This list contains the Reading and Writing activities for our Grade 7 English Language Arts course.
| Type | Lesson | Reading Title | Author | Category | Subcategory |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Texts | Introduction to Identity and Expectations: Story Elements in "Seventh Grade" | “Seventh Grade” | Gary Soto | Fiction | Short Story |
| Texts | Narrator's Views in Homesick | (from) Homesick | Jean Fritz | Fiction | Short Story |
| Texts | The Poetry of Identity | “I’m Nobody, Who Are You?” | Emily Dickinson* | Fiction | Poem |
| Texts | The Poetry of Identity | “Introduction to Poetry” | Billy Collins* | Fiction | Poem |
| Texts | Figurative Language in Barrio Boy | (from) Barrio Boy | Ernesto Galarza | Nonfiction | Memoir |
| Texts | Conflict and Theme in The Outsiders | (from) The Outsiders | S.E. Hinton | Fiction | Novel |
| Texts | Exploring Who We Are: Central Ideas in a Jack London Article | “Husky – Wolf Dog of the North” | Jack London | Nonfiction | Journal |
| Texts | Point of View in White Fang | (from) White Fang | Jack London | Fiction | Novel |
| Texts | Character Development in White Fang | (from) White Fang | Jack London | Fiction | Novel |
| Texts | Conflict in White Fang | (from) White Fang | Jack London | Fiction | Novel |
| Texts | Theme in White Fang | (from) White Fang | Jack London | Fiction | Novel |
| Texts | Heritage: Japanese Culture in a Folktale | “My Lord Bag of Rice” | Yei Theodora Ozaki | Fiction | Folktale |
| Texts | Rhyme, Rhythm, and Visualizing in a Yeats Poem | “The Song of Wandering Aengus” | W.B. Yeats | Fiction | Poem |
| Texts | Influences and Inferences in "Names/Nombres" | “Names/Nombres” | Julia Alvarez* | Nonfiction | Memoir |
| Texts | Setting and Character in Dragonwings | (from) Dragonwings | Lawrence Yep | Nonfiction | Historical Fiction |
| Texts | Structure and Culture in "Twelfth Song of the Thunder" | “Twelfth Song of the Thunder” | Navajo Traditional Chant | Fiction | Poem |
| Texts | Perseverance and Focusing on an Objective: Viewpoint in The Riddle of the Rosetta Stone | The Riddle of the Rosetta Stone | James Cross Giblin | Nonfiction | Nonfiction |
| Texts | Cause and Effect in The Riddle of the Rosetta Stone | The Riddle of the Rosetta Stone | James Cross Giblin | Nonfiction | Nonfiction |
| Texts | Characterization in The Riddle of the Rosetta Stone | The Riddle of the Rosetta Stone | James Cross Giblin | Nonfiction | Nonfiction |
| Texts | Influences on Ideas in The Riddle of the Rosetta Stone | The Riddle of the Rosetta Stone | James Cross Giblin | Nonfiction | Nonfiction |
| Texts | Reasoning and Logic in The Riddle of the Rosetta Stone | The Riddle of the Rosetta Stone | James Cross Giblin | Nonfiction | Nonfiction |
| Texts | Context Clues and Inferences in The Riddle of the Rosetta Stone | The Riddle of the Rosetta Stone | James Cross Giblin | Nonfiction | Nonfiction |
| Texts | Central Ideas and Purpose in The Riddle of the Rosetta Stone | The Riddle of the Rosetta Stone | James Cross Giblin | Nonfiction | Nonfiction |
| Texts | Pursuing the Dream as a Central Idea in Poetry | “The Courage That My Mother Had” | Edna St. Vincent Millay* | Fiction | Poem |
| Texts | Pursuing the Dream as a Central Idea in Poetry | “Mother to Son” | Langston Hughes* | Fiction | Poem |
| Texts | Making Inferences in an Article about Roberto Clemente | “Clemente’s Impact Wanes in Puerto Rico 40 years after His Death” | Jorge L. Ortiz | Nonfiction | Nonfiction Article |
| Texts | Making Inferences in an Article about Roberto Clemente | “Beyond Baseball: The Life of Roberto Clemente” | Smithsonian Institute | Nonfiction | Multimedia Presentation |
| Texts | Summarizing a Text by Jackie Robinson | “A Noble Experiment” from I Never Had It Made | Jackie Robinson | Nonfiction | Autobiography |
| Texts | Drawing Conclusions in a Cesar Chavez Speech | “Lessons of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.” | Cesar Chavez | Nonfiction | Speech |
| Texts | Central Ideas in We Beat the Street | (from) We Beat the Street | Sampson David, George Jenkins, Rameck Hunt, Sharon Draper | Nonfiction | Autobiography |
| Texts | Overcoming the Odds: The Miracle Worker, Act I | (from) The Miracle Worker | William Gibson | Fiction | Play |
| Texts | Elements of Drama in The Miracle Worker, Acts II and III | (from) The Miracle Worker | William Gibson | Fiction | Play |
| Texts | Point of View in Helen Keller's Memoir, The Story of My Life | (from) The Story of My Life | Helen Keller | Nonfiction | Autobiography |
| Texts | Word Choice and Structure in "The Turtle" | “The Turtle” | Mary Oliver | Fiction | Poem |
| Texts | Conflict and Resolution in "Amigo Brothers" | (from) “Amigo Brothers” | Piri Thomas | Fiction | Short Story |
| Texts | Neighbors: Visualizing in The Monsters Are Due on Maple Street | The Monsters Are Due on Maple Street | Rod Sterling | Fiction | Teleplay |
| Texts | Making Predictions in The Monsters Are Due on Maple Street | (from) The Monsters Are Due on Maple Street | Rod Sterling adapted by Mark Kneece | Fiction | Graphic Novel |
| Texts | Theme in The Monsters Are Due on Maple Street | The Monsters Are Due on Maple Street | Rod Sterling | Fiction | Teleplay |
| Texts | Character Relationships in Walter Dean Myers’s "The Treasure of Lemon Brown" | “The Treasure of Lemon Brown” | Walter Dean Myers | Fiction | Short Story |
