English Language Arts Grades 7-8 (2023)
Lesson Plans

Writing (7-8.W)

Students will learn to write for a variety of tasks, purposes, and audiences using appropriate grammar/conventions, syntax, and style.

Standard 7-8.W.1:

Write arguments to support claims with logical reasoning, relevant evidence from accurate and credible sources, and provide a conclusion that follows from and supports the argument presented.

• Abolition: The Catalyst for the Women's Rights Movement
  This lesson examines the beginnings of the women?s suffrage movement as an outgrowth of the abolitionist movement. Students will learn about key figures who were involved in both movements and analyze primary source documents to compare abolitionist and women?s suffrage arguments.
• Add Context to Your Introductions with the "Then-and-Now Intro"
  One way that writers of all kinds begin a piece of writing is by creating a contrast between what has happened in the past and what is happening now. When writers do this, they aren?t trying to write about history, but rather they are beginning by creating context for the ideas they are about to reveal. This little history-corner-moment provides a dynamic beginning in any content area -- from art to economics to ecology!
• Define Important Terms AND Make Your Intro Interesting with the Definition Hinge Structure
  In elementary school, someone may have taught you to ?hook a reader? by starting an essay with a definition. This has become pretty cliched and not engaging. But readers do need to have things defined for them. And while definitions may not help us start a piece of writing, they can help us structure a writing by bridging the introduction and the body. In this video, You?ll learn a move writers in all genre use -- the definition hinge structure -- to provide crucial context for readers while moving them from the introduction into the main ideas of your writing.
• Dr. Cannon Goes to Washington: Utah Statues in National Statuary Hall
  Students will engage with primary source documents to explore the reasons behind memorializing people in public art. Students will craft written or oral statements to support an argument in favor of installing a statue of Dr. Martha Hughes Cannon, Philo T. Farnsworth, or Brigham Young in National Statuary Hall.
• Easily Discuss Text Evidence with this Simple Structure Trick
  Mentor Texts:
  ?The question of humanness troubles the clones, as well as sympathetic individuals like the guardians. On Hailsham?s mission, one of the guardians Miss Emily proclaims, ?Most importantly, we demonstrated to the world that if students were reared in humane, cultivated environments, it was possible for them to grow to be as sensitive and intelligent as any ordinary human being.? The liberal-minded guardians invested in the students? cultural education not only with the aim of improving their quality of living, but also to establish that their lives were worth saving. Working against the rationalization of science, the guardians looked to the students? creativity as the truer measure of their being human.? -Mimi Wong, ?Kazuo Ishiguro?s Never Let Me Go is a Masterpiece of Racial Metaphor?, Electric Lit
• Examining the Struggle for Suffrage & Utah Statehood through Political Cartoons
  This lesson utilizes political cartoons to showcase the national public?s changing attitudes about most Utah women?s rights, from the late 1860s to 1920.
• How to Paraphrase Text Evidence
  Direct quotes are the first thing that comes to mind when we think about text evidence. But more often than not, writer paraphrase their evidence -- putting it in their own words. In this video, we?ll look at cross-curricular examples of authors paraphrasing text, looks for patterns, and learn a method for paraphrasing ourselves.
• How to Write Complete Sentences & When to Break the Rule
  Writing complete sentences is harder than you might think, and it?s a fundamental writing skill that?s worthy of review. In this video, you?ll learn about what makes a complete sentence, tips for making sure your sentences are complete, and circumstances in which writers break this rule effectively.
• Lesson 3: A Debate Against Slavery
  Sometimes, people will fight to keep someone else from being treated poorly. Disagreement over slavery was central to the conflict between the North and the South. The nation was deeply divided.
• Let's Get Back to Basics: Structure 101
  In our first series of the 2022-2023 school year, we're getting back to the basics. Every Tuesday and Thursday, we'll release a new video that reviews a core writing move or strategy.
• New Ways to Incorporate Text Evidence
  One of our goals at Mini Moves for Writers is to teach you multiple ways to hack a writing skill. In this video, we'll build on the standard way you've probably been taught to weave text evidence into your writing in both English and social studies classes.
• Philip Reid and Freedom
  How are concepts, such as freedom, represented in works of art? What do specific works of art or architectural features tell us about what was important to the people who designed or made them, particularly if they are telling a story about the importance of freedom?
• The Industrial Age in America: Sweatshops, Steel Mills, and Factories
  About a century has passed since the events at the center of this lesson-the Haymarket Affair, the Homestead Strike, and the Triangle Shirtwaist Factory Fire. In this lesson, students use elementary historical sources to explore some of the questions raised by these events, questions that continue to be relevant in debates about American society: Where do we draw the line between acceptable business practices and unacceptable working conditions? Can an industrial-and indeed a post-industrial-economy succeed without taking advantage of those who do the work?
• Three Paragraph Structures Every Writer Needs to Know
  In this video, learn three fundamental paragraph types that will help any writer meaningfully organize their writing. Paragraphs -- even basic ones -- help both the reader and the writer make sense of and build connections between ideas in a piece of writing. This video features:
  1 Idea, 1 Paragraph
  Single-Sentence Paragraph
  1 Idea, Multiple Paragraphs (+ Transition)
• To Quote or Not to Quote (Text Evidence)?
  As we?ve talked about in Paraphrasing Text Evidence (? How to Paraphrase Text Evidence , professional writers paraphrase more often than they directly quote. So, how do we decide when a direct quote is the best way to support an idea? In this video, Rebekah shares three times writers choose to use a direct quote instead of paraphrasing and gives two important tips for how to quote with sophistication like the pros.

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http://www.uen.org - in partnership with Utah State Board of Education (USBE) and Utah System of Higher Education (USHE).  Send questions or comments to USBE Specialist - Naomi  Watkins and see the Language Arts - Secondary website. For general questions about Utah's Core Standards contact the Director - Jennifer  Throndsen.

These materials have been produced by and for the teachers of the State of Utah. Copies of these materials may be freely reproduced for teacher and classroom use. When distributing these materials, credit should be given to Utah State Board of Education. These materials may not be published, in whole or part, or in any other format, without the written permission of the Utah State Board of Education, 250 East 500 South, PO Box 144200, Salt Lake City, Utah 84114-4200.