7th Grade Lessons
Here is the writing work I have done with the 7th Graders.
The Great Date Debate - The Diary or a Young Girl
The Inspiration and Division
As we neared the end of Anne Frank, I decided we needed to speed things up. We read her final entry on April 10th, 1944 and broek u the book into the following sections.
Preparing to ARgue
In order to prepare students to create sound arguments for their assigned page, we used this outline. The goal was to get them thinking about WHY their date in Anne Frank's life was the most influential to her story.
Preparing for the Debate
To prepare and build engagement, each student filled out a fantasy bracket, predicting which entry would make it to the end and win the tournament.
The Debate
Finally, during the day of debates, the students had a job: helping decide the winner. I also brought in some Speech and Debate Team members to help judge!
Call of the Wild - Response Books
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Throughout the reading of Call of the Wild, and many other books, I employ response books. Students, using the photographed response options are to fill these out as we read the story. For this book, there were 8 pages of blank paper folded in half and stapled together. Each page then would be filled to the brim with student responses about the story.
Rubric
1.
Read Poems in the Attic by Nikki Grimes
2.
After reading, ask: "What are some things you would find in your attic? Give them 2 minutes to write, then share.
3.
Pick two of those objects and write describing words for them. Give them 2 minutes to write, then share.
4.
Put a box around your favorite descriptions. Give that box a title. Share.
5.
Make that list look like a poem.
Poems in the Attic
by Nikki Grimes
