TEWKSBURY TOWNSHIP SCHOOLS
Unit OverviewContent Area: English Language Arts
Unit Title: Coming of Age Unit: 4
Target Course/Grade Level: 7th Grade
Unit Summary: Content sophistication reaches its apex with this culminating unit. Using a challenging whole-class text to ground analysis of form, style, and content (such as Ray Bradbury’s Something Wicked This Way Comes), students will refine their understanding of the literary trope ‘coming-of-age’ through a combination of reading, discussion, and analytical writing. In addition, building on the previous unit’s composition of vignettes, students will utilize the whole class novel as a mentor text when crafting a longer narrative that also centers around this concept of coming-of-age. By the completion of this unit, students will be prepared for the rigorous texts and tasks that await them in eighth grade.
Primary interdisciplinary connections: Social Studies, Technology, Character Education
21st century themes and skills: Global Awareness, Civic Literacy, Environmental Literacy, Information Literacy
Anchor Standards:
Anchor Standards for Reading:
R1. Read closely to determine what the text says explicitly and to make logical inferences from it; cite specific textual evidence when writing or speaking to support conclusions drawn from the text.
R2. Determine central ideas or themes of a text and analyze their development; summarize the key supporting details and ideas.
R3. Analyze how and why individuals, events, and ideas develop and interact over the course of a text.
R4. Interpret words and phrases as they are used in a text, including determining technical, connotative, and figurative meanings, and analyze how specific word choices shape meaning or tone.
R5. Analyze the structure of texts, including how specific sentences, paragraphs, and larger portions of the text (e.g., a section, chapter, scene, or stanza) relate to each other and the whole.
R6. Assess how point of view or purpose shapes the content and style of a text.
R10. Read and comprehend complex literary and informational texts independently and proficiently.
Anchor Standards for Writing:
W2. Write informative/explanatory texts to examine and convey complex ideas and information clearly and accurately through the effective selection, organization, and analysis of content.
W3. Write narratives to develop real or imagined experiences or events using effective technique, well-chosen details, and well-structured event sequences.
W4. Produce clear and coherent writing in which the development, organization, and style are appropriate to task, purpose, and audience.
W5. Develop and strengthen writing as needed by planning, revising, editing, rewriting, or trying a new approach.
W10. 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 tasks, purposes, and audiences.
Anchor Standards for Speaking and Listening:
SL1. Prepare for and participate effectively in a range of conversations and collaborations with diverse partners, building on others’ ideas and expressing their own clearly and persuasively.
SL6. Adapt speech to a variety of contexts and communicative tasks, demonstrating command of formal English when indicated or appropriate.
Anchor Standards for Language:
L1. Demonstrate command of the conventions of standard English grammar and usage when writing or speaking.
L2.Demonstrate command of the conventions of standard English capitalization, punctuation, and spelling when writing.
L3. Apply knowledge of language to understand how language functions in different contexts, to make effective choices for meaning or style, and to comprehend more fully when reading or listening.
L4. Determine or clarify the meaning of unknown and multiple-meaning words and phrases by using context clues, analyzing meaningful word parts, and consulting general and specialized reference materials, as appropriate.
L5. Demonstrate understanding of word relationships and nuances in word meanings.
L6. Acquire and use accurately a range of general academic and domain-specific words and phrases sufficient for reading, writing, speaking, and listening at the college and career readiness level; demonstrate independence in gathering vocabulary knowledge when considering a word or phrase important to comprehension or expression.
Learning Targets/Activities
Domain: Reading Literature, Writing, Speaking and Listening, Language
Cluster: Key Ideas and Details, Craft and Structure, Range of Reading and Level of Text Complexity, Text Types and Purposes, Production and Distribution of Writing, Range of Writing, Comprehension and Collaboration, Presentation of Knowledge and Skills, Conventions of Standard English, Knowledge of Language, Vocabulary Acquisition and Use
Standard # / Standards
RL.7.1 / Cite several pieces of textual evidence to support analysis of what the text says explicitly as well as inferences drawn from the text.
RL.7.2 / 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.
RL.7.3 / Analyze how particular elements of a story or drama interact (e.g., how setting shapes the characters or plot).
RL.7.4 / 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 (e.g., alliteration) on a specific verse or stanza of a poem or section of a story or drama.
RL.7.5 / Analyze how a drama’s or poem’s form or structure (e.g., soliloquy, sonnet) contributes to its meaning.
RL.7.6 / Analyze how an author develops and contrasts the points of view of different characters or narrators in a text.
RL.7.10 / 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.
W.7.2 / Write informative/explanatory texts to examine a topic and convey ideas, concepts, and information through the selection, organization, and analysis of relevant content.
W.7.2a / 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 (e.g., headings), graphics (e.g., charts, tables), and multimedia when useful to aiding comprehension.
W.7.2b / Develop the topic with relevant facts, definitions, concrete details, quotations, or other information and examples.
W.7.2c / Use appropriate transitions to create cohesion and clarify the relationships among ideas and concepts.
W.7.2d / Use precise language and domain-specific vocabulary to inform about or explain the topic.
W.7.2e / Establish and maintain a formal style.
W.7.2f / Provide a concluding statement or section that follows from and supports the information or explanation presented.
W.7.3 / Write narratives to develop real or imagined experiences or events using effective technique, relevant descriptive details, and well-structured event sequences.
o 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.
o Use narrative techniques, such as dialogue, pacing, and description, to develop experiences, events, and/or characters.
o Use a variety of transition words, phrases, and clauses to convey sequence and signal shifts from one time frame or setting to another.
o Use precise words and phrases, relevant descriptive details, and sensory language to capture the action and convey experiences and events.
o Provide a conclusion that follows from and reflects on the narrated experiences or events.
