The 7th grade poetry unit gives an in depth approach to poetry involving the four strands within the core. I've included worksheets, rubrics, and answers keys where applicable. I have also used literature examples from the core.

Students begin Unit 1 by reading Summer of the Mariposas by Guadalupe Garcia McCall. Theme and point of view are introduced through the text, as well as discussion norms, as students discuss their responses to the text. They also analyze how differences in the points of view of the characters and the reader create effects like suspense or humor. While reading Summer of the Mariposas, they closely read complex informational texts about the folklore of Mexico. In the second half of Unit 1, students analyze how incidents in the story reveal aspects of a character in order to prepare for a Socratic Seminar discussion. Theme is introduced and tracked in preparation for Unit 2.

Summer of the Mariposas contains references to sensitive topics such as a family’s abandonment by their father, a murder and children’s discovery of the corpse, illegal crossing of the border between the United States and Mexico, and Latin American folklore that includes references to magic, spells, witchcraft, and monsters. The issues presented must be carefully and sensitively discussed to give students context as they read the story. Speak with students and families in advance, especially those who may have sensitivity to topics discussed.

In this unit, students begin to read literary nonfiction texts at their level as they choose independent research reading texts. There are Independent Reading Sample Plans located on the Tools Page (http://eled.org/tools) with ideas on how to launch independent reading. Students should complete 20 minutes of independent research reading each evening that they are not prereading a chapter from the whole-class anchor text and should also continue independent research reading over weekends.

In Unit 2, students will continue to read Summer of the Mariposas by Guadalupe Garcia McCall. The first half of the unit will focus on theme in Summer of the Mariposas, analyzing how the theme has developed over the text and writing summaries. In the second half of the unit, students write a new scene for Summer of the Mariposas in which they modernize a different Latin American folklore monster in a similar manner to the other monsters chosen by McCall. In order to do this, students research a monster from Latin American folklore to choose.

As English Language Arts educators know, theme is a nuanced concept. It is a big idea, a message that develops over the course of the text, emerging from the events and character responses in the text itself. In The Summer of the Mariposas, as in other literary works, several notable and thought-provoking themes develop over the course of the text. EL Education has chosen to emphasize two prominent and important themes of the text (“Being kind and pure of heart can help people live fuller, more meaningful lives” and “Things are not always as they appear”) in order to allow students to track the development of these themes over multiple chapters of the text. This will not only help students deeply understand this particular text—it will also allow students to better understand the concept of theme development, so it can become one of the habits of mind they bring to any rich literary text.

It is important to note that EL Education has decided to include a theme statement at the end of chapter summary paragraphs. A summary is an objective synthesis of the key ideas of the chapter. It is true that a theme statement is not a core requirement of a summary, and not all summaries that students write anywhere else will include this type of analysis. However, this approach of ending with a theme statement (as a sort of “so what” after the synthesizing summary) helps students make a connection between summarizing and analysis.

For homework in Unit 2, students will continue to preread chapters of Summer of the Mariposas before discussing them in class. On any day that a prereading of a chapter is not assigned, students should continue their independent research reading by reading for at least 20 minutes and responding to a prompt. Additionally, students should continue independent research reading over the weekends.

In the first half of the unit, students read informational texts relevant to Summer of the Mariposas and the topic to determine central idea. In the second half of the unit, students write a literary analysis essay using the Painted Essay® structure to compare and contrast how La Llorona was portrayed in Summer of the Mariposas with the original story, to explain how Guadalupe Garcia McCall has rendered the story new. For their end of unit assessment, students write another essay explaining how they modernized their own monster in the narrative piece they wrote in Unit 2.

For homework, students will continue to preread chapters of Summer of the Mariposas before discussing them in class. On any day that a prereading of a chapter is not assigned, students should continue their independent research reading by reading for at least 20 minutes and responding to a prompt. Additionally, students should continue independent research reading over the weekends.

Why do we see evidence of myths and traditional stories in modern narratives? How and why can we modernize myths and traditional stories to be meaningful to today's audiences? In this module, students develop their ability to analyze narratives and create their own stories and to analyze informational essays and create their own as they learn about Latin American folklore.

