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English Language Arts

7th Grade

7th Grade ELA Course Summary


In 7th Grade English Language Arts, students will explore thematic questions related to identity, class, socialization, environment, and community in order to answer the essential question: How are humans driven by the need to belong? Students will see examples of teenagers who are discovering what makes them unique and how their individual identities contribute to a larger collective as they engage with diverse literary works including poems, plays, graphic novels, short stories and film: Uprising, Flesh and Blood So Cheap, A Raisin in the Sun, The House on Mango Street, American Born Chinese, and relevant short texts. Over the course of the year, students will think deeply about the complex past, present, and future of America, and how to define their ever-changing identity as a nation. Across the 6 units, students deepen their writing skills through argumentative, informational, and narrative tasks, and continue to build their academic vocabularies, speaking and listening skills, and social-emotional competencies.

Throughout the course, students address all ELA Common Core Standards as they engage with increasingly complex texts, participate in class discussions, and write daily. Each unit helps build students’ knowledge and understanding of the world around them through thematically organized core and supplemental texts, embedded writing instruction and extended writing assignments in response to Essential Questions, and daily opportunities to engage in multiple tiers of academic discourse

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Units


Unit 1

25 Lessons

Longing to Belong: Poems, Essays, and Short Stories

Students explore the different ways individuals develop a sense of belonging through a variety of voices, texts, and genres.

Unit 2

33 Lessons

Advocating for Change: Uprising & Flesh and Blood So Cheap

Students explore how meaningful social change comes about through close study of the tragic Triangle Shirtwaist fire and the social history of the early 20th century.

Unit 3

26 Lessons

Pursuing Dreams: A Raisin in the Sun

Students explore the American experience through the story of an African-American family struggling to achieve their dreams.

Unit 4

19 Lessons

Finding Home: The House on Mango Street

Students explore the American experience through the eyes of a young Latina girl as she struggles to define herself in relation to her community.

Unit 5

22 Lessons

Exploring Identity: American Born Chinese

Students explore the American experience through the story of a young boy's conflicted relationship with his Chinese-American identity.

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