Grade 7 ELA South Carolina standards Standards

Written and Oral Communications

Research

Applications of Reading

Seventh Grade

English Language Arts Overarching Expectations

Evaluate and critique key literary elements that enhance and deepen meaning within and across texts.

Analyze how lines of dialogue, specific events, or descriptive details develop the plot, reveal aspects of the characters, and/or create meaning.

Analyze how figurative language impacts mood, tone, and meaning.

Evaluate and critique multimedia presentations of a text or subject, including their impact on an audience.

Evaluate a text or subject presented through multimedia formats (e.g., reading a print version of a speech and listening to an audio recording of a speech) and analyze how each media's portrayal of the text or subject impacts the audience.

Evaluate and critique the development of themes and central ideas within and across texts.

Compare two or more themes within a literary text(s) and how each is developed over the course of a text(s).

Compare two or more central ideas within an informational text(s) and how each is developed over the course of a text.

Evaluate how an author's choice of point of view or perspective shapes style and meaning within and across literary texts.

Explain the influence of a narrator(s), including an unreliable narrator(s), and/or narrative shifts in point of view; and

analyze how an author uses point(s) of view to develop and contrast the perspectives of different characters.

Evaluate and critique how an author's perspective and purpose shape style and meaning within and across informational texts.

Determine an author's perspective or purpose in a text and determine how an author uses rhetoric to advance that perspective or purpose.

Evaluate and critique how an author uses words, phrases, and text structures to craft text.

Analyze how the structure of a literary text (e.g., narrative, drama, poem) contributes to its meaning.

Explain how the structure of individual text sections (e.g., a particular sentence, paragraph, chapter, or section) and/or text features convey an author's purpose in an informational text.

Trace the development of an author's argument while explaining the types of reasoning and/or the rhetorical appeal of ethos, pathos, or logos in an informational text.

Summarize and paraphrase text to support comprehension and understanding.

Summarize and/or paraphrase content from grade-level text to enhance comprehension.

Determine or clarify the meaning of unknown and multiple-meaning words and phrases.

Determine or clarify the meaning of known, unknown, and multiple-meaning words and phrases, choosing from an array of strategies:

use context (e.g., the overall meaning of a sentence, paragraph, or text; a word's position or function in a sentence) to determine the meaning of words and phrases;

use background or prior knowledge to determine or clarify the meanings of words; and

consult reference materials to determine or clarify the precise meanings, pronunciations, or parts of speech of words and phrases.

Analyze word relationships and nuances in word meanings within literary and informational texts.

Interpret an author's use of figurative, connotative, and technical language in literary, informational, and multimedia texts:

interpret figures of speech (e.g., metaphor) in context and analyze how they function within the text;

determine the relationship between words; and

distinguish between the connotations of words with similar denotations (e.g., polite, diplomatic).

Build and apply a range of academic vocabulary, as well as grade-level appropriate morphology to apply to reading, writing, and speaking.

Apply knowledge of affixes and Greek and Latin roots to determine new and/or clarify precise meanings of words and phrases in grade-level content.

Write arguments to support claims with clear reasons and relevant evidence.

Write arguments to support a claim with clear reasons and relevant evidence. When writing:

introduce a claim and organize the reasons and evidence clearly;

support a claim using logical reasoning supported by facts, data, and/or statistics as evidence from a credible source(s);

acknowledge a counterclaim;

use an organizational structure appropriate to the purpose and task;

use transitions to clarify the relationships between claims and reasons;

provide a concluding statement or section that supports the argument presented.

Write informative/expository texts to analyze and explain complex ideas and information.

Write informative texts to examine a topic and analyze information from one or more sources. When writing:

introduce a topic and organize ideas, concepts, and information using structures such as definition, compare and contrast, and/or cause and effect;

develop the topic with relevant facts, definitions, details, and/or quotes;

use appropriate transitions to clarify the relationships between ideas and concepts;

use precise language and thoughtful elaboration to inform or to explain the topic;

establish a tone appropriate to the task and audience; and

provide a concluding statement or section that supports the information presented.

