English Language Arts — Grade 7

Seeing two poems

This lesson will teach students how to actively read a poem and identify poetic devices.

Format: lesson plan (grade 7 English Language Arts)

By Karyn A. Gloden.

Poetry through music: "Smooth"

This lesson draws students into a study of poetry, using Carlos Santana and Rob Thomas' "Smooth" as an entry point.

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

By Andrea Belletti.

Poetry from prose: A different kind of "book report"

Students use a word-processing program to write a poem that summarizes important themes or events central to the plot of a novel. Once the poem is proofread, students type the poem according to specific directions. They then print their work and illustrate over or around the writing for an illustrated "book report." Students incorporate details from the novel in their writing and in their illustrations of their poems. In this way, students focus on the themes or events in the novel that appeal to them most -- the ones they feel are most important to the novel's meaning.

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

By Sally Watts.

Grammar Scramblers, spreadsheets, and parts of speech

Students use and create Grammar Scramblers with a spreadsheet in order to practice identifying and using parts of speech in a fun way.

Format: lesson plan (grade 3–9 English Language Arts)

By Tom Munk.

Feel in the blanks

The following lesson is designed to function as a review of beginning, middle, and end and an introduction to individualized imagination, creativity, and perspective as it relates to the development of dialogue (i.e. improvisation).

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

By Lei Knight.

Elements of a fable

In this lesson students will examine the elements of a fable. Students will use their understanding of fable elements to create an original fable and present it in dramatic form. This lesson includes modifications and alternative assessments for Advanced Limited English Proficient students.

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

By Kate Boyce.

Resources on the web

You know the movie is coming—Now what?

After exploring cinematic terms, students read a literary work with director's eyes and then try to predict what elements would be present in the film version of the book. (Learn more)

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

Provided by: IRA/NCTE

The world of Haiku

Students explore the traditions and conventions of haiku, comparing this classic form of Japanese poetry to a related genre of Japanese visual art and composing haiku of their own. (Learn more)

Format: lesson plan (grade 7 and 9 Visual Arts Education, English Language Arts, and Social Studies)

Provided by: National Endowment for the Humanities

What am I? Teaching poetry through riddles

Students explore, analyze, and discuss how metaphor, simile, and metonymy are used in riddle poems. They use these poetic devices to write original riddle poems. (Learn more)

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

Provided by: IRA/NCTE

Using the four-square strategy to define and identify poetic terms

This lesson from ReadWriteThink helps young students understand poetry. Through the exploration of various poetry websites, students define terms and write poems using alliteration, assonance, simile, and rhyme. (Learn more)

Format: lesson plan (grade 7 English Language Arts)

Provided by: IRA/NCTE

Traveling the road to freedom through research and historical fiction

Students learn about and discuss slavery and the Underground Railroad in this lesson that explores historical fiction and webquests. Once students have brainstormed characteristics of historical fiction, the teacher reviews characterization and explains... (Learn more)

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

Provided by: ReadWriteThink

Set a poem to music

In this lesson, one of a multi-part unit from ARTSEDGE, students choose a favorite poem, set it to a rhythmic meter, and assign an original melody to the rhythm. (Learn more)

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

Provided by: The Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts

Scaling back to essentials: Scaffolding summarization with fishbone mapping

In this lesson, students work in pairs and cooperative groups as they complete fishbone maps that highlight the main ideas and relevant details from a cause-effect text. (Learn more)

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

Provided by: IRA/NCTE

Reading and analyzing multigenre texts

Teachers use Black and White by David Macaulay or another similar text to introduce multigenre literature. Afer reading the text, students work in small groups to consider all the connections Macaulay makes in the book and... (Learn more)

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

Provided by: ReadWriteThink

Promoting diversity in the classroom and school library through social action

Students explore stereotypes in children's picture books, such as Disney's Princess Collection, in order to identify the limited view established in these fictional worlds. (Learn more)

Format: lesson plan (grade 7 English Language Arts)

Provided by: IRA/NCTE

Press Conference for "Bud, Not Buddy"

This ReadWriteThink lesson can be used after the reading of Bud, Not Buddy, by Christopher Paul Curtis. The lesson encourages students to use higher-level thinking skills, and asks them to examine different character perspectives. Students... (Learn more)

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

Provided by: ReadWriteThink

Postmodern picture books in the middle school

Students learn to analyze plot and critique the author's intent in this lesson that focuses on Black and White by David Macaulay, a picture book that presents four story lines. Students will also explore multi-literacies and... (Learn more)

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

Provided by: ReadWriteThink

Pictures in Words: Poems of Tennyson and Noyes

Students will explore how poets Tennyson and Noyes use words to paint vivid and memorable pictures and describe how “word pictures” emphasize or qualify the meanings of their poems. (Learn more)

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

Provided by: National Endowment for the Humanities

Painting poetry: Using visual representation as a response to literature

Students are encouraged to think critically about what a poet is trying to say and the means he or she uses to convey these ideas. Interpreting a poem using visual representation helps students better understand their own beliefs about a poem. (Learn more)

Format: lesson plan (grade 7 English Language Arts)

Provided by: IRA/NCTE

The Ocean and Weather: El Niño and La Niña

In this lesson, from Xpeditions, students explore the weather phenomena El Niño and La Niña . (Learn more)

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

Provided by: National Geographic