TEWKSBURY TOWNSHIP SCHOOLS
Unit Overview
Content Area: English Language Arts
Unit Title: The Search for Individual Identity
Unit: 1
th
Target Course/Grade Level: 7 Grade
Unit Summary: Students will read, interpret, and analyze a science fiction text with a primary focus on
the protagonist’s journey of self-discovery. The possible texts listed include, to varying degrees, a central
protagonist searching for a better understanding of his or her individual identity. Students will then
extrapolate, based on the protagonist’s experience, and begin to consider his or her own identity through
a variety of writing pieces. Additional literature (poetry, short story, literary nonfiction) will help students
apply this traditional literary motif beyond the scope of a whole class novel.
Primary interdisciplinary connections: Social studies (current event related literary nonfiction,
Technology, Character Education
21st century themes and skills: Global Awareness, Civic Literary, Media Literacy, ICT Literacy, SelfDirection, Leadership, and Responsibility
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.
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:
W4. Produce clear and coherent writing in which the development, organization, and style are appropriate
to task, purpose, and audience.
W9. Draw evidence from literary or informational texts to support analysis, reflection, and research
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.
SL2. Integrate and evaluate information presented in diverse media and formats, including visually,
quantitatively, and orally.
Anchor Standards for Language:
L1. Demonstrate command of the conventions of Standard English grammar and usage when writing or
speaking.
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,
Production and Distribution of Writing, Research and Build and Present Knowledge, Range of Writing,
Comprehension and Collaboration, Conventions of Standard English
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Standard #
RL.7.1
RL.7.2
Standards
Cite the textual evidence that most strongly supports an analysis of what the text says
explicitly as well as inferences drawn from the text.
Determine a theme or central idea of a text and analyze its development over the course of
the text, including its relationship to the characters, setting, and plot; provide an objective
summary of the text.
RL.7.3
Analyze how particular lines of dialogue or incidents in a story or drama propel the action,
reveal aspects of a character, or provoke a decision.
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 specific word choices on
meaning and tone, including analogies or allusions to other texts.
RL.7.6
Analyze how differences in the points of view of the characters and the audience or reader
(e.g., created through the use of dramatic irony) create such effects as suspense or humor.
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.
Write arguments to support claims with clear reasons and relevant evidence.
RL.7.10
W.7.4
W.7.9
Draw evidence from literary or informational texts to support analysis, reflection, and
research.
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 topics, texts, and issues, building on others’
ideas and expressing their own clearly.
SL.7.2
Analyze the purpose of information presented in diverse media and formats (e.g., visually,
quantitatively, orally) and evaluate the motives (e.g., social, commercial, political) behind
its presentation.
L.7.1
Demonstrate command of the conventions of standard English grammar and usage when
writing or speaking.
Unit Essential Questions
 How is an individual’s identity more than the
product of his or her society, in both literature
and life?
 What can science fiction teach us about reality?
 How do writers use logical arguments to change
a reader’s point of view to, bring about a change
on the reader’s part, or to ask the reader to
accept the writer’s explanation or a concept,
issue, or problem?
Unit Enduring Understandings
 Science fiction authors depict futuristic settings
that, on some level, comment on present society.
 In dystopian science fiction, an individual’s quest
to be a unique individual drives the plot.
 Argument is a process through which writers
present several strong, well-researched, logical
arguments to change the reader’s point of view, to
bring about some action on the reader’s part, or to
ask the reader to accept the writer’s explanation of
a concept, issue or problem.
Unit Learning Targets
Students will ...
 utilize a variety of literary texts to formulate an understanding of one’s identity (RL.7.2, RL.7.10,
W.7.9)
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analyze a text for figurative language, symbolism, recurring images, motif (RL.7.1)
evaluate, in discussion and writing, a protagonist’s dynamic transformation (RL.7.3, W.7.9)
develop a repertoire of analytical skills for the dissection of poetry (RL.7.1, SL.7.1)
utilize context clues and root words to build an extended vocabulary (RL.7.4)
differentiate elements of homophone sets/trios (RL.7.4)
articulate the difference between a clause and a phrase (L.7.1)
craft a comprehensive analytical essay, using skills gleaned through teacher-modeling, that features
an attention-grabbing introduction, textually grounded analysis, and a thoughtful conclusion (L.7.1,
W.7.4, W.7.9, W.7.10)
 use technology to conduct a self-guided research project (SL.7.2)
 collaborate with peers on various tasks (SL.7.1)
 demonstrate understanding of an author’s use of characterization by completing nightly reading logs
(RL.7.3, RL.7.6, W.7.10)
Learning Activities
 Anticipation guide
 Learning to use textual evidence
 Activate prior knowledge: “What is poetry”
 Crafting a strong introduction
 “Poetry Analysis 101”
 Crafting a strong conclusion
 Poetry terms to know
 The importance of word choice
 Song response
 Connotation game
 Group and whole class analyses of short literary
 Root words
works (see below)
 Common Grammar Mistakes
 How to analyze characterization
 Textual evidence envelope match game
 Motif, recurring image, symbolism
 Evaluating teacher-modeled paragraphs
 The qualifications of a dystopia
 Classroom discussions
 What is ambiguity?
 Grammar games
 Defend your interpretation of the novel’s ending
 Jeopardy-style review of novel and content
 Grammar collages
Evidence of Learning
Formative Assessments
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Six word memoir
Note pages (graphic organizers)
Journal writing & quick writes
Group work
Reading logs
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Quick reading quizzes
Vocabulary activities (sentences, etc)
Analytical responses to poetry and prose
Exit cards
Summative Assessments
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End of novel test
Utopia project
Vocabulary tests
Marking period grammar assessment
Character analysis essay on the dynamic transformation of the protagonist
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TEWKSBURY TOWNSHIP SCHOOLS
RESOURCES/TECHNOLOGY
Teacher Instructional Resources:
 The Giver by Lois Lowry*
 Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury
 Ender’s Game by Orson Scott Card
 Sadlier-Oxford Vocabulary Workshop Text
 New Jersey Registered Holistic Scoring Rubric
Short Story Resources:
 “The Pedestrian” by Ray Bradbury
 “Harrison Bergeron” by Kurt Vonnegut
 “The Lady, or the Tiger?” by Frank Stockton
[follow-up on ambiguity]
Literary Nonfiction:
 “Afghan women looking for a voice” [CNNWorld]
 “Schools’ Codes of Conformity” by Susanna
Rodell
Poetry Resources:
 “The Unknown Citizen” by W.H. Auden
 “I’m Nobody! Who Are You?” by Emily
Dickinson
 “the little horse is newlY” by e.e. cummings
 “The Tide Rises, the Tide Falls” by Henry
Wadsworth Longfellow
Integration of Technology: Computer research on a “real-life” utopia, 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
Teacher Notes: Of the suggested extended texts for this unit, The Giver is most appropriate for a whole
class setting. However, if you have students you would like to challenge individually, Fahrenheit 451 and
Ender’s Game provide excellent opportunities to engage your more accelerated students while covering
the same ground thematically. The listed resources are, in short, merely options and are, of course, subject
to change.
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