Students begin Unit 1 by reading Summer of the Mariposas by Guadalupe Garcia McCall. Theme and point of view are introduced through the text, as well as discussion norms, as students discuss their responses to the text. They also analyze how differences in the points of view of the characters and the reader create effects like suspense or humor. While reading Summer of the Mariposas, they closely read complex informational texts about the folklore of Mexico. In the second half of Unit 1, students analyze how incidents in the story reveal aspects of a character in order to prepare for a Socratic Seminar discussion. Theme is introduced and tracked in preparation for Unit 2.

In Unit 2, students continue to read Summer of the Mariposas. The first half of the unit focuses on theme in Summer of the Mariposas, analyzing how themes have developed over the course of the text and writing summaries. In the second half of the unit, students write a new scene for Summer of the Mariposas in which they modernize a different Latin American folklore “monster” as a replacement for one of the other monsters chosen by McCall. In order to do this, students research a monster from Latin American folklore to choose.

In the first half of Unit 3, students read the informational author’s note for Summer of the Mariposas as well as a model essay to determine central idea and write a summary. In the second half of the unit, students write a literary analysis essay using the Painted Essay® structure comparing and contrasting how La Llorona was portrayed in Summer of the Mariposas with the original story to explain how McCall has rendered the story new. For their end of unit assessment, students write another essay explaining how they modernized their own monster in the narrative piece they wrote in Unit 2.

Finally, for their performance task, students create a webpage for both their narratives and their essays, enriching their communities by raising awareness about Latin American folklore.

In this module, students explore the array of options, access, and information Americans have when deciding what to eat through the topic of Food Choices. As in previous modules, in Lesson 1 of Unit 1, students discover this topic by examining multiple artifacts, and they are introduced to the guiding questions of the module and the culminating performance task. In the second lesson, students begin reading their anchor text, The Omnivore’s Dilemma by Michael Pollan, and they analyze the author’s point of view and perspective. Throughout the subsequent lessons in the first half of the unit as they continue to read excerpts from The Omnivore’s Dilemma, students also analyze the structure Pollan uses and how it contributes to key points. Students begin to delineate and evaluate Pollan’s arguments, as well as arguments presented in video format. When reading and watching videos to delineate and evaluate arguments, they consider whether the evidence is sound and sufficient. This work prepares students for the Mid-Unit 1 Assessment.

In the second half of Unit 1, students continue to read The Omnivore’s Dilemma while exploring other mediums such as digital print, video, and photographs that express information about food choices. Students analyze the purpose and motive behind information presented in these different mediums and evaluate the advantages and disadvantages of using different mediums to present information. Students also analyze cases in which two sources disagree. This work prepares students for the end of unit assessment.

In Unit 2, students are introduced to new research skills as they work together to research how GMOs impact access to healthy food. Students choose a second topic about access to food—pesticides, organic food, food deserts, or high-fructose corn syrup—and begin to conduct internet research independently. This prepares students for their mid-unit assessment, in which are given a new research question and are assessed on their research skills.

In the second half of Unit 2, students plan and draft an informative essay using the Painted Essay® structure, explaining how the topic they chose to research impacts access to healthy food. For their end of unit assessment, students prepare a short lesson to present their findings to their classmates and include visuals in their presentations.

In the first half of Unit 3, students analyze language and connotations in The Omnivore’s Dilemma in order to understand what Michael Pollan intends his readers to understand. In the second half of Unit 3, students consider the many food choices they have researched and formulate an argument about a choice their community can make to eat healthily and sustainably. Students plan and draft argument essays to defend their claim.

For their performance task, students create an infographic to visually depict their argument and prepare prompt cards to present their argument to an audience of classmates, teachers, and community members.

Where does our food come from? How do we analyze arguments about how food should be grown and processed? What factors influence our access to healthy food? How do we research this? What factors should we prioritize when making choices about our food? How do we share these recommendations with others? In this module, students develop their ability to research, weigh different aspects of complex dilemmas, and formulate opinions supported by evidence and reasoning as they explore the topic Food Choices.

