TEWKSBURY TOWNSHIP SCHOOLS
Unit Overview
Content Area: English Language Arts
Unit Title: Social and Cultural Identity
Unit: 3
Target Course/Grade Level: 7th Grade
Unit Summary: The predominant focus of this unit of study is to present students with an understanding
of how writers utilize and implement aspects of their cultural identity when formulating prose and poetry.
A masterful implementation of this unit will expose students to a great deal of international literature as a
means of expanding students’ understandings of this concept of cultural identity. In addition to
sophisticated analysis of text, a writing component should also be interwoven into this text, as students
create narrative vignettes that paint pictures of their own cultural traditions, pastimes, and beliefs.
Primary interdisciplinary connections: Social Studies, Technology, Character Education
21st century themes and skills: Global Awareness, Civic Literacy, Environmental Literacy, Media
Literacy, ICT 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.
R7. Integrate and evaluate content presented in diverse formats and media, including visually and
quantitatively, as well as in words.1
R8. Delineate and evaluate the argument and specific claims in a text, including the validity of the
reasoning as well as the relevance and sufficiency of the evidence.
R9. Analyze how two or more texts address similar themes or topics in order to build knowledge or to
compare the approaches the authors take.
R10. Read and comprehend complex literary and informational texts independently and proficiently.
Anchor Standards for Writing:
W3. Write narratives to develop real or imagined experiences or events using effective technique, wellchosen 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.
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.
SL2. Integrate and evaluate information presented in diverse media and formats, including visually,
TEWKSBURY TOWNSHIP SCHOOLS
quantitatively, and orally.
SL3. Evaluate a speaker’s point of view, reasoning, and use of evidence and rhetoric.
SL4. Present information, findings, and supporting evidence such that listeners can follow the line of
reasoning and the organization, development, and style are appropriate to task, purpose, and audience
SL5. Make strategic use of digital media and visual displays of data to express information and enhance
understanding of presentations.
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.
L5. Demonstrate understanding of word relationships and nuances in word meanings.
Learning Targets/Activities
Domain: Reading Informational, Writing, Speaking and Listening, Language
Cluster: Key Ideas and Details, Craft and Structure, Integration of Knowledge and Ideas, Range of
Reading and Level of Text Complexity, Text Types and Purposes, Production and Distribution of Writing,
Comprehension and Collaboration, Presentation of Knowledge and Skills, Conventions of Standard
English, Knowledge of Language, Vocabulary Acquisition and Use
Standard #
Standards
RI.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.
RI.7.2
Determine two or more central ideas in a text and analyze their development over the
course of the text; provide an objective summary of the text.
RI.7.3
Analyze the interactions between individuals, events, and ideas in a text (e.g., how ideas
influence individuals or events, or how individuals influence ideas or events).
Determine the meaning of words and phrases as they are used in a text, including
figurative, connotative, and technical meanings; analyze the impact of a specific word
choice on meaning and tone.
RI.7.4
RI.7.5
Analyze the structure an author uses to organize a text, including how the major sections
contribute to the whole and to the development of the ideas.
RI.7.6
Determine an author’s point of view or purpose in a text and analyze how the author
distinguishes his or her position from that of others.
Compare and contrast a text to an audio, video, or multimedia version of the text,
analyzing each medium’s portrayal of the subject (e.g., how the delivery of a speech
affects the impact of the words).
Trace and evaluate the argument and specific claims in a text, assessing whether the
reasoning is sound and the evidence is relevant and sufficient to support the claims.
RI.7.7
RI.7.8
RI.7.9
RI.7.10
Analyze how two or more authors writing about the same topic shape their presentations
of key information by emphasizing different evidence or advancing different
interpretations of facts.
By the end of the year, read and comprehend literary nonfiction in the grades 6–8 text
complexity band proficiently, with scaffolding as needed at the high end of the range.
TEWKSBURY TOWNSHIP SCHOOLS
W.7.3
Write narratives to develop real or imagined experiences or events using effective
technique, relevant descriptive details, and well-structured event sequences.
W.7.4
Produce clear and coherent writing in which the development, organization, and style are
appropriate to task, purpose, and audience.
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.
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.7.2
Analyze the main ideas and supporting details presented in diverse media and formats
(e.g., visually, quantitatively, orally) and explain how the ideas clarify a topic, text, or
issue under study.
SL.7.3
Delineate a speaker’s argument and specific claims, evaluating the soundness of the
reasoning and the relevance and sufficiency of the evidence.
SL.7.4
Present claims and findings, emphasizing salient points in a focused, coherent manner with
pertinent descriptions, facts, details, and examples; use appropriate eye contact, adequate
volume, and clear pronunciation.
Include multimedia components and visual displays in presentations to clarify claims and
findings and emphasize salient points.
Adapt speech to a variety of contexts and tasks, demonstrating command of formal
English when indicated or appropriate.
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.
Demonstrate command of the conventions of standard English capitalization, punctuation,
and spelling when writing.
SL.7.5
SL.7.6
L.7.1
L.7.2
L.7.3
Use knowledge of language and its conventions when writing, speaking, reading, or
listening.
L.7.5
Demonstrate understanding of figurative language, word relationships, and nuances in
word meanings.
Unit Essential Questions
 How does one’s culture contribute to individual
identity?
 How does cultural ignorance cause
stereotyping?
 Why do we tell/write stories?
Unit Learning Targets
Unit Enduring Understandings
 One’s identity is an amalgam of personal and
cultural experiences.
 Stereotyping is the result of either intentional or
unintentional cultural ignorance.
 Narratives are carefully structured depictions of
diverse human experiences.
TEWKSBURY TOWNSHIP SCHOOLS
Students will ...
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
utilize close, active reading strategies as presented through modeling to interact with an
informational text. (RI.7.1, RI.7.2, RI.7.4, RI.7.6, RI.7.8, RI.7.10)
recognize differences in structure and features in fiction and non-fiction text. (RI.7.5)
describe and analyze the distinct elements of non-fiction text. (RI.7.5)
identify the strategies an author uses to create bias. (RI.7.6, RI.7.8, SL.7.3)
articulate their understanding of cultural stereotyping. (RI.7.4, RI.7.6, SL.7.1, SL.7.4)
explain the possible impacts of stereotyping and cultural ignorance. (RI.7.3)
compare and contrast a print and media version of the same story. (RI.7.9, RI.7.7, SL.7.2)
utilize formal speaking techniques in order to articulate discoveries on their own cultural identity.
(SL.7.4, SL.7.5, SL.7.6)
 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)
 develop lyrical prose through the use of figurative and sensory language (W.7.3, L.7.1, L.7.2,
L.7.3, L.7.5)
 compose lyrical poetry that demonstrates understanding of the form, style, and function of the
literary form (W.7.3)
 select vivid, accurate diction that reflects the writer’s growing vocabulary and understanding of
connotation (W.7.3, L.7.1, L.7.2, L.7.3, L.7.5)
 use a variety of sentence types to create fluency in the prose (W.7.4, L.7.1, L.7.2)
 revise, edit and publish a finished narrative product (W.7.5, L.7.1, L.7.2)
Learning Activities
 What is a vignette?
 Word study & vocabulary building
 Teacher-modeled writing evaluation
 Root words
 Poetry and short story analysis
 Nonfiction articles—reading, analysis,
discussion
 Writing conferences
 Analyzing mood
 Peer editing
 SmartBoard games to introduce/review content
 Targeted figurative language responses
 Song connections & analyses
 Student-lead textually-based discussion
 Analyzing metaphors: synecdoche and
 Presentations on cultural identity
metonymy
 Comma rules
 Symbolism & recurring imagery
 Analyzing compositional risks in prose: colon,
 Immersion into sensory language
italicized words, ellipsis, etc
 Sharing of student writing
 Grammar games
Evidence of Learning
Formative Assessments




