Milaca Independent School District
Curriculum Map
Curriculum Team: Sue Souba | Textbook Series/Other: JUNIOR SCHOLASTIC, CMPASS ODYSSEY.ORG, READWORKS.ORG, MISC. NOVELS | Course Name: RTI Reading 7 & 8 | Grade Level: 7 & 8 |
Month | Standard | Benchmark with Four-Digit Code | Level 2 and 3 Essential Questions / Statements | Assessment | Curricular Materials |
4. Reading Literature | |||||
Key Ideas and Details | |||||
Sep, Nov, and March for IRAs ongoing | R L 1.(Infer or detect meaning) 1. Read closely to determine what the text says explicitly and to make logical inferences from it; cite specific textual evidence when writing or speaking to support conclusions drawn from the text. | 7.4.1.1 Cite several pieces of textual evidence to support analysis of what the text says explicitly as well as inferences drawn from the text. 8.4.1.1. Cite several pieces of textual evidence to support analysis of what the text says explicitly as well as inferences drawn from the text. | L2. What details or ideas can be found directly in the text? L2. What details or ideas can be inferred based upon what the text says? L3. Can you summarize the text? L3. What is the most important detail in the text? L3. How can you determine text that supports the main idea directly? | IRAs (all) Online quizzes that accompany articles small group discussion related skills sheet & graphic organizer completion comprehension quiz summary paragraph reflection paragraph | Various articles from such sites as Digital ReadWorks and Newsela Compass Learning Odyssey Scholastic Magazine articles and activities • Each issue provides engaging, age-appropriate content at an accessible reading level for struggling readers. The magazine provides a wide variety of nonfiction articles, including Mini-Reads, Celebrity Scoop, and True Teen Story features. Other formats include Readers Theater plays, debates, and visual text. The short texts are ideal for use during close reading lessons. • Articles include follow-up activities in the magazine to support the content or skill. The Show What You Know reading comprehension test-prep activity requires students to recall explicit information and to make inferences. • Lesson plans in the Teacher’s Guide include reading comprehension strategies, including citing text evidence, making inferences, drawing conclusions, and more. • Each lesson plan includes a reproducible activity page to use with the lesson to reinforce the skill. • More than 10 extra printable activity pages are available online with each issue. One of those activities, the Test Your Knowledge quiz, requires students to recall specific details.ie: readers theater play: “After Earth.” Action Magazine 6 May 2013: print |
Oct, Dec, & April Plus ongoing | R L 2.(Main idea or theme) 2. Determine central ideas or themes of a text and analyze their development; summarize the key supporting details and ideas. | 7.4.2.2 Determine a theme or central idea of a text and analyze its development over the course of the text; provide an objective summary of the text 8.4.2.2. Determine a central idea of a text and analyze its development over the course of the text, including its relationship to supporting ideas; provide an objective summary of the text. | L2. What is the theme? L2. Can you summarize the text? L3. What clues or evidence did you use to identify the theme? L3. How does the theme develop throughout the text? L2. How would you classify____? | IRA #3 Online quizzes that accompany articles small group discussion related skills sheet & graphic organizer completion comprehension quiz summary paragraph | Scholastic Magazine articles and activities:Activities in the issue require students to determine the central idea or theme of a text. • Lesson plans in the Teacher’s Guide include reading comprehension strategies, such as identifying a central idea and how it develops in a text, as well as summarizing. • Each lesson plan includes a reproducible activity page to use with the lesson to reinforce the skill, including central idea and summarizing graphic organizers. |
Oct, Dec & April Plus ongoing | R L 3. (Character development) Analyze how and why individuals, events, and ideas develop and interact over the course of a text. | 7.4.3.3 Analyze how particular elements of a story or drama interact (e.g., how setting shapes the characters or plot). 8.4.3.3. Analyze how particular lines of dialogue or incidents in a story or drama propel the action, reveal aspects of a character, or provoke a decision. | L2. Can you describe the characters in the text? L3. What clues tell the most about the character/s? L2. What important events move the story along? L3. What caused the character/s to make a decision? L3. Can you analyze how elements of a story interact (setting affect characters, etc.)? | Online quizzes that accompany articles small group discussion related skills sheet & graphic organizer completion comprehension quiz summary paragraph reflection paragraph | Various articles from such sites as Digital ReadWorks and Newsela Compass Learning Odyssey Scholastic Magazine: • Readers Theater plays provide ideal material for students to analyze how individuals, events, and ideas interact in a literary text. • Lesson plans in the Teacher’s Guide focus on skills, such as character study and understanding story elements. • Each lesson plan includes a reproducible activity page to use with the lesson to reinforce the skill, including character study and story elements graphic organizers. • Activities in the issue and extra skills pages online require students to analyze story elements. |
Craft and Structure | |||||
ongoing | R L 4. (Word choice) Interpret words and phrases as they are used in a text, including determining technical, connotative, and figurative meanings, and analyze how specific word choices shape meaning or tone. | 7.4.4.4 Determine the meaning of words and phrases as they are used in a text, including figurative and connotative meanings; analyze the impact of rhymes and other repetitions of sounds (e.g., alliteration) on a specific verse or stanza of a poem or section of a story or drama. 8.4.4.4. Determine the meaning of words and phrases as they are used in a text, including figurative and connotative meanings; analyze the impact of specific word choices on meaning and tone, including analogies or allusions to other texts. | L2: What context clues help to define new words in the poem? L3: How does defining new words help us understand the author’s purpose of the poem? L3. Can you explain how a particular word or phrase affected the meaning of the text? L3. What other word or phrase could be substituted, and what effect would that have on the text? L3. Can you determine the figurative and connotative meaning of words and phrases based on how they are used in a text? | Online quizzes that accompany articles small group discussion related skills sheet & graphic organizer completion comprehension quiz summary paragraph reflection paragraph | Scholastic Magazine: Vocabulary words are defined in boxes on the first page of some articles. They are also boldfaced within each article. • Other words and phrases are supported by embedded context clues. • In the digital edition, students can click on the vocabulary word to learn its definition. Additionally, an audio option is available to hear the word and its definition. • Lesson plans in the Teacher’s Guide focus on important nonfiction reading skills, such as using context clues and word parts to determine word meaning. • More than 10 extra printable activity pages are available online with each issue. Two of those pages, Vocabulary Review, require students to complete sentences using vocabulary from two articles per issue. |
ongoing | R L 5. (Structure of text) 5. Analyze the structure of texts, including how specific sentences, paragraphs, and larger portions of the text (e.g., a section, chapter, scene, or stanza) relate to each other and the whole. | 7.4.5.5 Analyze how a drama’s or poem’s form or structure (e.g., soliloquy, sonnet) contributes to its meaning. 8.4.5.5) Compare and contrast the structure of two or more texts and analyze how the differing structure of each text contributes to its meaning and style. | L2: How do you recognize a couplet? L3: What is the real message of the script? L3: How did that passage serve to enhance the overall message of the text? L3. Can you describe how ___ and ___ compare to one another? L3. Can you analyze how the form or structure of a text contributes to its meaning? | Oral Reading Fluency small group discussion related skills sheet & graphic organizer completion comprehension quiz summary paragraph reflection paragraph | Scholastic Magazines: • Articles in the magazine offer varying text structures, including sequence, cause and effect, problem and solution, and compare and contrast. • Lesson plans in the Teacher’s Guide focus on important reading skills, such as interpreting text structure and text features. Other lesson plans lead students to examine the purpose of sections in the text. |
Sep, Nov & March Plus ongoing | R L 6. (Author's purpose) 6. Assess how point of view or purpose shapes the content and style of a text. | 7.4.6.6 Analyze how an author develops and contrasts the points of view of different characters or narrators in a text, including those from diverse cultures. 8.4.6.6. Analyze how differences in the points of view of the characters and the audience or reader (e.g., created through the use of dramatic irony) create such effects as suspense or humor. | L2: From what point-of view is the story told from? L3: How does the point-of-view help to develop the character? L3. What was funny about that? L3. How did the author want the reader to feel? L3. Can you analyze how an author develops and /or contrasts the point of view of a narrator or text’s character? | Online quizzes that accompany articles small group discussion related skills sheet & graphic organizer completion comprehension quiz summary paragraph reflection paragraph | IRA #1 Scholastic Magazines: Articles in the magazine include first- and third-person point of view. • Lesson plans in the Teacher’s Guide teach essential reading skills, such as identifying author’s purpose and point of view. |
Integration of Knowledge & Ideas | |||||
ongoing | R L 7. (Diverse media) 7. Integrate and evaluate content presented in diverse media and formats, including visually and quantitatively, as well as in words. | 7.4.7.7 Compare and contrast a written story, drama, or poem to its audio, filmed, staged, or multimedia version, analyzing the effects of techniques unique to each medium (e.g., lighting, sound, color, or camera focus and angles in a film) 8.4.7.7. Analyze the extent to which a filmed or live production of a story or drama stays faithful to or departs from the text or script, evaluating the choices made by the director or actors. | L2: How does the story progress in each form? L3: How is the video version the same as the written story? How are they different? L3. Can you analyze the effects of techniques that are unique to portraying various types of media? | Online quizzes that accompany articles small group discussion related skills sheet & graphic organizer completion comprehension quiz summary paragraph reflection paragraph | Various articles from such sites as Digital ReadWorks and Newsela Compass Learning Odyssey Specific novels such as “The Boy in the Striped Pajamas” are followed by the movie version of the same story In every issue of Scholastic magazines, there are maps, charts, graphs, and other visual texts that supplement information presented in the articles. • Text features such as headlines, subheads, photos, captions, and labels enhance articles. • The backpage activity of each issue presents a visual text for students to practice interpreting information in various formats. • In the digital edition, various multimedia sources are offered to extend articles featured in the issue. These include videos, interactive skill-building games, Text-toTalk audio read-alouds of three articles per issue, web links, and slide shows. • Lesson plans in the Teacher’s Guide require students to compare and contrast information presented in an article with that presented in a video. |
R L 8. (Author's claims) Delineate and evaluate the argument and specific claims in a text, including the validity of the reasoning as well as the relevance and sufficiency of the evidence. | Not applicable to literature | ||||
Sep - Jan ongoing | R L 9. (Paired text) 9. Analyze how two or more texts address similar themes or topics in order to build knowledge or to compare the approaches the authors take. | 7.4.9.9 Compare and contrast a fictional portrayal, including those in stories, poems, and historical novels of Minnesota American Indians, of a time, place, or character and a historical account of the same period as a means of understanding how authors of fiction use or alter history. 8.4.9.9. Analyze how a modern work of fiction draws on themes, patterns of events, or character types from myths, traditional stories, including stories, poems, and historical novels of Minnesota American Indians, or religious works such as the Bible, including describing how the material is rendered new. | L2: What is the genre of historical fiction? L2. What well-known character is the character based on? L3: What can we infer about the character or story, based on similarities to other familiar characters or stories? L3. Can you compare and contrast a fictional portrayal of an event to an historical account of the same event to understand how authors of fiction use history in their writing? | Online quizzes that accompany articles small group discussion related skills sheet & graphic organizer completion comprehension quiz summary paragraph reflection paragraph | “A Soldier’s Heart” by Gary Paulson and “I Pledge Allegiance” by Chris Lynch Various articles from such sites as Digital ReadWorks and Newsela Compass Learning Odyssey Paired texts on the same topic are included in each issue of the magazine. • Readers can compare and contrast articles written on similar topics throughout the school year. All back issues for the school year are accessible on the Action website. • Additional texts on an issue’s topics are located in the web links section of the digital edition. Students can compare and contrast the issue’s articles to these additional resources. |
Range of Reading Level & Complexity | |||||
Quarterly IRA w/ novel ongoing | R L 10. (independent reading) 10. Read and comprehend complex literary and informational texts independently and proficiently. | 7.4.10.10 By the end of the year, read and comprehend literature and other texts including stories, dramas, and poems, in the grades 6–8 text complexity band proficiently and independently with appropriate scaffolding for texts at the high end of the range. a. Self-select texts for personal enjoyment, interest and academic tasks. b. Read widely to understand multiple perspectives and pluralistic viewpoints. 8.4.10.10. By the end of the year, read and comprehend literature and other texts including stories, dramas, and poems, in the grades 6–8 text complexity band proficiently and independently with appropriate scaffolding for texts at the high end of the range. a. Self-select texts for personal enjoyment, interest and academic tasks. b. Read widely to understand multiple perspectives and pluralistic viewpoints. | L2: Can you give an objective summary of your story? L3: What was the tone and theme of your novel and what clues helped you discover the tone and theme? L3. What is your response to what you read? L3. Can you independently read and comprehend literature written at your grade level? | Oral Reading Fluency small group discussion related skills sheet & graphic organizer completion comprehension quiz summary paragraph reflection paragraph | • Action presents a wide range of texts throughout the year at different levels of complexity. Three articles in each issue are available on the Action website at three different Lexile® levels. • One article in each issue comes with a corresponding Read 180 lesson available on the Action website. |
