Evidence Outcomes:

a. Engage effectively in a range of collaborative discussions (one-on-one, in groups, and teacher-led) with diverse partners on grade 7 topics, texts, and issues, building on others’ ideas and expressing their own clearly. (CCSS: SL.7.1)

i. Come to discussions prepared, having read or researched material under study; explicitly draw on that preparation by referring to evidence on the topic, text, or issue to probe and reflect on ideas under discussion. (CCSS: SL.7.1a)

ii. Follow rules for collegial discussions, track progress toward specific goals and deadlines, and define individual roles as needed. (CCSS: SL.7.1b)

iii. Pose questions that elicit elaboration and respond to others’ questions and comments with relevant observations and ideas that bring the discussion back on topic as needed. (CCSS: SL.7.1c)

iv. Acknowledge new information expressed by others and, when warranted, modify their own views. (CCSS: SL.7.1d)

b. Analyze the main ideas and supporting details presented in diverse media and formats (for example: visually, quantitatively, orally) and explain how the ideas clarify a topic, text, or issue under study. (CCSS: SL.7.2)

c. Delineate a speaker’s argument and specific claims, evaluating the soundness of the reasoning and the relevance and sufficiency of the evidence. (CCSS: SL.7.3)

Transfer Goals: Based on the Evidence Outcomes, what will students transfer to new contexts/situations?

Creatively, effectively and efficiently communicate in a variety of group settings and situations through analysis and synthesis of information.

Essential Understandings: In order to meet these transfer goals, the essential ideas and core processes students must understand are...

How to...

• Actively listen

• Pose thoughtful questions

• Acknowledge ideas of others

• Contribute to the main objective

In order to meet these essential understandings, students must know...

• To prepare for discussion

  • Skills for including and using research or information

• To collaborate in a discussion

• Face the speaker, eye contact, maintain focus

• Body language

• Nonverbal cues

• Stay on topic

• Refer to what speaker said and then build on that same subject

• Respect opinions of others even if you don’t agree

• Use sentence starters and stems

• Build on speakers ideas

• Think before you talk

• Analyze the speaker’s message to communicate your own thoughts

• Provide evidence for your thoughts and responses

• To evaluate contributors’

• Argument or specific claims

• Relevance of evidence

• Motives

• Amount of support/evidence

In order to meet these essential understandings, students must be able to...

• Read/study required materials and resources

• Cite relevant and credible evidence on the topic, text or issue

• Reflect on ideas under discussion

• Elaborate and explain reasoning with evidence presented

• Pose and respond to specific questions through elaboration, questions and building on others ideas

• Review key ideas and demonstrate understanding

• State your own ideas and evidence for support

• Interpret information

• Assess the contribution of ideas and materials presented

• Use planning strategies to organize key ideas and arguments

• Practice delivery of key ideas and arguments

Evidence Outcomes:

a. Present claims and findings, emphasizing salient points in a focused, coherent manner with pertinent descriptions, facts, details, and examples; use appropriate eye contact, adequate volume, and clear pronunciation. (CCSS: SL.7.4)

b. Include multimedia components and visual displays in presentations to clarify claims and findings and emphasize salient points. (CCSS: SL.7.5)

c. Adapt speech to a variety of contexts and tasks, demonstrating command of formal English when indicated or appropriate. (CCSS: SL.7.6)

Transfer Goals: Based on the Evidence Outcomes, what will students transfer to new contexts/situations?

Deliver effective oral presentations for varied audiences and varied purposes

Essential Understandings: In order to meet these transfer goals, the essential ideas and core processes students must understand are...

How to...

• present claims using descriptions, details, and examples

• use appropriate eye-contact, volume, and pronunciation

• use visuals to enhance presentation

In order to meet these essential understandings, students must know...

• To be clear regarding their claim (pick a side)

  • Investigate opposing viewpoints

  • Do you agree or disagree?

• To analyze the credibility of their descriptions, details, and examples

• Is the research scholarly?

• To know different presentation formats

  • Google Slides

  • Prezi

  • Posters/illustrations

  • Graphs

• Appropriate presentation development

• Planning strategies

• Presentation tailored for specific audience

In order to meet these essential understandings, students must be able to...

