2: Unit 3: Short Story 25-26 CM (Grade 7)

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1	Unit 3: Transformations (Short Story)				Unit pacing: 3 weeks and 4 days (September 22-October 24, 2025)			October 6-10 Fall Break
2	Primary Writing Assessment: Short Story				Secondary Writing Assessments: Short Story (Dramatic Adaptation)
3	Unit Overview and Enduring Understandings	Students begin this unit with a Four-Corner Debate about whether a person’s life can change in an instant. They discuss how everyone undergoes change at different points in their life. For many people, these changes can become life-altering transformations. While it may feel scary or overwhelming at first, these changes often bring about positive outcomes. Throughout the unit, students read selections about people who experience notable events in their lives that transform them in different ways. Students consider for themselves whether people can really change, and they draw on lived experiences while exploring how characters and real people journey through various transformations.
4	Unit Essential Question	Can people really change?
5	Essential Questions	How do writers develop characters? How does the conflict (internal or external) drive the plot? How does the setting influence the characters and the mood of the story? How does the author's use of literary devices (e.g., simile, metaphor, symbolism) enhance the story? How does the author's point of view shape the reader's perspective?
6	Content Domain	Essential Standards	Supporting Standards	Concept/Skills (Suggested Vocabulary Bolded and Undelined)	Evidence of Mastery (Standard Proficiency)	Assessments	District Aligned Resources
7	Reading Literature Standards	7.RL.1 * Cite several pieces of textual evidence to support analysis of what the text says explicitly as well as inferences drawn from the text.	7.RL.5 Analyze the structure of a text, including how a drama or poem’s form or structure contributes to its meaning. 7.RL.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). 7.RL.10 By the end of the year, proficiently and independently read and comprehend literature, including stories, dramas, and poetry, in a text complexity range determined by qualitative and quantitative measures appropriate to grade 7.	● Cite several pieces of textual evidence. ● Analyze what the text says explicitly. ● Draw inferences from the text.	7.RL.1 cites several pieces of textual evidence to support analysis of what the text says explicitly as well as inferences drawn from the text.	PERFORMANCE TASKS Mid-Unit Performance Tasks -Write a short story about a character who has significant life experience. Shape your story to answer this question: Does your character truly change? You may write a science-fiction story, a realistic story, or another type of story you like to read. Include the elements of a short story in your writing. -You have read different selections about the possibilities of change. With your group, write and deliver a dramatic adaptation of one of the following texts: the novella excerpt A Christmas Carol; the short story “Thank You, M’am”; the poem “Trying to Name What Doesn’t Change”; the poem “I Myself” End-of-Unit Performance-Based Assessments - Imagine one of the characters from this unit ten years later. What has happened to this person? Have they changed? Write a short story that explores the Essential Question: Can people really change? Develop Your Perspective: Unit Projects Students choose how to demonstrate their learning through: - Write a poem about transformation. - Write a social media post as a character or subject from a unit selection. - Write and present a speech about the character or subject from the unit who you think experienced the most remarkable transformation.	SAAVAS: My Perspective
8		7.RL.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.		● Determine a theme or central idea. ●Analyze the development of a theme or central idea. ●Write an objective summary of the text.	7.RL.2 determines a theme or central idea of a text and analyzes its development over the course of a text; provides an objective summary of a text.
9		7.RL.3 * Analyze how particular elements of a story or drama interact (e.g., how setting shapes the characters or plot).		● Analyze particular elements of a story or drama interact	7.RL.3 analyzes how particular elements of a story or drama interact (e.g., how setting shapes the characters or plot).
10		7.RL.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 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.		● Determine the meaning of words and phrases including figurative and connotative meanings ● Analyze the impact of specific word choices on meaning and tone. ● Analyze specific rhymes and other repetition sounds in a specific verse or stanza of a poem or section of a story or drama.	7.RL.4 determines the meaning of words and phrases as they are used in a text, including figurative and connotative meanings; analyzes the impact of specific word choices on meaning and tone, including rhymes and other repetitions of sounds (e.g., alliteration) in a specific verse or stanza of a poem or section of a story or drama.
11		7.RL.6 * Analyze how an author develops and contrasts the points of view of different characters or narrators in a text.		● Analyze how an author develops and contrasts the points of view of different characters or narrators.	7.RL.6 analyzes how an author develops and contrasts the points of view of different characters or narrators in a text.
12		7.RL.9 * Compare and contrast a fictional portrayal 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.		● Compare/Contrast a fictional portrayal of a time. place, or character and a historical account of the same period to understand how the author alter history for fictional purposes.	7.RL.9 compares and contrasts a fictional portrayal 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.
13	Reading Informational Standards	7.RI.1 * Cite several pieces of textual evidence to support analysis of what the text says explicitly as well as inferences drawn from the text.	7.RI.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). 7.RI.10 By the end of the year, proficiently and independently read and comprehend informational texts and nonfiction in a text complexity range determined by qualitative and quantitative measures appropriate to grade 7.	● Cite several pieces of textual evidence. ● Analyze what the text says explicitly. ● Draw inferences drawn from the text.	7.RI.1 cites several pieces of textual evidence to support analysis of what the text says explicitly as well as inferences drawn from the text.
14		7.RI.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.		● Determine a theme or central idea. ●Analyze the development of a theme or central idea including its relationship to supporting ideas ●Write an objective summary of the text.	7.RI.2 determines two or more central ideas in a text and analyzes their development over the course of the text; provides an objective summary of a text.
