COURSE TITLE: SEVENTH GRADE LANGUAGE ARTS LITERATURE

REVISED BY MRS. MAUREEN OLIVIA BAXTER

AUGUST 2000

DURATION ONE SCHOOL YEAR

COURSE STATUS: THE COURSE IS REQUIRED

PHILOSOPHY

All students can learn to read competently through quality instruction that provides opportunities for them to actively engage in literacy experiences. Those experiences should be supportive of the New Jersey Core Content Curriculum Standards and the district adopted Course Proficiencies. Thus, this Seventh Grade Language Arts Literature course will provide students with the opportunity to become proficient readers by developing specific reading skills and strategies that will empower them to become competent, adept readers as well as forming an appreciation for literature. Additionally, through instructional strategies that encourage development of reading, writing, listening, viewing, and speaking, students will be given a solid foundation upon which to build emerging skills, enhance existing skills and refine acquired skills.

GOALS

The Seventh Grade Language Arts Literature course goals are:

Ø To develop an appreciation for literature and literacy experiences

Ø To develop a comprehensive study of the various literary genres (short stories, drama, poetry, myths and folk tales, and novels)

Ø To use literature to teach skills mastery, critical reading, writing, grammar, speaking, and listening

Ø To develop proficiency in specific skill and content areas stipulated in the curriculum

Ø To expand vocabulary to improve reading comprehension and understanding

Ø To teach strategies to become skillful, intelligent readers

Ø To communicate significant ideas through writing and speech

Ø To learn how to answer open-ended questions

Ø To explore narrative, informational, persuasive and everyday texts

Ø To explore New Jersey Registered Holistic Scoring Rubric for scoring speaking, open-ended questions, and writing samples

Ø To strengthen and further develop study skills and strategies

Ø To provide technological access for assigned reports and projects

COURSE PROFICIENCIES ~ ROLE OF THE STUDENT

All students enrolled in the Seventh Grade Language - Literature course student are expected to:

Ø Follow all written and established classroom routines, practices and procedures as designated by the district curriculum, student handbook and the classroom teacher

Ø Meet attendance, grading, and discipline requirements as listed in the Burlington City Junior School Student Handbook

Ø Keep an organized, informed, and legible notebook

Ø Keep a reading response and vocabulary journals

Ø Be responsible for writing assignments in the Burlington City Junior School Agenda Book and completing them on time

Ø Listen attentively to the teacher and classmates

Ø Develop good speaking and listening skills by participating in class discussions, debates, and panel discussions

Ø Work independently and collaboratively in small groups to complete projects

Ø Accept and value the cultures, customs, and behaviors of others

Ø Use active reading strategies to understand a selection

Ø Use the "Guides for Reading" which includes the biography of the author, literary focus, reading focus, and vocabulary list

Ø Demonstrate comprehension of a selection by responding to personal, literal, interpretive, and applied skills

Ø Understand literary concepts and appreciate writers' techniques

Ø Apply critical reading and thinking skills necessary for understanding literature

Ø Write creative or analytical process-oriented writing assignments about the selections in response journals

Ø Summarize and analyze the particular types of literature and comprehend the literary elements and devices in them

Ø Use a systematic approach to vocabulary development

Ø Understand and apply literary techniques and terms

Ø Effectively use media center and computer lab for presentations and projects

Ø Use appropriate strategies and tips practiced when answering open-ended question

Ø Critically read narrative, informational, "Everyday" and persuasive or argumentative texts

Ø Use the New Jersey Registered Holistic Scoring Rubric to score speaking, open-ended questions, and writing samples

Ø Become familiar with content, skills, questioning techniques and formats that you will encounter on proficiency tests

Ø Develop study skills, techniques, and strategies to become a life-long learner

Ø Research a topic, write a report, and cite sources of information using the media center and relevant technologies

Ø Create meaningful book report projects about favorite books read leisurely

CURRICULUM OBJECTIVES

At the conclusion of the Seventh Grade Language Arts Literature course the following reading skills will be taught through literary genres with direct emphasis on comprehension, application, and demonstration of skill proficiency. In addition, all students need to be proficient in basic study skills, vocabulary development skills, test-taking skills, and organizational skills. Students also need to be exposed and expected to demonstrate other culturally and socially relevant skills that will prepare them for the work place and the real world. Thus, the student will be able to:

Ø Read and appreciate short story, drama, nonfiction, poetry, myths and folk tales, and novels

Ø Become familiar with the elements of the short story, drama, nonfiction, poetry, myths and folk tales, and novels

Ø Use critical thinking and reading strategies to gain fuller understanding of the short story, drama, nonfiction, poetry, myths and folk tales, and novels

Ø Develop strategies for understanding and appreciating the words in a short story, drama, nonfiction, poetry, myths and folk tales, and novels

Ø Use the short story, drama, nonfiction, poetry, myths and folk tales, and novels as a springboard and vehicle for writing imaginatively and critically

Ø Apply study skills and strategies to become a better student and a life-long learner

Ø Use integration, repetition, and meaningful use in vocabulary development to increase reading comprehension

Ø Use the four step strategies to answer open-ended questions

Ø Enable students to effectively apply test-taking strategies that will prepare them for proficiency and standardized testing formats

