Grade 7
Language Arts
Reading
Standard 2

READING COMPREHENSION
(FOCUS ON INFORMATIONAL MATERIALS)


 
Resources
Lesson Plans
Assessments
2.1
Elements of Literature First Course pg. 189.
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2.4
First Course pg. 202-203 Point of View: Through Whose Eyes?
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2.6
Elements of Literature First Course pg. 121-122

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

 
2.1
Students look through magazines, and find advertisements targeted at their age group.  Students answer questions found on page 189.  In groups, students create their own ad for a product.
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2.4
currently unavailable
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2.6
Think of an event that happened in your family.  Invite someone in your family - sister, grandmother, father - to tell the story as he or she remembers it, including as many details as possible.  Then, ask another family member, one who wasnÕt present at this telling, to share his or her own version of the very same events.  Compare both versions with your own.  Is the story the same or has it changed?
Pre-Published Data

1.) Transforming Narrative Text: Provide students with a paragraph of narrative text: Last Saturday, June 5, Brandon was on his way home from the movies when a black car ran him off the road. Can you believe it? He had just seen "Men in Black" with Tommy and Dan. Dan was with Brandon when it happened, because he was spending the weekend at his house. I think they were driving down Broadway when it happened. It was super dark out. There aren't any streetlights on that street. The guys tried to look quickly and get a license plate number, but the car was gone. Brandon got out of the car and waved down someone driving by. I think he got that person to call the cops. I guess Brandon was really shook up, and Dan had to be taken to the hospital. He is okay now, but he has a bandage above his eye; hopefully there won't be a scar. I don't think the police have figured out who did it. You should see Brandon's car ... what a bummer. Have students use the information from their structural features charts to transfer the narrative information into two different types of informational text. For example, this can be changed into a newspaper article about the accident and an instruction manual/ pamphlet on what to do when one is run off the road. Allow students to invent little details to fill in the gaps as needed, as long as they do not change the major details presented in the narrative. Students will possibly need to add titles, headlines, bylines, pick out the five "W's," etc. Once students begin manipulating the text and begin checking against their chart to make sure they have included everything they need, they will begin internalizing the structural features of informational text. Create appropriate guidelines for length and format of the students' writing. Once the writing is completed, students must edit what they have written and have it checked by at least one peer and one adult. Although students have created two pieces of text, ask them to star the one they want scored.

2.1
Students do a survey to find out how effective their advertisements were.
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2.4
currently unavailable
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2.6
Students write personal essays describing this family event from their perspective.
Pre-Published Data

1.) Structural Features Chart: The assessment is based on the students' completion of the chart with descriptions that clearly show the structural similarities and differences and purposes of different types of informational text.

2.) Transforming Narrative Text: The following criteria can be used in assessing the transformed piece:
  • Factual information has been pulled from the narrative text.
  • A definite structure and purpose is evident. 
  • The text has been clearly edited.

    • I can learn something from the text.