English Language Arts — Grade 7

Survival! A Lesson for Language Arts and Novice ESL Students

Students brainstorm to orally identify and agree upon ten elements necessary for survival. Students will create a categorized chart of the items necessary for survival. Using the chart and working within groups, students will use the chart to create a Survival board game.

This lesson serves well as an introductory activity for students who will read a novel with a setting in another country or culture, or as the basis of comparing two different time periods or cultures.

It is modified for the Novice High English Language Learner.

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

By Cynthia Moretz.

Resource recon

Teams of students will search for the answers to questions using various information resources. The questions will be in categories such as: biography, current events, historical events, geography, language. Besides competing for the fastest answer, the students will learn (1) how to use the resource effectively and (2) which resource is best for finding different types of information.

Format: lesson plan (grade 4–7 English Language Arts and Information Skills)

By Keith Dudley.

Literature biography project

Students will learn to develop the various processes used in researching and writing a biographical research paper, including brainstorming, note taking, outlining, creating a bibliography, and writing the final draft.

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

By Sandra Dail.

Interpreting Diaries of the American South

Students will read diaries of individuals who lived in the American South from 1865-1917. After reading these diaries the students will use a visual means of displaying their interpretation. Visual presentations will be one of the following: shadow box, poster, PowerPoint using drawings done by the student, brochure, or presenting an item that would have been used during the time that their diary was written.

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

By Rhonda Sneeden.

Interdisciplinary Integrated Unit on DNA/Genetics Part C: Language Arts

The third lesson of an interdisciplinary integrated unit on DNA and genetics, focusing on language arts. The first two lessons in the unit focus on science and math.

Format: lesson plan (grade 7 English Language Arts and Information Skills)

By Jane Lentz, Jimmy White, Marlene Smith, and Tori Goldrick.

Resources on the web

Timelines and texts: Motivating students to read nonfiction

In this ReadWriteThink lesson, students use an historical timeline and their prior knowledge to predict when specific inventions were produced and explain their reasons for placing an invention in a particular year. During a paired thinking and sharing... (Learn more)

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

Provided by: ReadWriteThink

Play ball! Encouraging critical thinking through baseball questions

Students create a baseball-themed Jeopardy game after a read–aloud of Lou Gehrig: The Luckiest Man by David A. Adler. After the teacher explains the purpose of asking good questions, students... (Learn more)

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

Provided by: ReadWriteThink

Picture books as framing texts: Research paper strategies for struggling writers

In this ReadWriteThink lesson, picture books give students frames for structuring research projects, freeing them from the language of their encyclopedia sources and allowing them to focus their attention on the content of their papers. Using picture books... (Learn more)

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

Provided by: ReadWriteThink

Memories matter: "The Giver" and descriptive writing memoirs

In this lesson from ReadWriteThink, students will combine reading with descriptive writing. Students read The Giver by Lois Lowry, as well as short biographies, autobiographies, and memoirs in order to understand the differences between them.... (Learn more)

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

Provided by: ReadWriteThink

Live from ancient Olympia!

This page contains an EDSITEment lesson in which students have an opportunity to develop “live interviews” with ancient athletes that reflect an understanding of the beliefs that underlay the ancient Olympic Games. In addition, students will... (Learn more)

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

Provided by: ReadWriteThink

Let it grow: An inquiry-based organic gardening research project

In this lesson from ReadWriteThink, students learn about organic gardening by developing their own research questions, conducting research, and gardening at their school. They then create signs about their plants and present their research to the class... (Learn more)

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

Provided by: ReadWriteThink

Investigating the Holocaust: A collaborative inquiry project

In this ReadWriteThink lesson, students explore a variety of resources“texts, images, movies, artwork”to learn more about the Holocaust. Beginning with journal writings and a picture book to introduce the issues, the lesson plan focuses on student-centered... (Learn more)

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

Provided by: ReadWriteThink

Inventing and presenting unit 1: Analyzing nonfiction and inventing solutions

This lesson is part of a three-part unit from ReadWriteThink titled “Inventing and Presenting.” In this interdisciplinary unit, students use what they have learned about experimentation and the scientific method, critical thinking, clear writing,... (Learn more)

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

Provided by: ReadWriteThink

Introducing each other: Interviews, memoirs, photos, and internet research

In this lesson from ReadWriteThink, students read, write, speak, listen, and research as they interview a partner and write an article, write a personal memoir, take partner photographs, and use the Internet to find pictures and information illustrating... (Learn more)

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

Provided by: ReadWriteThink

The history behind song lyrics

In this lesson from ReadWriteThink, students research and categorize the people, places, and events referenced in the lyrics of Billy Joel's “We Didn't Start the Fire.” They then illustrate the historical relevance of each and use an online... (Learn more)

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

Provided by: ReadWriteThink

Cosmic oranges: Observation and inquiry through descriptive writing and art

The lesson is designed to enhance cognitive skills used in nearly every discipline and can serve as a prelude to an inquiry project, scientific investigation, art project, or descriptive writing assignment. After students work in collaborative groups to... (Learn more)

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

Provided by: ReadWriteThink

Cooking up descriptive language: Designing restaurant menus

Students create their own menus in this lesson after exploring sample menus and analyzing the use of adjectives and descriptive writing techniques. After students brainstorm the characteristics that they associate with restaurant menus, they work in groups... (Learn more)

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

Provided by: ReadWriteThink

Child labor: Giving voice to the industrial revolution through monologues

In this lesson from ReadWriteThink, students gather information using selected websites and explore issues related to child labor, particularly as it occurred in England and the United States during the Industrial Revolution. Students then use this information... (Learn more)

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

Provided by: ReadWriteThink

Campaigning for fair use: Public service announcements on copyright awareness

This multi–media unit introduces students to fair use and copyright rules. After evaluating their personal usage of text and media, students research actual laws using kid–friendly Internet sites that explain intellectual property rights. Students... (Learn more)

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

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 6–8 English Language Arts)

Provided by: ReadWriteThink