English Language Arts — Grade 7

How do I look to you?

In this lesson, students will evaluate public service posters and a grooming pamphlet to determine if and how propaganda was used to improve the health of children, and define acceptable appearances for young women in the 1930s.

Format: lesson plan (grade 5–8 and 11 English Language Arts)

By Loretta Wilson.

Is Mr. Wolf Really a Bad Guy?

This lesson is intended to show children the importance of evaluating information as they read. The author's point of view is limited in that it only truly shows one side of the story. There is always another perspective. How the author views a subject colors everything that he or she writes about.

Format: lesson plan (grade 7 English Language Arts)

By Leslie Pate.

Issues, we've all got them: Language arts/visual arts integration

Students will learn how to deal positively with social issues important in their lives through personal investigation of social issues addressed in literature and art.

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

By Runell Carpenter.

Teaching Point of View

Students will learn point of view by comparing and contrasting the views of slaves and a doctor in The People Could Fly retold by Virginia Hamilton and The Passing Cloud -- The Southern Negro by David Morrill.

I strongly suggest the teacher previews The Passing Cloud -- The Southern Negro by David Morrill. The entire text is not needed in order for students to form an opinion or to learn point of view. Some students and parents may find the language offensive. I found the text interesting because it allows students to actually read the historical views of some people who lived in the area during the 1800's and early 1900's.

Format: lesson plan (grade 7 English Language Arts)

By Angela Strother.

Uncovering Assumptions through Critical Writing

Students will learn to identify assumptions and propaganda techniques in advertisements. They will then use these techniques to create their own advertisement for a product and write a business letter persuading a company to produce their product.

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

By Rennie Lee.

Lesson plans on the web

Alphabiography project: Totally you

In this lesson, students write alphabiographies recording an event, person, object, or feeling associated with each letter of the alphabet after reading Totally Joe by James Howe. (Learn more)

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

Provider: IRA/NCTE

Analyzing advice as an introduction to Shakespeare

Students read and analyze the advice given in Mary Schmich's 1997 Chicago Tribune column “Advice, Like Youth, Probably Just Wasted on the Young,” as an introduction to studying the advice that Polonius gives to Laertes in Shakespeare's Hamlet. (Learn more)

Format: lesson plan (grade 7 English Language Arts)

Provider: IRA/NCTE

Audience, purpose, and language use in electronic messages

Investigates formal and informal language through an examination of language used in electronic messages and how it affects other writing. (Learn more)

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

Provider: IRA/NCTE

Book report alternative: Creating a childhood for a character

In this lesson, students examine the character traits of an adult character in a book they have read, create a childhood for the character, and describe that childhood in the form of a short story, journal entry, or time capsule letter. (Learn more)

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

Provider: 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)

Provider: IRA/NCTE

Cosmic oranges: Observation and inquiry through descriptive writing and art

This lesson employs scientific observation, descriptive writing, sketching, reading, investigation, and poetry writing to train students to use their senses and focus their attention. (Learn more)

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

Provider: 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)

Provider: IRA/NCTE

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)

Provider: IRA/NCTE

Don't be fooled by a photograph

Students will discuss how a photograph conveys information, and how changing that photograph can change its message. (Learn more)

Format: lesson plan (grade 5–10 Information Skills, English Language Arts, and Social Studies)

Provider: National Geographic

Entering history: Nikki Giovanni and Martin Luther King, Jr.

Students read Martin Luther King Jr.’s “I Have a Dream” speech in conjunction with Nikki Giovanni’s poem “The Funeral of Martin Luther King, Jr.” in order to better understand the speech and the impact it had on observers like Giovanni during the Civil Rights movement and Americans today. (Learn more)

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

Provider: IRA/NCTE

Exploring author's voice using Jane Addams Award-winning books

This lesson uses Jane Addams Award-winning books to explore author's voice and style. (Learn more)

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

Provider: IRA/NCTE

Expository escapade-Detective's handbook

In this lesson, students combine reading the detective fiction genre with expository writing. (Learn more)

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

Provider: IRA/NCTE

In the poet's shoes: Performing poetry and building meaning

In this lesson, students participate in a webquest that challenges them to analyze a variety of poets and their poetry by reading and listening to their work. (Learn more)

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

Provider: IRA/NCTE

Inquiry on the internet: Evaluating Web pages for a class collection

Students conduct a class inquiry project, individually or in groups, collecting Web-based resources that can be used for further study during the course of the class or for more in-depth projects. (Learn more)

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

Provider: IRA/NCTE

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

Students interview a partner and write an article, write a personal memoir, take partner photographs, and use the Internet to find pictures and information illustrating their partner's interests. (Learn more)

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

Provider: IRA/NCTE