Class:English/Language Arts

Meece Middle School

Curriculum Guide

Grade:7

Teacher:Jenny Beasley

Guiding/Essential Question for the Year: How can we utilize critical reading and writing skills to effectively accomplish three goals:

describe patterns in and/or evidence about our natural and designed worlds;
determine central ideas and/or obtain scientific and/or technical information to make realistic predictions;
influence choices being made about our future.

Time Frame / Unit Title / Topics / Standards / Essential Vocabulary
August / Learning from our past; preparing for our future / Short Fiction: “Animal Distress Calls”
Group Work: “Humans and Animals”
“Literary Elements and Devices”
Novel: The Giver, by Lois Lowry
Companion Poems:
“Abandoned Farmhouse” by Ted Kooser, “Deserted Farm,” by Mark Vinz, and “Tugboat at Daybreak” by Lillian Morrison
Narrative Nonfiction “Fighting Invisible Killers” examines the overuse of antibiotics and the rise of deadly, antibiotic resistant superbugs. / Reading Standards for Literature:
RL.1
RL.2
RL.3
RL.6
Reading Standards: Informational Text:
RI.1
RI.2
RI.5
RI.8 / Author’s Point of View
Figurative language
Metaphor
Personification
Simile
Onomatopoeia
Plot Line
Exposition
Rising action
Climax
Falling action
Resolution
Motive
Theme
Central/main idea
Inference/draw a conclusion
Connotation/denotation
Setting
Character development/analyzing character
Imagery
Repetition
Mood
Analyze
Text structure
Trace
Evaluate/critique
claim
September / Paired Texts: two informational texts about hairstyles through the centuries: “Off With Her Hair” and “Hey Kids, Get a Haircut!”
Group Work: “Integrating Knowledge and Ideas”
Informational Text Paired with a Play/Drama:
“The Horror of Slavery” and “I Would Rather Die” tells the story of how the famous abolitionist, Frederick Douglass, made his way from slavery to freedom.
Exercise: “Compare Two Texts”
Group Work: “What is the Theme?”
Novel: The Giver, by Lois Lowry
Companion Poems:
“When It Is Snowing” by Siv Cedering, “Poppies” by Roy Scheele, and “Four Haiku” by J. Patrick Lewis
“Grammar Gets to Work”: Imply vs. Infer
Debate: “Should Your School Get Rid of Sports?” / Language Standards:
L.3
Writing Standards:
W.1
Reading Standards: Informational Text:
RI.1
RI.3
RI.6
Reading Standards for Literature:
RL.2
RL.4 (connotative meanings)
RL.5
RL.9
Reading Standards for Literature:
RL.4
RL.5
Language Standard:
3.a
Reading Standards: Informational Text
RI.8
Writing Standards:
W.1 / Interpreting text
Integrating knowledge and ideas
Claim
Suspense/tension
Compare/contrast
Tone
Symbolism
Inference
Bigwig
Scene
Playwright
Textual Evidence
Abolitionist
Analyzing Theme
Imagery
Totter
Wobble
Poppies
Figurative language
Metaphor
Simile
Half rhyme
Slant rhyme
Trace and evaluate an author’s argument
October / Drama: “The Corpse-Maker”: an adaptation of the epic poem, Beowulf -- Beowulf’s battle with the hideous man-eating monster Grendel
Short Fiction: “Freddie in the Shade”
Poem: “Nothing Gold Can Stay
Debate: “Should We Live Forever”
“The Lazy Editor: “When Killer Mice Attack”: commonly confused words and avoiding redundancy
Novel: The Giver, by Lois Lowry
Companion Poems:
“Speak Up” by Janet S. Wong and “Friends in the Klan, 1923” by Marilyn Nelson / Reading Standards for Literature:
RL.1
RL.5
Reading Standards for Literature:
RL.4
Writing Standards:
1.a-1.e
Language Standard:
2.b
Reading Standards for Literature:
RL.4
RL.5 / Inference
Conflict
Character
Text evidence
Author’s craft
Key ideas and details
Symbolism
Inference
Analyzing Character
Theme
Sound Evidence
Acknowledging an alternate or opposing viewpoint
Identifying a Thesis
Immigration/immigrants
Ellis Island
Diversity
Gender stereotypes
Racial stereotypes
Courage
Racism
Tolerance
KKK
Civil rights movement
African Americans in U.S. military
November / Building Awareness by Gathering and Sharing Information / Informational Text: “Don’t Touch the Water!: The story of the chemical spill that turned the water in nine West Virginia counties to poison.