5. Reading Informational Text: | |||||
Key Ideas and Details | |||||
Jan - April plus ongoing | R IT 1. (Infer or detect meaning) Read closely to determine what the text says explicitly and to make logical inferences from it; cite specific textual evidence when writing or speaking to support conclusions drawn from the text. | 7.5.1.1 Cite several pieces of textual evidence to support analysis of what the text says explicitly as well as inferences drawn from the text. 8.5.1.1. Cite the textual evidence that most strongly supports an analysis of what the text says explicitly as well as inferences drawn from the text. | L2: What information from the text should be in your outline? L3: Is the author’s claim supported by the text? L3. Can you cite textual evidence that strongly supports your inferences and analysis of the text? | Online quizzes that accompany articles small group discussion related skills sheet & graphic organizer completion The Quiz Wizard comprehension quiz summary paragraph reflection paragraph | * The Quiz Wizard assessment requires students to refer to the text to determine the answers, and it offers questions in a variety of formats, such as distinguishing between central ideas and key details and determining whether statements from an article are facts or opinions. • The Know the News assessment provides test prep-style questions that focus on referring to the text to find answers. |
Feb ongoing | R IT 2. (Main idea or theme) Determine central ideas or themes of a text and analyze their development; summarize the key supporting details and ideas | 7.5.2.2 Determine two or more central ideas in a text and analyze their development over the course of the text; provide an objective summary of the text. 8.5.2.2. Determine a central idea of a text and analyze its development over the course of the text, including its relationship to supporting ideas; provide an objective summary of the text. | L1: What is the text mainly about? L1: How do specific details serve to support the main idea of the text? L2: How would the central message be altered in the absence of the supporting details? L3. Determine two or more central ideas and analyze their development over the course of the text. L3. Give an objective summary of the text. | Online quizzes that accompany articles small group discussion related skills sheet & graphic organizer completion comprehension quiz summary paragraph reflection paragraph | IRA 1-4 (Informational Text) Nonfiction text features, including titles and subtitles, provide scaffolding so students can identify main ideas and key details. • The Teacher’s Guides and online skills sheets focus on comprehension strategies for nonfiction text, such as identifying central ideas and supporting details. Junior Scholastic also provides skills sheets on writing summaries, an important foundational skill. • The Extend & Assess section of the Teacher’s Guide asks students to complete short writing assignments based on an article in the Student Edition. These writing prompts require students to summarize the text and explain the article in their own words. • The Quiz Wizard in the Teacher’s Guide requires students to refer to the text to determine answers, and offers questions in a variety of formats, such as identifying central ideas and key details. • The Know the News assessment tool, available in the Teacher’s Guide and online, provides test prep-style questions that focus on determining central ideas and key details. |
ongoing | R IT . (Character development) Analyze how and why individuals, events, and ideas develop and interact over the course of a text. | 7.5.3.3 Analyze the interactions between individuals, events, and ideas in a text (e.g., how ideas influence individuals or events, or how individuals influence ideas or events). 8.5.3.3. Analyze how a text makes connections among and distinctions between individuals, ideas, or events (e.g., through comparisons, analogies, or categories). | L2: What context clues help us understand the relationship between events and reactions of the people? L3: Analyze interactions between individuals, events, or ideas in the text. | Online quizzes that accompany articles small group discussion related skills sheet & graphic organizer completion comprehension quiz summary paragraph reflection paragraph | Various articles from such sites as Digital ReadWorks and Newsela Compass Learning Odyssey • The relationships among people, events, and ideas underlie every article in Junior Scholastic. Articles explore such interactions as how Supreme Court justices interpret the Constitution and how colonization affected the development of African nations. Lesson plans and review questions guide students to notice and analyze those intricate connections. Many lesson activities and skills sheets focus on the concept of sequencing (through chronology, compare/contrast, cause/effect, and problem/ solution). Students can use these text structures to help determine how individuals, events, or ideas interact in a text. |
Craft & Structure | |||||
Quarterly IRA w/ novel ongoing | R IT 4. Reading: Craft & Structure (Word choice) 4. Interpret words and phrases as they are used in a text, including determining technical, connotative, and figurative meanings, and analyze how specific word choices shape meaning or tone. | 7.5.4.4 Determine the meaning of words and phrases as they are used in a text, including figurative, connotative, and technical meanings; analyze the impact of a specific word choice on meaning and tone. 8.5.4.4. Determine the meaning of words and phrases as they are used in a text, including figurative, connotative, and technical meanings; analyze the impact of specific word choices on meaning and tone, including analogies or allusions to other texts. | L2: What is the text called that is under a picture? L3: How does that information help us understand the author’s purpose of the article? L2. What unusual words or phrases does the author use to define or explain details of the text? L3. How does understanding these words enhance our understanding of the text as a whole? L2. Determine the figurative, connotative or technical meaning of words or phrases in a grade-level text. L3. How do the words the author chooses affect the meaning or tone of the text? | Online quizzes that accompany articles small group discussion related skills sheet & graphic organizer completion comprehension quiz summary paragraph reflection paragraph | • Junior Scholastic introduces students to more than 100 key social studies terms each year. These vocabulary words are bolded in the Student Edition. They are defined in the Words to Know box on the magazine’s back page and are supported by context clues. • In the digital edition, students can click on a Words to Know link to make key words and definitions appear on screen. • Vocabulary-specific skills sheets, such as DIY Vocabulary and Words to Know, help students identify and define unknown words and phrases in the articles. • The skills sheets focus on comprehension strategies for nonfiction text, including the use of context clues to determine word meaning and how certain words impact the meaning and tone of a text. • The Know the News assessment tool, available in the Teacher’s Guide and online, provides test prep-style questions that ask students to determine the meanings of words used in an article. Various articles from such sites as Digital ReadWorks and Newsela Compass Learning Odyssey |
ongoing | R IT 5. (Structure of text) 5. Analyze the structure of texts, including how specific sentences, paragraphs, and larger portions of the text (e.g., a section, chapter, scene, or stanza) relate to each other and the whole. | 7.5.5.5 Analyze the structure an author uses to organize a text, including how the major sections contribute to the whole and to the development of the ideas. 8.5.5.5. Analyze in detail the structure of a specific paragraph in a text, including the role of particular sentences in developing and refining a key concept. | L2: What order of events did the author use to tell the story? L3: How did telling the story in this order help the reader understand the main idea of the text? L3. Analyze the structure the author uses to organize the text. L3. How do major sections of text contribute to the development of the whole? | Online quizzes that accompany articles small group discussion related skills sheet & graphic organizer completion comprehension quiz summary paragraph reflection paragraph | Articles offer varying nonfiction text structures, including sequence, cause/effect, problem/ solution, compare/contrast, and pro/con. • Longer articles and historical plays are broken into sections to promote comprehension of key ideas. • The skills sheets focus on comprehension strategies for nonfiction text, such as analyzing how ideas in an article relate to one another and how each section contributes to the overall development of ideas. • Quotes or statements expressing key ideas in an article are pulled out and set in large or colorful type to draw student attention and spark discussion. • Questions guide students through a text, helping them understand how each portion of the article contributes to the whole and to the development of the ideas. The Know the News assessment tool, available in the Teacher’s Guide and online, provides test prep-style questions that ask students to analyze a section of an article and how it relates to the text as a whole. |
Jan Plus ongoing | R IT 6. (Author's purpose) 6. Assess how point of view or purpose shapes the content and style of a text. | 7.5.6.6 Determine an author’s point of view or purpose in a text and analyze how the author distinguishes his or her position from that of others. 8.5.6.6. Determine an author’s point of view or purpose in a text and analyze how the author acknowledges and responds to conflicting evidence or viewpoints. | L2: What is the author’s point-of-view in the article? L3: How does this point-of-view help us understand the author’s position on the topic? L3. What is the author’s purpose for writing the text? L3. How does the author distinguish his/her position from another author? | Online quizzes that accompany articles small group discussion related skills sheet & graphic organizer completion comprehension quiz summary paragraph reflection paragraph | • Full-class discussion questions in the Teacher’s Guide support the articles in each issue and focus on essential nonfiction reading skills, such as analyzing the author’s point of view and purpose. • Texts are written for varying purposes. News articles are written to inform. The History Plays insert is designed to both inform and entertain. The debates offer arguments meant to persuade. Teachers can have students identify the purpose of a text and explore these purposes further through the use of skills sheets (examples include Understanding an Author’s Techniques and Analyzing Authors’ Claims). • Debates present a contemporary issue from two perspectives. Students can explore how each argument reflects a different point of view and evaluate which side makes the stronger case. • The Know the News assessment tool, available in the Teacher’s Guide and online, provides test prep-style questions that feature questions regarding author’s purpose. |
Integration of Knowledge and Ideas | |||||
ongoing | R IT 7. (Diverse media) 7. Integrate and evaluate content presented in diverse media and formats, including visually and quantitatively, as well as in words. | 7.5.7.7 Compare and contrast a text to an audio, video, or multimedia version of the text, analyzing each medium’s portrayal of the subject (e.g., how the delivery of a speech affects the impact of the words). 8.5.7.7. Evaluate advantages of using different mediums (e.g., print or digital text, video, multimedia) to present a particular topic or idea. | L2: What are the similarities and differences of the text and video portrayals of an historical figure? L3: How does seeing the video impact you compared to reading the text? | Online quizzes that accompany articles small group discussion related skills sheet & graphic organizer completion comprehension quiz summary paragraph reflection paragraph | Junior Scholastic’s website offers videos to complement articles in the print edition. Teachers may engage students in a discussion on how each medium contributes to their understanding of the topic. • Lesson plans and skills sheets contain prompts that encourage students to find additional information online. Students can explore how these websites differ from print magazines. • The Student Edition features numerous photos, infographics, and other text features—including maps, charts, graphs, timelines, and editorial cartoons—to support and enhance the text. A single issue typically contains at least 25 photos, three maps, three charts/graphs, and at least one editorial cartoon. Teachers can explore how a visual treatment of a topic differs from a text. • Additional cartoons, timelines, charts, graphs, and other infographics are included in the Teacher’s Guide and online skills sheets, and are accompanied by higher-order thinking questions so students can practice analyzing and interpreting information presented in these formats. Junior Scholastic’s History Plays present information on an important chapter in American or world history. The read-aloud play format is a useful learning tool for auditory and hands-on learners and can spark discussion on how this unique medium differs from a traditional article. • Each issue offers a geography skills activity that requires students to integrate information presented in text and map format. Each accompanies an article and features a large map and key, plus related questions to develop essential map-reading skills. • Students receive two special issues each year—a World Affairs Atlas/Almanac and a U.S. Affairs Annual. These issues present vital facts and figures in atlas/almanac format and provide practice in reading tables, charts, and maps. They make an ideal year-round reference guide for students. Teachers can explore how this type of presentation differs from traditional text. |
ongoing | R IT 8. (Author's claims) 8. Delineate and evaluate the argument and specific claims in a text, including the validity of the reasoning as well as the relevance and sufficiency of the evidence. | 7.5.8.8. Trace and evaluate the argument and specific claims in a text, assessing whether the reasoning is sound and the evidence is relevant and sufficient to support the claims. 8.5.8.8. Trace and evaluate the argument and specific claims in a text, assessing whether the reasoning is sound and the evidence is relevant and sufficient to support the claims. | L2: What claims is the author making in the article? L3: Does the author support their claim with the information in the article? What details helped you form your opinion? | Online quizzes that accompany articles small group discussion related skills sheet & graphic organizer completion comprehension quiz summary paragraph reflection paragraph | • The Debate feature in each issue can be used to analyze arguments. Students can identify the writer’s claims, reasons, and evidence through the skills sheet Analyzing Authors’ Claims. They can then choose a side of the issue to support and participate in a class debate on the topic. Students can also log on to the Junior Scholastic website to register their own opinions on the topic. • Lesson plans in the Teacher’s Guide ask students to practice skills, such as identifying reasons and evidence an author uses to support an argument, as well as evaluating the validity of an argument. • Reading comprehension quizzes in the issue and activity pages online ask students to evaluate reasons and evidence. |