Short written responses
Exit cards
Poetry and short story analysis
Grammar mini-projects




Individual vignette writing
Reading quizzes
Reading logs
Discussion
TEWKSBURY TOWNSHIP SCHOOLS
 Vocabulary activities (sentences, etc)
 Journal entries
Summative Assessments





End of novel test
Vocabulary tests
End of marking period grammar assessment
Collection of cultural identity narrative vignettes
Cultural identity presentation
RESOURCES/TECHNOLOGY
Teacher Instructional Resources:
 House on Mango Street by Sandra Cisneros*
 Three Cups of Tea by Greg Mortenson and David Oliver Relin
 Sadlier-Oxford Vocabulary Workshop Text
 New Jersey Registered Holistic Scoring Rubric
Short Story Resources:
 “Two Kinds” by Amy Tan
 “The No-Guitar Blues” by Gary Soto
Literary Nonfiction:
 “Superman and Me” by Sherman Alexie
 Firsthand immigrant accounts
Poetry Resources:
 “I, Too, Sing America” by Langston Hughes
 “I Hear America Singing” by Walt Whitman
 “The Red Wheelbarrow” by William Carlos
Williams
Integration of Technology: WebQuest on Hispanic culture, SMARTBoard, document camera, internet
Technology Resources:
Click the links below to access additional resources used to design this unit:
www.webenglishteacher.com
www.sadlier-oxford.com
owl.english.purdue.edu/owl
Opportunities for Differentiation:
- Model the writing process
- Rubrics for projects/essays
- Books on tape available for texts
- Grouping
- Technology (interactive SmartBoard)
- “Chunking” reading selections
- Question/discussion techniques
- MI-inspired activities and lessons
- Metacognitive strategies
TEWKSBURY TOWNSHIP SCHOOLS
Teacher Notes:
While, at present, the selection of available resources at OTS features just one text (House on Mango
Street) that aligns with the unit as it has been laid out on both countywide and schoolwide levels, it is not
to say that teachers should feel limited to this text. Other “fictionalized memoirs” that touch upon similar
themes of cultural identity would serve this purpose, as well. Hence, my inclusion of the popular
nonfiction text Three Cups of Tea would be yet another; however, it should be noted that, as of this writing
(2012-2013 school year), this book is not available whole class usage.