| Texts | Narrative Elements in "How I Learned English" | “How I Learned English” | Gregory Djanikian | Fiction | Poetry |
| Texts | Freedom Fighters: Viewpoint in an Article about Malala Yousafzai | “Pakistan’s Malala: Global Symbol, but still just a kid” | Ashley Fantz | Nonfiction | Newspaper Article |
| Texts | Setting in We've Got a Job | (from) We’ve Got a Job: The 1963 Birmingham Children’s March | Cynthia Levinson | Nonfiction | Informational Text |
| Texts | Reader Connections in We've Got a Job | (from) We’ve Got a Job: The 1963 Birmingham Children’s March | Cynthia Levinson | Nonfiction | Informational Text |
| Texts | Narrative Structure in We've Got a Job | (from) We’ve Got a Job: The 1963 Birmingham Children’s March | Cynthia Levinson | Nonfiction | Informational Text |
| Texts | Multiple Stories in We've Got a Job | (from) We’ve Got a Job: The 1963 Birmingham Children’s March | Cynthia Levinson | Nonfiction | Informational Text |
| Texts | Visions of the Past and Future: Structure in "I Hear America Singing" | “I Hear America Singing” | Walt Whitman* | Fiction | Poem |
| Texts | Combining Sources to Understand the Life of Abraham Lincoln | “1859 Autobiographical Statement for Chester County Times” | Abraham Lincoln* | Nonfiction | Autobiography |
| Texts | Persuasion in Susan B. Anthony's "On Women's Right to Vote" | “On Women’s Right to Vote” | Susan B. Anthony | Nonfiction | Speech |
| Texts | Argumentation in "The Girl Who Silenced the World for Five Minutes" | “The Girl Who Silenced the World for Five Minutes” | Severn Suzuki | Nonfiction | Speech |
| Texts | Central Ideas in Eleanor Roosevelt's "What I Hope to Leave Behind" | “What I Hope to Leave Behind” | Eleanor Roosevelt | Nonfiction | Speech |
| Texts | Heroes of the People: Fact and Folktale in The People Could Fly | “The People Could Fly,” “How Nehemiah Got Free,” “The Most Useful Slave,” “Do Rabbit, Bruh Fox, and Tar Baby,” “He Lion, Bruch Bear, and Bruch Rabbit,” “Bruh Lizard and Bruh Rabbit,” “The Beautiful Girl of the Moon Tower,” “Manuel Had a Riddle,” “Bruh Alligator and Bruh Deer,” “Bruh Alligator Meets Trouble,” “Carrying the Running-Always,” The Talking Cooter,” “Wiley, His Mama, and the Hairy Man,” “A Wolf and Little Daughter,” and “Better Wait Till Martin Comes” from The People Could Fly, American Black Folktales | Virginia Hamilton | Fiction | Folktale |
| Texts | Personification in The People Could Fly | “The People Could Fly,” “How Nehemiah Got Free,” “The Most Useful Slave,” “Do Rabbit, Bruh Fox, and Tar Baby,” “He Lion, Bruch Bear, and Bruch Rabbit,” “Bruh Lizard and Bruh Rabbit,” “The Beautiful Girl of the Moon Tower,” “Manuel Had a Riddle,” “Bruh Alligator and Bruh Deer,” “Bruh Alligator Meets Trouble,” “Carrying the Running-Always,” The Talking Cooter,” “Wiley, His Mama, and the Hairy Man,” “A Wolf and Little Daughter,” and “Better Wait Till Martin Comes” from The People Could Fly, American Black Folktales | Virginia Hamilton | Fiction | Folktale |
| Texts | Characters in The People Could Fly | “The People Could Fly,” “How Nehemiah Got Free,” “The Most Useful Slave,” “Do Rabbit, Bruh Fox, and Tar Baby,” “He Lion, Bruch Bear, and Bruch Rabbit,” “Bruh Lizard and Bruh Rabbit,” “The Beautiful Girl of the Moon Tower,” “Manuel Had a Riddle,” “Bruh Alligator and Bruh Deer,” “Bruh Alligator Meets Trouble,” “Carrying the Running-Always,” The Talking Cooter,” “Wiley, His Mama, and the Hairy Man,” “A Wolf and Little Daughter,” and “Better Wait Till Martin Comes” from The People Could Fly, American Black Folktales | Virginia Hamilton | Fiction | Folktale |
| Texts | Setting and Dialect in The People Could Fly | “The People Could Fly,” “How Nehemiah Got Free,” “The Most Useful Slave,” “Do Rabbit, Bruh Fox, and Tar Baby,” “He Lion, Bruch Bear, and Bruch Rabbit,” “Bruh Lizard and Bruh Rabbit,” “The Beautiful Girl of the Moon Tower,” “Manuel Had a Riddle,” “Bruh Alligator and Bruh Deer,” “Bruh Alligator Meets Trouble,” “Carrying the Running-Always,” The Talking Cooter,” “Wiley, His Mama, and the Hairy Man,” “A Wolf and Little Daughter,” and “Better Wait Till Martin Comes” from The People Could Fly, American Black Folktales | Virginia Hamilton | Fiction | Folktale |
| Texts | Point of View and Viewpoint in The People Could Fly | “The People Could Fly,” “How Nehemiah Got Free,” “The Most Useful Slave,” “Do Rabbit, Bruh Fox, and Tar Baby,” “He Lion, Bruch Bear, and Bruch Rabbit,” “Bruh Lizard and Bruh Rabbit,” “The Beautiful Girl of the Moon Tower,” “Manuel Had a Riddle,” “Bruh Alligator and Bruh Deer,” “Bruh Alligator Meets Trouble,” “Carrying the Running-Always,” The Talking Cooter,” “Wiley, His Mama, and the Hairy Man,” “A Wolf and Little Daughter,” and “Better Wait Till Martin Comes” from The People Could Fly, American Black Folktales | Virginia Hamilton | Fiction | Folktale |
| Texts | Conflict and Theme in The People Could Fly | “The People Could Fly,” “How Nehemiah Got Free,” “The Most Useful Slave,” “Do Rabbit, Bruh Fox, and Tar Baby,” “He Lion, Bruch Bear, and Bruch Rabbit,” “Bruh Lizard and Bruh Rabbit,” “The Beautiful Girl of the Moon Tower,” “Manuel Had a Riddle,” “Bruh Alligator and Bruh Deer,” “Bruh Alligator Meets Trouble,” “Carrying the Running-Always,” The Talking Cooter,” “Wiley, His Mama, and the Hairy Man,” “A Wolf and Little Daughter,” and “Better Wait Till Martin Comes” from The People Could Fly, American Black Folktales | Virginia Hamilton | Fiction | Folktale |
| Texts | Repetition in The People Could Fly | “The People Could Fly,” “How Nehemiah Got Free,” “The Most Useful Slave,” “Do Rabbit, Bruh Fox, and Tar Baby,” “He Lion, Bruch Bear, and Bruch Rabbit,” “Bruh Lizard and Bruh Rabbit,” “The Beautiful Girl of the Moon Tower,” “Manuel Had a Riddle,” “Bruh Alligator and Bruh Deer,” “Bruh Alligator Meets Trouble,” “Carrying the Running-Always,” The Talking Cooter,” “Wiley, His Mama, and the Hairy Man,” “A Wolf and Little Daughter,” and “Better Wait Till Martin Comes” from The People Could Fly, American Black Folktales | Virginia Hamilton | Fiction | Folktale |
| Texts | Heroism and Battling Adversity: Structure in “The Charge of the Light Brigade” | “Charge of the Light Brigade” | Alfred Lord Tennyson | Fiction | Poem |
| Texts | Cause and Effect in An American Plague | (from) An American Plague: The True Story of the Yellow Fever Epidemic of 1793 | Jim Murphy* | Nonfiction | Nonfiction |
| Texts | First-Person Point of View in Fever 1793 | (from) Fever 1793 | Laurie Halse Andersen | Historical Novel | |
| Texts | Characterization and Central Ideas in A Night to Remember | (from) A Night to Remember | Walter Lord | Informational | |
| Texts | Language and Purpose in Exploring the Titanic | (from) Exploring the Titanic | Robert Ballard | Informational | |
| Texts | Looking Out for Others: Allegory in "Aunty Misery" | “Aunty Misery” | Judith Ortiz Cofer* | Folktale | |
| Texts | Characters in "Rikki-Tikki-Tavi" | “Rikki-Tikki-Tavi” from The Jungle Book | Rudyard Kipling | Fiction/Short Story | |
| Texts | Character and Theme in "The Gentleman of Rio en Medio" | “Gentlemen of Rio en Medio” | Juan Sedillo | Fiction/Short Story | |
| Texts | Making Inferences about "Birdfoot's Grampa" | “Birdfoot’s Grandpa” | Joseph Bruchac | Poem | |
| Texts | Conflict and Plot Structure in Robin Hood | (from) The Merry Adventures of Robin Hood of Great Renown in Nottinghamshire | Howard Pyle | Novel | |
| Essay Prompts | Writing a Personal Narrative That Expresses Your Identity | Write a personal narrative essay that describes a significant experience that has shaped your identity. Develop the narrative through pacing, dialogue, and details that engage the reader. | |||
| Essay Prompts | Writing an Informative Essay about an Exciting Tradition | Write an informative essay on the Iditarod dogsled race. Your essay will use research to describe the Iditarod’s history, including the event that inspired the first race. | |||
| Essay Prompts | Writing an Analysis of a Nonfiction Text | Write an essay that analyzes how a text explains the sequence of events that affected the discovery of the Rosetta stone. | |||
| Essay Prompts | Writing an Argument that Supports the Characteristics of a Role Model | Write an argumentative essay for or against viewing sports figures and celebrities as positive role models. | |||
| Essay Prompts | Writing an Analysis of a Literary Character | Write a compare-and-contrast analysis of how Greg Ridley from "The Treasure of Lemon Brown" changes from the beginning of the story to the end. | |||
| Essay Prompts | Writing an Argumentative Essay about Education | Write a research-based argumentative essay for or against free education for children worldwide. | |||
| Essay Prompts | Writing an Argumentative Essay about a Social Topic | Write an argumentative essay for or against always telling the truth, even in situations that may be hurtful to others. | |||
| Essay Prompts | Writing an Informative Essay about Heroic Qualities | Write an informative essay that explains the qualities of a hero and how to recognize heroes in your life. | |||
| Projects | Creating a Yearbook Page | In this assignment, you will create a yearbook page about a person from a text. The purpose of the project is to provide the audience with a greater understanding of the character or real person, as well as to entertain the audience through multimedia components. Look at a sample yearbook page for Julia Alvarez | |||
| Projects | Group Discussion | For this assignment, you will engage in a range of discussions and then write about your experience. ■A discussion evaluation will help you judge how well your discussion went. ■It is a good idea to look over the items on the guide before you begin. ■Ask your teacher for assistance as you complete and submit the assignment. | |||
| Projects | Creating a Text Trailer | In this assignment, you will create a multimedia trailer about a text that you have read in its entirety or over multiple lessons. The purpose of the project is to provide the viewer with information about the text, and use multimedia components to entertain and convince the viewer to read the text. | |||
| Projects | Creating a Blog | In this assignment, you will create a multimedia blog. The purpose of the project is to present your viewpoint on a social issue and support it with a solid argument. Review these points before you begin. ■You will be provided with a guide for creating your multimedia blog. ■You will have the option to use a starter word-processing file. You can also set up your own file. ■You will be provided with a rubric for your blog. Review the rubric before you begin. ■Before you begin, ask your teacher where you should save your blog. | |||
