This resource accompanies our Rethink 7th Grade ELA course. It includes ideas for use, ways to support exceptional children, ways to extend learning, digital resources and tools, tips for supporting English Language Learners and students with visual and hearing impairments. There are also ideas for offline learning. 

This parent guide supports parents in helping their child at home with the 7th grade ELA content.

In this video resource from American Icons, students will learn how Walt Whitman was a progressive voice and innovative writer during a critical period of change in the United States. In the midst of the Civil War, his poetic and journalistic works, spanning topics from the personal to the political, marked the start of a new era for American literature. Through an examination of primary sources and watching a short video, students will learn about Whitman’s love for and criticism of the United States.

In this lesson plan from American Icons, students will learn about Walt Whitman’s brave actions and highly regarded writings. After viewing a video about his life, students will examine the frontispiece and title page of an early edition of Leaves and Grass and will analyze one of its most famous poems. The lesson concludes with students writing an updated version of “I Hear America Singing” reflecting what they have learned about Whitman’s beliefs about our country.

In this middle school lesson from Teaching Tolerance, students will explore the calendar to determine why different religions celebrate different holidays and establish what factors school and government leaders should consider when deciding whether public schools should be closed for religious holidays. Students will work in groups to create solutions for school calendars that respect all students and beliefs.

This lesson plan is the fourth in the "Incredible Bridges: Poets Creating Community" series.It provides a video of the poet, Edward Hirsch, offering a little backstory, then reading the poem "Cotton Candy." The companion lesson contains a sequence of activities for use with secondary students before, during, and after reading to help them enter and experience the poem.

Students will view a reality television episode and read a news article related to reality television. Then students will complete a graphic organizer to create an argument for or against children participating in reality television. Students will apply supportive details for writing a persuasive paragraph.

Echo is a nymph that likes to gossip so a spell is cast upon her to only reiterate things that she has heard. In this CCSS lesson, students will explore this story through text dependent questions, academic vocabulary, and writing assignments.

Students move around the room to show their level of agreement or disagreement with a statement on a particular issue. Includes prompts and resources for discussion and debate.

This resource includes one poem, with an accompanying link to the poem being read aloud, and nine text-dependent questions (including one optional constructed-response prompt for students), and explanatory information for teachers regarding alignment to the CCSS.

Students will investigate the global food crisis by gathering information through research—informational reading, photographs, videos, etc. Through their research, students will be able to define and understand the meaning of food insecurity while taking into account the many injustices in food availability around the world. This lesson was developed by Emily Waddington as part of their completion of the North Carolina Global Educator Digital Badge program. This lesson plan has been vetted at the local and state level for standards alignment, Global Education focus, and content accuracy.

Students will determine central ideas on the concept of illiteracy and will cite several pieces of textual evidence to support their analysis. Students will analyze and discuss the main ideas and supporting details presented in diverse media and formats and explain how the ideas clarify the concept of illiteracy. They will acknowledge new information expressed by others and, when warranted, modify their own views. This lesson was developed by Kimm Murfitt as part of their completion of the North Carolina Global Educator Digital Badge program. This lesson plan has been vetted at the local and state level for standards alignment, Global Education focus, and content accuracy.            

Students will determine central ideas on the concept of illiteracy and will cite several pieces of textual evidence to support their analysis. This lesson was developed by Kimm Murfitt as part of their completion of the North Carolina Global Educator Digital Badge program. This lesson plan has been vetted at the local and state level for standards alignment, Global Education focus, and content accuracy.            

Students will determine central ideas on the concept of illiteracy and will cite several pieces of textual evidence to support their analysis. This lesson was developed by Kimm Murfitt as part of their completion of the North Carolina Global Educator Digital Badge program. This lesson plan has been vetted at the local and state level for standards alignment, Global Education focus, and content accuracy.   It has been adapted to have a cultural lens using the lesson from Facing History and Ourselves to help set the stage for students to access the material and set the stage for why different cultures may approach literacy differently.      

Students will determine central ideas on the concept of illiteracy and will cite several pieces of text evidence to support their analysis. This lesson was developed by Kimm Murfitt as part of their completion of the North Carolina Global Educator Digital Badge program. This lesson plan has been vetted at the local and state level for standards alignment, Global Education focus, and content accuracy.            

This lesson introduces students to the foundational concepts of media, advertisements, and media literacy.

This lesson deepens the knowledge students have acquired about media literacy by having them examine in depth the central idea of persuasive techniques used in advertising.

In this lesson, students answer text-dependent questions on Paragraphs 10–12 of “Water Is Life.” The homework assignment on Paragraphs 13 and 14 is a continuation of this close reading, so it is intentionally included on the same handout.

This lesson continues to draw upon students’ use of video and text to clarify the issue of water sustainability. In addition, students review their homework and check their thinking based on text-based evidence.

Jabberwocky is an epic poem told through nonsense words. The poem relates a father’s quest for his son that involves the slaying of a beast (The Jabberwock). The poem charts the son’s progress from his departure to his successful return. In this CCSS lesson, students will explore this poem through text dependent questions, academic vocabulary, and writing assignments.