ongoing | R IT 9. (Paired text) 9. . Analyze how two or more texts address similar themes or topics in order to build knowledge or to compare the approaches the authors take. | 7.5.9.9 Analyze how two or more authors writing about the same topic including topics about Minnesota American Indians; shape their presentations of key information by emphasizing different evidence or advancing different interpretations of facts. 8.5.9.9. Analyze how two or more authors writing about the same topic including topics about Minnesota American Indians; shape their presentations of key information by emphasizing different evidence or advancing different interpretations of facts. | L3. What are the differences in two or more authors’ presentations on the same topic? L2: What was the timeline for the events in the story? L3: What events in the past lead to shape the current state of the Mille Lacs Band of Ojibwe? | Oral Reading Fluency small group discussion related skills sheet & graphic organizer completion comprehension quiz summary paragraph reflection paragraph | Each issue’s Debate feature includes two writers who present opposing views on the same subject. • Lesson plans and skills sheets often contain online research prompts related to a feature story. For example, students can read a Junior Scholastic article about China, and then explore several related websites. Students can explore why different sources may offer conflicting information or points of view. • Junior Scholastic often includes paired texts in the Student Edition and online to present students with multiple viewpoints on a topic. Students can complete compare/contrast lesson activities and skills sheets to analyze the evidence presented in each text and how each author interprets the information he or she presents. These activities can also spark class discussions about the similarities and differences in the point of view presented in each text. The Junior Scholastic website offers videos on topics covered in the print magazine. Students can compare and contrast coverage in these different media. • Readers can compare and contrast articles written throughout the school year on similar topics. All back issues for the past three years are accessible on the Junior Scholastic website. |
Range of Reading Level on Complexity | |||||
ongoing | R IT 10. (independent reading) 10. Read and comprehend complex literary and informational texts independently and proficiently. | 7.5.10.10 By the end of the year, read and comprehend literary nonfiction in the grades 6–8 text complexity band independently and proficiently, with scaffolding as needed at the high end of the range. a. Self-select texts for personal enjoyment, interest and academic tasks. 8.5.10.10. By the end of the year, read and comprehend informational text in the grades 6–8 text complexity band proficiently and independently with appropriate scaffolding for texts at the high end of the range. a. Self-select texts for personal enjoyment, interest and academic tasks. b. Read widely to understand multiple perspectives and pluralistic viewpoints. | L2. Can you read and comprehend grade-level text? L2: What is the main idea of the article you read? L3: How does the information in the article connect to your life? | Online quizzes that accompany articles small group discussion related skills sheet & graphic organizer completion comprehension quiz summary paragraph reflection paragraph | Various articles from such sites as Digital ReadWorks and Newsela Compass Learning Odyssey Junior Scholastic covers a wide range of nonfiction topics relevant to the grades 6–8 curriculum, including current events, citizenship, science and technology, economics, geography, history, and more. • Each issue features articles at a range of Lexile® reading levels. In-text scaffolding is present for students who need it. Potentially unfamiliar words are supported with context clues or definitions. Headlines and subheads guide students to focus on key ideas. For each issue, a lower-Lexile version of one feature is available online. • Each lesson plan in the Teacher’s Guide provides suggestions for differentiation to assist students who are performing above or below grade level. • A variety of assessments allow teachers to easily monitor student comprehension. In the Student Edition, these include Your Turn questions, map and graph questions, Cartoon Analysis questions, and writing prompts. In the Teacher’s Guide and online, assessment opportunities include the Quiz Wizard, skills sheets, and the Extend & Assess feature to further students’ learning. • The skills sheets present skills and strategies to help all students read and comprehend grade level nonfiction. Using articles from the issue, students will identify main ideas and details, use context clues to determine word meaning, make inferences, compare and contrast ideas, summarize information, identify causes and effects, identify problems and solutions, and distinguish among fact, opinion, and reasoned judgment. |
7. Writing | |||||
Text Types & Purposes | |||||
ongoing | W1. (Write opinions) 1. Write arguments to support claims in an analysis of substantive topics or texts, using valid reasoning and relevant and sufficient evidence. | 7.7.1.1 Write arguments to support claims with clear reasons and relevant evidence. a. Introduce claim(s), acknowledge alternate or opposing claims, and organize the reasons and evidence logically. b. Support claim(s) with logical reasoning and relevant evidence, using accurate, credible sources and demonstrating an understanding of the topic or text. c. Use words, phrases, and clauses to create cohesion and clarify the relationships among claim(s), reasons, and evidence. d. Establish and maintain a formal style. e. Provide a concluding statement or section that follows from and supports the argument presented. 8.7.1.1. Write arguments to support claims with clear reasons and relevant evidence. a. Introduce claim(s), acknowledge alternate or opposing claims, and organize the reasons and evidence logically. b. Support claim(s) with logical reasoning and relevant evidence, using accurate, credible sources and demonstrating an understanding of the topic or text. c. Use words, phrases, and clauses to create cohesion and clarify the relationships among claim(s), reasons, and evidence. d. Establish and maintain a formal style. Provide a concluding statement or section that follows from and supports the argument presented. | L2: What are the sentence formulas I will need to use for writing compound sentences in my essay? L3: How are the detail relevant to my claims? L3. What are your claims? L3. What are opposing claims and how do they compare to your claims? L3. Can you support claims with logical and relevant reasons, credible sources, and clear understanding of the subject? | Oral Reading Fluency small group discussion related skills sheet & graphic organizer completion comprehension quiz summary paragraph reflection paragraph | • Lesson plans in the Teacher’s Guide address writing skills, such as persuasive and opinion writing. • Activities in the issues, Teacher’s Guide, and extra activity pages online prompt students to practice specific writing and reasoning skills, such as fact & opinion. • The debate feature asks students to contemplate two sides of an issue. Teachers may ask students to write their own responses to the debate questions. • Plan an Argument Essay, a regular online skills page, allows students to plan and write an argument essay. • The Your Turn questions that follow feature articles can be used as argument writing prompts. Students are encouraged to revisit the related article to find evidence to support their claims. • The Debate feature asks students to contemplate two sides of an issue. The skills sheet Analyzing Authors’ Claims asks students to evaluate each side of the debate and choose a side to support. Teachers can then have students write their own responses to the debate and complete additional research to find more reasons and evidence to defend their position. Students may also log on to the Junior Scholastic website to share their views with other readers. • The Cartoon Analysis asks students to write their opinions on important topics, and to support their views with reasons and evidence. • The Teacher’s Guide includes persuasive and argumentative writing prompts related to the issue |
Quarterly IRA w/ novel ongoing | W2. (Write to explain or inform) 2. Write informative/ explanatory texts to examine and convey complex ideas and information clearly and accurately through the effective selection, organization, and analysis of content. | 7.7.2.2 Write informative/explanatory texts to examine a topic and convey ideas, concepts, and information through the selection, organization, and analysis of relevant content. a. Introduce a topic clearly, previewing what is to follow; organize ideas, concepts, and information, using strategies such as definition, classification, comparison/contrast, and cause/effect; include formatting (e.g., headings graphics (e.g., charts, tables), and multimedia when useful to aiding comprehension. b. Develop the topic with relevant facts, definitions, concrete details, quotations, or other information and examples. c. Use appropriate transitions to create cohesion and clarify the relationships among ideas and concepts. d. Use precise language and domain-specific vocabulary to inform about or explain the topic. e. Establish and maintain a formal style. f. Provide a concluding statement or section that follows from and supports the information or explanation presented. 8.7.2.2. Write informative/explanatory texts to examine a topic and convey ideas, concepts, and information through the selection, organization, and analysis of relevant content. a. Introduce a topic clearly, previewing what is to follow; organize ideas, concepts, and information, using strategies such as definition, classification, comparison/contrast, and cause/effect; include formatting (e.g., headings graphics (e.g., charts, tables), and multimedia when useful to aiding comprehension. b. Develop the topic with relevant facts, definitions, concrete details, quotations, or other information and examples. c. Use appropriate transitions to create cohesion and clarify the relationships among ideas and concepts. d. Use precise language and domain-specific vocabulary to inform about or explain the topic. e. Establish and maintain a formal style. Provide a concluding statement or section that follows from and supports the information or explanation presented. | L2. What is your topic? L3. Can you use formatting and/or graphics to enhance your work? Can you use appropriate transitions to create cohesion and clarify relationships in your writing? L2. Did you use precise language and vocabulary to explain about the topic? L2. Have you maintained a formal style in your writing? L2. Did you provide a concluding sentence? L2: What information needs to be in your outline before you start your rough draft? L3: How do you write a transitional conclusive sentence? | Oral Reading Fluency small group discussion related skills sheet & graphic organizer completion comprehension quiz summary paragraph reflection paragraph | Writing exercises produce rough drafts to be used for the first four IRA English class assignments in the year The Your Turn questions that follow feature articles can be used as informative writing prompts. • The Teacher’s Guide includes writing prompts (informative and other) related to the issue. • Students gain exposure to many rich text features when reading Junior Scholastic, such as photos, illustrations, captions, diagrams, maps, charts, graphs, and glossaries. Understanding their purposes can help students create their own text features when producing informative texts. • Many of the assessments in the Student Edition and Teacher’s Guides include open-ended questions that challenge students to write clear and coherent responses supported by details from the issue. • Junior Scholastic is a model for academic and domain-specific vocabulary, which helps students write focused and unambiguous informative texts. • Junior Scholastic readers are encouraged to enter the annual Scholastic Art and Writing Awards. Journalistic (informative) writing is one of several writing categories in the nationwide contest. Various articles from such sites as Digital ReadWorks and Newsela Compass Learning Odyssey |
ongoing | W3. (Write stories) 3. Write narratives and other creative texts to develop real or imagined experiences or events using effective technique, well-chosen details, and well-structured event sequences. | 7.7.3.3 Write narratives and other creative texts to develop real or imagined experiences or events using effective technique, relevant descriptive details, and well-structured event sequences. a. Engage and orient the reader by establishing a context and point of view and introducing a narrator and/or characters; organize an event sequence that unfolds naturally and logically. b. Use literary and narrative techniques, such as dialogue, pacing, rhythm, rhyme, and description, to develop experiences, events, and/or characters. c. Use a variety of transition words, phrases, and clauses to convey sequence and signal shifts from one time frame or setting to another. d. Use precise words and phrases, relevant descriptive details, figurative and sensory language to capture the action and convey experiences and events. e. Provide a conclusion (when appropriate to the genre) that follows from and reflects on the narrated experiences or events. 8.7.3.3. Write narratives and other creative texts to develop real or imagined experiences or events using effective technique, relevant descriptive details, and well-structured event sequences. a. Engage and orient the reader by establishing a context and point of view and introducing a narrator and/or characters; organize an event sequence that unfolds naturally and logically. b. Use literary and narrative techniques, such as dialogue, pacing, rhythm, rhyme, and description, to develop experiences, events, and/or characters. c. Use a variety of transition words, phrases, and clauses to convey sequence and signal shifts from one time frame or setting to another. d. Use precise words and phrases, relevant descriptive details, figurative and sensory language to capture the action and convey experiences and events. Provide a conclusion (when appropriate to the genre) that follows from and reflects on the narrated experiences or events. | L2. How did you establish context and point of view in your narrative? L2. How did you introduce a narrator and /or characters in your narrative? L2. How did you organize your narrative in a logical event sequence? L2. How did you use dialogue, descriptions, and pacing to develop events and characters in your narrative? L2. How did you use transitional words, phrases, and clauses to convey sequence and signal shifts in your narrative? L2. How did you use precise words and phrases and sensory details and language to convey experiences and events in your narrative? L2. Did your conclusion follow the form and reflect on the narrated events?
