What your child learns in Grade 7 in Alberta
Grade 7 is the first year of junior high in many Alberta school authorities. Students work with decimals, percents, fractions, integers, linear relations and circles, study ecosystems, heat and structures in science, and learn about Confederation and Canadian expansion in social studies.
Grade 7 subjects in the Alberta Curriculum
Math
Big Ideas
- Number: develop number sense, with divisibility, decimals, fractions, percents and integers
- Patterns and Relations: use patterns to describe the world, and represent algebraic expressions in many ways
- Shape and Space: use direct and indirect measurement, describe 2-D shapes and 3-D objects, and describe position and motion
16 units, including divisibility rules, decimal operations, adding & subtracting fractions, comparing & ordering.
English Language Arts
Big Ideas
- General Outcome 1: students explore thoughts, ideas, feelings and experiences
- General Outcome 2: students listen, speak, read, write, view and represent to comprehend and respond personally and critically
- General Outcome 3: students manage ideas and information
14 units, including close reading, whose story?, literary devices, tone & mood.
Science
Big Ideas
- Unit A, Interactions and Ecosystems: living things depend on each other and on their environment, and people affect ecosystems
- Unit B, Plants for Food and Fibre: how plants grow, how people use them, and how to grow them sustainably
- Unit C, Heat and Temperature: heat is the movement of particles, and it can be transferred and controlled
14 units, including ecosystems, food chains & energy, cycles & succession, people & ecosystems.
Social Studies
Big Ideas
- Canada: Origins, Histories and Movement of Peoples is the Grade 7 focus
- 7.1 Toward Confederation: how First Nations, Métis, Inuit, French and British peoples shaped what became Canada
- 7.2 Following Confederation, Canadian Expansions: how Canada grew, including into the West, and what that meant for the people who lived there
10 units, including new france & the fur trade, the fur trade in the west, power & conflict, 1713 to 1800, loyalists & the war of 1812.
French Immersion
Big Ideas
- Listening and speaking in French grow every day when French is the language of learning.
- Reading French texts of many kinds builds comprehension and the habit of reading for meaning.
- Writing in French for a purpose and an audience uses the conventions of the language.
7 units, including le superlatif, choisir le bon temps, figures de style, la poésie.
Core French
Big Ideas
- Applications: using French to communicate in everyday situations, to explore and to have fun.
- Language competence: understanding and using the sounds, words, sentences and texts of French.
- Global citizenship: learning about Francophone communities in Alberta, Canada and the world, and about other cultures.
8 units, including directions, places in town, comparing, describing people.
What to look for on the report card
Look for comments on independence, study habits and confidence with harder math and reading. Report cards may use letters or percentages, depending on the school.
Alberta report cards describe learning with Beginning, Approaching, Meeting, Exceeding. See what each level means.
Competencies grow alongside subject learning in every grade. Read about competencies.
Ready for Grade 7?
Grade 7 builds on what your child practised in Grade 6. If a skill feels shaky, a few short practice sessions before or early in the year can help:
- Math: integers & decimals, adding and subtracting integers, factors & primes, powers and common factors, decimal × and ÷
- English Language Arts: close reading, point of view, figurative language, connotation & tone, text forms & features
- Science: particles and heat, measuring temperature, expanding, shrinking and freezing water, forces in interactions, gravity & friction
- Social Studies: principles of democracy, athens: direct democracy, the roman republic, haudenosaunee confederacy, governments in canada
- French Immersion: imparfait ou passé composé?, racines et préfixes, les légendes, quand et où?, le roman jeunesse
- Core French: letter patterns, question words, hobbies, giving reasons, feelings and states
Common questions
What do kids learn in Grade 7 in Alberta?
Grade 7 covers math, english language arts, science, social studies, french immersion, core french in the Alberta Curriculum. Grade 7 is the first year of junior high in many Alberta school authorities. Students work with decimals, percents, fractions, integers, linear relations and circles, study ecosystems, heat and structures in science, and learn about Confederation and Canadian expansion in social studies.
How is Grade 7 reported in Alberta?
Alberta report cards describe learning with Beginning, Approaching, Meeting, Exceeding.
How can I help my Grade 7 child at home?
Short, regular practice works better than long sessions: 10 to 15 minutes a few times a week, on the skills your child's teacher flags. Read together, use math in real life, and praise effort.
Practise Grade 7 skills with Gradelings
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