Grade 07 ELA - EC: E07.C.1.2.1
Grade 07 ELA - EC: E07.C.1.2.1
Continuum of Activities
The list below represents a continuum of activities: resources categorized by Standard/Eligible Content that teachers may use to move students toward proficiency. Using LEA curriculum and available materials and resources, teachers can customize the activity statements/questions for classroom use.
This continuum of activities offers:
- Instructional activities designed to be integrated into planned lessons
- Questions/activities that grow in complexity
- Opportunities for differentiation for each student’s level of performance
Grade Levels
7th Grade
Course, Subject
English Language Arts
Activities
- Define the purpose of informative/explanatory writing.
- Define the concepts of definition; classification; compare/contrast; cause/effect.
- Determine which strategy (definition, classification, compare/contrast, or cause/effect) would be most useful for your purpose.
- Distinguish which elements of an informative/explanatory text are necessary depending on purpose.
- Develop an informative/explanatory essay depending on purpose for each of the strategies including definition, classification, compare/contrast, and cause/effect.
- Differentiate among organizational strategies depending on which type of informative/explanatory text.
Answer Key/Rubric
- Student defines informative/explanatory writing as writing that fully explores a topic using details, concepts, and definitions. Informative/explanatory writing follows logically and sequentially depending on purpose. Informative/explanatory writing assumes your reader knows little about the topic being explored so leaves nothing unsaid/unexplored.
- Students define
- Definition – this type of informative/explanatory writing explains, defines, and provides examples of a topic.
- Classification – this type of informative/explanatory writing organizes or sorts information into categories or classes. Subheadings may be used to organize the information.
- Compare/contrast – this type of informative/explanatory writing compares and contrasts two concepts. This essay explores similarities and differences.
- Cause/effect – this type of informative/explanatory writing discusses the causes of a particular outcome.
- Student determines, based on the definitions and purposes of the informative/explanatory writing strategies, which is most effective based on topic and task. Students can be given different topics to explore or merely given scenarios to consider.
- Student identifies which elements, based on the definitions given above, are necessary in a particular informative/explanatory essay. Students can be given one topic and asked to create an outline or graphic organizer for each of the types of essays.
- Student demonstrates an ability to write an informative/explanatory essay based on topic and purpose. Students will utilize organizational strategies depending on the type of essay they are writing. Students will maintain a formal writing style throughout.
- Student will demonstrate an understanding of different organizational strategies within the body of the essay depending on task and purpose. Some organizational strategies include:
- Chronological – details are written in time order
- Definition – details can be arranged from most important to least important or vice versa
- Classification – subtitles can be used so that all information within a certain subsection can be included in the subtitle section before moving on to the next information
- Cause/effect – the effect can be discussed first with the causes listed in the subsequent paragraphs
- Compare/contrast – essays can be organized in numerous ways including:
- All of the similarities can be discussed in one paragraph and then all of the differences in another.
- One topic can be discussed and the writer can show similarities and differences within that topic in one paragraph before moving on to the next.