L2: What sentence formulas do I use to write complex sentence? L3: Does my essay follow a logical progression associated with the theme of my essay? | Oral Reading Fluency small group discussion related skills sheet & graphic organizer completion comprehension quiz summary paragraph reflection paragraph | The Teacher’s Guide includes writing prompts related to the issue, including ones that challenge students to connect current events or history to their own experiences in a narrative. • Junior Scholastic readers are encouraged to enter the annual Scholastic Art and Writing Awards. Short stories, personal memoirs, novels, and dramatic scripts are some of the narrative writing categories included in the nationwide contest. • The History Plays insert can serve as a model for narrative texts. While focused on true historic events that connect to the middle school curriculum, these plays employ effective narrative techniques, such as establishing setting, using narrators and well-developed characters, and integrating authentic dialogue. |
Production & Distribution of Writing | |||||
Quarterly IRA w/ novel ongoing | W4. (Organize writing) 4. Produce clear and coherent writing in which the development, organization, and style are appropriate to task, purpose, and audience. | 7.7.4.4 Produce clear and coherent writing in which the development, organization, and style are appropriate to task, purpose, and audience. (Grade-specific expectations for writing types are defined in standards 1–3 above.) 8.7.4.4. Produce clear and coherent writing in which the development, organization, and style are appropriate to task, purpose, and audience. (Grade-specific expectations for writing types are defined in standards 1–3 above.) | L2: What is one way to organize your writing? L3: Will my essay be clear to the intended audience? | Oral Reading Fluency small group discussion related skills sheet & graphic organizer completion comprehension quiz summary paragraph reflection paragraph | Various articles from such sites as Digital ReadWorks and Newsela Compass Learning Odyssey When a lesson plan focuses on writing skills, it offers guidelines or directions appropriate to the specific writing task. (For example, a lesson on writing persuasive letters will direct students to begin by grabbing the reader’s attention.) • Skills sheets that ask students to write about a topic in a specific style include the necessary formatting, so students can focus on the information they find and present, rather than on determining how to set up the assignment. They can then take their information, place it into the graphic organizer, and properly organize it in a longer writing assignment. |
ongoing | W5. (Writing process) 5. Use a writing process to develop and strengthen writing as needed by planning, drafting, revising, editing, rewriting, or trying a new approach. | 7.7.5.5 With some guidance and support from peers and adults, use a writing process to develop and strengthen writing as needed by planning, drafting, revising, editing, rewriting, or trying a new approach, focusing on how well purpose and audience have been addressed. (Editing for conventions should demonstrate command of Language standards 1–3 up to and including grade 7 on page 73.) 8.5.5.5. With some guidance and support from peers and adults, use a writing process to develop and strengthen writing as needed by planning, drafting, revising, editing, rewriting, or trying a new approach, focusing on how well purpose and audience have been addressed. (Editing for conventions should demonstrate command of Language standards 1–3 up to and including grade 7 on page 73.) | L2: What are the steps in the formal writing process? L3: Why are all steps necessary for strong formal writing? | Oral Reading Fluency small group discussion related skills sheet & graphic organizer completion comprehension quiz summary paragraph reflection paragraph | • The Your Turn writing prompts in the Student Edition as well as the Extend & Assess writing opportunities in the Teacher’s Guide can become “first drafts” of writing assignments that are revised and edited in the classroom. • Students can use the discussion questions, lesson activities, and skills sheets from the Teacher’s Guide and online as the first step in the writing process. From there, they can create first drafts, which can be revised and edited by their peers and teachers to produce final, publishable pieces of writing. • Articles in the Student Edition can be used as exemplar texts of polished, published writing.Writing activities presented in the issues, Teacher’s Guide, and extra online skills pages can be further developed using the writing process. • You Be the Editor, a regular online skills page, allows students to practice proofreading, editing, and revising skills. • Articles in the issues can be used as exemplar texts of published writing. • Read. Write. Win! is a writing contest featured in each issue of Action. Students can plan and write a persuasive essay and submit it to win a prize. |
Quarterly IRA w/ novel Using a shared google doc ongoin g | W6. (Writing with technology) 6. Use technology, including the Internet, to produce and publish writing and to interact and collaborate with others. | 7.7.6.6 Use technology, including the Internet, to produce and publish writing and link to and cite sources as well as to interact and collaborate with others, including linking to and citing sources. 8.7.6.6. Use technology, including the Internet, to produce and publish writing and link to and cite sources as well as to interact and collaborate with others, including linking to and citing sources. | L2: How do you know if your internet site is relevant to your topic? L3: How can you collaborate with a partner to edit your work before the final draft? L3: How do the map and chart on p.7 contribute to your understanding of the article? Would you have understood where the Gulf of Guinea is without the map? L3: Based on the agency’s name, why do you suppose the director of the International Maritime Bureau (IMB) is concerned about piracy? L2: Checking the IMB’s twitter feed (twitter.com/IMB_Piracy) for up to date reports of piracy world-wide, what is the most recent incident in the Gulf of Guinea region? | Oral Reading Fluency small group discussion related skills sheet & graphic organizer completion comprehension quiz summary paragraph reflection paragraph | • Writing prompts in the Teacher’s Guide and skills sheets call for students to conduct research on the internet, and then compose essays based on the original article and what they’ve learned. While conducting this research, students must cite their sources. The Action website, designed for use on an interactive whiteboard, digital projector, computer, or tablet, integrates a variety of media, including videos, games, web links, and slide shows. • Teacher’s Guide activity pages and extra online skills pages are both available in printable and interactive PDF formats on the Action website. • Action magazine holds a poetry contest each year. Students submit their work online for possible publication. Various articles from such sites as Digital ReadWorks and Newsela Compass Learning Odyssey |
Research to Build & Present Knowledge | |||||
ongoing | W7. (Research for writing) 7. Conduct short as well as more sustained research projects based on focused questions, demonstrating understanding of the subject under investigation. | 7.7.7.7 Conduct short research projects to answer a question, drawing on several sources and generating additional related, focused questions for further research and investigation. 8.7.7.7. Conduct short research projects to answer a question, drawing on several sources and generating additional related, focused questions for further research and investigation. | L3. What new questions come to mind as a result of your research? L2: Should you underline or use quotation marks for the title of your essay? L3: How did I support my opinion? | Oral Reading Fluency small group discussion related skills sheet & graphic organizer completion comprehension quiz summary paragraph reflection paragraph | • Junior Scholastic articles make excellent starting points for student research projects. The Student Edition and Teacher’s Guides both offer prompts to help students conduct further research online. Some research prompts include interdisciplinary research, which can be conducted in tandem with other subject areas. • Skills sheets in the Teacher’s Guide and online feature foundational research skills, such as determining the strength of sources, analyzing experts’ opinions, and interpreting reference materials like almanacs. Lesson plans in the Teacher’s Guide address research skills, such as synthesizing information from multiple print and online sources. • The web links section of the Action website suggests additional resources, which lend themselves to research and writing projects for students to complete. |
ongoing | W8. (Validate research) 8. Gather relevant information from multiple print and digital sources, assess the credibility and accuracy of each source, and integrate the information while avoiding plagiarism. | 7.7.8.8 Gather relevant information from multiple print and digital sources, using search terms effectively; assess the credibility and accuracy of each source; and quote or paraphrase the data and conclusions of others while avoiding plagiarism and following a standard format. 7.7.8.8. Gather relevant information from multiple print and digital sources, using search terms effectively; assess the credibility and accuracy of each source; and quote or paraphrase the data and conclusions of others while avoiding plagiarism and following a standard format for citation. | L2: How do you know that you have found a credible source from the internet. L3: Why is it important to have credible and accurate information from the internet for our writing? L3. How should you present words that are direct quotes from text? | Oral Reading Fluency small group discussion related skills sheet & graphic organizer completion comprehension quiz summary paragraph reflection paragraph | *Junior Scholastic’s print and digital issues are ideal, credible bibliographic sources for student writers. • Because the digital issue can be easily displayed on an interactive whiteboard, teachers can use an article to model note taking, paraphrasing, and citing sources. • The Teacher’s Guides and skills sheets for each issue contain prompts that call for students to find additional sources online. • Students can use the current issue of Junior Scholastic, as well as online videos and the issue archive, for extension writing and research projects. Students are encouraged to cite textual evidence from the magazines and videos using direct quotes or paraphrasing, while properly citing their sources. • On Action’s website, students can gather additional information about an article’s topic by viewing videos and slide shows, as well as reading additional online only bonus articles. • Students can compare information gathered from reading the articles in the issues with information they gathered from the web links. |
ongoing | W9. (Use research) 9. Draw evidence from literary or informational texts to support analysis, reflection, and research. | 7.7.9.9 Draw evidence from literary or informational texts to support analysis, reflection, and research. a. Apply grade 7 Reading standards to literature (e.g., “Compare and contrast a fictional portrayal, including those in stories, poems, and historical novels of Minnesota American Indians, of a time, place, or character and a historical account of the same period as a means of understanding how authors of fiction use or alter history”). b. Apply grade 7 Reading standards to literary nonfiction (e.g., “Trace and evaluate the argument and specific claims in a text, assessing whether the reasoning is sound and the evidence is relevant and sufficient to support the claims”). 8.7.9.9. Draw evidence from literary or informational texts to support analysis, reflection, and research. Apply grade 7 Reading standards | L2: Why is it important to outline your essay before writing a rough draft? L3: What information will support your thesis statement? | Oral Reading Fluency small group discussion related skills sheet & graphic organizer completion comprehension quiz summary paragraph reflection paragraph | • Articles in the Student Edition can be used as exemplar texts of published informational writing, as sources of data, and as springboards for student writing projects on specific topics. • Skills sheets and full-class discussion questions in the Teacher’s Guide ask students to refer to the text when formulating their answers. • Your Turn questions, lesson activities, full-class discussion questions, skills sheets, and Extend & Assess questions in the Teacher’s Guide ask students to answer “right there” as well as inferencing questions about a text and to cite evidence from the article when answering. As texts become more complex, students can compare and contrast ideas within the text and across multiple texts. • Argument-writing activities related to the debate ask students to show how an author uses reasons and evidence to support his or her claims. • Using these skills on a regular basis can help students apply this knowledge to longer writing assignments and research projects. Students can draw information from high-interest articles in the Action issue for use in a variety of writing assignments. |
Range of Writing | |||||
ongoing | W10. (routine writing) 10. Write routinely over extended time frames (time for research, reflection, and revision) and shorter time frames (a single sitting or a day or two) for a range of tasks, purposes, and audiences. | 7.7.10.10 Write routinely over extended time frames (time for research, reflection, and revision) and shorter time frames (a single sitting or a day or two) for a range of discipline-specific tasks, purposes, and audiences. a. Independently select writing topics and formats for personal enjoyment, interest, and academic tasks. 8.7.10.10. Write routinely over extended time frames (time for research, reflection, and revision) and shorter time frames (a single sitting or a day or two) for a range of discipline-specific tasks, purposes, and audiences. a. Independently select writing topics and formats for personal enjoyment, interest, and academic tasks. | L2: What is the correct heading to put on formal written assignment for English class. L3: Why is it important to support your point-of-view with details? | Oral Reading Fluency small group discussion related skills sheet & graphic organizer completion comprehension quiz summary paragraph reflection paragraph | ie: writin *The Your Turn questions, lesson activities, skills sheets, and Extend & Assess tasks in the Teacher’s Guide and online provide students with a variety of opportunities to write for different tasks, purposes, and audiences, such as persuasive letters, expository extended responses, and extension activities that require additional research.le sitting or a day or two) for a range of tasks, purposes, and audiences. • Writing activities in the issues, Teacher’s Guide, and extra online skills pages can be used during instruction to write for a wide variety of purposes to fit varying assignments and time frames. |
9. Speaking/ Listening | |||||
Comprehension & Collaboration | |||||