Ø Empower students with the ability to manage their lifestyles and adjust to the demands placed upon them academically, socially, and culturally

Ø Develop and promote self sufficiency, student responsibility, and independence to prepare students to become responsible citizens and leaders

Ø Enable students to extend their literacy experiences beyond the classroom by applying academic skills to resources used within their social and cultural environments

Ø Use metacognition skills to apply reading skills and strategies to the access the content areas

STUDENT OBJECTIVES

The Seventh Grade Language Arts Literature course will enable the student to:

Ø SHORT STORY

v Plot

§ Learn how to read a short story actively

§ Understand the elements of suspense

§ Understand a character's decisions

§ Write an interior monologue

§ Understand plot elements in a short story

§ Recognize a chronological sequence of events

§ Write a story with a strong plot

§ Understand conflict in a short story

§ Recognize stereotypes in a short story

§ Write a diary entry for a character in a short story

§ Identify details that create suspense

§ Write a letter proposing a suspenseful short story to a magazine

§ Understand and predict unexpected endings

§ Write about a surprise

§ Understand point of view in a short story

§ Consider other points of view

§ Write a response from a different point of view

§ Recognize the text organization of events for open-ended questions

§ Write responses to open-ended questions about central idea and supporting details

v Character

§ Understand character traits

§ Compare and contrast characters

§ Write a character sketch

§ Write a paragraph using comparison and contrast

§ Understand motivation

§ Write a letter of advice

§ Understand characterization

§ Identify major and minor characters

§ Make inferences about characters

§ Write a composition about luck

§ Understand the development of two major character

§ Write about characters

§ Recognize the text organization of characters for open-ended questions

v Setting

§ Understand the setting of a short story

§ Understand the effect of the setting on the plot

§ Write a letter describing a place

§ Understand setting and conflict

§ Recognize a historical setting

§ Write an extension of a story

§ Recognize time in a setting

§ Understand how time affects characters

§ Write a time-travel story

§ Recognize the passage of time in a short story

§ Compare and contrast a place over time

§ Write a story contrasting a place over time

§ Recognize the text organization of setting for open-ended questions

v Theme

§ Identify and paraphrase the stated theme in a story

§ Explain why a certain motto is appropriate in a given situation

§ Recognize and respond to the implied theme of a short story

§ Summarize a story

§ Understand the theme through characters

§ Recognize the writer's purpose

§ Write a response to a theme in a short story

§ Understand the universal theme of a short story

§ Understand how to read between the lines (apply inference skills)

§ Recognize the theme of a science-fiction short story

§ Understand how a character reasons in a short story

§ Write a report about a science fiction event

§ Review a short story

§ Make inferences about conflict

§ Show how to explain internal conflict on a television program

Ø DRAMA

v Understand the importance of dialogue

v Make inferences about characters based on dialogue

v Write about dialogue

v Understand the importance of stage directions in drama

v Make the connection between staging and dramatist's purpose

v Write about staging

v Recognize conflict in drama

v Identify invalid conclusions

v Write an extension to a play

v Understand the plot and exposition of a drama

v Recognize foreshadowing

v Write a summary of a drama that could be read aloud for entertainment

v Connect character and theme

v Support an opinion of a character

v Write a review of a play

v Write responses to open-ended questions about drama

Ø NONFICTION

v Learn how to read nonfiction actively

v Understand essays about people

v Understand the main idea

v Write about a remembered person

v Understand and write a biography

v Learn about the scientific method

v Understand the autobiography; write an autobiographical sketch

v Compare and contrast characters

v Understand the narrator in a biography

v Understand stereotypes

v Write about a school experience

v Understand the third person narrative in autobiography; write a third person sketch

v Recognize objective and subjective details

v Understand the features of the narrative essay

v Learn how to consider other perspectives

v Create a television program based on a narrative essay

v Understand the features of a humorous essay; create one

v Identify exaggeration in a humorous essay

v Understand and write descriptive essays

v Separate fact from opinion in an essay

v Understand the features of an expository essay; write one

v Experiment with a writer's suggestion

v Understand and write a persuasive essay

v Appreciate contrast between cultures

v Practice outlining

v Understand inductive reasoning

v Set a purpose for reading

v Evaluate art criticism

v Write about a painting

v Use varying rates of reading

v Identify supporting arguments

v Write descriptively with short word.

v Understand journal writing; write a journal entry

v Distinguish observation from inference

v Develop note-taking skills

v Understand cause and effect

v Understand how techniques and ideas work together in non action

v Understand an essay describing an event

v Infer author's purpose

v Describe an event

v Write responses to open-ended questions about characters, setting, and events in a novel

Ø POETRY

v Learn how to read poetry actively

v Understand theme in poetry

v Understand a poet's purpose

v Understand the features of narrative poetry

v Follow sequence of events

v Summarize a narrative poem

v Understand the part that rhythm and repetition play in poetry

v Evaluate the effects of rhythm and repetition in poetry

v Imitate the rhythm of a poem

v Evaluate the effects of rhyme

v Write various types of poems (rhymed, narrative, concrete haiku, lyric, and humorous)

v Understand the speaker in a narrative poetry

v Make inferences about a speaker

v Add to a narrative poem

v Understand simile; write with similes

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