| Projects | Creating a Multimedia Presentation | Prepare a presentation to your town representatives to convince them to hold an event celebrating local heroes. | |||
| Projects | Creating a Public Service Advertisement | Create a video public service advertisement about a topic of social relevance. Make a compelling visual presentation with facts and details to support the issue. Be sure to state your issue in the form of a claim, explain why it is important and what people need to know about it, and provide reasons and evidence. Finally, create a print form of your ad to accompany the video. | |||
| Short-Response Writing | Introduction to Identity and Expectations: Story Elements in "Seventh Grade" | Review the ending to “Seventh Grade.” Is Victor’s conflict completely resolved? Explain your answer. | |||
| Short-Response Writing | Figurative Language in Barrio Boy | After reading the passage from Barrio Boy, describe how the author uses connotations and figurative language to make his experience come to life. | |||
| Short-Response Writing | Responding to a Personal Narrative | Prepare your response by answering the following questions: What will your topic sentence be? What will your supporting detail be? | |||
| Short-Response Writing | Responding to a Personal Narrative | Prepare your response by answering the following questions: What textual evidence from the passage will you use to back up your supporting detail? What will your closing line be? | |||
| Short-Response Writing | Responding to a Personal Narrative | Use evidence from the passage to write a paragraph explaining how Galarza uses descriptive language to bring his narrative to life. | |||
| Short-Response Writing | Conflict and Theme in The Outsiders | Write a few sentences explaining whether the following theme from The Outsiders is universal: “People often struggle to fit in; they question the right way to live their lives.” | |||
| Short-Response Writing | Conflict and Theme in The Outsiders | Based on what you have read, write a few sentences describing the main conflict in this part of the story. Explain why this conflict is the main conflict. | |||
| Short-Response Writing | Exploring Who We Are: Central Ideas in a Jack London Article | Paraphrase the passage to find the central idea: “It is in fighting that they betray their most wolfish trait.” | |||
| Short-Response Writing | Exploring Who We Are: Central Ideas in a Jack London Article | Summarize what Jack London has to say about how smart and how wild huskies are. | |||
| Short-Response Writing | Point of View in White Fang | Write one to two sentences explaining how third-person omniscient point of view helps readers understand White Fang’s first meeting with humans | |||
| Short-Response Writing | Character Development in White Fang | White Fang goes through many changes in Chapter 1. Write two to three sentences describing what these changes reveal about who White Fang is. | |||
| Short-Response Writing | Writing an Analysis of Characterization | Use evidence from the passage to write a character analysis of White Fang. | |||
| Short-Response Writing | Conflict in White Fang | Based on the new information from the passage, explain whether it is reasonable to predict that Kiche and White Fang will be reunited later in the story. | |||
| Short-Response Writing | Theme in White Fang | Based on what you have learned, write three or four sentences that cite details from the story that support a theme. | |||
| Short-Response Writing | Parts of Speech and Modifiers | Revise the sentence to fix the dangling modifier. “After visiting the place it was filmed, the movie is sure to be great.” | |||
| Short-Response Writing | Heritage: Japanese Culture in a Folktale | Review the passage, then write two to four sentences comparing the folktale with Hidesato’s real life. | |||
| Short-Response Writing | Rhyme, Rhythm, and Visualizing in a Yeats Poem | Write a few sentences describing what you visualized, heard, and smelled when you imagined the poem. | |||
| Short-Response Writing | Rhyme, Rhythm, and Visualizing in a Yeats Poem | Read the stanza aloud two ways – once with rhythm and once without rhythm. Describe how the poem’s rhythm affects your understanding and appreciation of the poem? | |||
| Short-Response Writing | Rhyme, Rhythm, and Visualizing in a Yeats Poem | Describe how the poem’s rhythm affects your understanding and appreciation of the poem? | |||
| Short-Response Writing | Influences and Inferences in "Names/Nombres" | Write a few sentences to explain how Julia’s many names represent her many influences. | |||
| Short-Response Writing | Setting and Character in Dragonwings | Based on your analysis of the film and the story, write a few sentences explaining whether Laurence Yep created a realistic setting. Support your answer with details from the film and story. | |||
| Short-Response Writing | Comparing and Contrasting Genres | Write a paragraph in which you compare and contrast the strengths of fiction and nonfiction. | |||
| Short-Response Writing | Structure and Culture in "Twelfth Song of the Thunder" | Based on the repetition in the song, is the voice from above more important to the Navajo people than the voice from below? Explain your answer in 1 – 3 sentences. | |||
