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.3:

Write narrative texts to develop real or imagined experiences or events using effective technique, well-structured event sequences, descriptive details, and provide a logical resolution.

• Acting Out Student Stories with Robots
  A brief guide to engaging students in narrative writing by having them program robots to act out their stories.
• Balance Action in Your Writing with Thoughts and Emotions
  A story with all action and not enough reflection sounds childish and lacks depth. But a story that is all reflective thoughts and emotions can bore a reader and run the risk of not teling a story at all. Today?s mini move will help us think about the see-sawing effect of balancing actions with thoughts and emotions so that our story has the perfect amount of both!
• Descriptive Writing Snapshot
  Students will use what they have learned about descriptive writing--show don?t tell, vivid verbs and adjectives, sensory details, and figurative language--to write a snapshot detailed description of a picture they find or create.  Students select a picture of their choice and then write an extended paragraph. 
• How to Explode Moments in Your Personal or College Essay
  Successful personal essays connect with the reader through detail and specificity -- by zooming in on single moments and then exploding them with meaning. In this video, we?ll talk about exactly why and how writers explode moments into statements of deep significance in personal narratives.
• How to Paint a Picture with Details in Your Writing
  Often the difference between a drab, lifeless personal narrative and an engaging, lively one is the use of concrete details. In this video, we will learn about how concrete details help us take the guesswork out of reading our narrative while showing our unique voice and perspective.
• 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.
• Mentor Text Greenlight: Marshfield Dreams
  Marshfield Dreams by Ralph Fletcher is the perfect, bite-sized mentor text for narrative writing!
• Mentor Text Greenlight: Why You're Never Too Old to Build Castles in the Air
  "Why You're Never Too Old to Build Castles in the Air" by Miles Howard is a charming blend of persuasion and narrative with a dash of research. It's approachable and accessible in every way-- from the conversational writing style tot the topic of adult Legos. Bring this one into an argument unit or a personal essay unit!
• Quick Tips on How to Write Dialogue Correctly
  Writing dialogue in a narrative is both an art and a science. Dialogue needs to accomplish something in the story, but it also needs to be written conventionally so that a reader can easily understand who is speaking and when. In this video, you?ll learn the two purposes for dialogue (a great self-check when you?re tempted to add dialogue to a story!) and five tips for writing it conventionally!
• What do you do with a problem?
  This lesson was designed to help students break down a problem into steps, creating a comic strip about their problem, writing about the problem and then taking everything they have done and creating their own Adobe Spark presentation with commentary. This provides students the opportunity and an alternate way to present without having to stand in front of the class. They are writing a narrative about a personal experience and creating their own information. 
• Write an If-Then Adventure Story
  Student learn to create an if-then adventure story using Google Applied Digital Skills
• Writers' Favorite Way to Start a Personal Essay
  Beginning any piece of writing is a challenge, but it is particularly harrowing to begin a personal essay. Many writers use the same strategy: a scene drop. In this video, we?ll look at three mentor texts in which writers use the strategy of dropping readers directly into the thick of the story with pairs of actions. It?s a no-fail way to engage your reader and kick off your personal statement.

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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.