Non Fiction Unit Overview
7th Grade Language Arts
BarrenCountyMiddle School
2012-2013
Work We Are Reading / Objective it Meets(Common Core) / Assessment / Targets
(I can statements…)
1. “Riding is an Exercise of the Mind” by N. Scott Momaday / Strand RIT
Standard #4
Determine the meanings of words & phrases as they are used in a text, including figurative, connotative, & technical meanings; analyze the impact of a specific word choice on meaning & tone. / 1. 10 question multiple choice test
2. Essay (how diction & imagery achieve author’s purpose) / 1. I can discuss diction, detail and imagery and how it relates to author’s tone and purpose.
2. I can analyze how literary elements reveal the author’s purpose.
3. I can write an essay to show how diction & imagery achieve author’s purpose.
2. “A Moment in Time: Analyzing Visual Images”
Excerpt from The True Confessions of Charlotte Doyle by Avi
Excerpt from Witness by Karen Hesse
Excerpt from The Dark is Rising by Susan Cooper
Excerpt from “Baseball in April” from Living Up the Street and Baseball in April by Gary Soto / Strand RIT
Standard #6
Determine an author’s point-of-view or purpose in a text and analyze how the author distinguishes his/her position from that of others. / 1. Write a well developed paragraph identifying the point-of-view and its effect on a given excerpt.
2. 10 Question M/C assessment / 1. I can identify point-of-view.
2. I can contrast different author’s point-of-view and how they distinguish the two.
3. “Cell Phones Don’t Contribute to Learning” by Mary Ann Johnson
“Reading and the Cell Phone: An Up and Coming Romance” by Terence W. Cavanaugh / Strand RIT
Standard #9 & #2
9. Analyze how two or more authors writing about the same topic shape their presentation of key information by emphasizing different evidence or advancing different interpretations of facts.
2. …provide an objective summary of the text. / 1. Writing Summaries
2. 10 Question M/C assessment / 1. I can read two nonfiction pieces that address the same topic.
2. I can tell the difference between fact and opinion.
3. I can discuss how fact and opinion create bias.
4. excerpts from “Tunes for Bears to Dance To” by Robert Cromier / Strand RIT
Standard #3
Analyze the interactions between individuals, events, & ideas in a text / 1. Write a paragraph defending or agreeing with a position.
2. 5 Question M/C assessment / 1. I can identify an author’s position on a topic.
2. I can identify what author’s use to support or defend their position.
5. “Landscape with the Fall of Icarus” by William Carlos Williams / Strand RIT
Standard #2
Determine two or more central ideas in a text and analyze their development over the course of the text / 1. Create an original poem using the picture as motivation.
2. 5 Question M/C assessment / 1. I can analyze a visual text.
2. I can determine how details reveal mood and theme.
6. Internet ad on dog adoption / Strand RIT
Standard #1 & #8
1. Cite several pieces of textual evidence to support analysis of what the text says explicitly as well as inferences drawn from the text.
8. Trace & evaluate the argument & specific claims in a text, assessing whether the reasoning is sound & the evidence is relevant & sufficient to support the claims. / 1. Complete a chart to show hot the writer of the dog adoption ad uses the various appeals. (Activity Three)
2. 9 Question M/C assessment
1 open response question / 1. I can identify inferences from a text.
2. I can recognize credible resources/sources.
7. excerpts from “The Great Imagination Heist” by Reynolds Price / Strand RIT
Standard #4
Determine the meanings of words & phrases as they are used in a text, including figurative, connotative & technical meanings…. / 1. Read an excerpt from a piece of non-fiction and find the intended effect of the diction chosen by the author.
2. 10 Question M/C assessment / 1. I can identify connotative diction.
2. I can identify connotative diction in a passage and describe what mood it creates for the audience.
8. excerpt from President George W. Bush’s speech on the 9/11 attacks
excerpt from Albert A. Gore, Jr.’s Nobel Peace Prize speech
excerpt from Maya Angelou’s eulogy for Coretta Scott King / Strand RIT
Standard #2 & #7
2. Determine two or more central ideas in a text & analyze their development over the course of the text
7. Compare/contrast text to it’s audio/video (e.g., how the delivery of a speech affects the impact of the words) / 1. Write a paragraph using textual evidence & demonstrates valid reasoning.
2. 11 Multiple Choice Questions / 1. I understand emotional, logical and ethical appeals.
2. I can analyze how the rhetorical devices create persuasive appeals.