Grade 7 Social Studies: how to help at home
What your child learns in Grade 7 social studies in the New Brunswick Curriculum, and simple things to try at home.
The Big Ideas this year
- Geography: Human Systems and Interactions. Assess how worldview and culture influence identity.
- History: Events and Peoples. Research historically diverse regions of the world.
- Civics: Rights and Responsibilities. Examine selected issues relating to human rights legislation around the world.
- Civics: Civic Engagement. Take age-appropriate actions to demonstrate an understanding of responsibilities as global citizens.
- Wabanaki: Identity. Discuss the worldviews, languages, cultures, and traditions of Wabanaki Peoples with respect.
- Economics: Systems. Analyze the effects of the distribution of wealth around the world.
Easy ways to practise social studies at home
- Follow a current event together and ask who is affected and why people see it differently.
- Build a timeline of a family event or a historical topic they are studying.
- Use an atlas or online map to trace a trade or travel route.
- Ask “Whose voice is missing from this story?” when reading about the past.
What each unit covers
World Beliefs
Where and when major religions and philosophies began (Judaism, Hinduism, Buddhism, Confucianism, Daoism, Christianity, Islam), their key figures, texts and ideas, described respectfully and factually.
Wabanaki Worldviews & Cultures
Practises Wabanaki worldviews, languages, cultures and traditions, with respect for living communities. The content is light, in the present tense, and needs review by Wabanaki partners. It follows the Grade 7 social studies skill descriptors on Wabanaki identity and on culture and identity in the New Brunswick curriculum.
Comparing Societies
Children compare societies in Asia, Africa and Australasia: what all societies have in common, how culture, art, westernization and Indigenous ways of life shape daily life, and why diversity is valuable.
Where Civilizations Grew
How geography shaped Mesopotamia, Egypt, the Indus Valley and Shang China along their rivers, plus Greece, Rome and the Maya. Includes a reading passage about the Nile flood.
Rights of Children
Practises the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child and selected child rights issues around the world, including those of Indigenous children in Canada. Questions are gentle and focus on what people can do to help.
What the report card levels look like at home
- Working below
- Just getting started with this idea. Short, regular practice with lots of support helps most.
- Approaching
- Understands parts of it and is building confidence. Keep practising the tricky parts.
- Meeting
- Has it! Mixed review now and then keeps it strong.
- Excelling
- Applies it confidently, even in new or harder situations. Try challenge mode and real-life problems.
Your child’s teacher decides the level on the report card. Read the New Brunswick report card guide.
Common questions
Follow a current event together and ask who is affected and why people see it differently. Build a timeline of a family event or a historical topic they are studying. Keep sessions short, about 10 to 15 minutes, and stop on a success.
The New Brunswick Curriculum Grade 7 social studies units include world beliefs, wabanaki worldviews & cultures, comparing societies, where civilizations grew, rights of children.
Free printable Grade 7 social studies practice sheet
Questions from every unit, with an answer key.