ongoing | 9. SPEAKING, VIEWING, LISTENING, AND MEDIA LITERACY SL1. (Talk about text) 1. Prepare for and participate effectively in a range of conversations and collaboration with diverse partners, building on others’ ideas and expressing their own clearly and persuasively | 7.9.1.1 Engage effectively in a range of collaborative discussions (one-on-one, in groups, and teacher- led) with diverse partners on grade 7 topics, texts, and issues, building on others’ ideas and expressing their own clearly. a. Come to discussions prepared having read or researched material under study; explicitly draw on that preparation by referring to evidence on the topic, text, or issue to probe and reflect on ideas under discussion. b. Follow rules for collegial discussions, track progress toward specific goals and deadlines, and define individual roles as needed. c. Pose questions that elicit elaboration and respond to others’ questions and comments with relevant observations and ideas that bring the discussion back on topic as needed. d. Acknowledge new information expressed by others and, when warranted, modify their own views. e. Cooperate, mediate, and problem solve to make decisions as appropriate for productive group discussion. 8.9.1.1. Engage effectively in a range of collaborative discussions (one-on-one, in groups, and teacher-led) with diverse partners on grade 7 topics, texts, and issues, building on others’ ideas and expressing their own clearly. a. Come to discussions prepared having read or researched material under study; explicitly draw on that preparation by referring to evidence on the topic, text, or issue to probe and reflect on ideas under discussion. b. Follow rules for collegial discussions, track progress toward specific goals and deadlines, and define individual roles as needed. c. Pose questions that elicit elaboration and respond to others’ questions and comments with relevant observations and ideas that bring the discussion back on topic as needed. d. Acknowledge new information expressed by others and, when warranted, modify their own views. Cooperate, mediate, and problem solve to make decisions as appropriate for productive group discussion. | L2: What should you do when reading is assigned as homework? L3: Why is it helpful to come to class with all readings and homework done before class starts? How will it help you participate in classroom discussions? L3. What is the value in asking questions during class? | Oral Reading Fluency small group discussion related skills sheet & graphic organizer completion comprehension quiz summary paragraph reflection paragraph | • High--interest articles lend themselves to discussions, which can be held as a class, in small groups, or in partnerships. • Writing tasks can be modified for use in discussion groups. • Debate features in the issues can be used to stage classroom debates or informal conversations in various group formats. • Students can practice listening comprehension using the Text-to-Talk Listen and Read feature with select articles on the Action website. • Articles in the Student Edition lend themselves to discussions, which can be held as a class, in small groups, or in partnerships. Discussions can focus on important skills, such as citing text evidence and paraphrasing. • Your Turn questions following feature articles and discussion and debate topics in the Teacher’s Guide can be used to spark lively class discussions. • The debate in each issue can be used to stage a formal classroom debate or informal conversations in various group formats. |
ongoing | SL2. (Evaluate Diverse Media) 2. Integrate and evaluate information presented in diverse media and formats, including visually, quantitatively, and orally. | 7.9.2.2 Analyze the main ideas and supporting details presented in diverse media and formats (e.g., visually, quantitatively, orally) and explain how the ideas clarify a topic, text, or issue under study. 8.7.9.2. Analyze the main ideas and supporting details presented in diverse media and formats (e.g., visually, quantitatively, orally) and explain how the ideas clarify a topic, text, or issue under study. | L2: How is the information presented the video? L3. How was the main idea supported by details in various formats? L3: There are 5 parts to a thesis statement. Why is it important to include all 5 parts? | related skills sheet & graphic organizer completion comprehension quiz summary paragraph reflection paragraph | Lesson plans in the Teacher’s Guide address important listening skills, such as analyzing information presented in videos and slide shows on the Action website. • When a class participates in a Readers Theater play, students must listen to one another read. • Students can practice listening comprehension using the Text-to-Talk Listen and Read feature with select articles on the Action website. Students must understand information read aloud from articles and plays in the Student Edition. • All lesson activities and skills sheets can be completed together as a class, so students must participate orally to respond to questions. • Students must understand information presented in the videos available on the Junior Scholastic website. |
ongoing | SL3. (Evaluate the speaker) 3. Evaluate a speaker’s point of view, reasoning, and use of evidence and rhetoric. | 7.9.3.3 Delineate a speaker’s argument, specific claims, and intended audience, evaluating the soundness of the reasoning and the relevance and sufficiency of the evidence. 8.9.3.3. Delineate a speaker’s argument, specific claims, and intended audience, evaluating the soundness of the reasoning and the relevance and sufficiency of the evidence. | L2: What should you include on your note cards before speaking? L3: Why should you try to have strong arguments to support your arguments and claims? | Oral Reading Fluency small group discussion related skills sheet & graphic organizer completion comprehension quiz summary paragraph reflection paragraph | • Articles can be used to spark moderated discussion among students. • Debate features can be used to stage classroom debates or informal conversations in various group formats. Listeners can identify a speaker’s reasons and evidence for an argument. • If participating in a verbal debate with their peers, students can use the argument-writing activities provided with the Debate feature to take notes on students’ claims and the reasons and evidence they use to support them. Students can then respond to the argument by stating which claims are supported by reasons and evidence, and which claims are not. |
Presentation of Knowledge and Ideas | |||||
ongoing | SL4.(Presentation) 4. Present information, findings, and supporting evidence such that listeners can follow the line of reasoning and the organization, development, and style are appropriate to task, purpose, and audience. | 7.9.4.4 Present claims and findings, respect intellectual properties, emphasize salient points in a focused, coherent manner with pertinent descriptions, facts, details, and examples; use appropriate eye contact, adequate volume, and clear pronunciation. 8.9.4.4. Present claims and findings, respect intellectual properties, emphasize salient points in a focused, coherent manner with pertinent descriptions, facts, details, and examples; use appropriate eye contact, adequate volume, and clear pronunciation. | L2: What are some of the habits of highly effective speakers? L3: How do these habits make a speaker more effective? | Oral Reading Fluency small group discussion related skills sheet & graphic organizer completion comprehension quiz summary paragraph reflection paragraph | • Topics covered in the issues can be used as springboards for oral presentations about specific topics. • Videos, games, and slide shows on the Action website can be used as examples of digital media. • The Extend & Assess section of the Teacher’s Guide often asks students to conduct further research on a topic discussed in the issue. Their findings can be presented orally to the class. |
ongoing | SL5. (Using diverse media) 5. Make strategic use of digital media and visual displays of data to express information and enhance understanding of presentations. | 7.9.5.5 Include multimedia components and visual displays in presentations to clarify claims and findings and emphasize salient points. 8.9.5.5. Include multimedia components and visual displays in presentations to clarify claims and findings and emphasize salient points. | L2: How do you create a new slide on a Powerpoint presentation? L3: What information should you include to emphasize your point and why? | small group discussion related skills sheet & graphic organizer completion comprehension quiz summary paragraph reflection paragraph | The videos available online demonstrate the value of incorporating multimedia components into students’ own presentations. These multimedia components also serve as models for students to follow. • Photos, maps, graphs, and other elements from the magazine and website can be incorporated into student presentations as visual aids, which can be used to explain claims and findings and to emphasize specific pieces of information. |
ongoing | SL6. (Target audience) 6. Adapt speech to a variety of contexts and communicative tasks, demonstrating command of formal English when indicated or appropriate. | 7.9.6.6 Adapt speech to a variety of contexts, audiences, tasks, and feedback from self and others, demonstrating command of formal English when indicated or appropriate. (See grade 7 Language standards 1 and 3 on page 73 for specific expectations.) 8.9.6.6. Adapt speech to a variety of contexts, audiences, tasks, and feedback from self and others, demonstrating command of formal English when indicated or appropriate. (See grade 7 Language standards 1 and 3 on page 73 for specific expectations.) | L2: For whom is your speech intended? L3: Why is it important to identify your audience before writing your speech? | present an argument from the perspective of a store manager, an adult shopper, an adult shopper, a security guard, or a parent supervising his or her teenage kids | • The articles and plays in Junior Scholastic are perfect for reading aloud, giving students important practice in many aspects of public speaking (controlling volume, pacing, intonation, etc.). Each issue includes text chunks of varying sizes, from lengthy articles to short sidebars and photo captions. This allows students of varying proficiencies to read aloud with fluency. •As described under standards 1 and 4 above, many questions in both the Student and Teacher’s Guide can be used for oral response in formal and informal settings. •Articles in the Student Edition can be used to stimulate discussion about given topics. |
ongoing | SL7. s (Analyze mass media) 7. Critically analyze information found in electronic, print, and mass media and use a variety of these sources. | 7.9.7.7 Understand, analyze, and use different types of print, digital, and multimodal media. a. Evaluate mass media with regard to quality of production, accuracy of information, bias, stereotype, purpose, message and target audience (e.g., film, television, radio, video games, and advertisements). b. Analyze the messages and points of view employed in different media (e.g., advertising, news programs, websites, video games, blogs, documentaries). c. Recognize ethical standards and safe practices in social and personal media communications. 8.9.7.7. Understand, analyze, and use different types of print, digital, and multimodal media. a. Evaluate mass media with regard to quality of production, accuracy of information, bias, stereotype, purpose, message and target audience (e.g., film, television, radio, video games, and advertisements). b. Analyze the messages and points of view employed in different media (e.g., advertising, news programs, websites, video games, blogs, documentaries). Recognize ethical standards and safe communications. practices in social and personal media | L2: What is the point-of-view of the media you are analyzing? L3: Why should you know the point of view of media? How can it be helpful to you? | Oral Reading Fluency small group discussion related skills sheet & graphic organizer completion comprehension quiz summary paragraph reflection paragraph | Various online sources are used to gather and examine information in all sorts of formats. |
ongoing | SL8. (Publishing) 8. Communicate using traditional or digital multimedia formats and digital writing and publishing for a specific purpose. | 7.9.8.8 As an individual or in collaboration, create an artistic or entertaining multimedia work or a piece of digital communication or contribute to an online collaboration for a specific purpose. a. Demonstrate a developmentally appropriate understanding of copyright, attribution, principles of Fair Use, Creative Commons licenses and the effect of genre on conventions of attribution and citation. b. Publish the work and share with an audience 8.9.8.8. As an individual or in collaboration, create an artistic or entertaining multimedia work or a piece of digital communication or contribute to an online collaboration for a specific purpose. a. Demonstrate a developmentally appropriate understanding of copyright, attribution, principles of Fair Use, Creative Commons licenses and the effect of genre on conventions of attribution and citation. b. Publish the work and share with an audience. | L2: How do you share a document on google drive L3: What can you learn by collaborating on a project with a peer? | small group discussion related skills sheet & graphic organizer completion comprehension quiz summary paragraph reflection paragraph | Reflection projects related to various novels. |
Language: Conventions of Standard English | |||||
ongoing | L1. (Grammar & parts of speech) 1. Demonstrate command of the conventions of standard English grammar and usage when writing or speaking. | 7.11.1.1. Demonstrate command of the conventions of standard English grammar and usage when writing or speaking. a. Explain the function of phrases and clauses in general and their function in specific sentences. b. Choose among simple, compound, complex, and compound-complex sentences to signal differing relationships among ideas. c. Place phrases and clauses within a sentence, recognizing and correcting misplaced and dangling modifiers. 8.11.1.1. Demonstrate command of the conventions of standard English grammar and usage when writing or speaking. a. Explain the function of phrases and clauses in general and their function in specific sentences. b. Choose among simple, compound, complex, and compound-complex sentences to signal differing relationships among ideas. Place phrases and clauses within a sentence, recognizing and correcting misplaced and dangling modifiers.* | L2: What are the sentence formulas for compound and complex sentences? L3: Why is it important to use a variety of sentence structures in your writing? | Open-ended questions in such formats as Geo-Skills and Digital Readworks comprehension questions related skills sheet & graphic organizer completion comprehension quiz summary paragraph reflection paragraph | • Lesson plans in the Teacher’s Guide address language skills, including conventions and usage. • Articles in each issue contain embedded language skills, including parts of speech, singular/plural, possessives, contractions, and more. • Exercises in the issues, Teacher’s Guide, and extra activity pages provide students with many opportunities for writing and speaking using standard English conventions. • More than 10 extra printable activity sheets are available online with each issue. One of those sheets, the You Be the Editor activity, requires students to identify and correct grammatical errors in writing. • Interactive Common Core skill-building games allow students to hone grammar and usage skills *The Words to Know feature supports grammar skills by identifying the parts of speech for key vocabulary words. • Student Edition articles exemplify appropriate use of pronouns. • Open-ended questions in the Your Turn feature, the Cartoon Analysis, and other sections provide students with opportunities to write using standard conventions of grammar and usage. • In the Teacher’s Guide, writing prompts, openended questions, and lesson plans provide students with opportunities to write using standard conventions of grammar and usage. • The articles, videos, and other supporting materials serve as models for usage of standard English grammar in speaking and writing. |
