Integration of knowledge and ideas
•
Compare and contrast a text to an audio, video,
or multimedia version of the text, analyzing
each medium’s portrayal of the subject
•
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
•
Analyze how two or more authors writing about
the same topic shape their presentations of key
information by emphasizing different evidence
or advancing different interpretations of facts
Range of reading and level of text complexity
•
By the end of the year read and comprehend
literary nonfiction in the grades 6–8 text
complexity band proficiently, with scaffolding as
needed at the high end of the range
Writing
Writing text types and purposes
•
Write arguments to support claims with clear
reasons and relevant evidence
•
Introduce claim(s), acknowledge alternate or
opposing claims, and organize the reasons and
evidence logically
•
Support claim(s) with logical reasoning and
relevant evidence, using accurate, credible
sources and demonstrating an understanding of
the topic or text
•
Use words, phrases, and clauses to create
cohesion and clarify the relationships among
claim(s), reasons, and evidence
•
Establish and maintain a formal style
•
Provide a concluding statement or section
that follows from and supports the argument
presented
•
Write informative/explanatory texts to examine
a topic and convey ideas, concepts, and
information through the selection, organization,
and analysis of relevant content
•
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, graphics,
and multimedia when useful to aiding
comprehension
•
Develop the topic with relevant facts,
definitions, concrete details, quotations, or
other information and examples
•
Use appropriate transitions to create cohesion
and clarify the relationships among ideas and
concepts
•
Use precise language and domain-specific
vocabulary to inform about or explain the topic
•
Establish and maintain a formal style
•
Provide a concluding statement or section that
follows from and supports the information or
explanation presented
•
Write narratives to develop real or imagined
experiences or events
•
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
•
Use narrative techniques, such as dialogue,
pacing, and description, to develop
experiences, events, and/or characters
•
Use a variety of transition words, phrases, and
clauses to convey sequence and signal shifts
from one time frame or setting to another
•
Use precise words and phrases, relevant
descriptive details, and sensory language to
capture the action and convey experiences and
events
•
Provide a conclusion that follows from
and reflects on the narrated experiences or
events
•
Reveal unique and personal expression
through words
•
Use a wide range of creative language including
personification, onomatopoeia, alliteration and
idiom
•
Communicate own perspective and personal
preferences
•
Determine reasons for and write for a variety of
audiences including outside/distance audiences
•
Determine the unique needs of different
audience
•
Identify different forms used to cite sources
when writing reports
109
Seventh Grade
Production and distribution of writing
•
Produce clear and coherent writing in which
the development, organization, and style are
appropriate to task, purpose, and audience
•
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
•
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
•
Offer specific constructive feedback to others
based on the seven traits model of writing
•
Articulate the qualities that make a piece of
writing effective
•
Use the seven-traits models as criteria to
assess writing
Research to build and present knowledge
•
Conduct short research projects to answer
a question, drawing on several sources
and generating additional related, focused
questions for further research and investigation
•
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
•
Draw evidence from literary or informational
texts to support analysis, reflection, and
research
•
Apply grade 7 reading standards to
literary nonfiction
Range of writing
•
Write routinely over extended time frames
for a range of discipline-specific tasks, purposes,
and audiences
Speaking and Listening
Comprehension and collaboration
•
Engage effectively in a range of collaborative
discussions with diverse partners on topics,
texts, and issues, building on others’ ideas and
expressing their own clearly
•
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
•
Follow rules for collegial discussions, track
progress toward specific goals and deadlines,
and define individual roles as needed
•
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
•
Acknowledge new information expressed by
others and, when warranted, modify their own
views
•
Analyze the main ideas and supporting details
presented in diverse media and formats and
explain how the ideas clarify a topic, text, or
issue under study
•
Delineate a speaker’s argument and specific
claims, evaluating the soundness of the
reasoning and the relevance and sufficiency of
the evidence
Presentation of knowledge and ideas
•
Present claims and findings, emphasizing
salient points in focused, coherent manner
with pertinent descriptions, facts, details,
and examples; use appropriate eye contact,
adequate volume, and clear pronunciation
•
Include multimedia components and visual
displays in presentations to clarify claims and
findings and emphasize salient point
•
Adapt speech to a variety of contexts and tasks,
demonstrating command of formal English
when indicated or appropriate
Language
Conventions of standard English
•
Demonstrate command of the conventions of
standard English grammar and usage when
writing or speaking
•
Explain the function of phrases and clauses in
general and their function in specific sentences
•
Choose among simple, compound, complex,
110
Nobel Learning Curriculum Reference Guide
