Grade 7 ELA Curriculum Modules
The Grade 7 curriculum modules are designed to address CCLS ELA outcomes during a 45-50 minute English Language Arts class. The overarching focus for all
modules is building students’ literacy skills as they develop knowledge about
the world.
Each MODULE provides 8 eight weeks of instruction, broken into
three shorter units. Each module includes one end-of-module performance task as
well as mid-unit and end-of-unit assessments for all three units
Taken as a whole, these modules are designed to give teachers concrete strategies to address the “shifts” required by the CCLS.
Grade 7, Module 2A Overview
Grade 7, Module 2A Assessments
Grade 7, Module 2A Performance Task
modules is building students’ literacy skills as they develop knowledge about
the world.
Each MODULE provides 8 eight weeks of instruction, broken into
three shorter units. Each module includes one end-of-module performance task as
well as mid-unit and end-of-unit assessments for all three units
Taken as a whole, these modules are designed to give teachers concrete strategies to address the “shifts” required by the CCLS.
Grade 7, Module 2A Overview
Grade 7, Module 2A Assessments
Grade 7, Module 2A Performance Task
Unit 1: This unit
builds students background knowledge about what working conditions are and how
they affect workers in America prior to the Civil War by reading the novel Lyddie.
This text describes a girl who goes to work in the Lowell textile
mills. As students conduct a close read
of the text the focus is on how working conditions in the mill affect
Lyddie. Students will evaluate Lyddie’s
choices around joining the protest over working conditions. As students read,
they track factors in her decision, and then they craft an argument about
whether or not she should sign the petition. As students read Lyddie, they are
encouraged to generate questions about how working conditions have or have not
changed. These questions will drive students’ research about the modern-day
garment industry in Unit 3.
Unit 2: In this unit, students are introduced to working conditions of a variety of workers in the United States throughout history. Beginning with a speech by César Chávez, students will analyze the response to the difficult working and living conditions faced by agricultural workers. This is primarily a reading unit, and it focuses on students’ ability to determine the central ideas of a text and analyze how they are developed, understand how people and events interact in that text, and consider how an author organizes a text so that each section of the text relates to the central claim. Finally, students will apply their understanding of text structure to analyze a new speech by Chávez.
Unit 3: Primarily a writing unit, students will explore how businesses can affect working conditions, both positively and negatively. First, students are introduced to the idea of current working conditions through a short case study on Wegmans, a popular New York employer. Students will engage in a short research project on current working conditions in the garment industry. In particular, students will learn to gather relevant information, ask supporting research questions, and paraphrase information from sources. As students research, they will keep track of their notes in the researcher’s notebook. Students will then synthesize the information they gathered in their research into several paragraphs. As a final performance task, students create a consumer’s guide (targeting a teenage audience) to buying clothing. This guide provides an overview of working conditions and explains how consumers might respond to this information.
Unit 2: In this unit, students are introduced to working conditions of a variety of workers in the United States throughout history. Beginning with a speech by César Chávez, students will analyze the response to the difficult working and living conditions faced by agricultural workers. This is primarily a reading unit, and it focuses on students’ ability to determine the central ideas of a text and analyze how they are developed, understand how people and events interact in that text, and consider how an author organizes a text so that each section of the text relates to the central claim. Finally, students will apply their understanding of text structure to analyze a new speech by Chávez.
Unit 3: Primarily a writing unit, students will explore how businesses can affect working conditions, both positively and negatively. First, students are introduced to the idea of current working conditions through a short case study on Wegmans, a popular New York employer. Students will engage in a short research project on current working conditions in the garment industry. In particular, students will learn to gather relevant information, ask supporting research questions, and paraphrase information from sources. As students research, they will keep track of their notes in the researcher’s notebook. Students will then synthesize the information they gathered in their research into several paragraphs. As a final performance task, students create a consumer’s guide (targeting a teenage audience) to buying clothing. This guide provides an overview of working conditions and explains how consumers might respond to this information.