Write narratives to develop real or imagined experiences using effective techniques.

Write narratives to develop real or imagined experiences, memories, or ideas, using effective techniques, relevant descriptive details, and well-structured event sequences. When writing:

produce clear and coherent writing in which the development, organization, and style are appropriate to task, purpose, and audience;

engage the reader by establishing context and point of view and introducing a narrator and/or characters;

organize a logical plot structure and use a variety of transitional words and phrases to convey sequence and signal time shifts;

use narrative techniques such as dialogue, pacing, and description to develop experiences, events, setting, and/or characters;

use precise words, relevant descriptive details, and figurative language to convey the action, experiences, and events; and

provide an ending that follows logically from the narrated experiences or events.

Demonstrate command of standard English grammar and conventions when writing.

Use the rules of and make intentional decisions about standard English grammar and conventions to write single and multi-paragraph compositions with varied sentence structure. When writing:

apply knowledge of rules for capitalization;

use a comma to separate coordinate adjectives;

use hyphenated compound words (e.g., mother-in-law);

use phrases and clauses (noun, relative, adverbial) within a sentence, recognizing and correcting misplaced and dangling modifiers;

identify and revise sentence fragments, run-on sentences, pronoun-antecedent agreement, and inappropriate shifts in verb tense; and

use print and multimedia resources to edit for grammar, usage, mechanics, and format in order to finalize drafts for a variety of publication media.

Revise writing to improve clarity and enhance style appropriate to audience, purpose, and task.

Improve writing by planning, editing, and considering feedback from adults and peers and revising for clarity of content.

Write independently and legibly for a variety of tasks and purposes.

This standard is not directly addressed after fifth grade.

Organize and communicate ideas through a range of formats to engage a variety of audiences.

Present claims and findings, emphasizing key ideas in a focused manner with relevant descriptions, facts, details, and examples. When presenting:

demonstrate and adjust speaking techniques (e.g., appropriate eye contact, nonverbal cues, adequate volume, clear pronunciation, pacing) for a variety of purposes and audiences;

convey a clear perspective with clear reasoning and valid evidence;

include graphics and multimedia elements to aid comprehension, enhance communication, and add interest; and

select and use appropriate digital tools for the task, purpose, and audience.

Through collaboration, react and respond to information while building upon the ideas of others and respecting diverse perspectives.

Participate in structured discussions and collaborations about grade-appropriate topics and texts:

ask questions to build on ideas; acknowledge new information expressed by others, and when necessary, modify personal ideas; and

consider new ideas and diverse perspectives of others when forming opinions about a topic, text, or issue.

Evaluate and critique ideas and concepts interactively through listening and speaking.

Using digital media, an audio, video, or live presentation, and/or a printed transcript of a presentation:

determine the effectiveness of a speaker's argument and specific claims, evaluating the relevance of the evidence; and

analyze a presentation to determine how a speaker articulates a clear message, chooses appropriate media, and uses appropriate voice for the audience.

Use critical thinking skills to investigate, evaluate, and synthesize a variety of sources to obtain and refine knowledge.

Conduct short and more sustained research by:

generating a question(s) about a topic; and

using a variety of print and multimedia sources to refine the scope of inquiry as relevant to the topic and the purpose.

Determine the credibility of one or more sources consulted and use the most credible source(s).

Determine which source(s) and/or information is relevant to the topic.

Logically organize findings.

Cite sources to avoid plagiarism.

Read and write for a variety of purposes, including academic and personal, for extended periods of time.

Acquire, refine, and share knowledge through a variety of multimedia literacies to include written, oral, visual, digital, and interactive texts.

Make inferences to support comprehension.

Collaborate with others and use active listening skills.

Cite evidence to explain and justify reasoning.

Create quality work by adhering to an accepted format.