In the beginning of Unit 1, students discover this topic by examining multiple artifacts and being introduced to the guiding questions of the module and the culminating performance task. Throughout the module, students read excerpts from their anchor text, The Omnivore’s Dilemma, and they analyze video clips of the Nourish: Food and Community documentary. Students learn how to analyze the author’s purpose and point of view, as well as structural elements he uses to convey key ideas. In addition, students learn how to delineate and evaluate the author’s arguments by tracking his central claim, supporting points, evidence, and reasoning. Students evaluate whether the author’s evidence and reasoning are sufficient and sound and consider if and how he addresses conflicting viewpoints. Students then evaluate an author’s motives for conveying information and consider the advantages and disadvantages of using different mediums to do so. All of these skills further students’ abilities to be critical consumers of information and to be thoughtful about what is presented to them.

In Unit 2, students research GMOs and a second topic of their choice (pesticides, high-fructose corn syrup, organic food, or food deserts) that bring to light influences on Americans’ access to healthy food. Students learn new research skills as they explore ways in which access to healthy food can be increased or decreased. After researching GMOs as a whole class, students choose their own topic and utilize the research skills they learned in the first half of the unit to research their topic of choice. Students then write an expository essay on how their research topic impacts access to healthy food. At the end of Unit 2, students participate in a Desktop Teaching Activity that will allow them to teach a mini lesson on the topic they research, and to participate in their classmates’ mini lessons on other case studies.

In Unit 3, students analyze language used in The Omnivore’s Dilemma to better understand the author’s intended meaning. Students begin to consider the food choices at play in the many texts and topics they have examined and begin to formulate their own opinions about which food choice would be the most beneficial for themselves and those in their community. For the final assessment, students write an argument essay defending this recommendation. In preparation for this, students analyze a model essay, plan and draft a practice essay, and plan and draft their assessment essay.

For their performance task, students create an infographic and talking points to defend their argument. Students will present to an audience of community members in roundtable presentations.

In this module, students explore the topic of Voices of the Holocaust. In Lesson 1 of Unit 1, students discover this topic by examining multiple artifacts and encountering the guiding questions of the module and the culminating performance task. As the unit continues, students read an informational text providing an overview of the Holocaust to build their background knowledge on the scope and gravity of the Holocaust. They will be introduced to their anchor text, Maus I, a graphic novel and closely read the first chapter to understand how dialogue and tone reveal aspects of characters. As students continue to read the text, they will track character, plot, and emerging themes. This work prepares students for the Mid-Unit 1 Assessment.

In the second half of Unit 1, students continue to read Maus I and track plot and emerging themes. This work prepares students for the end of unit assessment. At the end of Unit 1, students write a summary of the entire anchor text, Maus I, including a statement of a major theme developed throughout the text.

In Unit 2, students analyze a model literary analysis, an expository essay that compares and contrasts the structures and themes of a poem and a novel to prepare students to write their own literary analysis. Students then closely read a new poem, “Often a Minute” by Magdalena Klein, in order to write their own essay comparing the structure and theme of this poem to their anchor text, Maus I. Students spend two days planning their essay and two days drafting and revising their essay based on peer feedback. For their mid-unit assessment, students answer selected and constructed response questions to compare and contrast a new poem’s structure and theme with that of Maus I.

In the second half of Unit 2, students read excerpts from memoirs written by victims and survivors of the Holocaust to analyze development of theme and write summaries. They will also participate in mini lessons and practice verb conjugation, voice, and mood. This work prepares students for the end of unit assessment. At the end of Unit 2, students answer selected and constructed response questions about verb conjugation, voice, and mood.

In Unit 3, students read informational accounts of upstanders during the Holocaust in order to learn more about how and why many people took action against Hitler and the Nazis during the Holocaust. Students write reflections about how these individuals took action and what makes them upstanders. Students also participate in mini lessons on and practice with how to use punctuation such as commas, ellipses, and dashes. This work prepares students for their mid-unit assessment, in which they will be presented with a reflection paragraph and will answer selected and constructed response questions about the use of punctuation and verb voice and mood.

