Close Reading and Writing to Learn

Working with Evidence

Understanding Perspectives

Research, Decision Making,  

and Forming Positions

Topic

Module 1: Myths: Not Just Long Ago

Module 2: Voices of Adversity

Module 3: Sustaining the Oceans

Module 4: Insecticides: Costs vs. Benefits

Central  

Texts*

RL—The Lightning Thief, Rick Riordan

RL - Good Masters! Sweet Ladies! Voices  from a Medieval Village, Laura Amy Schlitz  RL - Technically, It’s Not My Fault: Concrete  Poems, John Grandits

RI - World Without Fish, Mark Kurlansky  RL - Flush, Carl Hiassen

RL—Frightful’s Mountain, Jean Craighead  George  

RI—“The Exterminator,” Kristen Weir

Writing  

Tasks**

• Literary Analysis—Connecting Themes in  Cronus and The Lightning Thief (RL.6.2,  W.6.2, 6.9)

• My Hero’s Journey Narrative (RL.6.3, W.6.3)

• Argument Essay: Do We Face the Same  Adversities as the Voices of Good Masters,  Sweet Ladies? (W.6.1 and 6.9)  

• Narrative: Giving Voice to Adversity (W.6.3,  6.11c, SL.6.4 and 6.6)

• Research (W.6.7)  

Informational Consumer Guide (W.6.2)

• Research Simulation (W.6.7, 6.8, 6.9)

• Position Paper: Do the Benefits of DDT  Outweigh Its Harmful Consequences?  

(W.6.1, 6.9)

Topic

Module 1: Journeys and Survival

Module 2:  

Working Conditions Then and Now

Module 3: Slavery--The People Could Fly

Module 4: Sreen Time and Developing Brain

Central  

Texts*

RL—A Long Walk to Water, Linda Sue Park  RI—“Sudanese Tribes Confront Modern War,”  Karl Vick

RL—Lyddie, Katherine Patterson  

RI—“Commonwealth Club Address,” César  Chávez

RI—Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass (excerpts)

No text purchase required; students will read  articles only about the adolescent brain and the effects  of technology use, provided in lesson supporting  materials.

Writing  

Tasks**

• Literary Analysis: Writing about the Theme  of Survival (RL.7.1, 7.2, W.7.2, 7.9)  

• Research-based Two-Voice Poem (RL.7.6,  W.7.3, 7.9)

• Argument: Should Lyddie Sign the Petition?  (RL.7.3, W.7.1)  

• Consumer’s Guide to Working Conditions in  the Garment Industry (W.7.2, 7.6, 7.7)

• Literary Nonfiction Analysis: Analyzing Douglass’s  Position in the Narrative

(RI.7.2, 7.6, W.7.2, 7.9)  

• Children’s Book to Retell an Episode from the  Narrative (W.7.3, 7.9)

• Research Simulation (W.7.7, 7.8, 7.9)

• Position Paper: Should the American Academy  of Pediatrics raise its recommended daily  entertainment screen time from two hours to  four hours? (RI.7.1,  

W.7.1, 7.4, and 7.5)

Topic

Module 1: Finding Home: Refugees

Module 2: A Midsummer Night's Dream and the Comedy of Control

Module 3: The Civil Rights Movement and  the Little Rock Nine

Module 4:  

Sustainability of US Food Supply Chain

Central  

Texts*

RL – Inside Out & Back Again, Thanhha Lai*  RI—“The Vietnam Wars,” Tod Olson

RL - A Midsummer Night’s Dream, William  Shakespeare  

RI – Various informational articles about  Shakespeare and the universal appeal of his  works

RI - A Mighty Long Way: My Journey to Justice at  Little Rock Central High School, Carlotta Walls  LaNier and Lisa Frazier Page  

RI - Little Rock Girl 1957: How a Photograph  Changed the Fight for Integration, Shelley Tougas

RI—The Omnivore’s Dilemma: The Secrets  Behind What You Eat, Michael Pollan (Young  Readers’ Edition)

Writing  

Tasks**

• Literary Analysis: Explain the Significance  of the novel’s title (RL.8.1, 8.3, RI.8.1,  W.8.2, 8.9)

• Research-based Free Verse Narrative  Poems: “Inside Out” and “Back Again”  (RI.8.1, 8.2, W.8.3, 8.9)

• Argument Essay: Controlling Others in A  Midsummer Night’s Dream (W.8.1)

• Character Confessional Narrative (RL.8.2, 8.3,  W.8.3, 8.4, 8.9a, and 8.11b)

• Informational Essay: The Role of the Media in the  Story of the Little Rock Nine (W.8.2)  

• On-Demand Writing: Photograph and Song  Choices for a Film (W.8.1 and W.8.2)***

• Research Simulation (W.8.7, 8.8, 8.9) • Position Paper: Which of Michael Pollan’s  Four Food Chains Would Best Feed the  

United States? (W.8.1, 8.9)