Developing skills and connecting with others is a large part of Grade 7
Students in grade 7 apply the knowledge they have gained from their first year of middle school to a variety of new situations. They are challenged with more difficult content and tasked with more independent projects to demonstrate understanding. Advisory groups complete service project expectations during the year. Students also are encouraged to join after school activities including sports teams, creative experiences, and clubs that enrich their personal and social lives.
By the time our students become seventh graders, most of them are very well settled into school, and are forming new relationships with their peers based on common interests and activities. Some other students start their time with us at HIS as seventh graders, and we understand that this can be challenging. It is a time of change for everyone! Our teachers and counselor are always available to support children through this process, and within a few days, most students feel at home. Our on-going communication with parents remains a feature of the Upper School experience, we continue to welcome them to our regular information evenings and coffee mornings. Here, parents can learn more about topics such as MYP assessment and reporting, ManageBac, language development and how life is likely to change with a new adolescent in the house!
Students can choose between English or Chinese Language and Literature courses. Both courses address concepts of communication, creativity, connections, and perspective through studies of language texts and literary texts.
Students will be reading a range of texts including poetry, drama, novels, and non-fiction pieces. They will also be writing a variety of text types including informational, persuasive, narrative and descriptive.
The MYP criteria being assessed at grade 6 are listed below:
This program gives students a sound knowledge of basic mathematical principles while allowing them to develop the skills needed to make connections in mathematics to real-world situations and recognize mathematical patterns through investigations. The course explores the concepts of form, relationships, and logic.
The MYP criteria being assessed are listed below:
Criteria A: Knowing and Understanding
Criteria B: Investigating Patterns
Criteria C: Communicating
Criteria D: Applying Mathematics in Real Life Context
This course keeps inquiry as the foundation of teaching and learning. Students work independently and collaboratively to investigate topics through research, experimentation, and observation by making connections between science and every day life. The concepts addressed throughout the year include the ideas of change, relationships, and systems. Students are introduced to topics from areas of Biology, Chemistry, and Physics in this integrated science course.
Students are challenged to respect and understand the world from historical, geographical, social, economic, religious, and cultural perspectives. Through explorations that discuss the impact of these approaches on the individual, society and environment, the course approaches concepts of change, global interactions, systems, time, place, and space. Students are introduced to the topics of Geography, History, Economics and Politics in this integrated social studies course.
Students are expected to develop competence in multiple languages while gaining respect for cultural perspectives that relate to the languages learned. At HIS, students can choose from Chinese, Spanish, or English language acquisition courses to develop their skills as multilingual learners. Various levels are offered for student growth in concepts of connections, creativity, and culture.
Students can choose a language pathway that best fits their mother tongue and individual language needs. With language classes for native speakers and speakers of other languages, the phase of instruction match student levels. Students can take courses in Chinese, Spanish, or English language acquisition.
In Language B, teaching and learning is organized into six phases. These phases do not correspond to particular age groups or MYP year levels. Students will be placed in appropriate phases through initial assessment and continued progress each year in all four language skill areas: reading, writing, speaking, and listening.
Our phases are generally grouped into three classes: phase 1 & 2 (beginners), phase 3 & 4 (intermediate), phase 5 & 6 (advanced).
Phase 1 & 2 students should:
understand and respond to simple spoken and written texts
identify messages, facts, opinions, feelings and ideas presented in oral, visual and written language
demonstrate their comprehension in short oral and written form
interact to share information in a limited range of familiar situations using basic language appropriate to a limited range of interpersonal and cultural contexts
be aware that language varies according to purpose and audience
Phase 3 & 4 students should:
understand and respond to a variety of spoken and written texts
interpret specific information, main ideas and some detail presented in complex oral, visual and written language, draw conclusions and recognize implied opinions and attitudes in texts read and viewed
engage in conversation and write structured text to share informative and organized ideas on topics of personal interest and global significance, in a range of interpersonal and cultural contexts
communicate substantial information containing relevant and developed ideas and justified opinions on events, experiences and some concepts explored in class
identify aspects of format and style; speak and write with a clear sense of audience and purpose
Phase 5 & 6 students should
analyze specific information, ideas, opinions and attitudes presented in oral, visual and written language
draw conclusions, infer information and recognize implied opinions and attitudes respond and react to questions and ideas in a range of spoken, visual and written texts engage actively in conversations in social and some academic situations to contribute
substantial information containing relevant and focused ideas supported by examples and illustrations.
organize information and ideas into a clear and effective structure to express their understanding and opinions on topics of personal interest and global significance. Interpret and
adapt aspects of format, register and style of language
The MYP criteria being assessed are listed below:
Criteria A: Comprehending Spoken & Visual Text
Criteria B: Comprehending Written and Visual Text
Criteria C: Communicating in Response to spoken / written / visual text
Criteria D: Using Language in Spoken or Written Form
The Grade 6 Music course focuses on creative thinking, skill development, the context of music, knowledge, and general musical understanding. Students will develop instrumental and performance skills, utilize technology to support their musical creations, and will explore the concepts of Aesthetics, Change, Communication, and Identity through class lessons. Throughout the course they practice and reflect on their progress through their process journals, while also presenting and performing for audiences at set dates.
The MYP criteria being assessed at grade 6 are listed below:
In grade 6, students take one semester of Visual Arts, which meets twice a week. Through studying the arts, students are encouraged to think creatively, develop artistic skills, use their imaginations, see other perspectives, reflect on the context of art, and make connections between the investigation and the practice. The art courses focus on the concepts of aesthetics, change, communication, and identity.
Grade 6 Visual Arts students study the art of M.C. Escher and present his artistic methods to the class, focusing on his mathematical work with tessellations to create their own tiles that repeated and fit together in interesting ways. Students also learn about artists like Cai Guo-Qiang and Li Hongbo; discussing their innovative approaches. Students design a new method or tool to create art and to strive for innovation. They record their reflections, planning, and ideas in their sketchbooks throughout the process. Students later research and present about the art movement of Op Art, and create optical illusion covers for their sketchbooks.
The MYP criteria being assessed at grade 6 are listed below:
In grade 6, students take one semester of Design. The class meets twice a week. As a link between innovation and creativity, the Design course encourages students to explore the problems and potential solutions available to them. Using the design cycle as the foundation for the course, students use imagination, creativity, research, and collaboration to achieve their final products. The course focuses on key concepts of communication, communities, development, and systems.
The MYP criteria being assessed at grade 6 are listed below:
Giving students an opportunity to understand and appreciate the value of being physically active and making healthy life choices is an important part of middle school. Students will learn about and learn through physical activity in the PE portion of the course, which meets twice a week, while they learn to respect each other and work collaboratively through the Health portion of the course, which meets once a week. Combined, the course addresses the concepts of change, communication, development, and relationships. Students will take part in elements of physical fitness, athletic skill building, aquatics, nutritional approaches and more during their PHE lessons.
The MYP criteria being assessed at grade 6 are listed below:
