Unit 6 For Grade 7: Comedy And Tragedy

Unit 6 for Grade 7: Comedy and Tragedy

Unit Focus In this final six-week unit of seventh grade, students wrap up their yearlong study of the human condition by examining the classic genres of comedy and tragedy. Students compare and contrast comic and tragic events. Evidence-based writing focuses on literary analysis with an original thesis.

SEL Pillar #3 Showing empathy and understanding for others; recognizing and appreciating individual and group similarities and differences.

Essential Questions What do good readers do every time they read? What literary elements make a selection humorous? What literary elements make a selection tragic? How does tone and mood affect the expression of comedy and tragedy? Possible Pre-Assessment Consider your own experience with loss, or an experience you have observed. What made this event tragic? (journal quick write) What does comedy mean? What kinds of things make your laugh? How does laughing make you feel? (journal quick write) Possible Unit Summative  Comprehensive unit test containing a variety of question types (e.g., multiple choice, fill in the blank, essay) Assessment  Students discuss the characteristics of several different writing genres. They are given a prompt to and work in groups to continue writing in the style of a (integrates multiple standards humorous, fantasy or suspense story. They share their stories with the class. and skills)

Focus Standards for This Unit Reading Standards for Literature 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. * Note that the following RL.7.3: Analyze how particular elements of story or drama interact (e.g., how setting shapes the characters or plot). standards need to be RL.7.4: Determine the meaning of words and phrases as they are used in a text, including figurative and connotative meanings; analyze the impact of rhymes and other addressed in every unit: repetitions of sounds (e.g., alliteration) on a specific verse or stanza of a poem or section of a story or drama. -RL.7.1 RL.7.6: Analyze how an author develops and contrasts the points of view of different character or narrators in a text. -RL.7.10 RL.7.10: Read and comprehend complex literary and informational texts independently and proficiently. -RI.7.1 -RI.7.10 Reading Standards for Informational Text -W.7.9 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. -W.7.10 RI.7.2: Determine two or more central ideas in a text and analyze their development over the course of the text; provide an objective summary of the text. RI.7.5: Analyze the structure an author uses to organize a text, including how the major sections contribute to the whole and to the development of the ideas. RI.7.8: Trace and evaluate the argument and specific claims in a text, assessing whether the reasoning is sound and the evidence is relevant and sufficient to support the Standards that in the DC claims. Standards and Core Standards RI.7.10: Read and comprehend complex literary and informational texts independently and proficiently. that need to be covered in a

1 RELA Unit 6 Grade 7 | MAPCS lesson. Writing Standards W.7.1: Write arguments to support claims with clear reasons and relevant evidence. W.7.6: Use technology, including the internet, to produce and publish writing and link to and cite sources as well as to interact and collaborate with others, including linking and citing sources. W.7.9: Draw evidence from literary or informational texts to support analysis, reflection, and research. W.7.10: Write routinely over extended time frames and shorter time frames for a range of tasks, purposes, and audiences.

Speaking and Listening Standards SL.7.5: Include multimedia components and visual displays in presentations to clarify claims and findings and emphasize salient points.

Language Standards L.7.2: Demonstrate command of the conventions and standard English capitalization, punctuation, and spelling when writing. a. Use a comma to separate coordinate adjectives. b. Spell correctly. L.7.4: Determine or clarify the meaning of unknown and multiple-meaning words and phrases based on grades 7 reading and content, choosing flexibly from a range of strategies. a: Use context as a clue to the meaning of a word or phrase. b: Use common, grade-appropriate Greek or Latin affixes and roots as clues to the meaning of a word (e.g., belligerent, bellicose, rebel) c: Consult reference materials, both print and digital, to find the pronunciation of a word or determine or clarify its precise meaning or its part of speech. d: Verify the preliminary determination of the meaning of a word or phrase (e.g., by checking the inferred meaning in context or in a dictionary).

2 RELA Unit 6 Grade 7 | MAPCS Suggested Works LITERARY TEXTS

Each unit includes: In the McDougal Little LITERATURE text: □ Close analysis of 3-5 short complex texts FICTION □ In-depth study of one  Seventh Grade (Gary Soto)—(short story) pg. 30 Deals with the theme of comedy through embarrassment complex extended  Rikki-tikki-tavi (Rudyard Kipling)—(short story) pg. 72 Comedy text (anchor text for unit)  A Day’s Wait (Ernest Hemingway)—(short story) pg. 466 Deals with the theme of tragedy through illness □ Practice of oral  Waters of Gold (Laurence Yep)—(folk tale) pg. 702 Comedy reading fluency through partner  Sally Ann Thunder Ann Whirlwind—(tall tale) pg. 714 Comedy reading, small group NONFICTION/INFORMATIONAL TEXT reading, or teacher small group reading  Enemies Attack: A Nation Mourns (article) pg. 553 Tragedy  The Only Girl in the World for Me (Bill Cosby)--(essay) pg. 496 Comedy □ Ongoing in-depth comparisons of  Breaking the Ice (Dave Barry)—(essay) pg. 502 Comedy complex texts □ Write to complex POETRY texts studied, including 3-5  The Names (Billy Collins) pg. 548 Tragedy informative,  Jabberwocky (Lewis Carroll) pg. 592 Comedy/nonsense poetry narrative and/or opinion pieces  Sarah Cynthia Sylvia Stout Would Not Take the Garbage Out (Shel Silverstein) pg. 596 Comedy  Two Limericks (Edward Lear) pg. 598 Comedy AUDIOVISUAL  Bill Cosby, Himself (1983) A concert film in which Bill Cosby discusses weekends, raising children, dentists, and many other situations. Students can analyze his style and determine what make him such a master of comedy.

Websites and/or Additional Resources:  The Adventures of Tom Sawyer (Mark Twain)—novel  http://busyteacher.org/2507-jokes.html 11 easy to understand jokes. The punch lines are missing to get students to completing the jokes.  http://busyteacher.org/764-fun_riddles.html Students write riddles for character and literary devcies 3 RELA Unit 6 Grade 7 | MAPCS 4 RELA Unit 6 Grade 7 | MAPCS Key Terminology and  point of view  fact  opinion  imagery Academic Language  comedy  compare & contrast  suspense  free verse *5-10 terms per reading  tragedy  climax  prediction  memorial should be selected for each short complex text  plot  falling action  word choice  nonsense *5-10 words per week should  exposition  resolution  dialogue  humor be selected for extended complex text  rising action  connecting  sentence structure  sound devices  onomatopoeia  alliteration  rhyme  repetition  tone  author’s purpose  style  exaggeration (hyperbole) Additional Interdisciplinary Social Studies Art Connections Students analyze political cartoons, what makes them funny, and how they affect Students complete humorous illustrations showing personification. people’s perceptions. They then create their own political cartoons. Music Science Students examine the parodies of Weird Al Yankovic. What makes his unique Students write mini-joke books. All jokes must be based on a scientific concept of versions of these songs humorous? some kind.

Parts of this document were adapted from CommonCore.org.

5 RELA Unit 6 Grade 7 | MAPCS PLANNING WORKSHEET: Use the additional space in this tool to further develop the plan for instruction  ELA Standard  Critical Sub-skills  Possible Learning Tasks (Knowledge that students *Tasks may be accomplished over multiple literacy block periods or repeated for emphasis over should understand and skills several periods. they should demonstrate) *Some tasks address multiple standards and more than one knowledge or skill item. *Tasks that may apply to more than one ELA standard are cited in multiple rows. RL.7.3  Analyze how a particular  Students read a novel and discuss character personality. They analyze a character in a novel and keep a chart or incident in a story or drama web of the character's identity, which includes specific examples from the book. They then write a script (one reveals aspects of the that either develops the existing plot or adds another chapter) with dialogue and narration which reveals the character. character's personality.  Analyze how a particular  Students write a book report for The Adventures of Tom Sawyer and complete related activities. In this Mark incident in story provokes a Twain lesson, students review literary elements and given examples from the story. Students complete a book decision. report form on Tom Sawyer. Differentiation: Vary the length of written work required, Have students use a dictionary/thesaurus when writing, provide sentence starters Differentiation: Vary the length of the selection students are responsible for, or provide some students with a highlighted or annotated version of the text.