• Establish a claim regarding a topic and identify an opposing viewpoint

• Gather credible research to support claims made on a topic

  • Sequence ideas logically

• Use visual aides that enhance the presentation

• Adapt speech to a variety of contexts and tasks

Evidence Outcomes:

a. Use Key Ideas and Details to:

i. Cite several pieces of textual evidence to support analysis of what the text says explicitly as well as inferences drawn from the text. (CCSS: RL.7.1)

ii. 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. (CCSS: RL.7.2)

iii. Analyze how particular elements of a story or drama interact (for example: how setting shapes the characters or plot). (CCSS: RL.7.3)

b. Use Craft and Structure to:

i. 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 (for example: alliteration) on a specific verse or stanza of a poem or section of a story or drama. (CCSS: RL.7.4)

ii. Analyze how a drama’s or poem’s form or structure (for example: soliloquy, sonnet) contributes to its meaning. (CCSS: RL.7.5)

iii. Analyze how an author develops and contrasts the points of view of different characters or narrators in a text. (CCSS: RL.7.6)

c. Use Integration of Knowledge and Ideas to:

i. 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 (for example: lighting, sound, color, or camera focus and angles in a film). (CCSS: RL.7.7)

ii. 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. (CCSS: RL.7.9)

d. Use Range of Reading and Complexity of Text to:

i. By the end of the year, read and comprehend literature, including stories, dramas, and poems, in the grades 6-8 text complexity band proficiently, with scaffolding as needed at the high end of the range. (CCSS: RL.7.10)

Transfer Goals: Based on the Evidence Outcomes, what will students transfer to new contexts/situations?

Read a wide range of literary text to build knowledge and better understand the human experience and the world around us

Essential Understandings: In order to meet these transfer goals, the essential ideas and core processes students must understand are...

How to:

• Synthesize information and support thinking with evidence

• Broaden vocabulary and understand the impact of words

• Understand perspectives and structure of informational texts

• Analyze information presented in different mediums and credibility of arguments

In order to meet these essential understandings, students must know...

• Key Ideas

  • Drawing inferences

  • Citing text correctly

  • Recognizing theme

  • Disaggregating text

  • Separating main ideas from subtopics and minor details

  • Deciphering the difference between figurative and literal language

  • How figurative language allows the reader to visualize and connect to the story

• Craft and Structure

  • Understanding the different components of plot structure

  • Plot structure is the basic formula of storytelling

  • Individual elements of plot structure synthesize to create a fluid story

  • Authors write with different perspectives

  • How perspective impacts the author’s message

  • Elements of a story are influenced by perspective

  • Literature can be communicated through different mediums which can change the effect on the audience

  • The difference between actual historical events and the portrayal of these events in fiction

• Integration of Knowledge and Ideas

  • How new vocabulary works in context with a story

  • Transitioning vocabulary from text to discourse

  • Using context clues to decipher meaning

  • The difference between actual historical events and the portrayal of these events in fiction

In order to meet these essential understandings, students must be able to...

• Subject specific formatting (MLA, APA, Chicago)

• Annotate text

• Decipher formats and structure of paragraphs, chapters, essays

• Morphology (Greek and Latin Stems)

• Context clues

• Implement literary vocabulary into speaking and writing

• Analyze and identify specific aspects of plot structure within literature

• Identify the different types of point of view

• Compare and contrast stories, movies, shows, plays, poems and identifying similarities and differences

• Identifying similes, metaphors, literary devices and techniques

• Make connections between real world events and literature

• Read and comprehend a variety of literature on grade level

• Cite several pieces of textual evidence to support thesis/topic sentence

Evidence Outcomes:

a. Use Key Ideas and Details to:

i. Cite several pieces of textual evidence to support analysis of what the text says explicitly as well as inferences drawn from the text. (CCSS: RI.7.1)

ii. Determine two or more central ideas in a text and analyze their development over the course of the text; provide an objective summary of the text. (CCSS: RI.7.2)

iii. Analyze the interactions between individuals, events, and ideas in a text (for example: how ideas influence individuals or events, or how individuals influence ideas or events). (CCSS: RI.7.3)

b. Use Craft and Structure to:

i. Determine the meaning of words and phrases as they are used in a text, including figurative, connotative, and technical meanings; analyze the impact of a specific word choice on meaning and tone. (CCSS: RI.7.4)

