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A Lesson on A Good Student Grade: Grade 7
Subject: English Language Arts
Created by: Patrick Gilhooley
Lesson Length: 2 hours
Keywords/Tags: Reading, reading comprehension, writing, a good student
Lesson Description: The goal of this lesson is to have students implement their reading and writing abilities to learn about an anonymous student’s account of his or her first day experience in high school. By reading and rereading the assigned passage, and furthering their understanding through various questions and discussions coinciding with the passage, the students will learn how a good student thinks and behaves. By combining this text with an assigned writing, students will learn how to elaborate on the information they read.
Common Core Standards Covered with This Lesson
  • CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RL.7.1: Cite several pieces of textual evidence to support analysis of what the text says explicitly as well as inferences drawn from the text.
  • CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RI.7.1: Cite several pieces of textual evidence to support analysis of what the text says explicitly as well as inferences drawn from the text.
  • CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RI.7.3: Analyze the interactions between individuals, events, and ideas in a text (e.g., how ideas influence individuals or events, or how individuals influence ideas or events).
  • CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RI.7.4: Determine the meaning of words and phrases as they are used in a text, including figurative, connotative, and technical meanings; analyze the impact of a specific word choice on meaning and tone.
 
     
     
 
Lesson Content: Reading
Instructions: Please read the following reading passage as many times as needed (aloud and silent) before starting to go through other lesson pages. Understanding the content of this passage is very important since the lesson activities will be all about this content. Feel free to print the passage if needed.

A Good Student

I was extremely glad I had been to the freshman orientation. The high school was tremendously large, so the orientation helped me immensely. I figured out where my classrooms were located, and I was also able to meet some of the teachers. I even had a new friend. I met another student who was really interested in sports, like me, and we were both going to try out for the basketball team. I really hope we make the team.

Today was my first day, and it was very difficult. We only have four minutes to get from one class to another. Even though I knew where the classrooms were, I still had to manage to get from one end of the building to 
the other in that short amount of time. I wanted to go to my locker and drop off my book, so I did just that. However, that took some time, and I worried about being late. Unfortunately, I did end up arriving late to my math class. My math teacher told me, “Just be on time tomorrow, because I know you are finding your way, but that’s it. I am serious—only one late-to-class is allowed. After that, you must go to the office to request a pass, and I will mark you tardy. Once you are tardy three times you must serve a detention.”

I really enjoyed my art class that first day. The teacher showed us how to create portraits. We just made drawings today, but I know it’s going to be a wonderful class. While I very much enjoy drawing, I had no idea it was so closely related to math. I divided my page into equal sections, using a ruler, and then worked on my sketch.

I like my English class, too. Today we wrote about ourselves. The teacher said to just write what you think in the form of a paragraph or a poem, and that we will focus on grammar later. I composed a poem about myself, and I believe it is a good poem. 

Lunch was particularly hurried. I went to my locker first before rushing to the cafeteria. I scanned the cafeteria for my friend, but he wasn’t there, so I sat with people I hadn’t met. Everyone was eating very quickly. There were several lunch choices, but tomorrow I will choose differently. The food I got today looked tasty, but I didn’t like it very much.

There is an after-school club I can join. It is a club for people who want to learn more about computers, and I think I’ll sign up. But there is another club after-school that interests me, too: the chess club. I enjoy playing chess. I also need to learn how to use a computer. My social studies teacher claims it is the one skill you need to learn every subject. My English teacher said the one skill I need in every class is writing. I think I need both skills. So many possibilities—it’s going to be a good year.

 
     
     
 
Task 1: Vocabulary Activity (40 points)
Instructions: Please complete the following vocabulary activity by choosing the correct meaning of each word selected from the passage and use of each word correctly in a sentence.

Vocabulary Questions

Word/Phrase: immensely | Tier: 2 | Points: 10
Q1 The author said "The high school was tremendously large, so the orientation helped me immensely." What does the word immensely mean?
A. somewhat
B. to a great extent *
C. quickly
D. ordinarily

Which one of the sentence below uses the word "immensely" correctly?
A. His friend was mean to him and so he liked him immensely.
B. The student immensely grabbed her things and ran out the door.
C. The doctor would immensely check the patient's blood pressure for a routine physical.
D. He was immensely grateful for the new car his father bought him. *

Word/Phrase: arriving | Tier: 2 | Points: 10
Q2 The author states "Unfortunately, I did end up arriving late..." What is meant by the word "arriving" in this sentence?
A. doing homework
B. showing up *
C. forgetting
D. answering a question

Which of the following sentences correctly uses the word "arriving."
A. After arriving at work, he let his manager know he was ready to work. *
B. Robert was scolded for arriving to take the turkey out of the oven.
C. He was arriving his assignments early so he could play games later.
D. After arriving the detective's questions, the suspect was allowed to return home.

Word/Phrase: portrait | Tier: 3 | Points: 10
Q3 The author states "The teacher showed us how to create portraits." What does the word "portraits" mean?
A. glass vases
B. stories
C. sculptures
D. paintings *

In which of the following sentences is the word "portraits" used correctly?
A. He smashed the portrait, leaving fragmented glass all over the floor.
B. I used up all my clay to make a portrait of a dog.
C. My grandfather used to tell me portraits of the time he spent in the army.
D. The portraits on the wall were created by a famous French painter. *

Word/Phrase: paragraph | Tier: 3 | Points: 10
Q4 The author says "The teacher said to just write what you think in the form of a paragraph..." What is meant by the word paragraph?
A. cartoon
B. video
C. section of writing *
D. song

Which sentence uses the word "paragraph" correctly?
A. The teacher required each student to write four paragraphs on the journeys of Christopher Columbus. *
B. I sang her a paragraph while I played my piano.
C. My sister loves to watch paragraphs on the T.V. every Saturday.
D. In history class, we watched a four hour paragraph on the Vietnam War.

Standards Covered with This Lesson Activity: CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RI.7.4,
 
     
     
 
Task 2: Discussion Activity (25 points)
Instructions: This discussion forum will have questions for students to respond. Read the posted questions, and respond to each. Students are responsible for posting one initial and and two peer responses for each topic.

  Topic Title Replies

Message Why was orientation helpful to the author?
The author states that freshman orientation was helpful to him or her. Why would that be? What might the freshman orientation have consisted of?
Sent on: Oct 8, 2017 by: Patrick Gilhooley
0

Message How should the author change his or her behavior?
In the reading, the author states that he or she was late for math class and was scolded by the teacher for doing so. Based on what happened beforehand, how might the author change his or her behavior in order to avoid being late again?
Sent on: Oct 8, 2017 by: Patrick Gilhooley
0

Message How does the author feel about his or her teachers?
Based on the student's recollection of his or her day in school, how does the teacher view her teachers? Is he or she distrustful of them? Does he or she try and fight against them or look up to them? Use examples from the passage to support your answer. 
Sent on: Oct 8, 2017 by: Patrick Gilhooley
0

Standards Covered with This Lesson Activity: CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RL.7.1, CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RI.7.1, CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RI.7.3,
 
     
     
 
Task 3: Writing Activity (35 points)
Instructions: Based on what you learned about the author's schedule, interests, and hobbies, write about what a typical day might look like for him or her later on in the school year. Write at least 2-3 paragraphs (250 words) and provide examples provided in the text to support your answer. 
Standards Covered with This Lesson Activity: CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RL.7.1, CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RI.7.1,
 
     

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