RL.7.6  Define and identify the  Students discover how writing is affected by mood and emotions. They learn proper mood descriptors and read points of view of characters sample pieces of writing to better explain mood. or narrators.  Students study personification and alliteration in various fiction texts. In this literary devices lesson, students use  Compare and contrast various texts to identify the literary devices of personification and alliteration. Students use examples of both multiple points of view in a devices in an original sentence and create an illustration for personification. single text.  Track specific examples of Differentiation: Use tracking notes that to help students understand what a character is thinking, doing or saying to record how a point of view changes textual evidence (and include the page number). or develops in response to Differentiation: Vary the length and difficulty of passages that students are asked to read, Use a graphic organizer and events or actions. real-world examples, i.e. music to help students classify the forms of language and why they are used in text, Have students create/use foldables with definitions, examples, and pictures to demonstrate/recall what they have learned about the forms of language RI.7.5  Analyze the structure of a  While reading one or more examples of tall tales to the class, discuss which elements of the story are not real or specific paragraph in a text true. List specific examples of exaggeration. and determine how this  Let students compare their own responses on which details they find most humorous in the tales you discuss. paragraph helps to develop  Use the tall tales as models for students to explore and identify story elements that can be found in other types or refine a key concept. of literature. Have students read several tall tales on their own, or read to each other. Then they can explain 6 RELA Unit 6 Grade 7 | MAPCS  Analyze and explain how examples of plot elements such as introduction (establishing place, setting characters), rising action, climax, the role of particular falling action and conclusion. If you need to simplify this traditional model, use the words "beginning," sentences help to develop "problem," and "solution" or "outcome." and refine and author’s key Differentiation: Vary the length and difficulty of passages that students are asked to read, Provide step-by-step real-world concept. examples to demonstrate how text structures can lead to the discovery of a theme, Use Somebody, Wanted , But, So chart (When Kids Can’t Read, K. Beers) W.7.10  Recognize that different  Use a long piece of cash register tape, or long paper from a wider roll of blank paper. At the top of the paper, the writing tasks require varied students either draw pictures of themselves or attach a photograph, and at the bottom they can draw their feet time frames to complete. or shoes. On the blank paper in between, the students can write a tall tale about themselves. These make an  Determine a writing effective display, and the idea of stretching the truth in a tall tale is obvious! format/style to fit my task,  Students read and discuss comic strips and what makes the comic strip humorous. They create their own comic purpose, and/or audience. strip with correct sequencing skills to match each set of words with the correct scene of the comic strip. They  Write for a variety of create a final copy of their comic using the computer then they share their comic strips with each other. reasons.  Students conduct Internet research on limericks. Then, with the use of background poetry knowledge and a clear rubric, students create their own limerick. Differentiation: Vary the length of written work required, Have students use a dictionary/thesaurus when writing, provide sentence starters

L.7.2  Determine when to  Students use correct capitalization. They write a short story that includes the elements of comedy or drama. capitalize words. They include dialogue in their stories  Determine when to use a  Students explore all the uses of commas by finding sentences using commas in reading selection and describing comma or commas to how they are used by comparing the sentences to the rules for utilizing commas. They create a poster with five indicate a pause or break. rules of commas and examples for each one illustrated. Each student also locates examples of commas within a  Identify misspelled words comedy reading selection and a tragedy reading selection. and use resources to assist me in spelling correctly. Differentiation: Vary the length of written work required, Have students use a dictionary/thesaurus when writing, provide sentence starters

7 RELA Unit 6 Grade 7 | MAPCS