Quarterly IRA w/ novel ongoing | L2. (Spelling & punctuation) 2. Demonstrate command of the conventions of standard English capitalization, punctuation, and spelling when writing. | 7.11.2.2 Demonstrate command of the conventions of standard English capitalization, punctuation, and spelling when writing. a. Use a comma to separate coordinate adjectives (e.g., It was a fascinating, enjoyable movie but not He wore an old[,] green shirt). b. Spell correctly. 8.11.2.2.. Demonstrate command of the conventions of standard English capitalization, punctuation, and spelling when writing. a. Use a comma to separate coordinate adjectives (e.g., It was a fascinating, enjoyable movie but not He wore an old[,] green shirt). Spell correctly. | L2: What words should be capitalized? L3: How does being a good peer editor help you become a better writer? | Oral Reading Fluency small group discussion related skills sheet & graphic organizer completion comprehension quiz summary paragraph reflection paragraph | * Articles in the Student Edition serve as models for correct usage of capitalization, punctuation, and spelling. • Open-ended questions in the Your Turn feature, the Cartoon Analysis, and other sections provide students with the opportunity to write using standard conventions of capitalization, punctuation, and spelling. • In the Teacher’s Guide, writing prompts, openended questions, and lesson plans provide students with the opportunity to write using standard conventions of capitalization, punctuation, and spelling |
ongoing | L3. (conventions of language) 3. Apply knowledge of language to understand how language functions in different contexts, to make effective choices for meaning or style, and to comprehend more fully when reading or listening. | 7.11.3.3 Use knowledge of language and its conventions when writing, speaking, reading, or listening. a. Choose language that expresses ideas precisely and concisely, recognizing and eliminating wordiness and redundancy.* 8.11.3.3. Use knowledge of language and its conventions when writing, speaking, reading, or listening. Choose language that expresses ideas precisely and concisely, recognizing and eliminating wordiness and redundancy. * | L2: What are prefixes, suffixes and roots. L3: Why should you use words that precisely expresses what you mean? | small group discussion related skills sheet & graphic organizer completion comprehension quiz summary paragraph reflection paragraph | • Articles in the Student Edition serve as models for nonfiction and journalistic-style writing and tone. They can be used as a basis for writing, speaking, and listening activities in both formal and informal settings through the Your Turn activities in the Student Edition as well as the full-length lesson plans and activities in the Teacher’s Guide and online. These activities provide students with the opportunity to practice using language conventions and build their writing skills. Articles in the issue provide examples of diverse writing styles. • Readers Theater plays provide examples of language used in different contexts by a variety of characters. • Writing activities in the issues, Teacher’s Guide activity pages, and extra online skills sheets require students to determine appropriate writing styles to respond effectively. |
Vocabulary Acquisition & Use | |||||
ongoing | L4. (word parts) 4. Vocabulary acquisition and use | 7.11.4.4.Determine or clarify the meaning of unknown and multiple-meaning words and phrases based on grade 7 reading and content, choosing flexibly from a range of strategies. a. Use context (e.g., the overall meaning of a sentence or paragraph; a word’s position or function in a sentence) as a clue to the meaning of a word or phrase. b.Use common, grade-appropriate Greek or Latin affixes and roots as clues to the meaning of a word (e.g., belligerent, bellicose, rebel). c. Consult general and specialized reference materials (e.g., dictionaries, glossaries, thesauruses), both print and digital, to find the pronunciation of a word or determine or clarify its precise meaning or its part of speech. d. Verify the preliminary determination of the meaning of a word or phrase (e.g., by checking the inferred meaning in 8.11.4.4.Determine or clarify the meaning of unknown and multiple-meaning words and phrases based on grade 7 reading and content, choosing flexibly from a range of strategies. a. Use context (e.g., the overall meaning of a sentence or paragraph; a word’s position or function in a sentence) as a clue to the meaning of a word or phrase. b.Use common, grade-appropriate Greek or Latin affixes and roots as clues to the meaning of a word (e.g., belligerent, bellicose, rebel). c. Consult general and specialized reference materials (e.g., dictionaries, glossaries, thesauruses), both print and digital, to find the pronunciation of a word or determine or clarify its precise meaning or its part of speech. d. Verify the preliminary determination of the meaning of a word or phrase (e.g., by checking the inferred meaning in context or in a dictionary).context or in a dictionary). | L2: What does MAPS stand for in the Word Mapping strategy? L3: How can learning the definitions of morphemes help us learn the meaning of new words? How do context clues help us? | small group discussion related skills sheet & graphic organizer completion comprehension quiz summary paragraph reflection paragraph | • The Words to Know feature introduces students to more than 100 key social studies terms each year. These words are bolded in the Student Edition. They are defined in the Words to Know box on the back page of the magazine and are supported by context clues. • The Words to Know introduced in each issue are reviewed in a skills sheet available online. • In the digital edition, students can click on a Words to Know link to make key words and definitions appear on screen. • Junior Scholastic’s skills sheets focus on important nonfiction reading skills, such as using context clues to determine word meaning. • The DIY Vocabulary skills sheet, available online with every issue, allows students to teach themselves the meaning of unfamiliar words using context clues.Articles in the issue provide examples of diverse writing styles. • Readers Theater plays provide examples of language used in different contexts by a variety of characters. • Writing activities in the issues, Teacher’s Guide activity pages, and extra online skills sheets require students to determine appropriate writing styles to respond effectively. |
ongoing | L5. (figurative language) | 7.11.5.5 Demonstrate understanding of figurative language, word relationships, and nuances in word meanings to extend word consciousness. a. Interpret figures of speech (e.g., literary, biblical, and mythological allusions) in context. b. Use the relationship between particular words (e.g., synonym/antonym, analogy) to better understand each of the words. c. Distinguish among the connotations (associations) of words with similar denotations (definitions) (e.g., refined, respectful, polite, diplomatic, condescending). 8.11.5.5 Demonstrate understanding of figurative language, word relationships, and nuances in word meanings to extend word consciousness. a. Interpret figures of speech (e.g., literary, biblical, and mythological allusions) in context. b. Use the relationship between particular words (e.g., synonym/antonym, analogy) to better understand each of the words. c. Distinguish among the connotations (associations) of words with similar denotations (definitions) (e.g., refined, respectful, polite, diplomatic, condescending). | L2: How can you identify figurative language in a poem? L3: How does understanding the meaning of figurative language help us to understand the meaning or theme of a poem? | small group discussion related skills sheet & graphic organizer completion comprehension quiz summary paragraph reflection paragraph | • Lesson plans in the Teacher’s Guide focus on skills such as figurative language and multiple-meaning words. • Some articles in the issue contain embedded language skills, including synonyms, antonyms, and figurative language. • Games on the Action website target language skills such as synonyms and antonyms. *Vocabulary words are defined, supported by context clues, and included in the Words to Know box on the back page of the magazine. • Articles in the Student Edition feature word relationships, including synonyms, antonyms, analogies, and the use of connotation and denotation. • Skills sheets focusing on word relationships, such as cause/effect and classifying items, help students solidify their understanding of these relationships. • Many articles contain examples of idioms, puns, similes, metaphors, irony, and other figurative language, which can be used for language instruction. |
ongoing | L6. (Comprehension and Expression) 6. Acquire and use accurately a range of general academic and domain-specific words and phrases sufficient for reading, writing, speaking, and listening at the college and career readiness level; demonstrate independence in gathering vocabulary knowledge when considering a word or phrase important to comprehension or expression. | 7.11.6.6 Acquire and use accurately grade-appropriate general academic and domain-specific words and phrases; gather vocabulary knowledge when considering a word or phrase important to comprehension or expression. | L2: How is a morpheme different than a syllable? How are they the same? L3: How can a word or phrase be important in comprehension or expression? | small group discussion related skills sheet & graphic organizer completion comprehension quiz summary paragraph reflection paragraph | Both informational and literary texts contain academic and topic-specific vocabulary words. The words are supported by definitions and context clues. • Articles contain academic and domain-specific vocabulary words that are part of social studies and science curricula. These words are supported by definitions and context clues. |
12. Reading / Literacy in History/Social Studies (6-8) | |||||
Key Ideas and Details | |||||
ongoing | RH.1. (text evidence from primary/secondary sources) | RH.6-8.1 Cite specific textual, visual or physical evidence to support analysis of primary and secondary sources. | Higher-level critical-thinking questions in the Teacher’s Guide and online encourage students to analyze primary and secondary sources. | Online quizzes that accompany articles • The Know the News assessment tool, available in the Teacher’s Guide and online, provides test prep-style questions that focus on referring to the text to find answers. | Various articles from such sites as Digital ReadWorks and Newsela Compass Learning Odyssey Junior Scholastic offers both primary and secondary sources for students to read and analyze. Primary sources are frequently chosen to support a secondary source in a Student Edition article. Examples of primary sources offered recently include: Amendments of the U.S. Constitution (a Student Edition article) a 1769 ad for slaves (a visual accompanying an article), and firsthand accounts of the Japanese-American internment experience (a web link). • “Think About It” questions follow main articles in the Student Edition, challenging students to make and support inferences from the text. • “Cartoon Corner” asks students to interpret and analyze editorial cartoons related to current events. • Junior Scholastic’s skills reproducibles focus on comprehension strategies for social studies and other nonfiction texts, including drawing inferences. • “Content-Area Questions” in each Teacher’s Guide ask students to recall and analyze key ideas (both explicit and implicit) from that issue’s main story. These include questions connecting to the middle-school social studies, history, and geography curricula. • Other Junior Scholastic features that encourage analysis of articles include “Rapid Review” questions, the weekly “Quiz Wizard,” and the “Knowledge Bowl” team competition (all in Teacher’s Guide). |
Ongoing | RH2. (History): Key Ideas and Details -Central ideas from primary or secondary sources) | RH.6-8.2 Determine the central ideas or information of a primary or secondary source; provide an accurate summary of the source distinct from prior knowledge or opinions. | Can you read the Text closely and ask yourself, “What does the author most want me to know?” •“Content-Area Questions” in the Teacher’s Guide support the main story in each issue. Questions focus on key ideas in the article and connect to the language arts, social studies, history and other curricula. | Summarize an article in three or four sentences Online quizzes that accompany articles Writing exercises and misc. worksheets | Determining The Central Idea - What’s it All About? worksheet Nonfiction text features in Junior Scholastic’s articles provide scaffolding to help students identify central ideas and key details. A headline helps students identify the central idea, while subheadings and topic sentences help them identify supporting ideas. • The skills reproducibles focus on comprehension strategies for social studies and other nonfiction text, such as identifying main ideas, summarizing, and differentiating fact from opinion. • “Content-Area Questions” in the Teacher’s Guide support the main story in each issue. Questions focus on key ideas in the article and connect to the language arts, social studies, history and other curricula. • The Teacher’s Guide often guides students through a primary source document, challenging them to construct meaning and summarize. A recent example is an excerpt from President Lincoln’s Inaugural Address, which appeared on a skills reproducible with comprehension and thinking questions. |
ongoing | RH.6–8.3 (History): Key Ideas and Details - Describe a process | RH.6–8.3 Identify key steps in a text’s description of a process related to history/social studies (e.g., how a bill becomes law, how interest rates are raised or lowered). | L2 Can you describe a process? | Online quizzes that accompany articles related skills sheet & graphic organizer completion comprehension quiz summary paragraph reflection paragraph | • Many Junior Scholastic articles follow a chronological text structure to show clear steps in a process. The articles also make use of rich nonfiction text features, including timelines and diagrams, to visually convey this information. • Lesson activities and skills sheets in the Teacher’s Guides and online ask students to analyze and interpret these articles and text features to demonstrate understanding of the process discussed. |
