Meece Middle School
Curriculum Guide
Class:
Grade:
Teacher:
English/Language Arts
7
Jenny Beasley
Guiding/Essential Question for the Year: How can we utilize critical reading and writing skills to effectively
accomplish three goals:
1. describe patterns in and/or evidence about our natural and designed worlds;
2. determine central ideas and/or obtain scientific and/or technical information to make realistic predictions;
3. influence choices being made about our future.
Time Frame
August
Unit Title
Learning from our
past; preparing for
our future
Topics
Short Fiction: “Animal
Distress Calls”
Group Work: “Humans and
Animals”
“Literary Elements and
Devices”
Novel: The Giver, by Lois
Lowry
Companion Poems:
“Abandoned Farmhouse” by Ted
Kooser, “Deserted Farm,” by
Mark Vinz, and “Tugboat at
Daybreak” by Lillian Morrison
Narrative Nonfiction “Fighting
Invisible Killers” examines the
overuse of antibiotics and the
rise of deadly, antibiotic
resistant superbugs.
Standards
Reading Standards for Literature:
RL.1
RL.2
RL.3
RL.6
Reading Standards: Informational Text:
RI.1
RI.2
RI.5
RI.8
Page 1 of 11
Essential Vocabulary
Author’s Point of View
Figurative language
Metaphor
Personification
Simile
Onomatopoeia
Plot Line
Exposition
Rising action
Climax
Falling action
Resolution
Motive
Theme
Central/main idea
Inference/draw a conclusion
Connotation/denotation
Setting
Character
development/analyzing character
Imagery
Repetition
Mood
Analyze
Text structure
Trace
Evaluate/critique
claim
September
Paired Texts: two
informational texts about
hairstyles through the
centuries: “Off With Her
Hair” and “Hey Kids, Get a
Haircut!”
Group Work: “Integrating
Knowledge and Ideas”
Language Standards:
L.3
Writing Standards:
W.1
Reading Standards: Informational Text:
RI.1
RI.3
RI.6
Informational Text Paired
with a Play/Drama:
“The Horror of Slavery” and
“I Would Rather Die” tells
the story of how the famous
abolitionist, Frederick
Douglass, made his way
from slavery to freedom.
Exercise: “Compare Two
Texts”
Group Work: “What is the
Theme?”
Novel: The Giver, by Lois
Lowry
Reading Standards for Literature:
RL.2
RL.4 (connotative meanings)
RL.5
RL.9
Reading Standards for Literature:
RL.4
Page 2 of 11
Interpreting text
Integrating knowledge and ideas
Claim
Suspense/tension
Compare/contrast
Tone
Symbolism
Inference
Bigwig
Scene
Playwright
Textual Evidence
Abolitionist
Analyzing Theme
Imagery
Totter
Wobble
Companion Poems:
“When It Is Snowing” by Siv
Cedering, “Poppies” by Roy
Scheele, and “Four Haiku” by J.
Patrick Lewis
“Grammar Gets to Work”:
Imply vs. Infer
Debate: “Should Your School
Get Rid of Sports?”
October
RL.5
Language Standard:
3.a
Reading Standards: Informational Text
RI.8
Writing Standards:
W.1
Drama: “The Corpse-Maker”:
Reading Standards for Literature:
an adaptation of the epic poem, RL.1
Beowulf -- Beowulf’s battle with RL.5
the hideous man-eating monster
Grendel
Short Fiction: “Freddie in the
Shade”
Poem: “Nothing Gold Can Stay
Reading Standards for Literature:
RL.4
Debate: “Should We Live
Forever”
Writing Standards:
1.a-1.e
“The Lazy Editor: “When Killer
Mice Attack”: commonly
confused words and avoiding
redundancy
Language Standard:
2.b
Novel: The Giver, by Lois
Lowry
Companion Poems:
“Speak Up” by Janet S. Wong
and “Friends in the Klan, 1923”
by Marilyn Nelson
Reading Standards for Literature:
RL.4
RL.5
Page 3 of 11
Poppies
Figurative language
Metaphor
Simile
Half rhyme
Slant rhyme
Trace and evaluate an author’s
argument
Inference
Conflict
Character
Text evidence
Author’s craft
Key ideas and details
Symbolism
Inference
Analyzing Character
Theme
Sound Evidence
Acknowledging an alternate or
opposing viewpoint
Identifying a Thesis
Immigration/immigrants
Ellis Island
Diversity
Gender stereotypes
Racial stereotypes
November
Building Awareness
by Gathering and
Sharing Information
Informational Text: “Don’t
Touch the Water!: The story of
the chemical spill that turned
the water in nine West Virginia
counties to poison.