| Short-Response Writing | Structure and Culture in "Twelfth Song of the Thunder" | Read the song as an ethnographer might and write 1 – 3 sentences explaining what the Navajo culture probably thinks of as beautiful. Support your answer with examples from the poem. | |||
| Short-Response Writing | Perseverance and Focusing on an Objective: Viewpoint in The Riddle of the Rosetta Stone | You have identified the claim and reason in the passage. Write a few sentences explaining what the author will have to do in the rest of the book to develop a truly strong viewpoint. | |||
| Short-Response Writing | Cause and Effect in The Riddle of the Rosetta Stone | Based on the passage, why was it so important that the scholars figured out that the inscription was the same in all three languages on the stone? | |||
| Short-Response Writing | Characterization in The Riddle of the Rosetta Stone | Based on the passage, write two or three sentences explaining how the author feels about Thomas Young. Support your answer with examples from the reading. | |||
| Short-Response Writing | Characterization in The Riddle of the Rosetta Stone | Based on what you have read, write one or two sentences explaining whether James Cross Giblin shows historical figures in a biased or unbiased way. | |||
| Short-Response Writing | Influences on Ideas in The Riddle of the Rosetta Stone | Based on the passage, how was Champollion able to translate more hieroglyphs than other scholars? Write a few sentences explaining your answer. | |||
| Short-Response Writing | Reasoning and Logic in The Riddle of the Rosetta Stone | Based on the passage, what did Champollion discover about the hieroglyphs on the Rosetta Stone? Write one to two sentences explaining his discovery in your own words. | |||
| Short-Response Writing | Context Clues and Inferences in The Riddle of the Rosetta Stone | Using the dictionary definition, write one to two sentences explaining the meaning of “papyrus” as it is used in this sentence: “These included government officials, doctors, and priests, as well as the scribes who did the actual writing on papyrus and stone.” | |||
| Short-Response Writing | Context Clues and Inferences in The Riddle of the Rosetta Stone | Based on what you have read, write two to three sentences explaining what James Cross Giblin probably wants readers to think about people who focus on difficult goals. | |||
| Short-Response Writing | Central Ideas and Purpose in The Riddle of the Rosetta Stone | Based on what you have read, write one to three sentences explaining why Ptolemy was thought of as a good king by his people. | |||
| Short-Response Writing | Pursuing the Dream as a Central Idea in Poetry | Reread the poem. Look at the details in each stanza and write one to two sentences explaining the central idea of the poem. | |||
| Short-Response Writing | Pursuing the Dream as a Central Idea in Poetry | Write 1 - 2 sentences explaining how his mother compares the staircase to life in the poem. | |||
| Short-Response Writing | Summarizing a Text by Jackie Robinson | Based on the passage, write one or two sentences explaining Jackie Robinson’s main purpose for writing I Never Had It Made. | |||
| Short-Response Writing | Summarizing a Text by Jackie Robinson | Use what you have read to summarize Jackie Robinson’s story in two or three sentences. | |||
| Short-Response Writing | Writing a Narrative: Describing a Problem | Write a letter to a friend describing a problem you faced and solved. | |||
| Short-Response Writing | Drawing Conclusions in a Cesar Chavez Speech | Write one to three sentences explaining how the example in this passage supports Chavez’s purpose. | |||
| Short-Response Writing | Central Ideas in We Beat the Street | Based on the passage, what is the most important cause that led George and his friends to becoming doctors? Explain your answer in one to two sentences. | |||
| Short-Response Writing | Central Ideas in We Beat the Street | Based on the central ideas and details from the passage, write one to three sentences summarizing how the three friends changed and stayed the same after seeing the presentation. | |||
| Short-Response Writing | Word Relationships: Using Context | Write one to two sentences explaining the meaning of “etcetera” based on the context clues in the passage. | |||
| Short-Response Writing | Writing an Argument that Supports the Characteristics of a Role Model | Write an argumentative essay for or against viewing sports figures and celebrities as positive role models. | |||
| Short-Response Writing | Overcoming the Odds: The Miracle Worker, Act I | Based on the dialogue and stage directions in the reading, write three to five sentences describing what Annie Sullivan is like. | |||
| Short-Response Writing | Overcoming the Odds: The Miracle Worker, Act I | Write three to five sentences summarizing the scene you read from Act I of The Miracle Worker. | |||
| Short-Response Writing | Elements of Drama in The Miracle Worker, Acts II and III | Write one to two sentences describing why the stage directions are especially important for bringing the character of Helen Keller to life? | |||
| Short-Response Writing | Point of View in Helen Keller's Memoir, The Story of My Life | Based on what you have read, write two or three sentences explaining what the point of view in the memoir allows readers to learn about Helen Keller. | |||
