Be careful what you eat
Chapter 28 centers around the treatment of the human body – that is, how we treat ourselves. Our bodies are temples for the Living God, and we shouldn’t abuse them. Obesity is now recognized as a growing and deadly trend; the flip side takes the form of eating disorders that deny any form of nutrition. Seventh grade is learning that poor food choices can lead to the development of noninfectious diseases, and so can drug abuse. Just because a drug isn’t addictive doesn’t mean it isn’t dangerous, and there are plenty of drugs that can be obtained legally at a certain age, but can still be abused. Now is the time to instill wise habits. Stay healthy and stay clean!
Miss Kleinschuster
OF LIFE & DEATH
How does the species – any species – continue? Why, through reproduction, of course, whether asexual or sexual. Some organisms are genetically identical to their single parent. That is not the case with humans, of course, and seventh grade is making a study of the reproductive cycle and human development.
Did you know that blood cells begin to form by the time an embryo is a month old? Before the second month is over the embryo has a heart, brain, spinal cord, limbs, muscles, nerves, fingers and toes. It can even swallow and blink and only measures sixteen millimeters.
Thanks to Adam and Eve’s failure to comply with God’s single rule, however, there’s a lot of stuff out there to give us: viruses, bacteria, any number of other pathogens. 7th grade will learn how the body is formed to protect itself from infection, and what happens if something gets past our defenses.
Miss Kleinschuster
GETTIN’ ON YOUR NERVES
Without our nervous system, we wouldn’t be able to sense or react to anything. We wouldn’t even be able to breathe! Seventh grade is learning that the brain, our control center, is responsible for both voluntary and involuntary functions, and stores an incredible amount of information. There are different types of nerves, as well; the nerves in your skin are not the same as the nerves in your eye, and neither do the same job as those which carry messages to and from the rest of our body, through the spinal cord. Did you know that your brain notices and processes thousands of pieces of information at once? Up to – even more than – 40,000! How’s that for multi-tasking?
Miss Kleinschuster
IN & OUT
Everyone loves to sit down to a good meal. Did you know that your digestive system doesn’t help you eat? It helps you digest! (It’s not called the eating system, after all.) Seventh grade discovered some gastrointestinal knowledge in this chapter: both mechanical and chemical digestion are required to churn all that stuff you ate into a soupy mixture so that the nutrients can be absorbed into your blood. The blood also carries liquid waste that needs to be filtered. If the kidneys didn’t exist, your blood would be toxic! If you couldn’t sweat, how would you effectively cool down? Think about it!
Miss Kleinschuster
FEARFULLY & WONDERFULLY MADE
Bones ‘dem bones ‘dem dry bones…
Actually, they are responsible for the production of some blood cells, so they’re pretty wet while you’re still alive! Students studied how the body is put together and how the organ systems function. No system stands alone. For instance, your muscular system would be useless without bones. You would be a blob of jelly. A very muscular blob, but a blob nonetheless. And those muscles would not function without oxygen obtained from the respiratory system and transported through the cardiovascular system.
Miss Kleinschuster
THAT’S CLASSIFIED
Kingdom, Phylum, Class, Order, Family, Genus, Species. Every species on Earth can be traced through this classification system, and seventh grade is learning about the diversity of life on our planet. Our God is a creative individual!
Miss Kleinschuster
We love to read
Students read one of the classic dog stories, Where the Red Fern Grows. Many students were able to relate to the deep love Billy, the main character, had for his dogs. It was a great story of encouragement to all of us to possess perseverance and courage. Additionally, students read Gladys Aylward: The Adventure of a Lifetime. Several students said they couldn’t put the book down! By God’s grace, she accomplished much, including being a key part of the obliteration of foot-binding among women in China.
Mrs. Foster
The Influence of TV
Using their learning about the many kinds of poems and figurative language, seventh and eighth graders drafted their own, original ten poems. After editing and revising, students produced their final poems, along with illustrations or photos, in Nationwide’s Student Treasures program kit. Within a few weeks, students excitedly received their individual, hardbound, laminated book of poems.
Additionally, each seventh grade student wrote a persuasive essay about the influence of television: positive or negative. Students read four or more research articles before forming their final opinion and drafting the essay. Students really enjoyed expressing their thoughts and attempting to refute the arguments of their peers in class discussion.
Mrs. Foster
Have a great summer
As the end of school nears we get teary eyed reflecting on the accomplishments of many of our students – especially when making out the end of the year awards we’re glad to see so much progress in so many ways. [They] can do all things through Christ who strengthens [them] Phil 4:13. We hope that you find the last Food for Thought Quotation that we shared with the students meaningful: An investment in knowledge always pays the best interest
It’s the final stretch!
The end of the year finds the Resource Room very busy as students finish all their unfinished work, refresh their study skills, do preps for tests, and work on review sheets. Diligence is finally taking over for some of the students. Many have improved in study habits and the self-managing skills that will make test taking go a little smoother.