Teaching Toward the Demands of the CCSS 1

Teaching Toward the Demands of the CCSS1

We have designed this document to address the NY CCLS so have included the additional standards that NYS has included. We have drawn from guideline documents put out by the state, preparation materials such as those from Ready New York and our best knowledge of how to address the Common Core Standards to create this resource.

Seventh Grade

City/State Focused Standards:
Reading Literature, Grade 7
What the Standards Say… / In other words… / Text-Based Example
(The Outsiders by E.S. Hinton, paired with Romeo and Juliet or West Side Story) / How Else Might These Questions Be Worded…
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. / Students need to refer to the text to cite specific textual evidence.
Students will understand how to read for literal and inferential meanings in a text, and how to add up many pieces of evidence from the text to form a coherent interpretation. Students will consistently make references to the texts they are mentioning, and to the parts of the texts that are relevant to their discussion.
Students might…
-make inferences about characters’ and/or the narrator’s feelings, reactions, motivations, points of view across the text, and cite details that support these.
-make inferences about things not explicitly stated in the text, and cite supporting evidence. / When Ponyboy says that the Socs “get editorials in the paper for being a public disgrace one day and an asset to society the next,” he explicitly compares how the greasers and the Socs are treated. What does his statement suggest about the different ways people in the town view the behavior of the Socs and the Greasers? /

______does all of the following to help make ______feel ______EXCEPT______.

The description of the way the character ______serves to illustrate______.

Read the following inference about ______.

“______.”
Which piece of evidence best supports this inference?

Explain why it is reasonable to think ______. Support your inference with evidence from the text.

Read the following quote from the story.

“______”
What can you infer about the character’s attitude toward ______?

Why does _____ (character) become interested in ______?
The description of the character’s _____ serves to illustrate his______.

Which statement best explains the reaction of the narrator to ______?

By the end of the story, ______has changed dramatically. Which sentence from the story best shows this change?

Which sentence from the story best supports the idea that ______?

Based on these sentences, with which of the following statements would ____ (character) most likely agree?

Which statement from the story shows that ______(character) feels a certain way?

Compare the characters conversations with others to his/her inner thinking. What does this tell readers about the character?

7.2
Determine a theme or central idea of a text and analyze its development over the course of the text; provide an objective summary of the text. / Students will consider a theme, or message that stories convey. As they read, they will study how the author develops a theme or central idea over the course of a story and be able to analyze its purpose.
Students will be able to tell the central idea in a story in their own words. They will be able to tell the most important key details of what happened in the story without opinion or bias.
Students might…
-name and discuss the author’s overall theme.
-notice all the key details that convey a text’s theme or central idea, and discuss how the author develops this idea over the course of the text.
-detect the issues/conflict addressed in the text; describe how these build in intensity and are then resolved over the course of the story.
-identifythe voice of the text and discuss how it contributes to the way in which the story is told.
-notice the text’s multiple perspectives and analyze how these contribute to the development of the central idea or theme.
-discuss and analyze with a critical lens what is said and how it is said.
-provide an objective summary of the story, from beginning to end; describe the main events and any lessons conveyed by the author. / The story of the Outsiders is more than a story of a group of boys who play and fight. If you were to describe one of the most important themes or central ideas that the story suggests, what would you say? What parts of the story specifically support your theory? /

What is an important theme of the story?

Which lines from the passage best support the story’s central theme?

Which of the following would you include in a summary of “______”?

Which is the best summary for the last events of the story?

Explain how the theme of “______” is developed through the course of the story.

In what ways does the plot contribute to the theme?

Which of the young man’s character traits best helps to convey the theme?

Why is ____’s behavior at the end of the story important to the development of the theme?

How does ____’s response to ____ help to develop the theme?

How does the author use the characters’ actions to develop the theme over the course of this story? Cite text evidence to support your response.

Which statement relating to paragraphs 4 and 5 would be most important to include in a summary of the end of the story?

Which statement best describes ____ at the start of the story?

Which of the following statements would you most likely include in a summary of “…”?

How does the author use flashback to build tension at the beginning of the story?

