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Connellsville ELA Curriculum Meeting
December 9, 2014
Grades 7 and 8
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Agenda
 Curriculum
in Practice: Update
 TDA
 Instruction
 Practice
 Mid-Term
 Other?
Assessments
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Signposts
 Contrasts and
Contradictions
 Words of the Wiser
 Again and Again
 Aha Moment
 Tough Questions
 Memory Moment
+ Aha Moment
What it is:
The character’s realization of something that
shifts his actions or understanding of himself,
others, or the world around him
What it signals:
Character Development
Internal conflict
Plot
How you can recognize it:
“Suddenly I understood…”
“It came to me in a flash that…”
“The realization hit me like a lightning bolt…”
“In an instant I knew…”
Crash
By Jerry Spinelli
+ Tough Questions
What it is:
Questions a character raises that reveal his or
her inner struggles
What it signals:
Internal Conflict
*Theme*
Character development
How you can recognize it:
“What could I possibly do to…?”
“ I couldn’t imagine how I could cope with …”
“How could I ever understand why she …?”
“Never had I been so confused about …”
A Long Walk
to Water
By Linda Sue
Park
+ Memory Moment
What it is:
A recollection by a character that interrupts the
forward progress of the story
What it signals:
Plot
*Theme*
Character development
Relationship between character and plot
How you can recognize it:
The ongoing flow of the narrative is interrupted by a
memory that comes to the character, often taking
several paragraphs to recount before we are
returned to events of the present moment.
Hope Was
Here
By Joan Bauer
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TDAs
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Passage Based
Prompt
How does the tone of
“The Drummer Boy of
Shiloh” affect the
mood created?
Amanda Sweirczynski, Grade 8
CASD
Text Dependent Analysis
Prompt
Identify the tone of “The
Drummer Boy of Shiloh” and
analyze how the tone affects
the mood created by the
author. Use evidence from the
passage to support your
answer.
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Passage Based
Prompt
In the last paragraph, the
writer urges the reader to
conserve
electricity. Explain how
conserving electricity
could potentially stop
global warming. Give
evidence from the text to
support your answer.
Perfection Learning Grade 7
7.19.27
Text Dependent Analysis
Prompt
Determine the writer’s point of
view and write an essay
analyzing the key details he
uses to support his view.
Include examples from the
passage to support your
response.