7th Grade ELA (Massachusetts Curriculum Frameworks)

Reading: Literature (RL)

• RL.7.1 Cite several pieces of evidence, quoting or paraphrasing, to support analysis of what a text says and implies.
• RL.7.2 Work out a theme or central idea, analyze how it develops and summarize the text objectively.
• RL.7.3 Analyze how story elements interact, e.g. how setting shapes characters or plot.
• RL.7.4 Work out figurative and connotative meanings and analyze how word choices, including repeated images, affect meaning, tone or mood.
• RL.7.5 Analyze how parts of a work's structure (repetition in an epic, flashback, soliloquy) add to meaning or style.
• RL.7.6 Analyze how an author builds and contrasts different characters' or narrators' points of view.
• RL.7.7 Compare a written story, play or poem with its audio, film, stage or multimedia version.
• RL.7.9 Compare a fictional picture of a time, place or character with a historical account to see how fiction uses or changes history.
• RL.7.10 Read and understand grade 7 literary texts of many genres, cultures and perspectives on your own.

Reading: Informational Text (RI)

• RI.7.1 Cite several pieces of evidence, quoting or paraphrasing, to support analysis of what a text says and implies.
• RI.7.2 Work out central ideas, analyze how they develop and summarize the text objectively.
• RI.7.3 Analyze how people, events and ideas in a text influence each other.
• RI.7.4 Work out figurative, connotative and technical meanings and analyze how a word choice affects meaning and tone.
• RI.7.5 Analyze how an author organizes a text, including how major sections and features add to the whole.
• RI.7.6 Work out the author's point of view or purpose and how the author sets their position apart from others'.
• RI.7.7 Compare a written text with an audio, video or multimedia version and how each medium presents the subject.
• RI.7.8 Trace and judge an argument: is the reasoning sound and the evidence relevant and enough?
• RI.7.9 Analyze how two or more authors on one topic shape their accounts by stressing different evidence or interpretations.
• RI.7.10 Read and understand grade 7 literary nonfiction of many genres, cultures and perspectives on your own.

Writing (W)

• W.7.1 Write arguments (essays, letters to the editor, advocacy speeches) backing claims with clear reasons and relevant evidence.
  • a. Introduce claims, recognize opposing claims and organize reasons and evidence logically.
  • b. Support claims with sound reasoning and relevant evidence from accurate, credible sources.
  • c. Use words, phrases and clauses to link claims, reasons and evidence smoothly.
  • d. Set up and keep a style that suits reader and purpose.
  • e. End with a conclusion that follows from and supports the argument.
• W.7.2 Write informative/explanatory texts that examine a topic by choosing, organizing and analyzing relevant content.
  • a. Introduce the topic with a preview and organize ideas by definition, classification, comparison or cause/effect, adding features if helpful.
  • b. Build the topic with relevant facts, definitions, details, quotations and examples.
  • c. Use suitable transitions to link ideas and show how they relate.
  • d. Use exact language and subject vocabulary.
  • e. Set up and keep a style that suits reader and purpose.
  • f. End with a conclusion that follows from and supports the explanation.
• W.7.3 Write narratives using literary techniques, relevant detail and well-structured events.
  • a. Draw the reader in with a context, point of view and narrator or characters, and order events sensibly.
  • b. Use dialogue, pacing and description to develop events and characters.
  • c. Use varied transitions to show order and changes of time or place.
  • d. Use exact words, detail and figurative and sensory language to set a mood and capture action.
  • e. End with a conclusion that reflects on the events.
• W.7.4 Produce clear, coherent writing whose development, organization and style fit the task, purpose and reader.
• W.7.5 Plan, revise, edit, rewrite or try a new approach, checking how well purpose and reader are served.
  • a. Use standard English conventions up to grade 7 Language Standards 1–3.
  • b. Choose accurate vocabulary for the reader and purpose, up to grade 7 Language Standards 4–6.
• W.7.6 Use technology, including web-based platforms, to produce and publish writing, link and cite sources and collaborate.
• W.7.7 Carry out short and longer research projects to answer a question, using several sources and raising focused new questions.
• W.7.8 Gather information from several sources with good search terms, judge credibility and accuracy, and quote or paraphrase without plagiarism with citations.
• W.7.9 Draw on evidence from literary or informational texts in analysis, interpretation, reflection and research.
• W.7.10 Write regularly over long and short time frames for many subject tasks, purposes and readers.

Speaking and Listening (SL)

• SL.7.1 Discuss grade 7 topics, texts and issues well in pairs, groups and class, building on others' ideas and stating your own clearly.
  • a. Come prepared and refer to evidence to probe and reflect on ideas.
  • b. Follow rules for respectful discussion, track progress toward goals and deadlines and give roles.
  • c. Ask questions that draw out detail and reply with relevant points that steer talk back on topic.
  • d. Take on board new information and change your views when the evidence supports it.
• SL.7.2 Analyze main ideas and details in different media and explain how they clarify a topic, text or issue.
• SL.7.3 Outline a speaker's argument and claims and judge if the reasoning holds up and the evidence is relevant and enough.
• SL.7.4 Present claims and findings in a focused, coherent way, stressing key points with relevant detail and good delivery.
• SL.7.5 Use multimedia and visuals in presentations to clarify claims and stress key points.
• SL.7.6 Adjust speech to the situation and task, showing command of formal English when needed.

Language (L)

• L.7.1 Use standard English grammar and usage in writing and speaking, keeping earlier skills.
  • a. Use phrases and clauses to express ideas exactly, choosing verb tenses with care.
  • b. Spot and fix vague pronouns whose antecedent is unclear.
  • c. Spot and fix shifts in pronoun number or person in longer sentences.
  • d. Know that moving a phrase or clause can add variety, stress links between ideas or change meaning.
• L.7.2 Use standard English capitals, punctuation and spelling when writing.
  • a. Separate coordinate adjectives with a comma (a fascinating, enjoyable movie).
  • b. Spell correctly, knowing some words have accepted variants.
• L.7.3 Apply what you know about how language works when you write, speak, read and listen.
  • a. Keep style and tone consistent while varying sentence patterns for meaning and interest.
  • b. Spot non-standard or informal English, judge whether it suits the purpose and reader, and change it if needed.
• L.7.4 Figure out what unfamiliar words and words with several meanings mean, choosing from a range of strategies.
  • a. Use context, such as the sentence's meaning or a word's position, as a clue.
  • b. Treat Greek and Latin word parts (prefixes, suffixes, roots) as clues to meaning (belligerent, rebel).
  • c. Check general and specialist references for pronunciation, exact meaning or part of speech.
  • d. Confirm a first guess at a meaning from context or a dictionary.
• L.7.5 Understand figurative language, word relationships and shades of meaning.
  • a. Interpret figures of speech, including literary, biblical and mythological allusions, in context.
  • b. Use synonyms, antonyms and analogies to understand words better.
  • c. Tell apart connotations of words with similar meanings (polite, diplomatic, condescending).
• L.7.6 Learn and use grade 7 academic and subject words, researching words on your own.