7.3
Analyze how particular elements of a story or drama interact (e.g., how setting shapes the characters or plot). / Students will think about how characters’ traits, feelings and reactions affect the development of the plot. They will consider possible causes of characters’ conflicts and come to understand how the resolution evolves. They will also consider how the setting has an impact on the characters and the plot.
Students might…
-think about and discuss the details surrounding the plot.
-read carefully for how characters and conflicts change as time passes.
-explore the author’s use of cause and effect throughout the story. Pay particular attention to the consequences of characters’ actions.
-follow the trail of details that leads towards a particular resolution.
-analyze different characters’ relationships to the text’s central issue or theme / At one point in The Outsiders, Ponyboy describes his brothers this way:
“I looked through the door. Sodapop was giving Darry a back-rub. Darry is always pulling muscles; he roofs houses and he's always trying to carry two bundles of roofing up the ladder. I knew Soda would put him to sleep, because Soda can put about anyone out when he sets his head to it. He thought Darry worked too hard anyway. I did, too.
Darry didn't deserve to work like an old man when he was only twenty. He had been a real popular guy in school; he was captain of the football team and he had been voted Boy of the Year. But we just didn't have the money for him to go to college, even with the athletic scholarship he won. And now he didn't have time between jobs to even think about college. So he never went anywhere and never did anything anymore, except work out at gyms and go skiing with some old friends of his sometimes.” /

What do lines ______reveal about ______?

Which of the young man’s character traits best helps to convey the theme?

Which statement below best shows how an important trait of the main character shaped a resolution of the story?
Which sentence best shows how one character can set the events of a story in motion?

How does the setting help to shape _____’s feelings?

Explain how the setting of the text prompted the characters to change.

How does the setting influence the story’s conflict?

Describe how the setting of the story and the characters’ circumstances influence the plot. Cite specific examples and lines to support your response.

How does the author use sound to establish the mood of the story? Use two details from the passage to support your answer

7.4
Determine the meaning of words and phrases as they are
used in a text, including figurative and connotative
meanings; analyze the impact of rhymes and other repetitions of sounds (e.g., alliteration) on a specific verse or stanza of a poem or section of a story or drama. / Students will think about how and why authors used specific words and phrases, andconsider how these add to the deeper meanings of texts.
They will also consider how authors/poets used literary elements such as alliteration in a particular verse or stanza and consider why.
Students might…
-determine the meanings of words that haveconnotative meanings (having the power of implying or suggesting something in addition to what is explicit).
-consider the alliteration in a stanza and/or verse and understand its purpose.
-look at the figurative or connotative meaning in a word or phrase to help the understand the text in a more meaningful way / The title, The Outsiders, likely has more than one meaning for this story. What are some different meanings that the word “outsider” suggests in the context of the story? /

Which statement best explains why the author used the words ____, _____ and _____ in the first paragraph?

Based on the connotations of words such as ____, _____, and ____, what is the speaker’s attitude toward the ______?

Explain how the speaker’s descriptions of ______convey his feelings about ______.

Which sentence best describes what the speaker means in these lines “…?”

Which line or lines from the poem best signal the change that ______?

Explain how the speaker’s use of connotative and figurative language helps convey his attitude toward ______. Cite specific details to support your thinking.

Which sentence from the poem signals the connection between _____ and _____?

What is the meaning of the figurative language used in the above lines?
Which phrase is used to highlight _____ ‘s change in attitude?

What effect does the author’s use of rhyme have in paragraph ___?

7.5
Analyze how a drama’s or poem’s form or structure (e.g., soliloquy, sonnet) contributes to its meaning. / Students will analyze how a story, play, or poemis put together and howa particular structure or form highlights the piece’s meaning. They will draw on this thinking to explore how authors present and develop plot, setting, and theme.
Students might…
-examine and analyze the structure of a text.
-determinewhen a soliloquy is necessary to a reader’s comprehension of a scene, and determine its purpose.
-assess the author’s purpose for creating a certain form or structure, including how it adds to a text’s theme, plot, or setting.
-evaluatea text’s scenes and analyze how each one fits into the overall picture of the text. / In the first chapter of the Outsiders, the narrative shifts in time. Sometimes it moves quickly, other times slowly, sometimes it looks backward. Try describing how the story works as a narrative in the first chapter – what information do you find out, when and how, and how does the flow of information across time affect your understanding? /

Which of the following details from paragraph 1 best supports the paragraph’s key concepts?