Narrative Nonfiction: “The Boston Molasses Flood of 1919”
Group Work: “Compare Two Disasters”
Paired Texts: “Is This You?” (stress and anxiety among children and teens) and “In China, the Test that Determines Your Life” (newspaper article: Beijing)
Group Work: “Stress Solutions”
“Grammar Loves a Comeback”: Among vs. Between
Novel: The Giver, by Lois Lowry
Companion Poems:
“A Poison Tree” by William Blake and “Summertime Sharing,” by Nikki Grimes / Reading Standards: Informational Text
RI.3
RI.6
RI.9
Language Standards:
L.1
Writing Standards:
W.2
Reading Standards: Informational Text
RL.5
Language Standards:
L.4d
Reading Standards for Literature:
RL.4
RL.5 / Sentence fragment
Inference
Author’s Purpose
Cause/effect
Literary Device
Suspense
Mood
Compare/contrast
Text structure
Key ideas and details
Interpreting text
Text feature
Synthesizing Information
Tone
Author’s point of view
Wrath
Foe
Deceitful
Wiles
Context clues
Rhyme
Rhyme scheme
Rhyming couplets
December / Narrative Nonfiction: “I Survived the Boston Marathon Bombing” (the story of Sydney Corcoran and her mother, who were both injured in the Boston Marathon bombing of April 2013.)
Speech: “We Summon the Strength” (three days after the bombing, President Barack Obama gave this speech to the people of Boston.)
Exercise: Applying a Central Idea
Informational Text: “Throw Away Your Earbuds Now!” (listening to music with earbuds can permanently damage your hearing)
Essay: “I Can’t Hear You” (life after hearing loss)
Novel: The Giver, by Lois Lowry
Companion Poems:
“Every Cat Has a Story” by Naomi Shihab Nye, “Seeing the World,” by Steven Harrick, and “Street Painting” by Ann Turner / Speaking and Listening Standards:
SL.1
SL.2
Reading Standards: Informational Text:
RI.1
RI.2
RI.4
RI.5
Reading Standards: Informational Text:
RI.1
RI.5
Reading Standards for Literature:
RL.4
RL.5
Language Standard:
L.5 / Text evidence
Author’s craft
Supporting details
Inference
Text structure
Key/central/main idea
Figurative language
Metaphor
Text Features
Author’s craft
Inference
Imagery
Sensory Details
Figurative language
Simile
Personification
hyperbole
Stanza
Line break
Repetition
mood
January / Short Fiction:
“People Call Me Crazy,” by Gary Paulsen: (Thatcher is dreading his summer at Camp Lakewood -- especially all activities that involve water. But soon, Thatcher finds himself in a life or death situation that will change the course of his life.)
Drama: “The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde” (An adaptation of the classic tale of good and evil. The play is paired with a personal essay, “Confessions of a Former Hazer”, in which a writer reflects on her experience as a summer-camp hazer.
Debate: “Should Justin Bieber Be Deported?”
Grammar: ambiguous pronouns; eliminating extraneous information; commonly confused words; meaningless words and phrases
Novel: Cinder, by Marissa Meyer (science fiction)
Poem: “The Wreck of the Hesperus” by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow / Reading Standards for Literature
RL.3
RL.4
RL.6
Reading Standards for Literature
RL.4
RL.5
RL.6
Reading Standards: Informational Text
RI.8
RI.9
Writing Standard:
W.1
Language Standards:
L.3a
L.5c
Language Standards:
L.4a
Reading Standards for Literature:
RL.2
RL.4
RL.5 / Tone
Compare
Resent
Conflict
Conflict Resolution
Character development
Relationship
Figurative language
Text Evidence
Interpreting Text
Imagery
Personification
Characterization
Text evidence
Interpreting text
Scene
Act
Infer/inference
Mood
Hazing
Supporting an argument
Morality
Abominable
Chaotic
Decrepit
Dilapidated
Sinister
Substantial
Tracing and Evaluating Arguments
Author’s claim
Author’s evidence
Evaluation
Counterargument/acknowledging an alternate or opposing viewpoint
Emotional appeal
Fallacy
Position
Rebut
Refute
Relevant
Abysmal
Allegedly
Deport
Felony
Immigrate
Incriminating
Labyrinth
Turpitude
Norman’s Woe
The Spanish Main
Schooner
Fairy-flax
Veering flaw
Spake
Gale
Spar
Carded wool
Gored
Mast
Narrative poem
Ballad
Stanza
Rhyme scheme
Rhythm pattern
Stressed or accented syllables
Repetition
