7-8 Kehillah

As they step into seventh and eighth grade, students learn what it means to be full, contributing members of the Kehillah, serving in a variety of ways as role models for others. Their study of Judaics leads them through their B’nai Mitzvah year to the culminating, unforgettable Israel Encounter where their learning from the past ten years comes to life.

During their studies of our sacred texts, students continue to uncover the richness and relevance of various biblical and rabbinic teachings. In Rabbinics, Humash and Navi, they learn to become independent, astute, literary students of the Tanakh, Mishnah and Gemara; all with the purpose of making deep meaning of the units studied and grappling with those parts of the text that challenge us theologically.

Students are encouraged to ask big questions about the teachings and to find their answers within the verses or, better yet, to keep asking and appreciating varied interpretations and perspectives. Using a project-based learning framework, students in the seventh grade build a Mishkan (Tabernacle) according to the Torah’s detailed descriptions, utilizing math concepts for their calculations and design techniques for the construction. While building, they focus on the enduring understanding that we are commanded to create a sacred space for God and on trying to understand what it means to create a sacred space.

Proficiency in Hebrew language is built using conversational and experiential practices, like simulating a shuk (market) in Israel, with a goal of cementing their foundational knowledge in writing, reading, conversation and comprehension. Our students are excited to use all of the knowledge they have accumulated during their Eighth-Grade Israel Encounter.

In Israel, students trace the footsteps of our ancestors and visit the places they have learned about since early childhood. They dance at the Kotel, share Shabbat with their peers, lead services for each other and eat food they have purchased using their Hebrew language skills at the shuk. They visit Yad Vashem and climb Masada. They meet with Druze representatives and speak to Bedouin guides. They hike the land and gain a true appreciation for the complexity and beauty of the tapestry that is Israel. Our students appreciate that Israel is the home of the Jewish people, and that they have an important role and place in the continuity of Am Yisrael.

English Language Arts (ELA)

In seventh and eighth grades, students continue to develop strong reading, writing, speaking, and listening skills. They learn to read critically, evaluate research, form and defend opinions, construct counterarguments, and hypothesize. Small-group discussions, debates, and collaborative activities strengthen communication skills while helping students refine their ideas. Students sharpen their writing skills as they practice writing for a variety of purposes and audiences, including literary analysis, research-based argumentative essays, and narratives. Vocabulary, grammar, and mechanics are infused throughout each unit.

The seventh-grade ELA curriculum includes a study of literature (novels, short stories, poetry, and drama) and informational texts. Students analyze and synthesize information, strengthening their reading skills and improving their writing proficiency.

Eighth-grade ELA serves as an important bridge between the skills introduced in middle school and those that need to be developed and refined for success in high school. Literature serves as a platform for students to explore diverse perspectives, ideas, and the relationships between people and characters.
 

Social Studies

In seventh and eighth grades, Social Studies is organized thematically rather than chronologically, allowing students to explore enduring questions about human society, justice, and civic responsibility. Students in both grades develop strong analytical and research skills, regularly using primary sources and evidence-based writing to make historical connections. 

Seventh grade: All units are designed around an essential question that guides understanding of how America has grown from its early inception to today. By the end of 7th grade, students begin to identify the key connections among themes and ideas of our country. We explore significant events, people, ideas, and movements from the late 18th century to the 21st century.

Eighth grade: Each unit is organized around an essential question that guides students’ understanding of how America has grown from its early inception to the present day. By the end of eighth grade, students can identify the important through lines, connecting themes and ideas of our country, enabling them to continue the “great task remaining before us” [A. Lincoln, 1863].

Mathematics at Schechter is engaging, skill-building, and rooted in real-life problem solving. Students learn to see themselves as mathematicians who think deeply, embrace the mathematical process, and apply their learning to meaningful situations. Through active, hands-on exploration, targeted instruction, and collaborative problem-solving, they build strong number sense, flexible reasoning, and confidence, developing a growth mindset that encourages perseverance, curiosity, and continual improvement.

In 7th and 8th grades, math instruction continues to meet each student where they are, providing personalized support and challenge that helps them grow confidently as mathematicians.

By honing their problem-solving and abstract thinking skills, students learn to identify and apply their knowledge to real world situations. Pre-Algebra and Algebra courses at multiple levels are taught to prepare our students for high school.

The science curriculum continues to focus on inquiry-based learning and building our students’ ability to think critically through application of the scientific method. In seventh grade, students do a deep dive into Life Science, with a particular focus on cellular biology. Students are fascinated each year as they visualize their own cells after taking a sample from the inside of their cheeks. They compare their cells to those of other living things and extract DNA from a strawberry. Students round out their seventh grade year learning about vertebrate and invertebrate biology, and even get a chance to perform dissections.

In eighth grade, students study Physical Science, which allows them the opportunity to get a rich foundation of atoms as the building blocks to our universe, as well as the physics behind many natural phenomena in our lives. Our new chemistry lab is equipped with a fume hood, Bunsen burners, sinks, and portable lab stations allowing students to conduct a wide-range of problem-based lab experiments and develop important chemistry skills. In their physics unit, students are excited to design their own roller coasters, and see the laws of physics in action during a field trip to Six Flags Great Adventure.

The annual Science Fair provides one of our many authentic learning opportunities where students continue to grow and refine problem-solving, project management, public speaking and research skills. They learn resilience and the ability to pivot as they follow the scientific process and try, fail, iterate, and then try again before presenting to expert judges, peers, teachers and parents. Recent experiments include building heart valve models with our 3D printers and studying the piezoelectric effect in compounds.

In seventh and eighth grade, students continue to improve their creative thinking, design thinking, and computational thinking skills in a more independent and self-directed way as part of projects with other subject areas. During our integrated mobile apps social studies unit, students learn AP-level computer science concepts and agile development methods while developing mobile apps that will help younger Schechter students learn about key historical characters. In this rigorous unit, students learn about the development of mobile apps from prototyping and testing the user interface (UI) on paper to programming fully interactive apps in JavaScript.

Integrating with their science curriculum, students learn how to prototype and then design digital models of a cell structure that are then 3D printed and analyzed as part of a larger system. In eighth grade, students learn how to prototype, design and engineer roller coaster models, as well as how to program a circuit board (Circuit Playground Express) using Python to measure and analyze the accelerometer data of their simulations.