 2024 by kwang13

The Magician

the snowy day book cover

Lesson Summary

Holly and Buddy performed an amazing magic show at The Society of Magicians. At the end of the story, Holly says “Do you think we could come up with another grand illusion?”  Your challenge is to create, perform, and explain magic tricks based on physical science concepts that Holly and Buddy could use in their next show.

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ELA Standards:

7.SL.5. Include multimedia components and visual displays in presentations to clarify claims and findings and emphasize salient points.

 

STE or Math Standards:

7.MS-PS3-2. Develop a model to describe the relationship between the relative positions of objects interacting at a distance and their relative potential energy in the system. 

Clarification Statements: 

  • Examples of objects within systems interacting at varying distances could include Earth and either a roller coaster cart at varying positions on a hill or objects at varying heights on shelves, changing the direction/orientation of a magnet, and a balloon with static electrical charge being brought closer to a stream of water.
  • Examples of models could include representations, diagrams, pictures, and written descriptions of systems.

Computer Science (DLCS) Standards:

6-8.DTC.b 1. Communicate and publish key ideas and details individually or collaboratively in a way that informs, persuades, and/or entertains using a variety of digital tools and media-rich resources.

6-8.DTC.b 2. Collaborate synchronously and asynchronously through online digital tools.

Video

The Magician read by author Sherri Maret

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Grade 7 • Pele and Poli’ahu

Published September 17, 2024 by kwang13

Pele and Poli’ahu

the snowy day book cover

Lesson Summary

Pele and Poli’ahu is a folklore story that explained volcanic eruptions as a battle between these two goddesses. This story helped the Hawaiian people make sense of their world through their culture. Nowadays, the location and occurrence of volcanoes and earthquakes can be explained scientifically by analyzing patterns of data.

Your group is being hired by Alpha Action Productions (a movie company) to research a possible filming location for a new action movie. You must research and communicate patterns of scientific evidence that help forecast the likelihood of earthquakes and/or volcanic eruptions in given filming locations.

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ELA Standards:

Presentation of Knowledge and Ideas

  1. Include multimedia components and visual displays in presentations to clarify claims and findings and emphasize salient points

 

STE or Math Standards:

7.MS-ESS3-2. Obtain and communicate information on how data from past geologic events are analyzed for patterns and used to forecast the location and likelihood of future catastrophic events. 

Clarification Statements: 

  • Geologic events include earthquakes, volcanic eruptions, floods, and landslides. 
  • Examples of data typically analyzed can include the locations, magnitudes, and frequencies of the natural hazards.

Computer Science (DLCS) Standards:

  • Research 6-8.DTC.c 4. Create an artifact, individually and collaboratively, that answers a research question and communicates results and conclusions.

Video

Pele & Poli’ahu read by Chloe Miller

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Grade 7 • Don’t Let Them Disappear

Published September 11, 2023 by kwang13

Don’t Let Them Disappear

One Well: The Story of Water on Earth

Lesson Summary

In the story ‘Don’t Let Them Disappear,’ readers are introduced to a variety of animals from around the world through captivating and heartwarming illustrations, accompanied by detailed species biographies. In this project, students will enhance the book by creating a book extension to ‘Don’t Let Them Disappear.’ This extension will highlight the conservation of a specific animal and its ecosystem through a call to action (PSA).

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STE or Math Standards

  • 7.MS-LS2-5. Evaluate competing design solutions for protecting an ecosystem. Discuss the benefits and limitations of each design.

    • Examples of design solutions could include water, land, and species protection and the prevention of soil erosion.
    • Examples of design solution constraints could include scientific, economic, and social considerations.

ELA Standards

  1. Write arguments (e.g., essays, letters to the editor, advocacy speeches) to support claims with clear reasons and relevant evidence.
  2. Introduce claim(s), acknowledge and distinguish the claim(s) from alternate or opposing claims, and organize the reasons and evidence logically in paragraphs and sections.
  3. Support claim(s) with logical reasoning and relevant evidence, using accurate, credible sources and demonstrating an understanding of the topic or text. 
  4. Use words, phrases, and clauses to create cohesion and clarify the relationships among claim(s), counterclaims, reasons, and evidence. 
  5. Establish and maintain a style appropriate to the audience and purpose (e.g., formal for academic writing). 
  6. Provide a concluding statement or section that follows from and supports the argument presented.

Video

Don’t Let Them Disappear

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