• english 7

  • Focus standards for Unit 1 are:

    RI 7.1 -Cite several pieces of textual evidence to support analysis of what the text says explicitly as well as inferences drawn from the text.

    RI 7.3 - Analyze how particular elements of a story or drama interact (e.g., how setting shapes the characters or plot). 

  • Unit 1 Writing: Informative Essay

    Using ideas, information, and examples from multiple texts in this unit, write an informative essay for a print or online magazine for young adults explaining why it’s important to carefully consider information before accepting it as true.

  • Dear Parent/Guardian:

    As part of our English Language Arts (ELA) curriculum, we will soon begin a unit titled Reality Check. In this unit, students will challenge their perceptions of reality. The texts we will read center on the Essential Question “What can blur the lines between what’s real and what’s not?” This open-ended question is intended to spark thoughtful discussion. You may wish to explore this question with your student at home as well.

    Unit 1 includes the following texts.

    • Mirror Image: In this short story, a teenager struggles to reconcile the person she sees in the mirror with who she is inside. Students will learn how to analyze plot and flashback as well as character traits.  
    • Not Everything It Seems: This article examines the reality behind Instagrammers and the Instafamous. Students will learn how to determine an author’s purpose and how to cite evidence.
    • Two Legs or One?: In this retelling of a folktale, a married couple finds themselves arguing over a portion of calf legs, and the husbands goes to great lengths to unmask the truth. Students will learn how to analyze folktales and humor. 
    • The Song of Wandering Aengus: This poem by W.B. Yeats tells of a mysterious vision that sets the speaker on a life-long search. Students will learn how to analyze rhyme, a poem’s rhyme scheme and mood, and the use of sound devices and mood in poetry. 
    • Eldorado: Edgar Allan Poe’s poem tells of how a quest for Eldorado and its riches leads to a life in shadow. Students will continue to learn how to analyze rhyme, a poem’s rhyme scheme and mood, and the use of sound devices and mood in poetry. 
    • from Monster: In this screenplay based on the award-winning novel of the same title, a teenager in jail imagines his life as a running screenplay. Students will learn how to analyze a story’s narrator. 
    • from Monster: This graphic novel based on the award-winning novel shows how a jailed teenager copes with the justice system as he prepares for his trial in court. Students will continue to analyze a story’s narrator as well as how to analyze graphic novels.

    After reading the texts in the unit, students may explore the following options:

    • Short Reads are online independent reading selections in a variety of genres. These include short story, informational text, and personal essay.
    • Long Reads are recommended books related to the unit theme and Essential Question. In this unit, recommendations include the novels My Life as an Ice Cream Sandwich, A Christmas Carol, and Planet Middle School.
    • The Unit Writing Task, Write an Informative Essay, asks students to synthesize their reading and support their ideas using relevant evidence.

    All assignments except for the Long Reads are available through your student’s eBook. Please contact me if you have any questions about this unit.

    Thank you,

    The 7th Grade ELA Teachers

  • Examples of possible questions include:

    Reading Literature 7.1 - Cite evidence

    • Which details in the text illustrate that _____?
    • What can the reader infer about (idea) based on line/paragraph _____? What evidence from the text supports this inference?
    • Based on line/paragraph____, the reader can infer _____. What evidence from the text supports this inference?
      • Which details in the text support the inference that _____?
        • What inference does line/paragraph _____ support?
    • What does the author imply about _____? Which lines from the text support this inference?
    • The author implies _____. Which lines from the text support this implication?
      • Which details in the text support what the author is implying _____?
        • Which lines from the text support the author’s implication?
    • What does the author mean when he/she writes _____? What detail in the text BEST supports the author’s meaning by the statement _____?
      • Which detail in the text BEST supports the fact that the author means _____ when he writes _____?
        • Which detail in the text BEST supports what the author means when he writes _____?
    • What can the reader conclude from (specific text)? Which other detail in the text BEST supports this conclusion?
      • Which detail from the text BEST supports the conclusion that _____?
        • Which details from the text BEST support what the reader can conclude after reading the text?
    • Which detail(s) from the text support(s) the idea that _____?
    • Which details help the reader conclude that _____?
    • Which details in the text illustrate that (character/setting/etc.) is _____?
    • What does the text say about _____? Where is that stated explicitly in the text?
    • The author thinks _____ about (idea). Which lines from the text support this opinion?
      • What is the author’s attitude about _____? What evidence from the text conveys this analysis?
        • Which details in the text convey the author’s attitude about _____?
    • What is the MOST LIKELY reason the author includes _____? Which detail from the text supports this analysis?
      • Which detail in the text BEST supports the inclusion of _____ (does this _____)?
        • Which detail in the text BEST supports why the author PROBABLY included _____?

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    Reading Literature 7.3 - Plot Development

    1. What is key to the resolution of the problem in this story (drama)…? (RL)
    2. According to x (lines x-x), what happened after…?
    3. What happened after (cite specific evidence)…?
    4. What was the influence of _____ event on ___...? 
    5. How does the setting affect the character (plot)…? (RL)
    6. Which of the following is an example of how the character evolves with the plot…? (RL)
    7. In lines (x-x), the dialogue helps the reader understand the character (plot, setting) because...?
    8. How (evaluate) would the story change in a different setting…?
    9. Which changes in events were most influential…?