This course is available in the Fall only and must be taken with Gifted and Talented Literature Study 7 (click here).
Description:
In Gifted and Talented Language Arts 7 B, the student will continue to
work at an accelerated pace while engaging in more complex and
challenging instructional activities. As he reads, analyzes, and
interprets a variety of literature, the student will ponder answers to
central questions such as following: "Is progress always good?", "Why do
we share our stories?", and "What is a community?".
The students will further develop his reading skills and expand his
vocabulary while reading across the genres of nonfiction, fiction,
poetry, and drama. He will also select literature for independent
reading and choose either Dragonwings or Where the Mountain Meets the Moon
as his novel unit. The student will strengthen his mastery of the
writing process and the six traits of writing as he composes creative,
descriptive, and research writing.
Units:
Is Progress Always Good?
In
this unit, you will explore the Big Question: Is progress always good?
You will consider different aspects of progress and how progress affects
you, your family, your community, and the world. You will apply the key
reading skills for understanding science and technology
writing—paraphrasing and summarizing, using text features, and taking
notes. You will analyze word structure by identifying base words,
suffixes, and prefixes. You will distinguish between main and
subordinate clauses and learn how to use the correct punctuation.
Dragonwings
This
Newbery Award-winning novel takes place in the San Francisco Bay Area
at the turn of the century. It is the story of a Chinese boy, Moon
Shadow, who moves to Chinatown to be with his father, Windrider, who is
working on a flying machine at the same time as the Wright Brothers are.
An historical novel, it depicts not only the lives of and
discrimination against San Francisco's Chinese immigrants in the early
1900s, but also the 1906 San Francisco earthquake. You will identify
literary elements and write a newspaper article describing a major event
in the novel.
Dragonwings is the recommended novel for Language Arts 7B. Where the Mountain Meets the Moon may be read instead of Dragonwings with prior teacher approval. Lessons and activities for Where the Mountain Meets the Moon will appear on the lower half of the lesson pages.Where the Mountain Meets the Moon is
a fantasy novel about a girl named Minli and her quest to help her
family. The story also follows Minli’s parents as they try to make a
good life and a good home for Minli. The events of the novel take place
in China long ago, in a world where magic is real. Fantastic creatures
and impossible events form the background for a story about family,
fortune, and friendship.
Why Do We Share Our Stories?
In
this unit, you will explore the Big Question: Why do we share our
stories? You will consider different reasons for storytelling and learn
how storytelling has helped connect generations throughout time. You
will learn how to understand cause and effect, and use reading skills
such as questioning, predicting, and analyzing. You will analyze the
literary elements of folktales: theme, characterization, cultural
allusions, and dialect. You will learn to distinguish between compound
and complex sentences.
What Makes You Tick?
In
this unit, you will explore the Big Question: What makes you tick? You
will consider different aspects of who you are and examine the things
that inspire you. You will learn how to read poetry by using skills such
as evaluating, interpreting, connecting, and monitoring comprehension.
You will examine sound devices, figurative language, symbolism, and
rhythm in a variety of poems. You will also study word origins and learn
how to ensure correct subject and verb agreement.
What Is a Community?
In
this unit, you will explore the Big Question: What is a community? You
will read selections that allow you to visit communities in different
places as well as in different times. You will consider how people and
communities shape each other. You will learn how to read historical
documents by using skills such as visualizing, skimming and scanning,
clarifying, and predicting. You will examine descriptive writing by
identifying imagery, figurative language, and how the text is organized.
You will learn the correct way to use punctuation and identify compound
words.
Course Sets
Lesson Manual/Course Guide
- Gifted Language Arts 7 A and B Course Guide
Online Text/eBook
- iText Glencoe Literature: Course 2