| Short-Response Writing | Writing with Credible Sources | Use the information from the passages to write three to five sentences summarizing Helen Keller’s life. Include cited information in your summary. | |||
| Short-Response Writing | Word Choice and Structure in "The Turtle" | Write one to three sentences explaining how the word “swim” adds to the idea that the turtle “can’t see herself apart from the rest of the world” in the final stanza. | |||
| Short-Response Writing | Word Choice and Structure in "The Turtle" | Rewrite the metaphor below from the poem by changing it into a simile. “the tall trees are her children,” | |||
| Short-Response Writing | Word Choice and Structure in "The Turtle" | Write a short free verse poem describing the panda bear in the image. | |||
| Short-Response Writing | Conflict and Resolution in "Amigo Brothers" | Write one to two sentences explaining whether this passage from the story is exposition, rising action, climax, or resolution: “The announcer turned to point to the winner and found himself alone. Arm in arm the champions had already left the ring.” | |||
| Short-Response Writing | Conflict and Resolution in "Amigo Brothers" | Based on the story’s resolution, summarize the story’s theme in one to two sentences | |||
| Short-Response Writing | Group Discussion | Based on what you have read about Helen Keller, prepare a point you would make in a group discussion. Write two to three sentences to explain what you would say to the group about how she overcame obstacles. | |||
| Short-Response Writing | Group Discussion | In preparation for a group discussion, read about when Helen Keller first met Anne Sullivan. | |||
| Short-Response Writing | Group Discussion | In a group discussion, a participant says, “Helen Keller would never have learned had it not been for Anne Sullivan.” How would you respond to share your viewpoint? Write three sentences. | |||
| Short-Response Writing | Neighbors: Visualizing in The Monsters Are Due on Maple Street | Write two to three sentences explaining what readers should visualize as they read this part of the scene. | |||
| Short-Response Writing | Making Predictions in The Monsters Are Due on Maple Street | When a crowd gathers outside Les’s house, Steve comments, “Let’s not be a mob!” What does this show about Steve? Write one to three sentences explaining your answer. | |||
| Short-Response Writing | Theme in The Monsters Are Due on Maple Street | Based on the passage, who are the real monsters of Maple Street? Write three to four sentences explaining your answer. | |||
| Short-Response Writing | Character Relationships in Walter Dean Myers’s "The Treasure of Lemon Brown" | Write one to three sentences explaining whether Greg shows himself to be a static or dynamic character in this passage. | |||
| Short-Response Writing | Using Dialogue Effectively | Write a scene describing the discussion Greg and his father have when he gets home. | |||
| Short-Response Writing | Narrative Elements in "How I Learned English" | Write four to six sentences describing how the events of the poem take him from being an outsider to feeling accepted in his new community. | |||
| Short-Response Writing | Narrative Elements in "How I Learned English" | Compare the original ending with the version in which most of the vivid language has been taken out. Write three to four sentences explaining how the original version helps you visualize and understand the poem’s story. | |||
| Short-Response Writing | Narrative Elements in "How I Learned English" | Write a short paragraph in which you evaluate what makes the poem effective and give your opinion of the poem overall. | |||
| Short-Response Writing | Narrative Elements in "How I Learned English" | Now that you have written your critique, find a peer or adult to present it to. To prepare for your presentation: ■Read through your draft and correct any errors in language and conventions. ■Think about who your audience will be, and adapt your word choice to engage them. ■Practice reading your critique aloud. While delivering your presentation: ■Speak slowly, clearly, and with adequate volume. ■Make eye contact and use a variety of natural gestures. | |||
| Short-Response Writing | Capitals and Commas | Write three to five sentences explaining what should be done to edit this paragraph for errors. | |||
| Short-Response Writing | Writing an Analysis of a Literary Character | Write a compare-and-contrast analysis of how Greg Ridley from "The Treasure of Lemon Brown" changes from the beginning of the story to the end. | |||
| Short-Response Writing | Freedom Fighters: Viewpoint in an Article about Malala Yousafzai | Write two to four sentences explaining how Malala’s “situation demanded that she grow up before she should have.” | |||
| Short-Response Writing | Freedom Fighters: Viewpoint in an Article about Malala Yousafzai | Based on what you have learned about Malala’s viewpoints and setting, why is a blog a good way for Malala to speak up? Write two to four sentences explaining your answer. | |||
| Short-Response Writing | Setting in We've Got a Job | Write two to four sentences explaining how the author’s use of second- and third-person point of view helps readers understand the Children’s March. | |||