W.7.4 / Produce clear and coherent writing in which the development, organization, and style are appropriate to task, purpose, and audience. (Grade-specific expectations for writing types are defined in standards 1–3 above.)
W.7.5 / 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.
W.7.10 / 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.
SL.7.1 / 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.
SL.7.1a / 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.
SL.7.1b / Follow rules for collegial discussions, track progress toward specific goals and deadlines, and define individual roles as needed.
SL.7.1c / 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.
SL.7.1d / Acknowledge new information expressed by others and, when warranted, modify their own views.
SL.7.6 / Adapt speech to a variety of contexts and tasks, demonstrating command of formal English when indicated or appropriate.
L.7.1 / Demonstrate command of the conventions of standard English grammar and usage when writing or speaking.
◦ Explain the function of phrases and clauses in general and their function in specific sentences.
◦ Choose among simple, compound, complex, and compound-complex sentences to signal differing relationships among ideas.
◦ Place phrases and clauses within a sentence, recognizing and correcting misplaced and dangling modifiers.
L.7.2 / Demonstrate command of the conventions of standard English capitalization, punctuation, and spelling when writing.
◦ Use a comma to separate coordinate adjectives (e.g., It was a fascinating, enjoyable movie but not He wore an old[,] green shirt).
◦ Spell correctly.
L.7.3 / Use knowledge of language and its conventions when writing, speaking, reading, or listening.
o Choose language that expresses ideas precisely and concisely, recognizing and eliminating wordiness and redundancy.
L.7.4 / 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.
◦ Use context (e.g., 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.
◦ Use common, grade-appropriate Greek or Latin affixes and roots as clues to the meaning of a word (e.g., belligerent, bellicose, rebel).
o Consult general and specialized reference materials (e.g., 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.
o Verify the preliminary determination of a word or phrase (ie, by checking the inferred meaning from context or in a dictionary)
L.7.5 / Demonstrate understanding of figurative language, word relationships, and nuances in word meanings.
◦ Interpret figures of speech (e.g., literary, biblical, and mythological allusions) in context.
◦ Use the relationship between particular words (e.g., synonym/antonym, analogy) to better understand each of the words.
◦ Distinguish among the connotations (associations) of words with similar denotations (definitions) (e.g., refined, respectful, polite, diplomatic, condescending).
L.7.6 / 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.
Unit Essential Questions
· How does fiction speak to contemporary adolescent issues?
· How does a deeper understanding of the protagonist allow the reader to empathize with others’ perspectives?
· How do writers craft vivid, engaging narratives? / Unit Enduring Understandings
· Fiction serves as a creative expression of lifelike characters encountering lifelike problems.
· Point of view allows a reader to engage with an experience foreign to his or her own.
· A narrative writer conveys meaning through deliberate use of literary elements and narrative techniques.
· Time is the main organizational structure of narrative writing.
Unit Learning Targets
Students will ...
• identify and define setting in the story in order to analyze how the setting affects the mood of the story and the reader's experience. (RL.7.3)
• define character and characterization while identifying and defining types of characters, including: protagonist, antagonist, round, flat, static, dynamic (RL.7.3)
• identify different types of point of view and analyze the effect of point of view on the reader. (RL.7.6)
• identify and define the parts of the plot line in order to create and analyze a plot line for a specific text (RL.7.3)
• identify and define a variety of conflict types, including: person v. person, person v. self, person v. society, person v. nature (including fate), internal/external conflicts. (RL.7.3)
• analyze how particular elements of a story interact. (e.g. how characters shape plot and conflict) (RL.7.3)
• identify, define and analyze the development of the theme over the course of the text. (RL.7.2)
• locate and utilize textual evidence to support the analysis of the literary elements.(RL.7.1, L.7.1a)
• utilize close readings in order to better understand word choice, usage and writing style to aid in the thorough literary analysis of a text (RL.7.4, RL.7.10, L.7.4, L.7.5)
• discuss the text in a variety of means, including: analytical paragraphing, journaling, pair discussions, small group discussions and large group discussions (W.7.2a-f, W.7.3, W.7.4, W.7.5, W.7.10, SL.7.1a-d, SL.7.6, L.7.1, L.7.2, L.7.3)
• analyze and compare theme, including recurring themes between pieces of realistic prose and poetry (RL.7.2)
• compare & contrast the characteristics of a realistic fiction & fantasy work (RL.7.5)
• draw on personal experiences to better empathize with and understand the inner motivations of the character (RL.7.6)
• identify significant moments in the plot that directly contribute to a character’s deepening complexity (RL.7.3)
• create well-drawn, consistent characters with discernible traits and motivations (W.7.3.)
• devise a setting that both establishes mood and has a direct impact on the progression of the plot (W.7.3.)
• map a plot’s progression though the use of Freytag’s pyramid (exposition, precipitating incident/inciting force, rising action, climax, falling action, denouement) (W.7.3)
• compose correctly punctuated, meaningful dialogue that functions to move the plot forward, to characterize, or to illuminate theme (W.7.3., L.7.1, L.7.2)
• generate plot momentum via escalating conflict complications (W.7.3.)
• implicitly articulate the purpose of a story by conveying theme via character, dialogue, and plot moments (W.7.3.)
• frame a story around a consistent narrator’s point of view (W.7.3.)