ii. Analyze the structure an author uses to organize a text, including how the major sections contribute to the whole and to the development of the ideas. (CCSS: RI.7.5)

iii. Determine an author’s point of view or purpose in a text and analyze how the author distinguishes his or her position from that of others. (CCSS: RI.7.6)

c. Use Integration of Knowledge and Ideas to:

i. Compare and contrast a text to an audio, video, or multimedia version of the text, analyzing each medium’s portrayal of the subject (for example: how the delivery of a speech affects the impact of the words). (CCSS: RI.7.7)

ii. Trace and evaluate the argument and specific claims in a text, assessing whether the reasoning is sound and the evidence is relevant and sufficient to support the claims. (CCSS: RI.7.8)

iii. Analyze how two or more authors writing about the same topic shape their presentations of key information by emphasizing different evidence or advancing different interpretations of facts. (CCSS: RI.7.9)

d. Use Range of Reading and Complexity of Text to:

i. By the end of the year, read and comprehend literary nonfiction in the grades 6–8 text complexity band proficiently, with scaffolding as needed at the high end of the range. (CCSS: RI.7.10)

Transfer Goals: Based on the Evidence Outcomes, what will students transfer to new contexts/situations?

Read a wide range of informational texts to build knowledge and to better understand the human experience and the world around us.

Essential Understandings: In order to meet these transfer goals, the essential ideas and core processes students must understand are...

How to:

• Synthesize information and support thinking with evidence

• Broaden vocabulary and understand the impact of words

• Understand perspectives and structure of informational texts

• Analyze information presented in different mediums and credibility of arguments

In order to meet these essential understandings, students must know...

• Key ideas and details

• Supporting thinking with evidence

• Analyzing a text & determining central idea(s)

• Synthesizing a text to make connections

• Craft and Structure

• Vocabulary skills: Connotative, Literal, Figurative and word meaning

• Text structure

• Viewpoints: point of view and author’s perspective and conflicting viewpoints

• Integration of Knowledge and Ideas

• Use different forms of evidence to support a claim and advantages/disadvantages of each

• Determine credibility & irrelevant evidence

  • Fact or opinion

  • Primary or secondary source

  • Stays on topic

• Compare opposing views

• Reading Range

• Reading for complexity, proficiency, and comprehension

In order to meet these essential understandings, students must be able to...

• Use evidence to support claims

• Understand the central idea(s) of a text

• Analyze and synthesize a text in order to make connections

• Broaden Vocabulary and understand the impact of words

• Understand the structure of texts and compare and contrast the differences/similarities

• Analyze a text for perspective and purpose

• Use different forms of evidence to support claims

• Determine credibility of an argument

• Analyze conflicting points of view and conflicting evidence

• Read at a high level for complexity and comprehension

• Compare different mediums of informational text

Evidence Outcomes:

a. Determine or clarify the meaning of unknown and multiple-meaning words and phrases based on grade 7 reading and content, choosing flexibly from a range of strategies. (CCSS: L.7.4)

i. Use context (for example: the overall meaning of a sentence or paragraph; a word’s position or function in a sentence) as a clue to the meaning of a word or phrase. (CCSS: L.7.4a)

ii. Use common, grade-appropriate Greek or Latin affixes and roots as clues to the meaning of a word (for example: belligerent, bellicose, rebel). (CCSS: L.7.4b)

iii. Consult general and specialized reference materials (for example: dictionaries, glossaries, thesauruses), both print and digital, to find the pronunciation of a word or determine or clarify its precise meaning or its part of speech. (CCSS: L.7.4c)

iv. Verify the preliminary determination of the meaning of a word or phrase (for example: by checking the inferred meaning in context or in a dictionary). (CCSS: L.7.4d)

b. Demonstrate understanding of figurative language, word relationships, and nuances in word meanings. (CCCS: L.7.5)

i. Interpret figures of speech (for example: literary, biblical, and mythological allusions) in context. (CCCS: L.7.5a)

ii. Use the relationship between particular words (for example: synonym/antonym, analogy) to better understand each of the words. (CCCS: L.7.5b)

iii. Distinguish among the connotations (associations) of words with similar denotations (definitions) (for example: refined, respectful, polite, diplomatic, and condescending). (CCCS: L.7.5c)

c. Acquire and use accurately grade-appropriate general academic and domain-specific words and phrases; gather vocabulary knowledge when considering a word or phrase important to comprehension or expression. (CCSS: L.7.6)

Transfer Goals: Based on the Evidence Outcomes, what will students transfer to new contexts/situations?

