SYRACUSE CITY SCHOOL DISTRICT
Grade 07 Unit 03 Hybrid
Literary and Informational Text
Defining Moments
Special Education and Consultant Teacher Resource Guide
*Denotes from original unit - modified.
Teaching Points
Scaffolds and Supports
(Lesson Objectives)
3.1 Readers know when they
approach a new piece of text,
they look for the meaning by
analyzing theme/central idea
*Quick Write: Check for Understanding (scaffolded)


In a Quick Write / Quick Draw, students respond to a question
or prompt related to the text by drawing or writing down
whatever comes to their minds without organizing it too much
or worrying about grammar. Typically a Quick Write / Quick
Draw is graded only for completion, not for quality or
accuracy.
This activity may be modified by having students work in small
groups to create a Quick Write, with each student offering
one sentence in a Round-Robin fashion. Student can add
illustration at a later time.
Analyzing Theme
Recognizing Themes
Determining Central idea & Writing Summaries for
Informational Texts
1
Teaching Points
Scaffolds and Supports
(Lesson Objectives)
3.2 Readers develop the
theme/central ideas for the text by
analyzing the text for relevant
details.
Keep it or Junk it? Reading strategy to determine relevant
details.
In this LearnZillion lesson, students will learn how theme
develops by keeping track of specific details throughout
the text.
Character Study 7th Grade Literary Elements packet. This
packet will be very useful and has many tools to address
several of the teaching points in this unit – Theme,
Character, etc. Scroll down and around to find the
information and organizer that best matches the
objectives.
Word Splash
1. Read through the text and decide on key words,
phrases and concepts in the text that will give students
ideas of what the text is about or words that may need
further clarification.
2. Type or write, then copy for individual students or small
groups.
3. Once distributed, allow students a few minutes to read
through the text and discuss listed words and phrases with
others. They may ask others for clarification, or to
elaborate some items. Allow them to make predictions
2
Teaching Points
Scaffolds and Supports
(Lesson Objectives)
3.3 Readers develop an objective
summary by applying relevant
details from the beginning, middle,
and end of the text.
about the central idea of the text in their groups.
4. Bring students back together and ask them for their
predictions, encouraging all students to contribute.
Students may write or present their information to the class
or in small groups (Hammond, 2005)
5. Create an observation checklist rubric based on the
text selected to determine if each student has used
details from the text to accurately convey the central
theme.
Read “How Can I Teach My Students to Summarize?” for
ideas on using the Sum It Up strategy! The Sum It Up
strategy focuses students’ attention on key words they
can use to build a summary. It also requires critical
thinking in making decisions about which words are
necessary to demonstrate learning.
Here is a Sum it Up template you can use in any content
area.
3.4 Readers engage in a deeper
analysis of text by exploring how
individuals, events, and ideas (story
elements) interact.
*Do “Think Aloud” modeling connections among people,
events and ideas.
*Where applicable, provide opportunities for students to
use drawing to represent their thinking. (Support students
with transfer of visuals to written expression.)
3
Teaching Points
Scaffolds and Supports
(Lesson Objectives)
*Quick Write:
 How are the individuals, ideas or events related?
 How do they connect?
 What idea do I have about what this text is saying?
 What evidence do I have from the text to support
this?
 Which element feels most important?
 In what ways does one element of the story
influence the others?
 How do characters’ actions and reactions to the
conflict influence the story?
 How would the plot/character be different if the
setting was…?
A Literary Analysis Tool: Pattern Folders
3.5 Readers pay attention to what
*Gathering Evidence-Character Development the characters do, say, and think to Characterization2
determine character traits.
*In this LearnZillion lesson students will learn how to grow
ideas about characters by paying attention to what they
do, think, and say.
In this LearnZillion lesson, students will learn how an author
develops characters by analyzing a character’s thoughts,
4
Teaching Points
Scaffolds and Supports
(Lesson Objectives)
actions and words.
Don’t forget the 7th Grade Literary Elements packet! (3.2)
Author’s Word Choice – Graphic Organizer for Quick Write
3.6 Readers explore word choice
by paying attention to the words
an author uses and the meaning of Context Clues packet
those words in context.
3.7 Readers analyze the impact
word choice has on the meaning
and tone of the text by asking:
Why did the author choose these
words?
How would the meaning and tone
be different with different words?
(This also includes repetition of
words or lines.)