Dialogue
Author’s point of view
February / Strategies Readers and Writers Use to Bring About Change / Narrative Nonfiction: “The Girl Who Discovered the Dinosaurs” (the story of how a 12-year-old girl’s fossil discovery led to the birth of modern paleontology. The article is paired with a newspaper report , (“Dinosaurs for Sale: Why some of today’s important fossils will never be studied”), about the controversy surrounding private fossil collections.)
Informational Text, Drama, and Narrative Nonfiction: “The Horror of Nazi Germany” is a short informational text about Nazi Germany. “The Book Thief” is a play adapted from the acclaimed movie based on the bestselling novel by Markus Zusak, which tells the riveting story of a German girl who takes comfort in books during the terrors of World War II. “The Boys Who Fought the Nazis” is a nonfiction narrative which tells the story of how three friends risked their lives fighting against one of the most evil regimes the world has ever seen.
Small group work: “Exploring Theme”
Novel: Cinder, by Marissa Meyer (science fiction)
Companion Poems: “Ode to Family Photographs” by Gary Soto and “Hoods” by Paul B. Janeczko
Group Work: “Patterns/Repetitions in “Ode to Family Photographs”
Grammar: Students practice the correct usage of adverse and averse while reading about how three celebrities saved lives. / Language Standards:
L.4a
L.4c
Reading Standards: Informational Text:
RI.1
RI.2
RI.4
RI.5
RI.9
Writing Standard:
W.3
Reading Standards: Informational Text:
RI.1
Reading Standards for Literature:
RL.1
RL.2
RL.5
Writing Standard:
W.3
Reading Standards for Literature:
RL.4
RL.5
RL.6 / Auction
Carnivorous
Embed
Paleontology
Remnant
Specimen
Trove
Unearth
Text features
Headline
Vertical layout
Captions
Subheads
Lurking
Text structure
Inference
Objective summary
Central idea
Supporting evidence
Genocide
Haggard
Liberate
Manifesto
Scapegoat
Systematically
dehumanize
Teem
Banned books
Theme
Supporting evidence
Plot
Inference
Symbolism
Interpreting text
Epilogue
Mood
Patterns
Repetition
Rituals
Myths
Figurative language
Simile
Metaphor
March / Paired Texts: “I Use a Robot to Go to School” is a nonfiction narrative about a girl whose severe food allergy makes attending school so dangerous that she sends a robot in her place. “What Causes Allergies?” is an informational text on the science of allergies.
Debate/Argument:
“Plastic Bags: Convenient and Cruel” (Environmental experts have sounded the alarm about plastic. Should they be banned everywhere? Students read arguments on both sides of the debate and take a stand.
Group Work: “You Write It”: turning an infographic into an editorial.
Language/Grammar: subject-Verb agreement; parentheses practice; choosing words for effect; colons
Novel: Cinder, by Marissa Meyer (science fiction)
Poetry: “Spring Storm” by Jim Wayne Miler
“Foul Shot” by Edwin A. Hoey
“A Hot Property” by Ronald Wallace / Reading Standards: Informational Text:
RI.1
RI.5
RI.6
Language Standards:
L.3a
Reading Standards: Informational Text
RI.8
RI.9
Writing Standards:
W.1a-W.1e
Language Standards:
L.2
L.3a
Reading Standards for Literature:
RL.4
RL.5 / Anaphylaxis
Comprise
EpiPen
Pathogen
Scrutinize
Vigilance
Author’s purpose
Text structure
Mood
Inference
Word choice
Compare/contrast
Environment
Environmentalism
Biodegradable
Food chain
Landfill
Leach
Recycle
Reusable
Claim/Thesis
Supporting details
Anecdote
Summarize
Acknowledge the alternate or opposing claim
Sensory detail
Imagery
Figurative language
Metaphor
Simile
Stanza
Solemn
Wobbles
Wavers
Nudges
Coy
Alliteration
Repetition
Personification
Plot
Line break
Active verbs
April / We are ready!
We can do this! / Review all standards
May / KPrep Test and preparation for specific 8th grade skills / Language Standards 1-5 / Commas; irregular verbs; transition words; semicolons and colons; misplaced modifiers; there, their, and they’re; its vs it’s; future, present, and past tenses, run-on and compound sentences; pronoun/antecedent agreement

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