7th Grade Social Studies

Welcome!

My name is Sharon Conley and I will be your child’s 7th grade social studies teacher. I am looking forward to a wonderful year. We have a lot of educational, interesting, and intellectually stimulating activities planned.
The 7th grade curriculum is theme-based and revolves around the United States Constitution, from its inception to the effect it has on us today as citizens. We will begin the year with an in-depth look at the organization of our democratic government and the development of our political system. Since this is a presidential election year, we will be participating in a mock election in November. In December, we will be focusing on immigration and we will be celebrating the conclusion of that unit by participating in Immigration Day! The students will take the knowledge they have accumulated over the month and "become" an immigrant from a European country during the early 1900’s. During the second part of the year, we will be covering the Civil War and Reconstruction, as well as Civil Rights. During the school year students will be required to keep up with current events and present their thoughts to the class. Throughout the year, the students will also be learning different guidelines for getting good grades and becoming highly effective teens to prepare for 8th grade and high school. Each student has been given a copy of "Social Studies Guidelines and Expectations" for you to review with your child. It includes my voicemail extension, my e-mail address, my website, and my home telephone number. Students are encouraged to call me whenever they have a question about homework or a project.
A successful school year usually depends on the students, teacher, and parent working as a team to ensure that both the student’s needs and the class requirements are met. I encourage you to contact me whenever a need arises. I am looking forward to working with you and your child this year!
 

Portfolios

     "A portfolio is a purposeful collection of student work that exhibits the student’s efforts, progress, and achievements in one or more areas. The collection must include student participation in selecting contents, the criteria for selection, the criteria for judging merits, and evidence of self-reflection." During this year, your child will be building  a portfolio to document their work and growth in Social Studies. At the end of each marking period, we will be reviewing the  portfolios  and  establishing  goals  for  the  upcoming  marking  period. Students will be asked to share their portfolios with you, their parents.