*Teaching Tone and Mood – Lesson Plan and Video
3.8 Readers can identify when an
author uses figurative language in
text by locating examples of
metaphors, similes, alliteration, and
personification.
*Mini-lesson: Color Marking: A technique using colored
pencils to highlight important information in a piece of
literature, music or a poem.
*Quick Write:
 Why did the author choose these words?
 What words does the author use that appeal to our
senses? What emotions do these words suggest?
 Why do you think the author chooses to repeat the
word/line ____?
 How would the meaning and tone be different with
different words?
 How does the repetition enhance the meaning?
*Gradual Release Model:
5
Teaching Points
Scaffolds and Supports
(Lesson Objectives)
 Whole group practice with examples
 Partner practice with examples
 Independent practice with examples
*Figurative Language Flow Chart to record examples.
3.9 Readers analyze the author’s
use of figurative language by
asking: How does the use of the
word/phrase enhance my
understanding of the meaning of
the text?
*Figurative Language Graphic Organizer to record
examples from the text of figurative language, the type of
figurative language, and how the use of that word or
phrase enhances the reader’s understanding of the text.
Mapping the Meaning. The teacher takes a significant
word from an essay/article and places the word in the
middle of a graphic organizer. Students provide the
teacher with images, emotions or feelings (connotations)
as well as definitions (denotations) of the word. The class
discusses why the author has chosen that specific word
and how it changes the meaning and tone of the
article/essay. This shows students how word choice is
deliberate and impacts the meaning of the text
(Adapted from Stahl. 2005). Web graphic organizer.
3.10 Readers explore how the
*Model through Think Aloud, clarifying points about
structure of the text (drama, poem, structure students do not understand.
informational, etc.) contributes to
*Use the graphic organizers provided in the Text Structure
6
Teaching Points
Scaffolds and Supports
(Lesson Objectives)
the meaning and/or
development of ideas by asking:
Why did the author choose this
structure?
(This includes why the author chose
the specific genre and the
structure within the text.)
How does the text structure
support the theme/central idea?
3.11 Readers understand how
authors use different points of view
to develop the theme/central idea
by analyzing the different points of
view and how they contribute to
the theme/central idea.
*Use the Paired Informational Text
from the Recommended Text
Section above for Standard RI.7.6.
3.12 Readers understand how
authors of fiction use or alter history
by comparing and contrasting a
Chart with Frames document below.
*Text Structure Chart with Frames
Author’s Choice of Text Structure – a chart that tells why
authors choose certain text structures.
Use a Venn Diagram to analyze different points of view.
*Think-Ink-Pair-Share:
How do the different points of view help you to
understand the theme/central idea?
*In this LearnZillion lesson students will learn how the
author develops and contrasts different characters’ points
of view by analyzing their dialogue.
*Philosophical Chairs – a fun! activity to do with students
to discuss the different points of view between two texts
on the same topic.
*Quick Write:
 How is the information used by the authors the same
in each text?
7
Teaching Points
Scaffolds and Supports
(Lesson Objectives)
fictional portrayal of a time, place,
or character and a historical
account of the same time period.
 How is the information used by the authors different
between the texts?
 Why would an author change the facts when writing
a fictional portrayal of a time, place, or character?
*Use Code Talkers by Joseph Bruchac and any of the
informational texts in the original unit for this teaching
point.
3.13 Readers compare and
contrast how authors present
information on the same topic by
analyzing how they emphasize
different evidence and interpret
the facts.
*Use the Paired Informational Text
from the Recommended Text
Section above for this standard. It
will take more than one day to
teach this teaching point.
3.14 Readers make connections
between texts by asking:
What do the texts have in
common?
How do the texts support the same
Comparison Matrix – fill in with the topics, evidence and
facts to compare and contrast how authors differ when
presenting information on the same topic.
Use the texts “Four-Part Message” and “Day of Infamy”
attached above for this teaching point.
Scroll to pages 33 & 34 for Compare-A-Story graphic
organizers.
“When teaching through two or more texts, it allows us to
spend extra time interweaving skills rather than isolating
one skill, and also allows the students extra time to
expand on their thinking and use all of the sustaining and
expanding meaning strategies that they have been
8
Teaching Points
Scaffolds and Supports
(Lesson Objectives)
idea(s)?
learning.” Use ideas from Connecting Across Texts to
develop students’ ability to make connections between
texts.
9