Standard #: LAFS.7.L.3.4 (Archived Standard)

In this lesson, students will work with two informational texts in the form of brochures, texts about Burmese pythons and lionfish. With the lionfish brochure, students will identify the text features used, determine the central ideas and key supporting details, and work with selected vocabulary. Students will then be provided with informational text on a different animal and they will put their skills to use to create a brochure of their own. Various graphic organizers and teacher resources have been included as attachments with the lesson plan, including a rubric for the students' brochure. Additional resources have also been provided in the Further Recommendations section to help teachers gather resources for students to use to create their own brochure.

In this lesson, students will read a series of three news articles about Sudanese efforts to disband child soldier units. Working in small groups, then partners, and finally independently, students will work to determine the meaning of selected vocabulary from each article, respond to text-dependent questions, and complete a graphic organizer answering the lesson's guiding questions and citing evidence from the text in support of their analysis. Students will then write an extended paragraph in response to one guiding question of their choosing. This is the first lesson of a three part unit that will build towards having the students research and write a paper on child soldiers.

Unit overview: This unit will guide students though the process of reading multiple texts to develop knowledge about the topic of child soldiers and will culminate in a final research project. The first lesson focuses on news articles while the second lesson concentrates on one former child soldier's story as portrayed through interviews and his music. As a whole, the unit integrates close reading of multiple sources with speaking and listening activities and provides students with opportunities to write routinely from sources throughout the unit. The unit provides ample occasions for students to read, evaluate, and analyze complex texts as well as routine writing opportunities that encourage reflection.

In this close reading lesson, the first in a series of three lessons, students will analyze "The Walrus and the Carpenter" by Lewis Carroll. They will work to determine the meaning of selected vocabulary words from the poem, including coming up with synonyms and antonyms for each word and using each word in a sentence. Students will also analyze the use of various types of figurative language, as well as the use of repetition and rhyme and how this use impacts meaning and tone throughout the poem. Graphic organizers and other student handouts, a vocabulary assessment, short and extended answer questions, a writing rubric, and several suggested answer keys are included with this lesson.

Students will examine the concept of internal conflict in Ernest Hemingway's short story, "A Day's Wait." Several activities and worksheets, such as vocabulary mapping, a conflict multi-flow chart, and a self-reflection rating scale, are provided to deepen understanding. The lesson culminates in an analysis essay of the impact of Hemingway's stylistic use of first-person point of view to add suspense to a story.

In this lesson, students will conduct a close read of the article, "Why Teenagers Really do Need an Extra Hour in Bed" by Russell Foster (published on April 22, 2013 in Issue 2913 of NewScientist). For the first reading, students will focus on academic vocabulary. In the second reading, students will answer text-dependent questions to guide their comprehension of the article. In the third close reading, students will choose important facts in the article and cross-reference them with other articles to determine the validity and reliability of the evidence. Graphic organizers and worksheets, along with suggested keys and a writing rubric, have been provided. For the summative assessment, students will write a persuasive letter in which they make a claim regarding sleep and support it with textual evidence.

In this lesson, students will create a research question based on The Autobiography of Benjamin Franklin. Students will develop a research question about how a characteristic or event in the life of young Ben Franklin influenced an accomplishment of an older, mature Ben Franklin. Students will research the life of Ben Franklin to answer their questions and present their findings in a short oral presentation.

In this lesson, students will conduct three close readings of an excerpt from Cross Creek by Marjorie Kinnan Rawlings.

For the first reading, the students will complete a graphic organizer to define select vocabulary words. In the second reading, students will complete another graphic organizer to analyze the types of figurative language used in the story and how they impact the tone and meaning. They will also complete a T-chart comparing and contrasting the sensory details used to describe a before and after of the author's home. In the final reading, students will answer text-based questions about the excerpt. Answer keys for the graphic organizers and text-based questions are included.

The summative assessment, in the form of a narrative/descriptive essay, will require the students to choose a special place of their own and describe it with specific words and figurative language that convey the appropriate tone.

This close reading exemplar uses an excerpt from Michael Pollan's The Omnivore's Dilemma: The Secrets Behind What You Eat. The goal of this two day exemplar from Student Achievement Partners web resources is to give students the opportunity to use reading and writing habits to unpack Pollan's investigative journalism of industrial farms. By reading and rereading the passage closely combined with classroom discussion about it, students will identify why and how farming practices have changed, as well as identify Pollan's point of view on the subject. When combined with writing about the passage and teacher feedback, students will begin to appreciate investigative journalism, as well as question from where their food is coming.

The goal of this two day exemplar is to give students the opportunity to use the reading and writing habits they've been practicing on a regular basis to unpack the meaning of Jacques' soliloquy from William Shakespeare's As You Like It. By reading and rereading the passage closely and focusing their reading through a series of questions and discussion about the text, students will be able to understand the structure and purpose of this particular soliloquy and how it delves into universal themes regarding the human condition. When combined with writing about the soliloquy, students will discover how much they can learn from even a very short selection of a text.

In this lesson, students will read "The Monkey's Paw" by W.W. Jacobs. They will answer text-dependent questions that include having students analyze the text for foreshadowing clues, as well as use of situational irony. Students will use context clues and dictionaries to determine the meanings of selected vocabulary words from the story. Students will also work to determine morals in the story and will write two extended response paragraphs articulating the moral and how each is developed and supported by textual details. A PowerPoint on theme versus morals, foreshadowing, and situational irony is provided to help students with these concepts. Text-dependent questions, an answer key, a vocabulary handout, a teacher's guide for the story, and a rubric for the summative assessment are provided.