| Short-Response Writing | Reader Connections in We've Got a Job | Write two to three sentences describing how the author helps readers connect to the people and events of the past. | |||
| Short-Response Writing | Reader Connections in We've Got a Job | How does the author’s choice of the word “muscle” help readers picture Bull Connor as a bully? Write two to three sentences explaining your answer. | |||
| Short-Response Writing | Tone and Style in Online Writing | Imagine you are starting a blog. Write four to seven sentences encouraging readers to learn about the petition and support Malala’s cause. | |||
| Short-Response Writing | Narrative Structure in We've Got a Job | Write two to three sentences describing what Arnetta’s story shows about the setting and conflict of the story. | |||
| Short-Response Writing | Multiple Stories in We've Got a Job | Write five to six sentences that describe how Arnetta and Wash experienced the same event in different ways. | |||
| Short-Response Writing | Multiple Stories in We've Got a Job | Write a brief five- to six-sentence summary of We’ve Got a Job. | |||
| Short-Response Writing | Writing an Argumentative Essay about Education | Write a research-based argumentative essay for or against free education for children worldwide. | |||
| Short-Response Writing | Visions of the Past and Future: Structure in "I Hear America Singing" | Write three to five sentences describing the picture this poem creates by using repetition and free verse. | |||
| Short-Response Writing | Visions of the Past and Future: Structure in "I Hear America Singing" | Whitman compares America to a group of people singing, like a choir. Write one to two sentences explaining the ideas this metaphor communicates about America. | |||
| Short-Response Writing | Combining Sources to Understand the Life of Abraham Lincoln | Based on what you have read, write two or three sentences describing what Knob Creek was like when Lincoln lived there. | |||
| Short-Response Writing | Persuasion in Susan B. Anthony's "On Women's Right to Vote" | Based on Susan B. Anthony’s speech, write two to three sentences explaining why women should have the right to vote. | |||
| Short-Response Writing | Persuasion in Susan B. Anthony's "On Women's Right to Vote" | Based on the elements you just identified, write one to three sentences explaining whether Anthony’s argument is strong. | |||
| Short-Response Writing | Argumentation in "The Girl Who Silenced the World for Five Minutes" | Based on what you have read, write two to three sentences explaining the message of Severn Cullis-Suzuki’s speech. | |||
| Short-Response Writing | Argumentation in "The Girl Who Silenced the World for Five Minutes" | Write one to two sentences comparing how the author connects to the audience in the written version of the speech and the video version. | |||
| Short-Response Writing | Persuasion and Tone in a Speech | Write a short speech that persuades students and parents to choose the bake-sale fundraiser instead of the car-wash fundraiser. | |||
| Short-Response Writing | Central Ideas in Eleanor Roosevelt's "What I Hope to Leave Behind" | Write two to three sentences paraphrasing this passage from “What I Hope to Leave Behind.” | |||
| Short-Response Writing | Central Ideas in Eleanor Roosevelt's "What I Hope to Leave Behind" | Based on the final paragraph and what you remember from the speech overall, write three to four sentences summarizing what Roosevelt hopes to leave behind. | |||
| Short-Response Writing | Word Relationships: Accurate and Interesting Words | Choose the word that best completes the analogy. Then, write a few sentences explaining why it is the best answer. | |||
| Short-Response Writing | Heroes of the People: Fact and Folktale in The People Could Fly | Based on this passage, write two to four sentences explaining why enslaved people might have seen Uncle John as a hero. | |||
| Short-Response Writing | Heroes of the People: Fact and Folktale in The People Could Fly | After reviewing the passage from “The People Could Fly,” write two to four sentences explaining which details are factual and which are fictional. | |||
| Short-Response Writing | Personification in The People Could Fly | Write two to four sentences explaining the lesson Bruh Rabbit learns from his experience with the sword. | |||
| Short-Response Writing | Personification in The People Could Fly | Based on the three fables you read, write two to three sentences describing what enslaved African Americans believed rabbits were like. | |||
| Short-Response Writing | Characters in The People Could Fly | Write three to four sentences describing how either Manuel or Anton responds to the climax of the story. Explain what this reaction shows about the character | |||
| Short-Response Writing | Setting and Dialect in The People Could Fly | Visualize the scene created in the passage. Use your own words to describe in detail what you see, hear, and smell. | |||
| Short-Response Writing | Setting and Dialect in The People Could Fly | Write two to three sentences explaining how listening to part of the fable helps you visualize the setting. | |||
| Short-Response Writing | Point of View and Viewpoint in The People Could Fly | Read the passages. Then, write two to three sentences comparing Jim’s viewpoint on escaping from slavery with the nonfiction narrator’s viewpoint on escaping from slavery. | |||
