7th - ELA

Welcome to English Language Arts (ELA)!

COURSE INFORMATION

As students progress through the middle school ELA program at Brooklyn Prospect, their literacy skills are expected to build and develop. Whereas 6th graders might focus more on the identification of literary elements and author’s craft techniques, 7th graders are expected to hone their analysis and interpretation skills of these devices. In writing as well, the goal is for students to move beyond the mere formation of claims and finding of evidence, to consider the relevance of their evidence to their claims, which become increasingly more debatable. To this end, the unifying theme for 7th grade ELA is individual vs. society or, more specifically, the ways in which individuals address conflicts within their societies and how do these conflicts/experiences shape one's identity. 

In each unit, students will need to  explore different perspectives, reflect on their own perspective and how it was developed, and navigate different governmental and social structures in the hope of arriving at a richer understanding about how individuals behave within or outside of various social structures. 

Course Outline:

  Unit Title and Focus Whole Class Novel and Description* (*taken from Amazon.com and author websites)

Unit 1 The House on Mango Street 

September, October & November

Classism and Sexism as Barriers to the American Dream 

The remarkable story of Esperanza Cordero, which is told in a series of vignettes – sometimes heartbreaking, sometimes deeply joyous. This is the story of a young Latina girl growing up in Chicago, inventing for herself who and what she will become. 

Unit 2: Copper Sun 

November, December & January

American Enslavement and Active & Passive Resistance

The epic story of a young girl torn from her African village, sold into slavery, and stripped of everything she has ever known— except hope. Grand and sweeping in scope, Copper Sun's unflinching and unforgettable look at the African slave trade and slavery in America will have the impact on young readers that Alex Haley's Roots had on the previous generation.

Unit 3: Lord of the Flies

January, February   

Impulses, Power, and Social Organization

A plane crashes on an uninhabited island and the only survivors are a group of boys who assemble on the beach and wait to be rescued. At first, the boys work together, but soon, their sense of order fades, and their games take on a horrible significance. Before long the well-behaved party of boys has turned into a group of faceless, bloodthirsty savages.

Unit 4: Persepolis

March, April & May

Culture, History, and Identity

Originally published to wide critical acclaim in France, where it elicited comparisons to Art Spiegelman's Maus, Persepolis is Marjane Satrapi's wise, funny, and heartbreaking memoir of growing up in Iran during the Islamic Revolution. In powerful black-and-white comic strip images, Satrapi tells the story of her life in Tehran from ages six to fourteen, years that saw the overthrow of the Shah's regime, the triumph of the Islamic Revolution, and the devastating effects of war with Iraq. The intelligent and outspoken only child of committed Marxists and the great-granddaughter of one of Iran's last emperors, Marjane bears witness to a childhood uniquely entwined with the history of her country.

Unit 5: Raisin in the Sun

May & June

Race-Related Barriers to the American Dream

Set on Chicago's South Side, A Raisin in the Sun revolves around the divergent dreams and conflicts within three generations of the Younger family. Sacrifice, trust and love among the Younger family and their heroic struggle to retain dignity in a racist and cruel America is a searing and timeless document of hope and inspiration.