Seventh Grade ELA

Course Description

Seventh Grade English Languages Arts offers a wide variety of units that focus on examining society and how it influences who we are as individuals. The units of study for the school year include but are not limited to poetry and creative writing, dystopian literature, memoir and storytelling, and propaganda and persuasion with an emphasis on student selected texts. Throughout the year, students will use short stories, poems, novels, myths, and nonfiction texts to help them better understand their place within an ever-changing world. Students will complete individual expository writing assignments that will focus on structure and cohesion using the claim-evidence-reasoning structure. Students will learn strategies for annotating a text, and they will apply their reading skills when they are asked to analyze the thematic elements of a text and make claims using clear evidence. Furthermore, students will participate in a wide range of partner and group activities in addition to participating in small group and whole class discussions. Students will also engage in literature sets and the workshop model of writing instruction in order to help them become more effective writers. By the end of the year, students will be able to use examples from both fiction and nonfiction texts to  explain the world around them and how it  influences them and others.

Grade Level(s): Seventh Grade

Related Priority Standards (State &/or National):  DESE ELA Priority Standards, Grade 7

Essential Questions

• Whose voice guides one’s choice?
• What does the media teach us about our world?
• What is the perception of the world that is provided vs. reality?
• How can you make a difference through persuasion?
• How does literature reflect our ever changing world?
• Can something intended to be good for society actually be bad?
• Is a utopia attainable? At what cost would it be worth attaining? Who defines what is a utopia and what it is not?
• What are the advantages and disadvantages of displaying conformity and/or independence within a society?
• What’s most important to you?

Enduring Understandings/Big Ideas

• Comprehend and interpret texts as a reader
• Analyze craft and structure as a reader
• Synthesize ideas from multiple texts
• Approach a task as a researcher, as a writer, and as a reader
• Demonstrate understanding of multiple perspectives through reflection and paraphrasing
• Plan and deliver presentations based on appropriate task, audience, and purpose 

Course-Level Scope & Sequence (Units &/or Skills)

Unit 1 - Poetry: Students will explain how ideas reflect historical and/or cultural contexts in multiple texts. Students will produce clear and coherent poetry with development, organization, style, and voice. Students will review, revise, and edit their writing with consideration for task, purpose, and audience. Students will focus on body positioning and eye contact at various intervals when presenting their work. 

• Reading
• Compare and contrast a written story, drama, or poem to its audio, filmed, staged, or multimedia version
• Analyze how the techniques unique to each medium contribute to meaning
• Summarize a text
• Explain how characters and settings reflect historical and/or cultural contexts in multiple texts
• Read and comprehend literature independently and proficiently in multiple texts
• Determine the theme(s) of a text, citing text evidence to support their analysis
• Compare and contrast a portrayal of a time, place, or character with realistic accounts of the same subject matter in multiple texts

• Writing
• Follow a writing process, producing clear and coherent poetry with development, organization, style, and voice appropriate to the task, purpose, and audience
• Develop narratives, including poems, about real or imagined experiences with clearly identified characters, well-structured event sequences, narrative techniques, and relevant descriptive details
• Review, revise, and edit writing with consideration for the task, purpose, and audience
• Organize the content of the writing by introducing the topic appropriate to task, purpose, and audience
• Choose precise language and establish and maintain an appropriate and consistent style
• Demonstrate a command of the conventions of standard English grammar and usage, including spelling and punctuation, and the use of complete sentences
• Use transitions to clarify relationships, connect ideas and claims, and signal time shifts
• Use technology, including the Internet, to produce and publish writing as well as to interact and collaborate with others

• Speaking & Listening
• Speak clearly, audibly, and to the point, using conventions of language as appropriate to task, purpose, and audience when presenting including appropriate volume
• Speak to the point as appropriate to task, purpose, and audience
• Use conventions of language as appropriate to task, purpose, and audience
• Position their body to face the audience when speaking, making eye contact with listeners at various intervals and using gestures to communicate a clear viewpoint when presenting

Unit 2: Power of Story: Students will cite textual evidence when analyzing what a text says explicitly, as well as inferences drawn from the text. Students will develop writing about real or imagined experiences, with clearly identified characters, well-structured event sequences, and relevant descriptive details. Students will focus on using appropriate volume at an understandable pace when presenting their ideas. 

• Reading
• Draw conclusions, make inferences, and cite textual evidence to support analysis of what the text says explicitly as well as inferences drawn from the text
• Determine the meaning of words and phrases as they are used in the text, including figurative and connotative meanings using context, affixes, or reference materials
• Interpret visual elements of a text and draw conclusions from them, when applicable
• Determine the theme(s) of a text, citing evidence to support development of the theme(s)
• Summarize a text
• Analyze how a particular sentence, chapter, scene, stanza, or image contributes to meaning in a text
• Explain how an author develops the narrator or speaker’s point of view (perspective) in a text
• Analyze how word choice, including the use of figurative language and/or the repetition of words or word sounds, contributes to meaning

• Writing
• Follow a writing process to develop a narrative, producing clear and coherent writing in which the development, organization, style, and voice are appropriate to the task, purpose, and audience
• Develop writing with narrative writing techniques appropriate to the task, purpose, and audience, introducing and supporting a claim with clear reasons and relevant evidence
• Review, revise, and edit writing with consideration for task, purpose, and audience
• Introduce a topic in writing, maintaining a clear focus throughout the text and providing a conclusion that follows from the text
• Demonstrate a command of the conventions of standard English grammar and usage, including spelling and punctuation, and the use of complete sentences
• Use transitions to clarify relationships, connect ideas and claims, and signal shifts in time, appropriate to task, purpose, and audience
• Use technology, including the Internet, to produce and publish writing appropriate to task, purpose, and audience, as well as to interact and collaborate with others

• Speaking & Listening
• Speak clearly, audibly, and to the point, using conventions of language as appropriate to task, purpose, and audience when presenting including appropriate volume
• Speak to the point as appropriate to task, purpose, and audience
• Use conventions of language as appropriate to task, purpose, and audience
• Position their body to face the audience when speaking, making eye contact with listeners at various intervals and using gestures to communicate a clear viewpoint when presenting
• Plan and deliver appropriate presentations based on the task, audience, and purpose integrating multimedia into presentations to clarify information, strengthen claims and evidence, and add interest

Unit 3: Dystopian Book Clubs: Students will read and comprehend literature, including stories, dramas, and poems, independently and proficiently. Students will conduct research to answer a question, gather relevant print and digital sources while integrating information using a standard citation system. Students will follow rules for discussion and decision making while collaborating with their peers.

