Mission for 7th Grade Language Arts: In 7th Grade Language Arts we will be working on becoming better readers and writers together. Students will work on building reading skills through four core novels this year (The Outsiders, Lions of Little Rock, The Giver, and Touching Spirit Bear). Students will build their writing skills by learning how to write well developed paragraphs and well developed five paragraph argumentative essays and informative essays as well as narratives. We will also work on grammar by learning the parts of speech and how to use them to build well written sentences. We will work on vocabulary and spelling through reading literature and working on various vocabulary activities. I hope to develop projects and assignments that are enjoyable and help build skills in a successful way.
Unit 1 – Analyzing Craft and Structure
Core Literature: The Outsiders by, S.E. Hinton
Essential Questions:
How does an author use craft and structure to portray the relationship between characters and create meaning?
How is an effective argument made in writing?
Understandings: Through studying the actions and development of the characters in a piece of literature, students will understand true heroism and that identity is developed by a person’s life experiences and beliefs.
Writing and Grammar:
Write an argument essay.
Correctly use commas in a sentence.
Understand how compound, complex, and compound-complex sentences are formed.
Unit 2 – Making a Good Story
Core Literature: Lions of Little Rock by, Kristin Levine
Essential Questions:
How do authors create texts that reflect and reveal the thoughts and actions of human beings?
What skills are needed for effective listening and speaking?
How are people transformed through their relationships with others?
Understandings: Students will understand how a story captures the interest of an audience through the progression of a plot. Students will understand how people grow through experience, friendship, and determination by understanding the relationships between characters in a piece of literature.
Writing and Grammar:
Write a well-written paragraph with detail.
Write a narrative.
Understand how simple, compound, and complex sentences are formed.
Unit 3 – Understanding the World Through Text
Core Literature: The Giver by, Lois Lowry
Essential Questions:
What is the value of an individual within a community?
How does an author create suspense in a piece of literature?
What strategies do active readers use?
Understandings: Students will understand that characters in literature help us understand human nature and the value of an individual in a community.
Writing and Grammar:
Write informational and argument essays.
Place phrases and clauses within a sentence, recognizing and correcting misplaced and dangling modifiers.
Unit 4 - Understanding Theme in Fiction
Core Literature: Touching Spirit Bear by, Ben Mikaelsen and A Long Walk to Water by, Linda Sue Park
Essential Questions:
How does an individual's point of view affect the way they deal with conflict?
How are people transformed through their relationships with others?
What turning points determine our individual pathways to self discovery?
Understandings: Students will understand how an author portrays theme in a piece of literature through a variety of techniques. Students will understand how characters can reflect the human experience of self discovery through relationships and life’s turning points.
Writing and Grammar:
Conduct research and write an informational essay based on that research.
Place phrases and clauses within a sentence.
Recognizing and correcting misplaced and dangling modifiers.