Hi again Corrina,
In my East Coast mid-80's suburban public high school, we had seven class periods of 50 minutes each with 5 minutes passing time between classes. Lunch would come after third or fourth period, depending on your class schedule, and that was the only break. And, yes, we referred to them as periods in conversation, as in "Let's ditch fifth period and go to McDonald's for lunch," or "What's for lunch? I've been starving since second period."