15		7.RI.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.		● Determine the meaning of words and phrases including figurative and connotative meanings ● Analyze the impact of specific word choices on meaning and tone including analogies or allusions	7.RI.4 determines the meaning of words and phrases as they are used in a text, including figurative, connotative, and technical meanings; analyzes the impact of a specific word choice on meaning and tone.
16		7.RI.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.		● Analyze the structure an author uses to organize a text ● Analyze how the major sections contribute to the whole and to the development of the ideas	7.RI.5 analyzes 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.
17		7.RI.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.		● Trace and evaluate the argument and specific claims in a text. ● Assess if reasoning is sound, evidence is relevant, and sufficient. ● Recognize irrelevant evidence.	7.RI.8 traces and evaluates 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.
18	Writing Standards	7.W.1 * Write arguments to support claims with clear reasons and relevant evidence.	7.W.3 Write narratives to develop real or imagined experiences or events using effective technique, relevant descriptive details, and well-structured event sequences. 7.W.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. (Editing for conventions should demonstrate command of Language standards 1–3 up to and including grade 7. 7.W.6 Use technology, including the internet, to produce and publish writing as well as to interact and collaborate with others. 7.W.7 Conduct short research projects to answer a question, drawing on several sources and generating additional related, focused questions for further research and investigation. 7.W.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. 7.W.9 Draw evidence from literary or informational texts to support analysis, reflection, and research. 7.W.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.	● Write arguments supporting claims with clear reasoning and relevant evidence. ● Introduce claims. ● Acknowledge alternate or opposing claims ● Organize reasons and evidence logically. ● Support claims with logical reasoning and relevant evidence. ● Utilize accurate and credible sources. ● Demonstrate and understanding of topic or text. ● Create cohesion using words, phrases, and clauses. ● Clarify claims, reasons, and evidence. ● Establish and maintain a formal style. ● Provide a concluding statement supporting the argument.	7.W.1 writes arguments to support claims with clear reasons and relevant evidence.
19		7.W.2 * Write informative/explanatory texts to examine a topic and convey ideas, concepts, and information through the selection, organization, and analysis of relevant content.		● Write informative/explanatory texts. ● Examine a topic and convey ideas, concepts, and information ● Introduce a topic clearly. ● Organize ideas, concepts, and information into broader categories. ● Develop a topic with well-chosen, relevant facts, definitions, concrete details, quotations, or other information. ● Create cohesion with varied transitions. ● Clarify the relationships among ideas and concepts. ● Inform or explain a topic using precise language & domain-specific vocabulary. ● Establish a formal style. ● Provide a supportive concluding statement.	7.W.2 writes informative/explanatory texts to examine a topic and convey ideas, concepts, and information through the selection, organization, and analysis of relevant content.
20		7.W.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).		● Produce clear and coherent writing. ● Develop, organize, and style appropriate writing for task, purpose, and audience.	7.W.4-6 produces clear and coherent writing in which the development, organization, and style are appropriate to task, purpose, and audience; develops and strengthens writing as needed by planning, revising, editing, rewriting, or trying a new approach, focusing on how well purpose and audience have been addressed; edits for conventions; uses technology to produce writing.
21	Speaking and Listening Standards	7.SL.2 * Analyze the main ideas and supporting details presented in diverse media and formats (e.g., visually, quantitatively, and orally) and explain how the ideas clarify a topic, text, or issue under study.	7.SL.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. 7.SL.4 Present claims and findings, emphasizing salient points in a focused, coherent manner with pertinent descriptions, appropriate vocabulary, facts, details, and examples; use appropriate eye contact, adequate volume, and clear pronunciation. 7.SL.5 Include multimedia components and visual displays in presentations to clarify claims and findings and emphasize salient points. 7.SL.6 Adapt speech to a variety of contexts and tasks, demonstrating command of formal English when indicated or appropriate. (See grade 7 Language standards 1 and 3 for specific expectations.)	● Analyze main ideas and supporting details in many different medias and formats ● Explain how ideas clarify a topic, text, or issue under study.	7.SL.2 analyzes the main ideas and supporting details presented in diverse media and formats (e.g., visually, quantitatively, orally) and explains how the ideas clarify a topic, text, or issue under study.
22	Language Standards	7.L.1 * Demonstrate command of the conventions of Standard English grammar and usage when writing or speaking.	7.L.3 Use knowledge of language and its conventions when writing, speaking, reading, or listening. 7.L.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. 7.L.5 Demonstrate understanding of figurative language, word relationships, and nuances in word meanings. 7.L.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.	● Demonstrate commands of English grammar when writing. ● Explain function of verbals & their function in sentences. ● Form & use verbs in active & passive voice. ● Form verbs in indicative, imperative, interrogative, conditional, and subjective moods. ● Recognize & correct inappropriate shifts.	7.L.1 demonstrates command of the conventions of Standard English grammar and usage when writing or speaking.
23	Language Standards	7.L.2 * Demonstrate command of the conventions of Standard English capitalization, punctuation, and spelling when writing.		● Demonstrate command of the conventions of Standard English. ● Explain the function of phrases and clauses and their function in specific sentences. ● 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.	7.L.2 demonstrates command of the conventions of Standard English capitalization, punctuation, and spelling when writing.
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