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Unit Overview
Content 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, 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.
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.
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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
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W.7.2d
W.7.2e
W.7.2f
W.7.3
W.7.4
W.7.5
W.7.10
SL.7.1
SL.7.1a
SL.7.1b
SL.7.1c
SL.7.1d
SL.7.6
L.7.1
L.7.2
and concepts.
Use precise language and domain-specific vocabulary to inform about or explain the topic.
Establish and maintain a formal style.
Provide a concluding statement or section that follows from and supports the information
or explanation presented.
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.
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.)
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.
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.
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.
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.
Follow rules for collegial discussions, track progress toward specific goals and deadlines,
and define individual roles as needed.
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.
Acknowledge new information expressed by others and, when warranted, modify their
own views.
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,
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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
Unit Enduring Understandings
 How does fiction speak to contemporary
 Fiction serves as a creative expression of lifelike
adolescent issues?
characters encountering lifelike problems.
 How does a deeper understanding of the
 Point of view allows a reader to engage with an
protagonist allow the reader to empathize with
experience foreign to his or her own.
others’ perspectives?
 A narrative writer conveys meaning through
 How do writers craft vivid, engaging narratives?
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.
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(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.)
•
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, L.7.6)
•
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
 Introduction to Shakespeare
 Analyzing symbolism
 What is an allusion?
 Delving deeper: irony and paradox
 Figurative language scavenger hunt
 Reading to understand metaphors
 Targeted close reading activities
 Grammar mini-lessons & games
 Tracing foil characters in fiction
 Vocabulary building & workshop
 Poetry and short story analysis & discussion
 Journal writing
 Song connections
 Text-relevant discussion
 Evaluating teacher-modeled writing
 Analyzing lyrical prose
•
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 Peer editing
 Publishing writing
 Picture prompt response & discussion
 Student presentations of content
Evidence of Learning
Formative Assessments
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Writing drafts
Journal writing
Discussion & classroom participating
Exit slips/tickets
Group work
Mini-presentations on assigned chapters
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“Murkiest” moment from reading
Reading quizzes
Reading logs
Vocabulary work (sentences, etc)
Grammar mini-projects
Summative Assessments
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End of novel test
Narrative writing sample
Analytical writing on novel
Grammar assessment
Vocabulary tests
RESOURCES/TECHNOLOGY
Teacher Instructional Resources:
 Something Wicked This Way Comes by Ray Bradbury*
 Soldier X by Don Wulfsson
 Sadlier-Oxford Vocabulary Workshop Text
 New Jersey Registered Holistic Scoring Rubric
Short Story Resources:
 “Thank You, Ma’am” by Langston Hughes
 “Story of An Hour” by Kate Chopin
 Excerpt from Dandelion Wine by Ray Bradbury
Literary Nonfiction Resources:
 “Facebook Parenting Destroying Children’s
Privacy?” [CNN World]
 “The Boy Mir:Coming of Age in Afghanistan”
by Huma Qureshi [The Guardian]
 “A Boy Learns to Milk (and Becomes a
Man?)” by Jessica Lahey [NY Times]
Poetry Resources:
 “Abandoned Farmhouse” by Ted Kooser
 “Girl” by Jamaica Kincaid
 “Because I would not stop for Death” by Emily
Dickinson
 “who are you, little i” by ee cummings
 Macbeth excerpt
Integration of Technology: Publication of final writing via word processing, SMARTBoard, document
camera, internet
Technology Resources:
Click the links below to access additional resources used to design this unit:
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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: Something Wicked This Way Comes is truly the ideal text for this unit, as its challenging
prose style is an excellent scaffold for the more rigorous texts that await in eighth grade. Students can find
this text difficult to navigate at first, so teachers must be willing to take the time at the front of the unit to
deconstruct Bradbury’s prose. Guided questions for nightly assigned readings also help students keep
track and self-check what they’ve read. The second text listed, Soldier X, does convey similar coming of
age themes, albeit in a wartime setting. It is a significantly easier text but is a viable alternative to
Something Wicked, at least thematically speaking.