In the second half of Unit 3, students will create a graphic panel to present one of the summaries they wrote and will observe one another’s work in order to scaffold towards their performance task. Students will discuss common traits of upstanders that they saw across the texts they read and will analyze a model narrative of a fictional interview with an imaginary upstander in order to be able to write their own. Students will plan a narrative of their own by creating a profile of a fictional upstander, creating interview questions and answers, and planning an “explode the moment” with sensory details and figurative language to slow down the pacing of a key moment of the narrative. This will prepare students for their end of unit assessment, in which they will draft their narrative.

To prepare for their performance task, students will peer review one another’s narrative and provide feedback; they will then analyze a model performance task that includes a graphic panel to visually represent elements of the narrative and a reflection on the narrative and panel. Students will then plan their own panel and reflection, draft these elements, and prepare to present. For their performance task, students will present their graphic panel to an audience and will answer questions about their work in order to share their learning and honor the memory of those who lived, died, and took action during the Holocaust.

What was the Holocaust and how did it occur? Why do we remember it? How did victims and survivors respond, and how can we honor their voices? How did upstanders respond, and what can we learn from their voices? In this module, students learn about a terrible time period in history, remember the voices of victims, survivors, and upstanders, and at the same time, they develop their ability to determine and track themes, understand the development of characters, identify and track the development of central ideas, and write narratives to honor the memories of those who served as upstanders during the Holocaust.

In the beginning of Unit 1, students discover the topic by examining multiple artifacts and encountering the guiding questions of the module and the culminating performance task. Students read an informational text providing an overview of the Holocaust to build their background knowledge on the scope and gravity of the Holocaust. They are introduced to their anchor text, Maus I: A Survivor’s Tale: My Father Bleeds History, a graphic novel, and closely read the first chapter to understand how dialogue and tone reveal aspects of characters. As students continue to read the text, they track character, plot, and emerging themes. This work prepares students for the Mid-Unit 1 Assessment. In the second half of Unit 1, students continue to read Maus I and track plot and emerging themes. This work prepares students for the end of unit assessment. At the end of Unit 1, students write a summary of the entire anchor text, Maus I, including a statement of a major theme developed throughout the text.

In Unit 2, students analyze a model literary analysis, an expository essay that compares and contrasts the structures and themes of a poem and a novel. Students then closely read a new poem, “Often a Minute” by Magdalena Klein, in order to write their own essay comparing the structure and theme of this poem to their anchor text, Maus I. Students spend two days planning their essay and two days drafting and revising their essay based on peer feedback. For their mid-unit assessment, students are presented with a new poem and answer selected and constructed response questions to compare and contrast its structure and theme with that of Maus I. In the second half of Unit 2, students read excerpts from memoirs written by victims and survivors of the Holocaust and also participate in mini lessons and practice verb conjugation, voice, and mood. This work prepares students for the end of unit assessment. At the end of Unit 2, students answer selected and constructed response questions about verb conjugation, voice, and mood.

In Unit 3, students read informational accounts of upstanders during the Holocaust. Students write reflections about how these individuals took action. Students also participate in mini lessons and practice how to use punctuation such as commas, ellipses, and dashes. This work prepares students for their mid-unit assessment, in which they are presented with a reflection paragraph from an informational text and answer selected and constructed response questions about the use of punctuation and verb voice and mood. In the second half of Unit 3, students create a graphic panel as a representation of one of the summaries they wrote and observe one another’s work in order to scaffold towards their performance task. Students discuss common traits of upstanders that they saw across the texts they read and analyze a model narrative of a fictional interview with an imaginary upstander. Students plan a narrative of their own by creating a profile of a fictional upstander, creating interview questions and answers, and planning an “explode the moment” with sensory details and figurative language to slow down the pacing of a key moment of the narrative. This prepares students for their end of unit assessment, in which they draft their narrative.

