Portsmouth Middle School Grade 7 Student Experience

Grade 7 English Language Arts

Curated by:  Kyle Spaltholz and Tanin Longway

Curriculum Information from the Rhode Island Department of Education:  

RI Core Standards for English Language Arts/Literacy

Curriculum Resources

StudySync from McGraw-Hill:

“Committed to helping you foster an equitable learning environment, StudySync is designed to captivate with an unparalleled selection of culturally diverse literature, elevate with instruction tailored to specific learning needs, and provide flexibility to create the ideal classroom experience for you and your students. StudySync is a comprehensive ELA curriculum for grades 6–12 that brings literature to life for every learner.”

Each quarter, whole-class chapter book selections are chosen as a guided reading and novel study. Novels for Grade 7 include Stargirl by Jerry Spinelli, Ghost by Jason Reynolds, We Beat the Street by Sampson Davis, George Jenkins, Rameck Hunt, and Sharon Draper, and The Boy Who Harnessed the Wind by William Kamkwamba and Bryan Mealer.

Detailed Scope and Sequence for Grade 7

Unit 1: Conflicts and Clashes

Unit 2: Highs and Lows

Unit 3: Chasing the Impossible

Unit 4: Moment of Truth

Unit 5: Test of Time  (as an extension)

Unit 6: The Power of One (as an extension)

Assessment Types 

Students will be assessed in a few different ways throughout the school year, including:

  • Think Questions with text-dependent responses

  • Reading comprehension quizzes

  • Text annotations

  • Skill practice

  • Vocabulary checks

  • Whole and small group student discussions

  • Standards-based focus questions

  • Short, constructed writing responses

  • Long-form Extended Writing Projects, including process planning steps

  • Short-form Blasts

  • Peer Review

End-of-Unit assessments are given to all students, which focus on assessing key reading, writing, and language skills covered in a unit.

Overview for Parents/Students 

The link above provides directions for students accessing StudySync, which parents can also use to access their child’s work through their Chromebook.

Family Overview

The PDF linked above provides a basic overview of the StudySync program for families, as well as some links to help you get started exploring the platform.