Understand how language functions in different contexts, adjusting and adapting to various situations when writing or speaking.

Essential Understandings: In order to meet these transfer goals, the essential ideas and core processes students must understand are...

How to..

• Broaden vocabulary using context clues, roots and reference materials

• Make inferences to determine meaning

• Understand figurative language

• Comprehend word meanings and nuances

• Use vocabulary accurately in different situations (formal, informal, academic, etc.)

In order to meet these essential understandings, students must know...

• To broaden vocabulary

• Using and understanding context clues

• Using knowledge of Latin/Greek roots

• Using reference materials

• Making inferences

• Figurative language

• Understand difference between figurative and literal language

• Interpret figures of speech

• Understand word and meaning relationships

• Understand differences between denotative and connotative

• Use word relationships/context clues to determine meaning

In order to meet these essential understandings, students must be able to...

• Incorporate knowledge of vocabulary into reading and writing

• Use context clues to determine meaning

• Identify relationships between words (synonyms, antonyms)

• Show knowledge of Latin/Greek roots, and reference books

• Interpret figures of speech

• Determine relationship between words

• Distinguish between the literal and connotative meaning of words

Evidence Outcomes:

a. Write arguments to support claims with clear reasons and relevant evidence. (CCSS: W.7.1)

i. Introduce claim(s), acknowledge alternate or opposing claims, and organize the reasons and evidence logically. (CCSS: W.7.1a)

ii. Support claim(s) with logical reasoning and relevant evidence, using accurate, credible sources and demonstrating an understanding of the topic or text. (CCSS: W.7.1b)

iii. Use words, phrases, and clauses to create cohesion and clarify the relationships among claim(s), reasons, and evidence. (CCSS: W.7.1c)

iv. Establish and maintain a formal style. (CCSS: W.7.1d)

v. Provide a concluding statement or section that follows from and supports the argument presented. (CCSS: W.7.1e)

Transfer Goals: Based on the Evidence Outcomes, what will students transfer to new contexts/situations?

Craft arguments using techniques specific to the genre.

Essential Understandings: In order to meet these transfer goals, the essential ideas and core processes students must understand are...

How to...

• Introduce a claim

• Support claim with relevant and accurate evidence

• Provide a concluding statement that supports the argument

• Structure your argument in a cohesive paragraph

In order to meet these essential understandings, students must know...

• To introduce a claim

  • Formulate a credible claim that reflects your opinion

• To support claim with relevant and accurate evidence

• Find evidence within a text that supports claim

• To explain the relationship between your evidence and your claim

  • How your evidence supports your claim

  • How to explain what the evidence means and its importance

  • How to support claims with logical reasoning

• To provide a concluding statement that supports the argument

• Formulate a concluding statement that furthers the argument and shows its importance

• To structure your argument in a cohesive paragraph

  • How to combine all parts of an argument to create a paragraph

In order to meet these essential understandings, students must be able to...

NOTE 1: these are minimum requirements for mastery; they need not be utilized in every assignment

NOTE 2: tasks that are italicized are new to the grade level, and should be given more attention; other tasks have been introduced in prior years

Write a strong argument that includes the following elements:

• Write a thesis that:

  • Includes a claim that is relevant and arguable

  • Acknowledges the counterclaim (when applicable)

• Choose evidence:

  • Use evidence from credible and relevant sources

  • Uses multiple pieces of strong evidence to support the thesis

  • Incorporates transitions with each piece of evidence to create cohesion

  • Include accurate in-text citations for all evidence

• Provide reasoning that:

  • Explains each piece of evidence to demonstrates understanding

• Incorporate transitions:

  • Use transitions within individual paragraphs

  • Use transitions between paragraphs

• Utilize format/Style:

  • Use a clear and established structure

  • Use appropriate formatting for the assignment

• Incorporate a conclusion:

  • Recap the claim

  • Summarize the arguments made

  • Explain why the argument made is significant

****Suggested structure for grade level appropriate essay:

• Include 2 pieces of evidence per paragraph supporting each part of the thesis

• Each piece of evidence should be accompanied by thorough reasoning and explanation

• Suggested length for a formal essay: At least 5 paragraphs

Evidence Outcomes:

a. Write informative/explanatory texts to examine a topic and convey ideas, concepts, and information through the selection, organization, and analysis of relevant content. (CCSS: W.7.2)

i. Introduce a topic clearly, previewing what is to follow; organize ideas, concepts, and information, using strategies such as definition, classification, comparison/contrast, and cause/effect; include formatting (for example: headings), graphics (for example: charts, tables), and multimedia when useful to aiding comprehension. (CCSS: W.7.2a)

ii. Develop the topic with relevant facts, definitions, concrete details, quotations, or other information and examples. (CCSS: W.7.2b)

iii. Use appropriate transitions to create cohesion and clarify the relationships among ideas and concepts. (CCSS: W.7.2c)

iv. Use precise language and domain-specific vocabulary to inform about or explain the topic. (CCSS: W.7.2d)

v. Establish and maintain a formal style. (CCSS: W.7.2e)

vi. Provide a concluding statement or section that follows from and supports the information or explanation presented. (CCSS: W.7.2f)

Transfer Goals: Based on the Evidence Outcomes, what will students transfer to new contexts/situations?

Craft informational/explanatory using techniques specific to the genre.

Essential Understandings: In order to meet these transfer goals, the essential ideas and core processes students must understand are...

How to...

• Write to inform or explain a topic

• Provide relevant evidence and details

• Organize information

• Use vocabulary and language appropriate to topic, style, situation

In order to meet these essential understandings, students must know...

• Writing Strategy

  • Format for writing a thesis

  • Elements of a paragraph

  • Methods for introducing a topic effectively

  • The characteristics of effective evidence, and how to choose it

  • Characteristics of strong written reasoning - connections between thesis and evidence

  • Structure of a strong conclusion - connects back to intro/thesis

• Writing Style

  • Methods of organizing information

  • Transitions and how to use them to create cohesion

  • Text features (headers, graphics, etc.) and how/when to use them

  • Strategies for including pertinent vocabulary and language

    • Appropriate to topic, style, situation

  • Subject specific formatting norms (MLA, APA, etc.)

  • Formal writing style norms

In order to meet these essential understandings, students must be able to...

NOTE 1: these are minimum requirements for mastery; they need not be utilized in every assignment

NOTE 2: tasks that are italicized are new to the grade level, and should be given more attention; other tasks have been introduced in prior years

Write an informative piece that includes the following elements:

• Introduction:

  • Provide relevant background information on a topic

  • Include a thesis that:

    • Introduces the topic

    • Indicates the significance this information

• Evidence:

  • Use multiple, credible sources

  • Select relevant evidence

  • Use sufficient evidence to support the thesis

  • Use a variety of formats for providing evidence: quote, paraphrase, summary, etc

  • Include accurate in-text citations for all evidence

• Reasoning:

  • Explain complex ideas and concepts

  • Use effective transitions to create cohesion

• Conclusion:

  • Effectively wrap up and support the information presented

• Format and Style:

  • Use an appropriate organizational system for the the task

  • Use appropriate structure for the assignment (headers, formatting, etc.)

  • Use precise language and domain specific vocabulary, when appropriate

Evidence Outcomes:

a. Write narratives to develop real or imagined experiences or events using effective technique, relevant descriptive details, and well-structured event sequences. (CCSS: W.7.3)

i. Engage and orient the reader by establishing a context and point of view and introducing a narrator and/or characters; organize an event sequence that unfolds naturally and logically. (CCSS: W.7.3a)

ii. Use narrative techniques, such as dialogue, pacing, and description, to develop experiences, events, and/or characters. (CCSS: W.7.3b)

iii. Use a variety of transition words, phrases, and clauses to convey sequence and signal shifts from one time frame or setting to another. (CCSS: W.7.3c)

iv. Use precise words and phrases, relevant descriptive details, and sensory language to capture the action and convey experiences and events. (CCSS: W.7.3d)

v. Provide a conclusion that follows from and reflects on the narrated experiences or events. (CCSS: W.7.3e)

vi. Use stylistic techniques (for example: alliteration, onomatopoeia, rhyme scheme, repetition); figurative language (for example: simile, metaphor, personification); and graphic elements (for example: capital letters, line length, word position) to express personal or narrative voice.