In this lesson, students will be able to analyze how Rudyard Kipling uses theme and short story elements to create the classic story, "Rikki-Tikki-Tavi." Students will engage in various pre-reading activities to scaffold background knowledge, vocabulary, and ability to identify theme. Working in cooperative groups will allow students to discuss and evaluate their learning in a non-threatening environment. At the conclusion of the lesson, students will write an original narrative using what they learned in this lesson to create their own story.

As students will have previous exposure to the historical themes and factual information about the attacks on Pearl Harbor, the United States involvement in WWII, and the internment of Japanese in camps throughout the western United States, this lesson exemplar will allow students to participate in critical discussion of two stories that illuminate important, yet divergent, experiences of war and conflict. This lesson exemplar will push students to think critically about the experience of wartime as felt by both soldiers and civilians as they navigated specific trials that were a part of their direct or peripheral involvement in WWII.

The goal of this one day exemplar is to give students the opportunity to use the reading and writing habits they've been practicing on a regular basis to discover the rich humor and moral lesson embedded in Twain's text. By reading and rereading the passage closely, and focusing their reading through a series of questions and discussion about the text, students will explore the problem Tom Sawyer faced and how he "solved" his conundrum. When combined with writing about the passage, students will learn to appreciate how Twain's humor contains a deeper message and derive satisfaction from the struggle to master complex text. At the end of the lesson, students are provided two writing prompts to constructive a narrative inspired by Twain's text.

The purpose of this MEA is to have students explore human impact on Earth as well as to look at workable solutions that they can implement in order to minimize this impact. This MEA focuses on water sustainability as defined by the EPA and requires that the students explore several Low Impact Development (LID) options to implement at school.

Model Eliciting Activities, MEAs, are open-ended, interdisciplinary problem-solving activities that are meant to reveal students’ thinking about the concepts embedded in realistic situations. Click here to learn more about MEAs and how they can transform your classroom.

Learn how to use context clues—including definitions, synonyms, and antonyms—to determine the meaning of unfamiliar words in this baseball-themed, interactive tutorial.

Learn about Greek and Latin roots (anti, capit, bene, bon, and mal) and 12 modern words that feature those roots. In this interactive tutorial, you'll practice using these words and hopefully add them to your vocabulary!

Learn about ancient Latin roots — Ante, Post, Scrib, and Script — and practice using twelve modern words connected with these roots to build your vocabulary in this interactive tutorial.

Learn about three roots from ancient Latin and Greek — Per, Seque, and Mis — and practice using twelve modern words connected with these roots to build your vocabulary in this interactive tutorial.

Learn about five roots from ancient Latin and Greek—frag, fract, cret, syn, and sym—and practice using twelve modern words connected with these roots to build your vocabulary in this interactive tutorial.

Learn about 3 Latin roots (Am, Ab, and Ad) and 12 new words that feature those roots. In this interactive tutorial, you'll make some interesting language connections and hopefully add some new words to your vocabulary!  

Learn 12 new academic vocabulary terms in this interactive tutorial! You'll practice the words' synonyms, antonyms, parts of speech, and context clues in order to add them to your vocabulary.

Learn 12 new academic vocabulary words in this interactive tutorial!  You'll practice the words' synonyms, antonyms, parts of speech, and context clues in order to add them to your vocabulary.  

Learn 12 new academic vocabulary words in this interactive tutorial!  You'll practice the words' synonyms, antonyms, parts of speech, and context clues in order to add them to your vocabulary.  

Learn 12 new academic vocabulary words using synonyms, antonyms, parts of speech, and context clues in this interactive tutorial.  

Learn to determine the meaning of unfamiliar words by examining their word parts. In this interactive tutorial, you'll practice using prefixes and root words to determine the meanings of unfamiliar words.

Learn about 3 Greek and Latin roots (spect, path, and omni) and 12 modern words that feature those roots. In this interactive tutorial, you'll practice using these words and hopefully add them to your vocabulary!  

Learn how to use context clues—including definitions, synonyms, and antonyms—to determine the meaning of unfamiliar words in this baseball-themed, interactive tutorial.

Learn about Greek and Latin roots (anti, capit, bene, bon, and mal) and 12 modern words that feature those roots. In this interactive tutorial, you'll practice using these words and hopefully add them to your vocabulary!

Learn about ancient Latin roots — Ante, Post, Scrib, and Script — and practice using twelve modern words connected with these roots to build your vocabulary in this interactive tutorial.

Learn about three roots from ancient Latin and Greek — Per, Seque, and Mis — and practice using twelve modern words connected with these roots to build your vocabulary in this interactive tutorial.

Learn about five roots from ancient Latin and Greek—frag, fract, cret, syn, and sym—and practice using twelve modern words connected with these roots to build your vocabulary in this interactive tutorial.

Learn about 3 Latin roots (Am, Ab, and Ad) and 12 new words that feature those roots. In this interactive tutorial, you'll make some interesting language connections and hopefully add some new words to your vocabulary!  

Learn 12 new academic vocabulary terms in this interactive tutorial! You'll practice the words' synonyms, antonyms, parts of speech, and context clues in order to add them to your vocabulary.

Learn 12 new academic vocabulary words in this interactive tutorial!  You'll practice the words' synonyms, antonyms, parts of speech, and context clues in order to add them to your vocabulary.  

Learn 12 new academic vocabulary words in this interactive tutorial!  You'll practice the words' synonyms, antonyms, parts of speech, and context clues in order to add them to your vocabulary.  

Learn 12 new academic vocabulary words using synonyms, antonyms, parts of speech, and context clues in this interactive tutorial.  

Learn to determine the meaning of unfamiliar words by examining their word parts. In this interactive tutorial, you'll practice using prefixes and root words to determine the meanings of unfamiliar words.

Learn about 3 Greek and Latin roots (spect, path, and omni) and 12 modern words that feature those roots. In this interactive tutorial, you'll practice using these words and hopefully add them to your vocabulary!