Narrative Nonfiction: “The
Boston Molasses Flood of 1919”
Group Work: “Compare Two
Disasters”
Reading Standards: Informational Text
RI.3
RI.6
RI.9
Language Standards:
L.1
Writing Standards:
W.2
Paired Texts: “Is This You?”
(stress and anxiety among
children and teens) and “In
China, the Test that Determines
Your Life” (newspaper article:
Beijing)
Group Work: “Stress Solutions”
Reading Standards: Informational Text
RL.5
“Grammar Loves a Comeback”:
Among vs. Between
Novel: The Giver, by Lois
Lowry
Companion Poems:
“A Poison Tree” by William Blake
and “Summertime Sharing,” by
Nikki Grimes
Courage
Racism
Tolerance
KKK
Civil rights movement
African Americans in U.S. military
Sentence fragment
Inference
Author’s Purpose
Cause/effect
Literary Device
Suspense
Mood
Compare/contrast
Text structure
Key ideas and details
Interpreting text
Text feature
Synthesizing Information
Language Standards:
L.4d
Reading Standards for Literature:
RL.4
RL.5
Page 4 of 11
Tone
Author’s point of view
Wrath
Foe
Deceitful
Wiles
Context clues
Rhyme
Rhyme scheme
December
Narrative Nonfiction: “I
Survived the Boston Marathon
Bombing” (the story of Sydney
Corcoran and her mother, who
were both injured in the Boston
Marathon bombing of April
2013.)
Speech: “We Summon the
Strength” (three days after the
bombing, President Barack
Obama gave this speech to the
people of Boston.)
Exercise: Applying a Central
Idea
Informational Text: “Throw
Away Your Earbuds Now!”
(listening to music with earbuds
can permanently damage your
hearing)
Essay: “I Can’t Hear You” (life
after hearing loss)
Novel: The Giver, by Lois
Lowry
Companion Poems:
“Every Cat Has a Story” by
Naomi Shihab Nye, “Seeing the
World,” by Steven Harrick, and
“Street Painting” by Ann Turner
January
Short Fiction:
Speaking and Listening Standards:
SL.1
SL.2
Reading Standards: Informational Text:
RI.1
RI.2
RI.4
RI.5
Reading Standards: Informational Text:
RI.1
RI.5
Reading Standards for Literature:
RL.4
RL.5
Language Standard:
L.5
Reading Standards for Literature
Page 5 of 11
Rhyming couplets
Text evidence
Author’s craft
Supporting details
Inference
Text structure
Key/central/main idea
Figurative language
Metaphor
Text Features
Author’s craft
Inference
Imagery
Sensory Details
Figurative language
Simile
Personification
hyperbole
Stanza
Line break
Repetition
mood
Tone
“People Call Me Crazy,” by Gary
Paulsen: (Thatcher is dreading
his summer at Camp Lakewood - especially all activities that
involve water. But soon,
Thatcher finds himself in a life or
death situation that will change
the course of his life.)
RL.3
RL.4
RL.6
Drama: “The Strange Case of Dr.
Jekyll and Mr. Hyde” (An
adaptation of the classic tale of
good and evil. The play is paired
with a personal essay,
“Confessions of a Former Hazer”,
in which a writer reflects on her
experience as a summer-camp
hazer.
Reading Standards for Literature
RL.4
RL.5
RL.6
Debate: “Should Justin Bieber
Be Deported?”
Reading Standards: Informational Text
RI.8
RI.9
Writing Standard:
W.1
Page 6 of 11
Compare
Resent
Conflict
Conflict Resolution
Character development
Relationship
Figurative language
Text Evidence
Interpreting Text
Imagery
Personification
Characterization
Text evidence
Interpreting text
Scene
Act
Infer/inference
Mood
Hazing
Supporting an argument
Morality
Abominable
Chaotic
Decrepit
Dilapidated
Sinister
Substantial
Tracing and Evaluating
Arguments
Author’s claim
Author’s evidence
Evaluation
Counterargument/acknowledging
an alternate or opposing
viewpoint
Emotional appeal
Fallacy
Position
Rebut
Refute
Relevant
Abysmal
Allegedly
Deport
Felony
Immigrate
Incriminating
Labyrinth
Turpitude
Grammar: ambiguous
pronouns; eliminating
extraneous information;
commonly confused words;
meaningless words and phrases
Novel: Cinder, by Marissa
Meyer (science fiction)
Poem: “The Wreck of the
Hesperus” by Henry Wadsworth
Longfellow
Language Standards:
L.3a
L.5c
Language Standards:
L.4a
Reading Standards for Literature:
RL.2
RL.4
RL.5
Page 7 of 11
Norman’s Woe
The Spanish Main
Schooner
Fairy-flax
Veering flaw
Spake
Gale
Spar
Carded wool
Gored
Mast
Narrative poem
Ballad
Stanza
Rhyme scheme
Rhythm pattern
February
Strategies Readers
and Writers Use to
Bring About Change
Narrative Nonfiction: “The Girl
Who Discovered the Dinosaurs”
(the story of how a 12-year-old
girl’s fossil discovery led to the
birth of modern paleontology.