How do the sentences help to develop the key concept in paragraph 3?

Which sentence in paragraph ___ is most helpful in guiding the reader to the theme?

Which stanza doesn’t demonstrate the character’s growth?

Which statement best describes the structure of the poem?

How does the structure the poet uses help add meaning to the text?

How does the question at the beginning of the third stanza help to develop the central idea of the poem?

Explain how the structure of this poem contributes to its meaning.

What meaning does the poet’s use of repetition convey?

Which statement best describes this plot event based on the dialogue and stage directions in this scene?
What do the final stage directions most likely indicate about the setting of the play?

7.6
Analyze how an author develops and contrasts the points of view of different characters or narrators in a text.
a. Analyze stories, drama, or poems by authors who represent diverse world cultures. / Students will analyze how authors establish different points of view. They will consider authorial choices such as first or third person narrator, as well as how the author shows the reader different characters’ perspectives regardless of who the narrator is.
Students will also analyze the possible significance of the author’s background to the themes and characters in the text.
Students might…
-read closely to determinefrom whose point of view a scene or text is told, and discuss why this matters.
-follow the development of the point of view through the narrator or speaker.
-notice when details are emphasized or repeated / Based on what Ponyboy says about his gang, and what you observe from the members’ behaviors and things they say, what makes some of the boys so different from one another?
In this excerpt the three boys show different points of view about society what are they and what do they represent? /

Why does _____become interested in ______?

From _____’s point of view, what is happening between the two girls?

What do you know about ____ that helps you understand why she ______(did something)?

How does what the character knows—and doesn’t know—differ from what the reader knows? Citing evidence from the text, describe how the author shapes the character’s and readers’ points of view.

Reread the following sentence from paragraph __. “______” What effect does this point of view have on the story?

What does the allusion to ______suggest about ___ (character) in paragraph __?

Based on evidence from the story, which statement best describes _____’s point of view about _____?

Based on the text evidence, which statement best reflects the contrast between ___’s point of view and the ____’s?
How might the author’s cultural background influence the story?

7.7
Compare and contrast a written story, drama, or poem to its audio, filmed, staged, or multimedia version, analyzing the effects of techniques unique to each medium (e.g., lighting, sound, color, or camera focus and angles in a film). / Students will recognize that the creator of a specific medium has certain tools and techniques. They will consider how each type of medium brings stories to life and pay attention to how authors/directors use techniques for specific effects.
Students might…
-lookat or listen closely to a version of a story in another medium, paying attention to the specific techniques of that medium and how these affect the telling of the story.
-compare and contrast how the author presents a theme in a text and how the director presents it differently through the technology of film.
-compare and contrast the setting as it is depicted in a movie version of a text with the same setting as depicted in the original text. / There is a lot in The Outsiders about Sodapop’s magical qualities. In the first chapter, compare how he comes across in the film, to how he is described in the book:
Soda is handsomer than anyone else I know. Not like Darry--Soda's movie-star kind of handsome, the kind that people stop on the street to watch go by. He's not as tall as Darry, and he's a little slimmer, but he has a finely drawn, sensitive face that somehow manages to be reckless and thoughtful at the same time. He's got dark-gold hair that he combs back—long and silky and straight—and in the summer the sun bleaches it to a shining wheat gold. His eyes are dark brown—lively, dancing, recklessly laughing eyes that can be gentle and sympathetic one moment and blazing with anger the next. /

How does the way the villain first appears in the film differ from the way he/she first appears in the novel?

How has the director accomplished creating tension? What specific techniques were used to develop greater suspense?

Read this scene which takes place in a novel. “…” If you were a director and about to film the movie version of this scene, what choices might you make in terms of lighting, sound, camera shots and editing to create suspense?

7.9
Compare and contrast a fictional portrayal of a time, place, or character and a historical account of the same period as a means of understanding how authors of fiction use or alter history. / Students will compare and contrast the portrayal of how authors represent time, place and setting within a text. They will discuss differences in tone, in shades of meaning, in structure, and in context, and tie these to specific examples from both texts as a way to compare and contrast not just what the authors are talking about, but how they approach a theme and topic.