To prepare for their performance task, students peer review one another’s narrative and provide feedback and then analyze a model performance task that includes a graphic panel to visually represent elements of the narrative and a reflection on the narrative and panel. Students then plan their own panel and reflection, draft these elements, and prepare to present. For their performance task, students present their graphic panel to an audience and answer questions about their work.

In this module, students explore the topic of Japanese American internment. As in previous modules, in Lesson 1 of Unit 1, students discover the topic by examining multiple artifacts. They are then introduced to the culminating performance task and the guiding questions of the module (What were the causes and impacts of Japanese American internment camps? What are the main lessons that can be learned from Japanese American internment? How can people effectively apply the lessons of internment to their own communities?). In the second lesson, students begin reading their anchor text, Farewell to Manzanar, a literary memoir that chronicles the experiences of Jeanne Wakatsuki Houston and her family before, during, and after the incarceration of Japanese Americans in internment camps by the US government during World War II. Throughout the unit, they track connections and distinctions among individuals, ideas, and events in the text and answer selected and constructed response questions about vocabulary and language to consider meaning in the text. This work prepares students for the Mid-Unit 1 Assessment. Additionally, students are introduced to the film adaptation of Farewell to Manzanar in Lesson 4, in which they watch the first of four segments of the film and begin to track the extent to which the film Farewell to Manzanar stays faithful to or departs from the text.

In the second half of the unit, students continue to read Farewell to Manzanar while tracking connections and distinctions in the text. Students also continue to watch the film adaptation of Farewell to Manzanar and analyze how the film stays faithful to and departs from the text. Students focus their analysis on how the film portrays significant ideas from the text, including the ways in which Jeanne and her family members are impacted by internment. This work helps to prepare students for the literary argument essay they will write in Unit 2. Students also review past experiences with collaborative discussions in earlier modules and engage in practice that targets relevant speaking and listening skills in advance of a collaborative discussion during the End of Unit 1 Assessment. During the assessment, students synthesize their learning in the unit by engaging in a QuickWrite before participating in a discussion centered on the following question: what were the causes and impacts of Japanese American internment camps?

In this unit, students continue to explore the topic of Japanese American internment and analyze how significant ideas from Farewell to Manzanar are conveyed in the film adaptation of the text. In the first half of the unit, students read part 2 of Farewell to Manzanar and continue to track connections and distinctions between individuals, ideas, and events in the text and answer selected and constructed response questions about connection and distinctions, point of view, vocabulary, and language to consider meaning in the text. For example, students consider how the authors use figurative language to make a connection between the narrator Jeanne Wakatsuki’s baton and her father to convey Jeanne’s anger toward her father. This work prepares students for the Mid-Unit 2 Assessment. Students also watch the third segment of the film adaptation of Farewell to Manzanar in Lesson 3 and continue to track the extent to which the film Farewell to Manzanar stays faithful to or departs from the text.

In the second half of Unit 2, students read the final chapters of Farewell to Manzanar while tracking connections and distinctions in the text and finish watching the film adaptation of Farewell to Manzanar. For the End of Unit 2 Assessment, students choose a significant idea from Farewell to Manzanar and write a literary argument essay to evaluate how effectively the film conveys this significant idea. In preparation for this assessment, students analyze a model essay that centers on how the film conveys the significant idea that Jeanne Wakatsuki’s youth impacts her understanding of events in the text. They will then plan and draft a practice essay with partners to evaluate how the film conveys the significant idea that Jeanne’s father feels deeply conflicted loyalties, both to Japan and to America. Finally, they will plan and draft their assessment over a series of scaffolded lessons.

In this unit, students focus on understanding key lessons from Japanese American internment. In the first half of the unit, students read a series of informational texts to understand the redress movement and the long-term impact and effects of Japanese American internment. From their reading of these texts, students generate enduring lessons from internment and then find evidence from the anchor text, Farewell to Manzanar, and other supplemental texts read in Unit 2 to deepen their understanding of these lessons. For example, students will use text-based evidence to identify the lesson that in times of terrible struggle, people can draw strength from their identities and communities. They also engage in collaborative discussions. This work prepares students for the Mid-Unit 3 Assessment, a text-based discussion on lessons from Japanese American internment and the redress movement.

