English Language Arts — Grade 7

Resources on the web

Elements of folktales

In this ARTSEDGE lesson, students explore the common elements of folktales and tall tales while learning how these tales built the spirit of American people. Students read traditional folktales and view filmed versions of those stories. They discuss the... (Learn more)

Format: lesson plan (grade 5–8 English Language Arts and Theater Arts Education)

Provided by: ArtsEdge

E-pals around the world

This lesson from ReadWriteThink helps teachers select e-pals for their students and develop real-life writing and learning experiences for them. Students learn the format of a friendly letter and the parts of an e-mail message. With careful selection of... (Learn more)

Format: lesson plan (grade 6–8 Computer/Technology Skills, English Language Arts, and Information Skills)

Provided by: ReadWriteThink

Developing a definition of reading through analysis in middle school

Students interact with a variety of different texts to uncover a broader meaning of reading. (Learn more)

Format: lesson plan (grade 6–7 English Language Arts)

Provided by: IRA/NCTE

Deep-sea technology

Students will discuss the story of the biblical flood and the theory of how the flood may have occurred. (Learn more)

Format: lesson plan (grade 7 English Language Arts and Social Studies)

Provided by: National Geographic

Culture shock

In this Xpeditions lesson, students explore how cultural customs differ throughout the world. Activities in this lesson engage students in whole class discussion, online learning, creation of a project, and writing assignments. Students will:... (Learn more)

Format: lesson plan (grade 6–7 English Language Arts and Social Studies)

Provided by: National Geographic

Critical media literacy: Commercial advertising

Conducting an evaluation of television and magazine advertisements, students critique the effect mass media has on American culture. (Learn more)

Format: lesson plan (grade 7–8 English Language Arts)

Provided by: IRA/NCTE

Critical literacy: Point of view

Students learn to look at texts from different viewpoints. (Learn more)

Format: lesson plan (grade 6–7 English Language Arts)

Provided by: IRA/NCTE

Creative communication frames: Discovering similarities between writing and art

Students will build a comparative frame to explore the creative processes of writing and art as communication. (Learn more)

Format: lesson plan (grade 7 Visual Arts Education and English Language Arts)

Provided by: IRA/NCTE

Choosing, chatting, and collecting: Vocabulary self-collection strategy

Students are introduced to the vocabulary self-collection strategy, using an online Shakespeare text as an example. (Learn more)

Format: lesson plan (grade 7 English Language Arts)

Provided by: IRA/NCTE

Choose your own adventure: A Hypertext writing experience

In this lesson students create original “Choose Your Own Adventure” stories and using web-authoring software, develop their own Internet sites with the parts of the story hyperlinked to each other. After a review of setting, character development,... (Learn more)

Format: lesson plan (grade 6–8 Computer/Technology Skills and English Language Arts)

Provided by: ReadWriteThink

Children of war

Explores the realities and effects of war on children by examining diaries, journals, and letters written by children during times of war. (Learn more)

Format: lesson plan (grade 6–8 English Language Arts)

Provided by: The Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts

Childhood Remembrances: Life and Art Intersect in Nikki Giovanni's "Nikki-Rosa"

Adapted from Carol Jago's Nikki Giovanni in the Classroom, this ReadWriteThink lesson invites students to explore what Jago calls the place "where life and art intersect." Students complete a close reading of Giovanni's poem "Nikki-Rosa" and then... (Learn more)

Format: lesson plan (grade 6–8 English Language Arts)

Provided by: ReadWriteThink

Book reviews, annotation, and web technology

In this lesson from ReadWriteThink, students will write a group book review, taking notes in their journals throughout the reading and discussion process; write short research papers as annotations for their reviews; and post them to the Web, demonstrating... (Learn more)

Format: lesson plan (grade 7 English Language Arts)

Provided by: IRA/NCTE

Book report alternative: Summary, symbol, and analysis in bookmarks

Students practice summarizing, recognizing symbols, and writing reviews—all while writing for an authentic audience. (Learn more)

Format: lesson plan (grade 7 English Language Arts)

Provided by: IRA/NCTE

Book report alternative: Comic strips and cartoon squares

This lesson incorporates student handouts and a comic creator interactive to encourage student creativity and expression. (Learn more)

Format: lesson plan (grade 6–7 English Language Arts)

Provided by: IRA/NCTE

Beyond the story: A Dickens of a party

In this lesson from ReadWriteThink, students are invited to attend a 19th Century party as a character from Charles Dickens' A Christmas Carol. To play their roles, students must understand the values and customs that Dickens' characters represented... (Learn more)

Format: lesson plan (grade 6–8 English Language Arts)

Provided by: ReadWriteThink

Ancient Egypt: Stories and myths

In this Xpeditions lesson, students examine stories and myths about ancient Egypt through time. (Learn more)

Format: lesson plan (grade 3 and 7 English Language Arts and Social Studies)

Provided by: National Geographic

Alphabiography project: Totally you

In this lesson, students are engaged in a narrative writing project after reading James Howe's Totally Joe, a young adult novel about a boy named Joe who deals with many adolescent issues—friendships, school, and coming... (Learn more)

Format: lesson plan (grade 6–8 English Language Arts)

Provided by: ReadWriteThink