Curriculum / ELA / 7th Grade / Unit 1: Longing to Belong: Poems, Essays, and Short Stories / Lesson 20

Longing to Belong: Poems, Essays, and Short Stories

Lesson 20

ELA

Unit 1

7th Grade

Lesson 20 of 20

The following assessments accompany Unit 1. For more guidance, see the Summative Assessments and Assessments Accommodations & Modifications Teacher Tools.

Warm Read Assessment

The Warm Read Assessment measures students' ability to apply the core reading standards and their knowledge from the unit to comprehend new, topically or thematically aligned texts. It includes both multiple choice and short written response questions and should serve as the primary assessment for the unit.

Vocabulary Assessment

The Vocabulary Assessment measures students' acquisition of text-based vocabulary words from the unit.

Fluency Assessment

The Fluency Assessment measures students' oral reading fluency with a passage drawn from one of the unit's core texts. See the Assessing Reading Fluency Teacher Tool for more guidance.

Download Fluency Assessment

Lesson 19

Lesson Map

Identify the author's central ideas about the science of belonging.

“Belonging and Beyond: How Social Connections Shape Our World”

Standards

RI.7.2

Explain how the author's word choice and point of view convey the narrator's perspective.

“First-Day Fly”

Standards

RL.7.4RL.7.6

Analyze how the author uses figurative language to reveal the narrator's perspective and motivation.

“Popularity”

Standards

RL.7.4RL.7.6

progress
monitoring

progress
monitoring

Analyze how the delivery of the lines adds to the meaning of the podcast.

“This American Life 803: Greetings, People of Earth | Act Four, Jorts and All” — (46:47–59:40)

Standards

RI.7.4RI.7.7

3 days

Write a cohesive, organized paragraph that makes and supports a clear and complete claim.

Day 1 - Planning

Draft a claim that is clear, completely answers the prompt, and includes supporting reasons.

Details Brainstorming Page (G7, U1, L5)

Standards

L.7.3.aW.7.1.a

Day 2 - Planning / Drafting

Create an outline for a paragraph that fully answers the prompt, and draft a paragraph.

Details Brainstorming Page (G7, U1, L5)
Single Paragraph Outline

Standards

W.7.1.aW.7.1.bW.7.4

Day 3 - Drafting

Draft a cohesive, organized paragraph.

Single Paragraph Outline

Standards

W.7.1W.7.1.c

Analyze the ways the author supports their central ideas about the Americans with Disabilities Act.

“The Fight for Disability Rights”

Standards

RI.7.2

progress
monitoring

progress
monitoring

Summarize the challenges that Nikic faces and overcomes in the article.

“The Remarkable Journey of an Ironman”
“The Fight for Disability Rights”

Standards

RL.7.2

Analyze how word choice and structure contribute to the speaker's perspective in the poem.

“Hanging Fire”

Standards

RL.7.4RL.7.5RL.7.6

Synthesize information from various multimedia sources to determine central ideas about belonging for Native peoples of the Northern Plains.

Northern Plains History and Cultures: How do Native People and Nations Experience Belonging?

Standards

RI.7.2RI.7.3RI.7.9

Explain how the poet's structure and word choice develop meaning in the poem.

“Where You From?”

Standards

RL.7.2RL.7.4RL.7.5

Explain how Carmen Perez's experiences in her community impacted her life.

“Carmen Perez”

Standards

RI.7.2RI.7.3

progress
monitoring

progress
monitoring

2 days

Write a paragraph that makes and supports a clear claim.

Day 1 - Planning / Drafting

Organize ideas in an outline and draft a complete paragraph that makes and supports a clear claim.

Single Paragraph Outline

Standards

W.7.1.aW.7.1.bW.7.4

Day 2 - Revising / Language

Revise a paragraph by adding and punctuating equal adjectives to create vivid, clear descriptions.

Standards

L.7.2.aW.7.5

Analyze how the poet uses repetition and word choice to convey the tone of a poem.

“I, Too”

Standards

RL.7.4RL.7.5

Compare the theme presented in an informational essay and a poem.

“Hello, My Name is ______: How I Learned to Stop Whitewashing Myself”
“Teenagers”

Standards

RI.7.2RI.7.9RL.7.2

Analyze how the author develops the symbol of cooking in the short story.

“Why I Learned to Cook”

Standards

RL.7.2RL.7.4

Students will analyze the theme or message in America Ferrera's introduction.

“Introduction: America Ferrera”

Standards

RI.7.2RI.7.3

Analyze how the poet develops the theme of the poem through figurative language and word choice.

“Identity”

Standards

RL.7.2RL.7.4

progress
monitoring

progress
monitoring

Socratic Seminar

Take a clear position on a question and share evidence to support that point of view in a Socratic Seminar.

Standards

SL.7.1SL.7.1.aSL.7.1.bSL.7.4

5 days

Write a first-person, fictional narrative that explores a moment in time where a character explores their identity.

Day 1 - Planning

Create a planning page that includes characters and conflicts.

Narrative Planning Page (G6–8)

Standards

W.7.3W.7.5

Day 2 - Drafting

Draft engaging beginnings and orient the reader to the characters and conflict.

Engaging Beginnings Practice (G7, U1, L19)
Narrative Planning Page (G6–8)

Standards

W.7.3.a

Day 3 - Drafting / Language

Develop internal and external conflicts to advance the plot.

Narrative Planning Page (G6–8)

Standards

L.7.2L.7.2.aW.7.3.b

Day 4 - Drafting

Draft a narrative ending that resolves the conflict and intentionally varies pacing.

Narrative Planning Page (G6–8)

Standards

W.7.3.b

Day 5 - Revising / Publishing

Revise stories by elaborating sentences to create a published narrative.

Narrative Planning Page (G6–8)

Standards

W.7.3.bW.7.3.d

2 days

Gauge student understanding of unit content and skills with one of Fishtank's unit assessments.

Bring Fishtank
to Your School

We Handle Materials So You Can Focus on Students

We Handle Materials So You Can Focus on Students

We've got you covered with rigorous, relevant, and adaptable ELA lesson plans for free