• Reading
• Determine the theme(s) of a text, citing evidence to support development of the theme(s)
• Summarize a text
• Read and comprehend literature, including stories, dramas, and poems, independently and proficiently
• Note how a performance impacts personal interpretation
• Compare and contrast texts from different genres that address similar themes or topics
• Analyze how a particular sentence contributes to meaning in a text
• Explain how plot reflects historical and cultural contexts in multiple texts

• Writing
• Follow a writing process to develop an expository essay, producing clear and coherent writing in which the development, organization, style, and voice are appropriate to the task, purpose, and audience
• Develop writing with expository writing techniques appropriate to the task, purpose, and audience, introducing and supporting a claim with clear reasons and relevant evidence
• Develop informative/explanatory writing to examine a topic with relevant facts, examples, and details
• Review, revise, and edit writing with consideration for task, purpose, and audience
• Introduce a topic in writing, maintaining a clear focus throughout the text and providing a conclusion that follows from the text
• Demonstrate a command of the conventions of standard English grammar and usage, including spelling and punctuation, and the use of complete sentences
• Use transitions to clarify relationships, connect ideas and claims, and signal shifts in time, appropriate to task, purpose, and audience
• Use technology, including the Internet, to produce and publish writing appropriate to task, purpose, and audience, as well as to interact and collaborate with others
• Conduct research to answer a question, gathering relevant information from multiple sources (print and digital), and integrating information using a standard citation system
• Gather relevant information from multiple print and digital sources, using search terms effectively and assessing the credibility and accuracy of each source
• Quote or paraphrase the data and conclusions of others while avoiding plagiarism and following a standard format for citation

• Speaking & Listening
• Speak clearly, audibly, and to the point, using conventions of language as appropriate to task, purpose, and audience when presenting including appropriate volume
• Use conventions of language as appropriate to task, purpose, and audience
• Pose and respond to others’ questions and comments with elaboration and detail
• Make comments that contribute to the topic, text, or issue under discussion
• Review the key ideas expressed by the speaker including those presented in diverse media
• Demonstrate an understanding of multiple perspectives through reflection and paraphrasing during collaboration
• Position their body to face the audience when speaking, making eye contact with listeners at various intervals and using gestures to communicate a clear viewpoint when presenting

Unit 4 - Media - Whose Voice Guides Your Choice?: Students will interpret the written and visual elements of a text. Students will follow a writing process to develop an argument. Students will delineate the speaker’s argument and claims while making comments that contribute to the topic, text, or issue under discussion. Students will include multimedia components in presentations to clarify claims and findings and emphasize significant points.

• Reading
• Draw conclusions, make inferences, and cite textual evidence to support analysis of what the text says explicitly as well as inferences drawn from the text
• Determine the meaning of words and phrases as they are used in the text, including figurative and connotative meanings using context, affixes, or reference materials
• Interpret visual elements of a text and draw conclusions from them, when applicable
• Determine the theme(s) of a text, citing evidence to support development of the theme(s)
• Summarize a text
• Analyze how a particular sentence, chapter, scene, stanza, or image contributes to meaning in a text
• Explain how an author develops the narrator or speaker’s point of view (perspective) in a text
• Analyze how word choice, including the use of figurative language and/or the repetition of words or word sounds, contributes to meaning

• Writing
• Follow a writing process to develop an argument, producing a clear and coherent blended writing with development, organization, style, and voice
• Develop writing with blended writing techniques appropriate to the task, purpose, and audience, introducing and supporting a claim with clear reasons and relevant evidence
• Demonstrate a command of the conventions of standard English grammar and usage, including spelling and punctuation, and the use of complete sentences
• Choose precise language for task, purpose, and audience
• Use transitions to clarify relationships, connect ideas and claims, and signal shifts in time, appropriate to task, purpose, and audience
• Use technology, including the Internet, to produce and publish writing appropriate to task, purpose, and audience, as well as to interact and collaborate with others
• Develop argumentative writing, acknowledging counterclaims and establishing relationships among claims, counterclaims, and supporting evidence
• Conduct research to answer a question, gathering relevant information from multiple sources (print and digital), and integrating information using a standard citation system
• Gather relevant information from multiple print and digital sources, using search terms effectively and assessing the credibility and accuracy of each source
• Quote or paraphrase the data and conclusions of others while avoiding plagiarism and following a standard format for citation

• Speaking & Listening
• Speak clearly, audibly, and to the point, using conventions of language as appropriate to task, purpose, and audience when presenting including appropriate volume
• Speak to the point as appropriate to task, purpose, and audience
• Use conventions of language as appropriate to task, purpose, and audience
• Position their body to face the audience when speaking, making eye contact with listeners at various intervals and using gestures to communicate a clear viewpoint when presenting
• Plan and deliver appropriate presentations based on the task, audience, and purpose integrating multimedia into presentations to clarify information, strengthen claims and evidence, and add interest

Date Last Revised/Approved: 2020