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Reading
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Writing
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Math
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Science
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Social Studies
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September
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Unit 1 - Turn Every Kid into a Reader and Character Analyst!
In the first unit, students will establish goals in their reading community and they will assess their strengths and needs as powerful readers. The character study provides an introduction to the interpretive work that is the cornerstone of middle school reading.
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Unit 1 - Narrative Writing
In this unit students will become goal-oriented writers who build on their writing foundations. Through the workshop model, writers will produce a personal narrative and increase productivity in their independent writing.
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Unit 1 - Applications of Geometry
Students will solve problems involving length, area, volume and surface area including work with nets.
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Unit 1 - Light and Matter
This unit develops science ideas about how our eyes see objects by light reflecting off of or transmitting through them. As the unit progresses, students will ask questions and draw models to help explain a puzzling phenomenon: a one-way mirror.
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Unit 1 - East Asia: Economic Powerhouse: China
Students will study the region of East Asia with a focus on China (geography, history, government and economy)
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October
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Unit 2 - Ratios and Rates
Students will solve problems using ratios including unit rate and percentage problems.
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Unit 2 - Thermal Energy
This unit develops science ideas about temperature, heat, and thermal energy. Students build on prior learning about states of matter, energy and energy transfer through the investigation of iced drinks in two different kinds of cups. By the end of the unit, they will design a cup that will keep a drink colder than the cups investigated.
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November
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Unit 2 - Tap the Power of Nonfiction
The major goal of this reading unit is to sharpen students’ ability to read more complex nonfiction. Students will focus on building fluency, accurate understanding of central ideas, and proper citation techniques.
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Unit 2 - Up the Ladder Information Writing
The focus of this unit is the research-based informational essay. Writers will go through the research and writing process from whole-class topics to individual areas of interest.
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Unit 3 - Weather, Climate & Water Cycling
Students develop science ideas about weather, climate, and water cycling. During the unit, students will conduct investigations where they analyze data to draw models to help explain both small scale storms as well as large weather systems and climate-level patterns of precipitation.
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Unit 2 - Western Europe: Division and Unification of Modern Europe: The EU
Students will explore Western Europe with a focus on the European Union (geography, history, government and economy)
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December
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Unit 3 - Operations with Positive Rational Numbers
Students will add, subtract, multiply and divide with positive whole numbers, decimals and fractions with a focus on making sense of dividing fractions.
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January
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Unit 4 - Plate Tectonics & Rock Cycling
This unit develops science ideas about processes that build up and wear down Earth’s surface. Students investigate Mt. Everest and 5 other mountains to explain how mountains can move, grow, and shrink.
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February
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Unit 3 - Social Issues Book Clubs
This reading unit gives students a practical introduction to critical literacy. The focus will be on reading to identify and study the social issues that are woven into the fabric of middle grade and young adult fiction. Students will learn how reading across genres can also help to develop a more researched view of an issue in society.
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Unit 3 - Literary Essay
Students will write a literary essay by developing a plan that incorporates evidence and explaining how the evidence supports their big idea. Students will practice close reading strategies in order to develop theories about a story, and to apply the strategies to their own writing.
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Unit 4 - Expressions and Equations
Students will write algebraic expressions and use tables, graphs, equations, and verbal descriptions to represent and solve problems
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Unit 3 - South America: Abundant Resources: Brazil and the Amazon Basin
Students will explore South America’s physical and cultural geography and describe the way resources and land-use conflicts impact the region with a focus on the Amazon Basin.
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March
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Unit 5 - Natural Hazards
This unit develops science ideas about natural hazards and how society can respond to them. Within this unit, students focus on the 2011 Great Sendai or TÅhoku earthquake and tsunami in Japan. Overall, students explain what causes a tsunami in order to design how they can possibly lessen the impacts of one.
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April
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Unit 4 - SBA Test Prep
This short unit provides an opportunity to revisit reading goals and comprehension strategies for complex texts. In addition, the aim is to create a bridge between the authentic reading work up to this point and the specific language and structure of the test.
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Unit 4 - SBA Test Prep
This short unit is focused on the specific, unique writing tasks on the Smarter Balanced Assessment. Students will review strategies for writing effective short responses, as well as tips for revising and editing.
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Unit 5 - Systems of Rational Numbers
Students will work with positive and negative numbers (including fractions) with a focus on location on number lines, comparing & ordering and connections to their lives.
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Unit 4 - Sub-Saharan Africa: Economies, Resources, and Governments: South Africa
Students will explore Sub-Saharan Africa with a focus on the colonization of South Africa, investigating society during and after Apartheid.
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May
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Unit 5 - Fantasy Book Clubs
Readers will draw on all of the skills and strategies they have learned for comprehension to synthesize across fantasies individually and with their book clubs. Students will explore the fantasy genre as a way to look at complex themes and ideas.
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Unit 5 - Fantasy Writing*
Writers will apply crafting techniques they learned throughout the year in Writers Workshop to write their own fantasy story. Students will celebrate their writing growth in this final unit of study for the year.
*Poetry Writing may be offered as an alternative option.
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Unit 6 - Cells & Systems
This unit focuses on the biological process of healing that takes place in the human body after it sustains an injury. Students will follow the healing journey of one individual to delve into the science behind this process. They also will have the opportunity to reflect on their own experiences with injury.
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Unit 6 - Statistics & Distribution
Students will display data using graphs and analyze using mean, median, mode and range.
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June
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