ongoing | RH.6-8.4 (History): Key Ideas and Details - Content vocabulary | RH.6–8.4 Determine the meaning of words and phrases as they are used in a text, including vocabulary specific to domains related to history/ social studies. | L2 What is the meaning of ___? | Online quizzes that accompany articles related skills sheet & graphic organizer completion comprehension quiz summary paragraph reflection paragraph | Through the Words to Know feature, Junior Scholastic introduces students to more than 100 key social studies terms each year. These vocabulary words are bold in the Student Edition. They are defined in the Words to Know box on the back page of the magazine and are supported by context clues. • In the digital edition, students can click on a Words to Know link to make key words and definitions appear on screen. • The Know the News assessment tool, available in the Teacher’s Guide and online, provides test prep-style questions that ask students to determine the meanings of words used in an article. • Vocabulary-specific skills sheets, such as DIY Vocabulary and Words to Know, focus on comprehension strategies for nonfiction text, including the use of context clues to determine word meaning. |
ongoing | RH.6-8.5 (History); Key Ideas and Details - Text format | RH.6–8.5 Describe how a text presents information (e.g., sequentially, comparatively, causally). | L2 How is the information presented? | Online quizzes that accompany articles related skills sheet & graphic organizer completion comprehension quiz summary paragraph reflection paragraph | Articles in the Student Edition offer varying nonfiction text structures, including sequence, cause/effect, problem/solution, compare/ contrast, and pro/con. • The read-aloud plays present information in a unique dramatic format. • Junior Scholastic’s skills sheets focus on comprehension strategies for nonfiction text, such as recognizing and analyzing various text structures (for example, cause and effect or problem and solution). |
ongoing | RH.6-8.6 (History): Key Ideas and Details - Author’s point of view | 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). | L2 How can you tell the author’s point of view? | related skills sheet & graphic organizer completion comprehension quiz summary paragraph reflection paragraph | • Texts in the Student Edition are written for varying purposes. News articles are written to inform. Plays are designed to both inform and entertain. The debates offer arguments meant to persuade—presenting two different positions. Teachers can have students identify the purpose of a text as they read and explore these purposes further through the use of skills sheets in the Teacher’s Guide and online (examples include Understanding an Author’s Techniques and Analyzing Authors’ Claims). • Debates present a contemporary issue in social studies from two perspectives. Students explore how each argument reflects a different viewpoint and evaluate which side makes the stronger case, while also taking into account information that the author may have intentionally left out. • Many articles contain quotations from experts or teens; these quotations can be analyzed to determine the speaker’s point of view or purpose. • Full-class discussion questions in the Teacher’s Guide support each issue’s feature stories and ask students to analyze the author’s purpose and point of view. • The Know the News assessment tool, available in the Teacher’s Guide and online, provides test prep-style questions that feature questions regarding author’s purpose. |
ongoing | RH.6-8.7 (History): visual information in different formats | RH.6-8.7 Integrate visual information (e.g., in charts, graphs, photographs, videos, or maps) with other information in print and digital texts. | L2 Can you read a chart? | related skills sheet & graphic organizer completion comprehension quiz summary paragraph reflection paragraph | • The Student Edition and Teacher’s Guide feature numerous photos and infographics—including maps, charts, graphs, timelines, and editorial cartoons—to support and enhance the text. A single Student Edition typically contains at least 25 photos, three maps, three charts/graphs, and at least one editorial cartoon. • Additional cartoons, timelines, charts, graphs, and other infographics are included in the Teacher’s Guide and online skills sheets, and are accompanied by higher-order thinking questions for students to practice analyzing and interpreting information presented in these formats. • Nonfiction text features, including headlines, subheadings, photos, captions, sidebars, boldfaced vocabulary words, and more, contribute to students’ understanding of a topic. • Each issue offers a geography skills activity that requires students to integrate information presented in text and map format. Each accompanies an article and features a large map and key, plus related questions to develop essential map-reading skills. • Junior Scholastic’s website offers videos to complement articles in the print issue. • Students receive two special issues each year—a World Affairs Atlas/Almanac and a U.S. Affairs Annual. These issues present vital facts and figures in atlas/almanac format, which allows students to practice reading tables, charts, and maps. |
ongoing | RH.6-8.8 (History): Fact/Opinion | RH.6–8.8 Distinguish among fact, opinion, and reasoned judgment in a text. | L2 What points are facts? Opinions? | related skills sheet & graphic organizer completion comprehension quiz summary paragraph reflection paragraph | The Debate feature in each issue can be used to analyze arguments. Students can identify each writer’s claims, reasons, and evidence using the skills sheet Analyzing Authors’ Claims. • Several skills sheets ask students to distinguish among fact, opinion, and reasoned judgment. • Quotes from experts and teens that appear in an article may represent opinions, while other statements in the text represent facts. Students can compare and contrast the two types of statements. Various articles from such sites as Digital ReadWorks and Newsela Compass Learning Odyssey |
ongoing | RH.6-8.9 (History) - primary / secondary sources | RH.6–8.9 Analyze the relationship between a primary and secondary source on the same topic. | L2 What information came from primary sources? Secondary sources? | related skills sheet & graphic organizer completion comprehension quiz summary paragraph reflection paragraph | • Nearly every article in Junior Scholastic includes primary sources in the form of photos. Lesson plans and skills sheets contain prompts calling for students to consider how the imagery adds to their understanding of the article, a secondary source. • Many articles in the Student Edition include a relevant primary source in the Teacher’s Guide or online. Compare-and-contrast skills sheets allow students to read each source and show how each one presents information or a unique perspective. Your Turn and Extend & Assess writing prompts ask students to synthesize their comparisons in a paragraph or short essay |
ongoing | RH.6-8.9 (History) - independent reading | RH.6–8.10 By the end of grade 8, read and comprehend history/social studies texts in the grades 6–8 text complexity band independently and proficiently. | L3 Can you summarize history or social studies text? | related skills sheet & graphic organizer completion comprehension quiz summary paragraph reflection paragraph | Various articles from such sites as Digital ReadWorks and Newsela Compass Learning Odyssey • Junior Scholastic covers a wide range of topics relevant to the grades 6–8 history and social studies curriculum, including current events, citizenship, economics, geography, ancient civilizations, government, and more. • Each issue features articles at a range of Lexile reading levels. In-text scaffolding is present for students who need it. Potentially unfamiliar words are supported with context clues or definitions. Headlines and subheads guide students to focus on key ideas. For each issue, a lower-Lexile version of one feature is available online. • Each lesson plan in the Teacher’s Guide provides suggestions for differentiation to assist students who are performing above or below grade level. • A variety of assessments allow teachers to easily monitor student comprehension of primary and secondary sources related to history and social studies. • In the Student Edition, these include Your Turn questions, map and graph questions, cartoon analysis questions, and related writing prompts. In the Teacher’s Guide and online, assessment opportunities include the Quiz Wizard, skills sheets, and the Extend & Assess feature to further students’ learning. • The skills sheets present skills and strategies to help all students read and comprehend grade-level nonfiction. Using articles from the issue, students will identify main ideas and details, use context clues to determine word meaning, make inferences, compare and contrast ideas, summarize information, identify causes and effects, identify problems and solutions, and distinguish among fact, opinion, and reasoned judgment. |
ongoing | RST.6-8.1 (Science and Technology) - text evidence | RST.6–8.1 Cite specific textual evidence to support analysis of science and technical texts. | L2 Can you support your claims with text evidence? | related skills sheet & graphic organizer completion comprehension quiz summary paragraph reflection paragraph | • Every issue of Junior Scholastic includes exciting science-themed articles. Recent topics include the drought in California, newly discovered planets outside our solar system, and engineering better homes for refugees, among others. • Compelling Your Turn questions follow feature articles in the Student Edition, challenging students to make and support inferences drawn from the text. Additional higher-order thinking questions appear in discussion questions and writing prompts in the Teacher’s Guide. • Skills sheets focus on comprehension strategies, such as drawing inferences, for science-themed and other nonfiction texts. • Full-class discussion questions in each Teacher’s Guide ask students to recall and analyze key ideas (both explicit and implicit). These include questions connected to the middle-school science curricula. • Junior Scholastic is available in digital format for display on interactive whiteboards, making it easy for students to cite textual evidence as they answer and discuss questions. Students can use digital ink on the whiteboard to highlight or underline details that support their analysis of the text. • The Extend & Assess section of the Teacher’s Guide asks students to complete short writing assignments based on an article from the Student Edition. These writing prompts require students to cite specific evidence from the text. • The Quiz Wizard in the Teacher’s Guide is another way to measure student analysis of the text. This assessment requires students to refer to the text to determine the answers, and it offers questions in a variety of formats, such as identifying central ideas and key details and determining whether statements from an article are facts or opinions. • The Know the News assessment tool, available in the Teacher’s Guide and online, provides test prep-style questions that focus on referring to the text to find answers. |
ongoing | RST.6-8.2 (Science and Technology) - central ideas | RST.6–8.2 Determine the central ideas or conclusions of a text; provide an accurate summary of the text distinct from prior knowledge or opinions. | L2 Can you summarize the central idea? | related skills sheet & graphic organizer completion comprehension quiz summary paragraph reflection paragraph | • Nonfiction text features in the articles provide scaffolding to help students identify central ideas and key details. A headline helps students identify the central idea, while subheadings and topic sentences help them identify supporting ideas. • Skills sheets focus on comprehension strategies for nonfiction texts, such as identifying main ideas, summarizing information, and differentiating fact from opinion. • Full-class discussion questions in the Teacher’s Guide focus on key ideas in the article and connect to the language arts, science, and other curricula. • The Extend & Assess section of the Teacher’s Guide asks students to complete short writing assignments based on an article from the Student Edition. These writing prompts require students to summarize the text and explain it in their own words. • The Quiz Wizard in the Teacher’s Guide requires students to refer to the text to determine the answers, and it offers questions in a variety of formats, such as distinguishing between central ideas and key details. • The Know the News assessment tool, available in the Teacher’s Guide and online, provides test prep-style questions that focus on determining central ideas and key details. |
ongoing | RST.6-8.3 (Science and Technology) - follow procedure | RST.6–8.3 Follow precisely a multistep procedure when carrying out experiments, taking measurements, or performing technical tasks. | L2 Can you understand written directions? | related skills sheet & graphic organizer completion comprehension quiz summary paragraph reflection paragraph | • Junior Scholastic reports on discoveries and conclusions that have been made by real-world scientists using the scientific method. |
ongoing | RST.6-8.4 (Science and Technology) - content vocabulary | RST.6–8.4 Determine the meaning of symbols, key terms, and other domain specific words and phrases as they are used in a specific scientific or technical context relevant to grades 6–8 texts and topics. | L2 Can you understand words and symbols that are used in science and technology? | related skills sheet & graphic organizer completion comprehension quiz summary paragraph reflection paragraph | • Science-themed articles in Junior Scholastic use and explain domain-specific vocabulary. Technical terms—such as exoplanet, greenhouse gas, and fault line—are defined in the text. • Skills sheets focus on comprehension strategies for nonfiction text, including the use of context clues to determine word meaning. • In the digital edition, students can click on a Words to Know link to make key words and definitions appear on screen. |
ongoing | RST.6-8.1 (Science and Technology) - text structure | RST.6–8.5 Analyze the structure an author uses to organize a text, including how the major sections contribute to the whole and to an understanding of the topic. | L2 Can you analyze text structure? | related skills sheet & graphic organizer completion comprehension quiz summary paragraph reflection paragraph | • Articles in the Student Edition (both print and online) offer various nonfiction text structures, including sequence, cause/effect, problem/ solution, compare/contrast, and pro/con. • Longer articles are broken into sections (with helpful topical subheadings) to promote comprehension of key ideas. • Junior Scholastic’s skills sheets focus on comprehension strategies for nonfiction text, such as recognizing and analyzing various text structures (for example, cause and effect or problem and solution). |
ongoing | RST.6-8.6 (Science and Technology) - author’s purpose | RST.6–8.6 Analyze the author’s purpose in providing an explanation, describing a procedure, or discussing an experiment in a text. | L2 Can you define the author’s purpose? | related skills sheet & graphic organizer completion comprehension quiz summary paragraph reflection paragraph | • Texts in the Student Edition are written for varying purposes. For example, current events articles are written to inform. The plays are designed to both inform and entertain. The debates offer arguments meant to persuade. Teachers can have students identify the purpose of a piece of text as they read. • Most articles contain quotations from experts or teens on the topic at hand; these quotations can be analyzed to determine the speaker’s point of view. • Full-class discussion questions appear in the Teacher’s Guide to support main stories in each issue and ask students to analyze the author’s purpose and point of view. • The Know the News assessment tool, available in the Teacher’s Guide and online, provides test prep-style questions that feature questions regarding author’s purpose. |
