Unpacking a Standard: 6th Grade ELA

Unpacking a Standard: 7th Grade ELA and Social Studies

7th Grade ELA and Social Studies

I am currently in the process of getting my first ever teaching position at a charter school in Charlotte, NC. As of right now, I do not know if I would be teaching 6th or 7th grade, but I do know that, if I am offered the position, I would be teaching at least two subjects. For the purposes of this module (or until I hear otherwise), I will assume that I am teaching 7th grade ELA and Social Studies.

Module 5, Unit 1, Activity 1

Elisha McLaughlin

The Standards

Social Studies

ELA

RH.6-8.6: Identify aspects of a text that reveal an author's point of view or purpose (e.g., loaded language, inclusion or avoidance of particular facts).

W.7.3: Write narratives to develop real or imagined experiences or events using effective technique, relevant descriptive details, and well-structured event sequences.

Why I Chose This Standard

The ability to evaluate an author's point of view is critical across subjects. Students also need to be able to think critically about the information that is (or is not) being given to them to decide what the author is trying to communicate.

Why I Chose This Standard

Source: http://gingerruebooks.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/12/QUOTE_point_of_view-e1377542278617.jpg

The ability to write a convincing, attention-grabbing narrative is something that is cross-curricular. Students should be able to apply this skill to many subjects. The writing of narratives allows students to feel more connected with the topic about which they are learning.

Skill!

Source: http://elaccss.ncdpi.wikispaces.net/file/view/ELAworlde.jpg/241993786/406x282/ELAworlde.jpg

Students identify what the text reveals.

Students write and develop real or imagined events using the elements of a narrative.

Social Studies Activity

Big Idea: An author's writing and word choice reveals a lot about what he or she truly thinks about the topic.

Big Idea: Narratives need development to be engaging, which can be established through the use of rhetorical devices.

Source: http://www.kathimitchell.com/cwflags.jpg

During a unit on the Civil War, students will learn about the war from multiple perspectives, including the North, the South, and African American slaves.

As a formative assessment on these three perspectives, students will read passages describing why the war took place from the perspective of each of these three groups. Students will be required to determine which passage was written by which group of people and to explain how they know.

This will help students understand how to identify an author's point of view while simultaneously testing for understanding of the unit's topic.

ELA Activity

Wrapping Things Up

Also during the unit of the Civil War, students will write a narrative from the perspective of someone who lives either in the North or South or is an African American slave of any age level.

This activity will allow students to practice crafting captivating narratives while incorporating historical facts into their texts.

Students will brainstorm ideas with peers, participate in peer editing groups, and ultimately submit a polished historical story that effectively and engagingly communications information to the reader.

While these standards could definitely be taught in separate units and it is likely that they will be incorporated in various units throughout the year, the pairing of these standards makes them each more powerful. Understanding how to pick out the author's point of view is important to being able to establish a point of view in one's own writing. Ultimately, students will understand the importance of perspective in both reading and writing.

References

Common Core. (2016). English/Language Arts Standards: History/Social Studies: Grades 6-8. Retrieved from http://www.corestandards.org/ELA-Literacy/RH/6-8/

Common Core. (2016). English/Language Arts Standards: Writing: Grade 7. Retrieved from http://www.corestandards.org/ELA-Literacy/W/7/#CCSS.ELA-Literacy.W.7.3

Wiggins, Grant. (2010, June 10). What is a big idea? Retrieved from http://www.authenticeducation.org/ae_bigideas/article.lasso?artid=99