The article is paired with a
newspaper report , (“Dinosaurs
for Sale: Why some of today’s
important fossils will never be
studied”), about the controversy
surrounding private fossil
collections.)
Language Standards:
L.4a
L.4c
Informational Text, Drama, and
Narrative Nonfiction: “The
Horror of Nazi Germany” is a
short informational text about
Nazi Germany. “The Book Thief”
is a play adapted from the
acclaimed movie based on the
bestselling novel by Markus
Zusak, which tells the riveting
story of a German girl who takes
comfort in books during the
terrors of World War II. “The
Boys Who Fought the Nazis” is a
Reading Standards: Informational Text:
RI.1
Reading Standards: Informational Text:
RI.1
RI.2
RI.4
RI.5
RI.9
Writing Standard:
W.3
Reading Standards for Literature:
RL.1
RL.2
RL.5
Writing Standard:
W.3
Page 8 of 11
Stressed or accented syllables
Repetition
Dialogue
Author’s point of view
Auction
Carnivorous
Embed
Paleontology
Remnant
Specimen
Trove
Unearth
Text features
Headline
Vertical layout
Captions
Subheads
Lurking
Text structure
Inference
Objective summary
Central idea
Supporting evidence
Genocide
Haggard
Liberate
Manifesto
Scapegoat
Systematically
dehumanize
Teem
Banned books
Theme
Supporting evidence
Plot
Inference
nonfiction narrative which tells
the story of how three friends
risked their lives fighting against
one of the most evil regimes the
world has ever seen.
Small group work: “Exploring
Theme”
March
Novel: Cinder, by Marissa
Meyer (science fiction)
Companion Poems: “Ode to
Family Photographs” by Gary
Soto and “Hoods” by Paul B.
Janeczko
Group Work:
“Patterns/Repetitions in “Ode to
Family Photographs”
Grammar: Students practice the
correct usage of adverse and
averse while reading about how
three celebrities saved lives.
Paired Texts: “I Use a Robot to
Go to School” is a nonfiction
narrative about a girl whose
severe food allergy makes
attending school so dangerous
that she sends a robot in her
place. “What Causes Allergies?”
is an informational text on the
science of allergies.
Debate/Argument:
“Plastic Bags: Convenient and
Symbolism
Interpreting text
Epilogue
Reading Standards for Literature:
RL.4
RL.5
RL.6
Mood
Patterns
Repetition
Rituals
Myths
Figurative language
Simile
Metaphor
Reading Standards: Informational Text:
RI.1
RI.5
RI.6
Anaphylaxis
Comprise
EpiPen
Pathogen
Scrutinize
Vigilance
Author’s purpose
Text structure
Mood
Inference
Word choice
Compare/contrast
Language Standards:
L.3a
Reading Standards: Informational Text
RI.8
Page 9 of 11
Environment
Environmentalism
April
May
We are ready!
We can do this!
Cruel” (Environmental experts
have sounded the alarm about
plastic. Should they be banned
everywhere? Students read
arguments on both sides of the
debate and take a stand.
Group Work: “You Write It”:
turning an infographic into an
editorial.
RI.9
Language/Grammar: subjectVerb agreement; parentheses
practice; choosing words for
effect; colons
Language Standards:
L.2
L.3a
Novel: Cinder, by Marissa
Meyer (science fiction)
Poetry: “Spring Storm” by Jim
Wayne Miler
“Foul Shot” by Edwin A. Hoey
“A Hot Property” by Ronald
Wallace
Reading Standards for Literature:
RL.4
RL.5
Writing Standards:
W.1a-W.1e
Biodegradable
Food chain
Landfill
Leach
Recycle
Reusable
Claim/Thesis
Supporting details
Anecdote
Summarize
Acknowledge the alternate or
opposing claim
Sensory detail
Imagery
Figurative language
Metaphor
Simile
Stanza
Solemn
Wobbles
Wavers
Nudges
Coy
Alliteration
Repetition
Personification
Plot
Line break
Active verbs
Review all standards
KPrep Test and preparation for
Language Standards 1-5
Page 10 of 11
Commas; irregular verbs;
specific 8th grade skills
transition words; semicolons and
colons; misplaced modifiers;
there, their, and they’re; its vs
it’s; future, present, and past
tenses, run-on and compound
sentences; pronoun/antecedent
agreement
Page 11 of 11