| Short-Response Writing | Conflict and Theme in The People Could Fly | Write two to three sentences describing how Wiley’s handling of the conflict proves he is the protagonist and hero of this story. | |||
| Short-Response Writing | Conflict and Theme in The People Could Fly | Based on the resolution, summarize the story’s message about what it means to be a hero. | |||
| Short-Response Writing | Repetition in The People Could Fly | Write three to five sentences analyzing how one of the folktales builds suspense. You may choose either tale. | |||
| Short-Response Writing | Repetition in The People Could Fly | Write two to three sentences explaining how the suspense within the story makes the climax of “Better Wait Till Martin Comes” funny. | |||
| Short-Response Writing | Heroism and Battling Adversity: Structure in “The Charge of the Light Brigade” | Write three to five sentences explaining how Tennyson uses repetition and rhyme to show what the battle was like. | |||
| Short-Response Writing | Cause and Effect in An American Plague | Based on the passage and what you have learned in the lesson, write three to four sentences explaining whether dipping letters in vinegar to prevent the spread of yellow fever was a good conclusion. | |||
| Short-Response Writing | Cause and Effect in An American Plague | Based on the passage and what you have learned in the lesson, write three to five sentences describing the central ideas that people wanted the plague to be over and that the disease was not yet gone. | |||
| Short-Response Writing | First-Person Point of View in Fever 1793 | Write two to three sentences describing how the characters in the story help you understand what it was like to live in Philadelphia in 1793. | |||
| Short-Response Writing | Writing a Comparison of Fiction and Nonfiction | Write a topic sentence for a paragraph that responds to this prompt: “How does this fictional account of the yellow fever epidemic help draw readers into the historical facts of the event.” | |||
| Short-Response Writing | Writing a Comparison of Fiction and Nonfiction | Write a paragraph explaining how this fictional account of the yellow fever epidemic helps draw readers into the historical facts of the event. | |||
| Short-Response Writing | Characterization and Central Ideas in A Night to Remember | Write three to four sentences describing the effect of focusing on the characters instead of on the ship’s sinking. | |||
| Short-Response Writing | Language and Purpose in Exploring the Titanic | Write two to four sentences describing the mood at the beginning of Exploring the Titanic and how it changes in the second half of the story. | |||
| Short-Response Writing | Choosing Precise Words to Eliminate Wordiness and Redundancy | Rewrite the sentences to eliminate wordiness and redundancy: “The balloon quickly rocketed up into the really cold air. We were scared and frightened because it was moving really fast. However, it was all good in the end.” | |||
| Short-Response Writing | Choosing Precise Words to Eliminate Wordiness and Redundancy | Write one to three sentences describing the scene in the image on the left. | |||
| Short-Response Writing | Looking Out for Others: Allegory in "Aunty Misery" | The final lines of the folktale state: “And that is why there are two things you can always count on running into in this world: Misery and Death: La miseria y la muerte.” Write one to three sentences explaining the lesson of the folktale. | |||
| Short-Response Writing | Characters in "Rikki-Tikki-Tavi" | Write three to four sentences explaining how the conflict between the cobra family and Rikki-tikki creates the plot of the story | |||
| Short-Response Writing | Writing Effective Interview Questions | Write five questions for an interview with Rikki-tikki-tavi about the events of this passage. | |||
| Short-Response Writing | Character and Theme in "The Gentleman of Rio en Medio" | Rewrite the end of the story from the point of view of one of the children of Río en Medio. | |||
| Short-Response Writing | Character and Theme in "The Gentleman of Rio en Medio" | Based on Don Anselmo’s actions and the way the narrator describes Don Anselmo, write one or two sentences describing the story’s theme. | |||
| Short-Response Writing | Making Inferences about "Birdfoot's Grampa" | Rewrite these lines from the poem by changing the metaphor to a simile: | |||
| Short-Response Writing | Making Inferences about "Birdfoot's Grampa" | Based on the conclusion "Grampa shows that it is worth the risk and time it takes to help the toads," write a theme statement showing the poem's deeper meaning or message. | |||
| Short-Response Writing | Conflict and Plot Structure in Robin Hood | Write three to five sentences describing how Robin Hood’s pride brings him into conflict with the archer, the sheriff, and the king. | |||
| Short-Response Writing | Conflict and Plot Structure in Robin Hood | Write three to five sentences describing how shared conflict with the sheriff brings the other characters closer together. | |||
| Short-Response Writing | Creating a Multimedia Presentation | Write a plan for your presentation that explains the steps you will take to convince your town representatives to hold a celebration of local heroes. |