In the second half of Unit 3, students explore modern activism and how lessons from Japanese American internment are being applied today. Students research and interview local community organizations to understand how their work connects to lessons from Japanese American internment. For example, students might explore how an organization that helps refugees embodies lessons from Japanese American internment. For the End of Unit 3 Assessment, students deliver presentations in triads on the community organizations they have selected. Students then prepare for the final performance task of the module: the Activist Assembly. During the Activist Assembly, students participate in focus groups with other triads of students and guests (family, friends, and community members) to uplift the work of the organizations they researched and to further consider how lessons from Japanese American internment can be applied today.

In Module 4, students learn about the internment of Japanese Americans during World War II. They study the experiences of survivors of internment, focusing most centrally on the experiences conveyed in the anchor text, Farewell to Manzanar. This memoir, told through the eyes of Jeanne Wakatsuki Houston, chronicles the experiences of her and her family at the Japanese American internment camp Manzanar. Through close examination of this text and of other supplemental texts that provide context about the impact of internment, students deepen their understanding of this dark time in history and of the lessons that can be learned from it.

In Unit 1, students are introduced to the anchor text. They analyze how the text makes connections among and distinctions between important individuals, ideas, or events, tracking these connections and distinctions in a note-catcher. They also begin to develop an anchor chart to highlight significant ideas that emerge from the text, including the ways in which Jeanne and her family members are impacted by internment. To further develop the background knowledge needed to interpret the events described in the text, students examine images and primary source documents that center on other Japanese American internment experiences. Also in Unit 1, students watch two segments of the Farewell to Manzanar film. They focus on key moments, noting the extent to which the film stays faithful to or departs from the text. Students also examine how significant ideas from the text are conveyed in the film. The assessments of the unit evaluate students’ abilities (a) to analyze the connections and distinctions made in a new chapter of the text and (b) to discuss the causes and impacts of Japanese American internment in a collaborative discussion.

In the first half of Unit 2, students finish reading the anchor text and watch the two final segments of the Farewell to Manzanar film. They continue analyzing connections and distinctions, identifying significant ideas, and evaluating the film’s depiction of events in the text. They also analyze the points of view of different individuals in the text. The Mid-Unit 2 Assessment challenges students to demonstrate these analytical skills with a new chapter of the text. In the second half of Unit 2, students revisit the Painted Essay® structure to analyze a model literary argument essay that addresses the following prompt: One significant idea in the text Farewell to Manzanar is that Jeanne’s youth impacts her understanding of events in the text. How effectively does the film Farewell to Manzanar convey this significant idea? Using a similar prompt about the significant idea that Papa feels conflicted loyalties to both the United States and Japan, students write collaborative argument essays that prepare them to produce their own independent argument essays during the end of unit assessment. These essays work with the same question but invite students to choose a different significant idea on which to focus.

In the first half of Unit 3, students engage with supplemental texts that help them better understand the impact and legacy of internment. First, students read about the efforts of some Japanese Americans to seek redress, or reparations, for their incarceration. Then, they read about the negative psychological effects of internment and about the protests of internment survivors against modern-day migrant detention centers. With these supplemental texts as well as the anchor text in mind, students develop a list of “lessons from internment”: enduring understandings that can be taken away from the study of Japanese American internment. For the Mid-Unit 3 Assessment, students collaboratively discuss these lessons from internment and how they are embodied by the redress movement. In the second half of Unit 3, students apply this learning to their own communities. They conduct research about and then interviews with activist organizations whose work embodies, in some way, these lessons of internment. Students present their findings during the End of Unit 3 Assessment.

For their performance task, students participate in small group discussions during the “Activist Assembly.” With classmates and members of the local community, students discuss the best ways to apply lessons from internment to their own communities, using evidence from their research of local organizations to support their ideas.

Students practice using articles by rewriting sentences using a or an. This is activity 1 of 2 in the series.

Students practice using articles by rewriting sentences using a or an. This is activity 2 of 2 in the series.

Students practice using articles by filling in the blank with a, an, or the.