ongoing | RST.6-8.7 Science and Technology) - visual information in various formats | RST.6–8.7 Integrate quantitative or technical information expressed in words in a text with a version of that information expressed visually (e.g., in a flowchart, diagram, model, graph, or table). | L2 Can you read a graph or map? | related skills sheet & graphic organizer completion comprehension quiz summary paragraph reflection paragraph | The Student Edition and Teacher’s Guides both feature numerous photos and infographics— including diagrams, charts, graphs, and tables— to support and enhance the text. • Skills sheets focus on analyzing text features to help students become familiar with important science-related information presented in a visual format and how to best interpret the information described in each. • Junior Scholastic’s website offers videos to complement articles in the print issue. |
ongoing | RST.6-8.8 (Science and Technology) - judge facts | RST.6–8.8 Distinguish among facts, reasoned judgment based on research findings, and speculation in a text. | L2 Can you tell facts from guesses? | related skills sheet & graphic organizer completion comprehension quiz summary paragraph reflection paragraph | The Debate feature in every issue can be used to analyze arguments. Students can identify each writer’s claims, reasons, and evidence. • Skills sheets allow students to practice distinguishing between facts and reasoned judgments. • Quotes from experts and teens that appear in an article often represent opinions or speculations, while other statements in the text represent facts. Students can compare and contrast the two types of statements. |
ongoing | RST.6-8.9 (Science and Technology) - compare / contrast findings | RST.6–8.9 Compare and contrast the information gained from experiments, simulations, video, or multimedia sources with that gained from reading a text on the same topic. | L2 Can you compare and contrast information gained from scientific research? | related skills sheet & graphic organizer completion comprehension quiz summary paragraph reflection paragraph | • The Junior Scholastic website offers videos to complement articles in the print issue. For example, after reading an article about environmental problems and solutions for Earth Day, students could visit the Junior Scholastic website to see a video of citizens participating in Earth Day activities. Skills sheets in the Teacher’s Guide and online that focus on compare-and-contrast allow students to see the similarities and differences between each source and how they present information about the same topic. |
ongoing | RST.6-8.10 (Science and Technology) - read independently | RST.6–8.10 By the end of grade 8, read and comprehend science/technical texts in the grades 6–8 text complexity band independently and proficiently. | L2 Can you read books and articles on science and technology? L3 Can you summarize what you read? | related skills sheet & graphic organizer completion comprehension quiz summary paragraph reflection paragraph | Junior Scholastic covers a wide range of nonfiction topics relevant to the grades 6–8 curriculum, including science and technology. • Each issue features articles at a range of Lexile reading levels. In-text scaffolding is present for students who need it. Potentially unfamiliar words are supported with context clues or definitions. Headlines and subheads guide students to focus on key ideas. For each issue, a lower-Lexile version of one feature is available online. Each lesson plan in the Teacher’s Guide provides suggestions for differentiation to assist students who are performing above or below grade level. • Teachers can monitor student comprehension with Junior Scholastic’s wide array of assessments. In the Student Edition, these include Your Turn questions and writing prompts. In the Teacher’s Guide, assessment opportunities include full-class discussion questions, the Quiz Wizard, skills sheets, and Extend & Assess questions. Additional skills sheets are available online. • Skills sheets allow students to identify central ideas and details, use context clues to determine word meaning, make inferences, compare and contrast ideas, write summaries, and more. |
ongoing | WHST.6–8.1 (History, Science & Technology): Writing arguments | WHST.6–8.1 Write arguments focused on discipline-specific content. a. Introduce claim(s) about a topic or issue, acknowledge and distinguish the claim(s) from alternate or opposing claims, and organize the reasons and evidence logically. b. Support claim(s) with logical reasoning and relevant, accurate data and evidence that demonstrate an understanding of the topic or text, using credible sources. c. Use words, phrases, and clauses to create cohesion and clarify the relationships among claim(s), counterclaims, reasons, and evidence. d. Establish and maintain a formal style. e. Provide a concluding statement or section that follows from and supports the argument presented. | L2 Can you write a good argument? | related skills sheet & graphic organizer completion comprehension quiz summary paragraph reflection paragraph | • The Your Turn questions that follow many history- and science-themed articles lend themselves to argument writing. Students are encouraged to revisit the related article to find evidence to support their claims. • Each issue’s debate provides an excellent writing exercise. It asks students to contemplate and respond to two sides of a controversial issue. Students can evaluate each side of the debate using the skills sheet Analyzing Authors’ Claims. Teachers may also ask students to write their own responses to the debate. • The Cartoon Analysis asks students to write their opinions on important topics, and to support their views with reasons and evidence. • The Teacher’s Guide includes writing prompts (argumentative and other genres) related to the issue. Most of these prompts focus on the disciplines of history/social studies and science/technology. • Junior Scholastic readers are encouraged to enter the annual Scholastic Art and Writing Awards. Argument writing is one of several writing categories in the nationwide contest. |
ongoing | WHST.6–8.2 (History, Science & Technology): Writing information | WHST.6–8.2 Write informative/explanatory texts, including the narration of historical events, scientific procedures/experiments, or technical processes. a. Introduce a topic clearly, previewing what is to follow; organize ideas, concepts, and information into broader categories as appropriate to achieving purpose; include formatting (e.g., headings), graphics (e.g., charts, tables), and multimedia when useful to aiding comprehension. b. Develop the topic with relevant, well-chosen facts, definitions, concrete details, quotations, or other information and examples. c. Use appropriate and varied transitions to create cohesion and clarify the relationships among ideas and concepts. d. Use precise language and domain-specific vocabulary to inform about or explain the topic. e. Establish and maintain a formal style and objective tone. f. Provide a concluding statement or section that follows from and supports the information or explanation presented. | L2 Can you write to inform or explain a process? | related skills sheet & graphic organizer completion comprehension quiz summary paragraph reflection paragraph | The Your Turn questions that follow feature articles ask students to write informatively about history, social studies, science, or technology. Students are encouraged to revisit the related article to find evidence to support their claims. • The Teacher’s Guide includes writing prompts (informative and other genres) related to the issue. • Many of the assessments in the Student Edition and Teacher’s Guides (map and geography skills activities, skills sheets, and Extend & Assess questions) include open-ended questions that challenge students to write clear and coherent responses supported by details from the issue. • Junior Scholastic readers are encouraged to enter the annual Scholastic Art and Writing Awards. Journalistic (informative) writing is one of several writing categories in the nationwide contest. |
ongoing | WHST.6–8.4 (History, Science & Technology): organize writing | WHST.6–8.4 Produce clear and coherent writing in which the development, organization, and style are appropriate to task, purpose, and audience. | L2 Can you create, edit and format your writing to address a specific audience or purpose? | related skills sheet & graphic organizer completion comprehension quiz summary paragraph reflection paragraph | • The articles serve as exemplar texts that are written to specific tasks, purposes, and audiences. • When a lesson plan focuses on writing skills, it offers guidelines or directions appropriate to the specific writing task. (For example, a lesson on writing persuasive letters will direct students to begin by grabbing the reader’s attention.) • Skills sheets that ask students to write about a topic in a specific style include the necessary formatting, so students can focus on the information they find and present, rather than on determining how to set up the assignment. They can then take the information, place it into the graphic organizer, and properly organize it into a longer writing assignment. |
ongoing | WHST.6–8.5 (History, Science & Technology): develop writing for purpose and audience | WHST.6–8.5 With some guidance and support from peers and adults, develop and strengthen writing as needed by planning, revising, editing, rewriting, or trying a new approach, focusing on how well purpose and audience have been addressed. | L2 Can you create, edit and format your writing to address a specific audience or purpose? | related skills sheet & graphic organizer completion comprehension quiz summary paragraph reflection paragraph | • The Your Turn writing prompts in the Student Edition as well as the Extend & Assess writing opportunities in the Teacher’s Guide can become first drafts of writing assignments that are revised and edited in the classroom. • Students can use the discussion questions, lesson activities, and skills sheets from the Teacher’s Guide and online as the first step in the writing process. From there, they can create first drafts, which can be revised and edited by their peers and teachers to produce final, publishable pieces of writing. • Articles in the Student Edition can be used as exemplar texts of polished, published writing. |
ongoing | WHST.6–8.6 (History, Science & Technology): produce/publish writing | WHST.6–8.6 Use technology, including the internet, to produce and publish writing and present the relationships between information and ideas clearly and efficiently. | L2 Can you use google docs to create and share written documents | related skills sheet & graphic organizer completion comprehension quiz summary paragraph reflection paragraph | • Students can share their ideas about the debate topic on the Junior Scholastic website. • Students can easily write and send letters to the editor of Junior Scholastic. |
ongoing | WHST.6–8.7 (History, Science & Technology): research for writing | WHST.6–8.7 Conduct short research projects to answer a question (including a self-generated question), drawing on several sources and generating additional related, focused questions that allow for multiple avenues of exploration. | related skills sheet & graphic organizer completion comprehension quiz summary paragraph reflection paragraph | Junior Scholastic articles make excellent starting points for student research projects. The Student Edition and Teacher’s Guides offer prompts to help students conduct additional research online. Some research prompts include interdisciplinary research, which can be conducted in tandem with other subject areas. • Skills sheets in the Teacher’s Guide and online feature foundational research skills, such as determining the strength of sources, analyzing experts’ opinions, and interpreting reference materials like almanacs. | |
ongoing | WHST.6–8.8 (History, Science & Technology): quote/paraphrase writing | WHST.6–8.8 Gather relevant information from multiple print and digital sources, using search terms effectively; assess the credibility and accuracy of each source; and quote or paraphrase the data and conclusions of others while avoiding plagiarism and following a standard format for citation. | Online quizzes that accompany articles related skills sheet & graphic organizer completion comprehension quiz summary paragraph reflection paragraph | Junior Scholastic’s print and digital issues are ideal, credible bibliographic sources for student writers. • Because the digital issue can be easily displayed on an interactive whiteboard, teachers can use an article in Junior Scholastic to model note taking, paraphrasing, and citing sources. • The Teacher’s Guides and skills sheets for each issue contain prompts that call for students to find additional online sources of information on a chosen topic. • Students can use the current issue of Junior Scholastic, as well as online videos and the issue archive, for extension writing and research projects. Students are encouraged to cite textual evidence from the magazines and videos using direct quotes or paraphrasing, while properly citing their sources. | |
ongoing | WHST.6–8.9 (History, Science & Technology): analyze and reflect in writng | WHST.6–8.9 Draw evidence from informational texts to support analysis, reflection, and research. | L2 Can you support your claims? | related skills sheet & graphic organizer completion comprehension quiz summary paragraph reflection paragraph | • Articles in the Student Edition can be used as exemplar texts of published informational writing, as sources of data, and as springboards for student writing projects on specific topics. • Full-class discussion questions and skills sheets in the Teacher’s Guides ask students to refer to the text when formulating their answers. • Your Turn questions, lesson activities, fullclass discussion questions, skills sheets, and Extend & Assess questions in the Teacher’s Guide ask students to answer “right there” as well as inferencing questions about a text and to cite evidence from the article. As texts become more complex, students can compare and contrast ideas within the text and across multiple texts. • Argument-writing activities related to the Debate feature ask students to show how an author uses reasons and evidence to support his or her claims as well as to show which pieces of evidence support specific reasons. • Using these skills sheets on a regular basis can help students apply this knowledge to longer writing assignments and research projects. |
ongoing | WHST.6–8.10 (History, Science & Technology): write routinely and independently | WHST.6–8.10 Write routinely over extended time frames (time for reflection and revision) and shorter time frames (a single sitting or a day or two) for a range of discipline-specific tasks, purposes, and audiences. | L2 Can you express your thoughts in writing? | related skills sheet & graphic organizer completion comprehension quiz summary paragraph reflection paragraph | The Your Turn questions, lesson activities, skills sheets, and Extend & Assess tasks in the Teacher’s Guide and online provide students with a variety of opportunities to write for different tasks, purposes, and audiences, such as persuasive letters, expository extended responses, and extension activities that require additional research. |