Transfer Goals: Based on the Evidence Outcomes, what will students transfer to new contexts/situations?

Craft engaging and significant narratives that illustrate universal truths about the human experience.

Essential Understandings: In order to meet these transfer goals, the essential ideas and core processes students must understand are...

How to...

• Creatively write about imagined or real experiences

• Organize the narrative logically to engage the audience

• Use sensory details and stylistic/narrative techniques to enhance the story and create further engagement

In order to meet these essential understandings, students must know...

• Key Ideas and Details

  • How to identify/cite evidence

    • To support analysis of text

    • What text states directly (explicitly)

    • draw inferences

  • Determine Central Ideas

    • Development over course of text

      • Summarizing text objectively

  • Analyze the interactions

    • Individuals, idea and events

• Craft and Structure

  • Determining meaning of words/phrases

    • Figurative

    • Connotative and technical

    • Analyze impact of specific word choices regarding meaning and tone

  • Analyze structure an author uses to organize a text

    • How major sections contribute to whole

    • Development of ideas

  • Roles of particular sentences in developing and refining a key concept

  • Determine author’s POV and purpose

    • Analyze how author distinguishes his position from that of others

• Use Integration of Knowledge and Ideas to:

  • Compare and contrast a text to an audio, video or multimedia version of the text

  • Analyze each medium’s portrayal of the subject

    • Ex: How the delivery of a speech affects the wording of the message

• Trace/evaluate argument and claims in a text

• Assess whether reasoning is sound and evidence is relevant and sufficient

• Analyze similar information presented by different authors

• Emphasize different evidence

• Different interpretation of facts

In order to meet these essential understandings, students must be able to...

Use Key Ideas and Details to:

• Cite textual evidence

• Determine central idea in a text

• Analyze interactions

Use Craft and Structure to:

• Determine meaning of words and phrases

• Analyze the structure an author uses to organize a text

• Determine author’s point of view or purpose

Use Integration of Knowledge and Ideas to:

• Evaluate the advantages/disadvantages of different mediums

• Trace and evaluate the argument and specific claims in a text

• Analyze how to author’s present the same information utilizing different structure

• Identify disagreement on matters of fact or interpretation

Evidence Outcomes:

a. Demonstrate command of the conventions of Standard English grammar and usage when writing or speaking. (CCSS: L.7.1)

i. Explain the function of phrases and clauses in general and their function in specific sentences. (CCSS: L.7.1a)

ii. Choose among simple, compound, complex, and compound-complex sentences to signal differing relationships among ideas. (CCSS: L.7.1b)

iii. Place phrases and clauses within a sentence, recognizing and correcting misplaced and dangling modifiers. (CCSS: L.7.1c)

b. Demonstrate command of the conventions of Standard English capitalization, punctuation, and spelling when writing. (CCSS: L.7.2)

i. Use a comma to separate coordinate adjectives (for example: It was a fascinating, enjoyable movie but not He wore an old[,] green shirt). (CCSS: L.7.2a)

ii. Correctly spell frequently used words and consult reference materials (for example, dictionaries, both print and digital, spell check, and/or trusted peers and/or adults) to determine the spelling of less frequently used vocabulary. (adapted from CCSS: L.7.2.b).

c. Use knowledge of language and its conventions when writing, speaking, reading, or listening. (CCSS: L.7.3)

i. Choose language that expresses ideas precisely and concisely, recognizing and eliminating wordiness and redundancy. (CCSS: L.7.3a)

d. Produce clear and coherent writing in which the development, organization, and style are appropriate to task, purpose, and audience. (CCSS: W.7.4)

e. With some guidance and support from peers and adults, develop and strengthen writing as needed by planning, revising, editing, rewriting, or trying a new approach, focusing on how well purpose and audience have been addressed. (CCSS.W.7.5)

f. Use technology, including the Internet, to produce and publish writing and link to and cite sources as well as to interact and collaborate with others. (adapted from CCSS: W.7.6)

g. Write routinely over extended time frames (time for research, reflection, and revision) and shorter time frames (a single sitting or a day or two) for a range of discipline-specific tasks, purposes, and audiences. (CCSS W.7.10)

Transfer Goals: Based on the Evidence Outcomes, what will students transfer to new contexts/situations?

Demonstrate mastery of the writing process with clear, coherent, and polished products.

Essential Understandings: In order to meet these transfer goals, the essential ideas and core processes students must understand are...

How to...

• apply grammar skills to speaking and writing, formal or informal

• collaboratively and independently engage in the revision process to improve the clarity of writing and speaking

In order to meet these essential understandings, students must know...

• Conventions: Grammar & Usage

• Using a variety of sentence structures (complex, compound, simple)

• Using phrases and clauses properly

  • avoid/recognize dangling modifiers

• Mechanics: (capitalization, punctuation, spelling)

• Using commas appropriately

  • Coordinating adjectives

• Editing for spelling

  • Use of dictionary/thesaurus

• Writing & Revision Process

  • How to apply all stages of the writing process (planning, revising, editing, rewriting, publishing)

  • Journal, freewrite, prewrite planning (shorter time frame)

  • Timed writing (read, answer prompt, and complete writing in certain amount of time)

• Technology supports

How to research using scholarly websites/databases, spellcheck, voice-to-text, text-to-speech, Google

In order to meet these essential understandings, students must be able to...

• Conventions: Grammar & Usage

• Using a variety of sentence structures (complex, compound, simple)

• Using phrases and clauses properly

  • avoid/recognize dangling modifiers

• Mechanics: (capitalization, punctuation, spelling)

• Using commas appropriately

  • Coordinating adjectives

• Editing for spelling

  • Use of dictionary/thesaurus

• Writing & Revision Process

  • How to apply all stages of the writing process (planning, revising, editing, rewriting, publishing)

  • Journal, freewrite, prewrite planning (shorter time frame)

  • Timed writing (read, answer prompt, and complete writing in certain amount of time)

• Technology supports

How to research using scholarly websites/databases, spellcheck, voice-to-text, text-to-speech, Google

Evidence Outcomes:

a. Conduct short research projects to answer a question, drawing on several sources and generating additional related, focused questions for further research and investigation. (CCSS: W.7.7)

b. Gather relevant information from multiple print and digital sources, using search terms effectively; assess the credibility and accuracy of each source; and quote or paraphrase the data and conclusions of others while avoiding plagiarism and following a standard format for citation. (CCSS: W.7.8)

c. Draw evidence from literary or informational texts to support analysis, reflection, and research. (CCSS: W.7.9)

i. Apply grade 7 Reading standards to literature (for example: “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”). (CCSS: W.7.9a)

ii. Apply grade 7 Reading standards to literary nonfiction (for example: “Trace and evaluate the argument and specific claims in a text, assessing whether the reasoning is sound and the evidence is relevant and sufficient to support the claims”). (CCSS: W.7.9b)

Transfer Goals: Based on the Evidence Outcomes, what will students transfer to new contexts/situations?

Gather information from a variety of sources; analyze and evaluate its quality and relevance: and use it ethically to answer complex questions.

Essential Understandings: In order to meet these transfer goals, the essential ideas and core processes students must understand are...

How to...

• Gather credible evidence from a variety of sources

• Determine and evaluate the credibility of the evidence

• Use the evidence to answer questions and support claims

In order to meet these essential understandings, students must know...

• Research Process

• Questioning skills/tools; generating and answering

• Gather and use evidence

  • Draw evidence from literary or informational texts to support research

  • Analyze arguments/claims for accuracy, reasoning, relevance

• Source/text analysis

• Creating citations and bibliographies

• Finding and using multiple and varied sources

• Analyzing and evaluating the credibility and relevance of a source

In order to meet these essential understandings, students must be able to...

• Create a research project that uses multiple, varied, and credible sources

• Analyze and evaluate the credibility and relevance of sources

• Use credible evidence to support claims/explain topic

• Create analysis, based on credible evidence, that supports that claim/explains topic

• Create formal citations/bibliography for sources