English Language Arts-7th Grade

Catholic Standards for Writing

Writing Standards

Catholic Standards for Language

Language Standards

Catholic Standards for Speaking and Listening

Speaking and Listening Standards

Create written works that glorify the Creator, reflect the heart of the Redeemer and are inspired by the Spirit. 

Share well-crafted works, especially those with elements of unity, harmony, and radiance of form. CSDS4 

Write in ways to naturally order our thoughts to the truth with an accurate expression of intent, knowledge, and feelings. CSWS2 

Text Types and Purposes

Production and Distribution of Writing

Research to Build and Present Knowledge

Range of Writing

Exhibit an understanding that words are important to the Word.

Use language as a bridge for communication for the betterment of all involved. CSWS1 

Use language to order our thoughts and to accurately express knowledge and feelings. CSWS2 

Conventions of Standard English 

Knowledge of Language

Vocabulary Acquisition and Use

Interact with people, recognizing diversity, using discussion techniques and language that reflects Catholic teaching and values. 

Use language as a bridge for communication for the betterment of all involved. CSWS1 

Share beautifully told and well-crafted works, especially those with elements of unity, harmony, and radiance of form. CSDS4 

Delight and wonder through reading aloud or listening to creative, sound, and healthy stories, and poems and plays. CSDS7 

Comprehension and Collaboration

Presentation of Knowledge and Ideas

CSWS2: Write in a variety of ways to naturally order thoughts to the truth with an accurate expression of intent, knowledge, and feelings. 

CSIS4: From a Catholic perspective, write to explain how to address critical issues, such as: What is the relationship between man and God? What is the nature of human dignity? What is love? What is a good life? 

Write arguments to support claims with clear reasons and relevant evidence while maintaining Catholic values and identity.

Write informative/explanatory texts to examine a topic and convey ideas, concepts, and information through the selection, organization, and analysis of relevant content.

Write narratives to develop real or imagined experiences or events using effective technique, relevant descriptive details, and well-structured event sequences.

Produce clear and coherent writing in which the development, organization, and style are appropriate to task, purpose, and audience. Examples may include prayers, Catholic moral teachings, and reflective essays. 

With some guidance and support from peers and adults, develop, strengthen, and justify writing according to Catholic teaching as needed by planning, revising, editing, rewriting, or trying a new approach, focusing on how well purpose and audience have been addressed.

Use technology, including the Internet, to produce and publish writing (including multi-media works reflecting a Catholic theme) and link to and cite sources as well as to interact and collaborate with others, including linking to and citing sources.

Conduct short research projects to answer a question, drawing on several sources and generating additional related, focused questions for further research and investigation.

Gather relevant information from multiple print and digital sources including an understanding of primary and secondary sources, using search terms effectively; assess the credibility and accuracy of each source; and quote or paraphrase the data and conclusions of others while exercising the virtue of honesty and following a standard format for citation of images, sources, and ideas thus eliminating plagiarism. 

Draw evidence from literary or informational texts to support analysis, reflection, and research. 

Write routinely over extended time frames (time for research, reflection, and revision) and shorter time frames (a single sitting or a day or two) for a range of discipline-specific tasks, purposes, and audiences.

Demonstrate command of the conventions of standard English grammar and usage when writing or speaking. 

Demonstrate command of the conventions of standard English capitalization, punctuation, and spelling when writing.

Use knowledge of language and its conventions when writing, speaking, reading, or listening. 

Determine or clarify the meaning of unknown and multiple-meaning words and phrases based on Grade 7 reading and content, choosing flexibly from a range of strategies.

Demonstrate understanding of figurative language, word relationships, and nuances in word meanings.

Acquire and use accurately grade-appropriate general academic and domain-specific words and phrases (including faith literacy); gather vocabulary knowledge when considering a word or phrase important to comprehension or expression.

Engage effectively in a range of collaborative discussions (one-on-one, in groups, and teacher-led), building on others’ ideas and expressing their own clearly

Analyze the main ideas and supporting details presented in diverse media and formats including but not limited to Catholic texts and sources (e.g., visually, quantitatively, orally) and explain how the ideas clarify a topic, text, or issue under study

Delineate a speaker’s argument and specific claims, evaluating the soundness of the reasoning and the relevance and sufficiency of the evidence. 

Present claims and findings, emphasizing salient points in a focused, coherent manner with pertinent descriptions, facts, details, and examples; use appropriate eye contact, adequate volume, and clear pronunciation.

Include multimedia components and visual displays in presentations to clarify claims and findings and emphasize salient points.

Adapt speech to a variety of contexts and tasks, demonstrating command of formal English when indicated or appropriate. 

Capitalize on opportunities to practice these skills within a liturgical context modeling Christ.

Introduce claim(s), acknowledge alternate or opposing claims, and organize the reasons and evidence logically.

Support claim(s) with logical reasoning and relevant evidence, using accurate, credible sources (including but not limited to Catholic texts) and demonstrating an understanding of the topic or text.

Use words, phrases, and clauses to create cohesion and clarify the relationships among claim(s), reasons, and evidence. 

Establish and maintain a formal style. 

Provide a concluding statement or section that follows from and supports the argument presented.

Introduce a topic clearly, previewing what is to follow; organize ideas, concepts, and information, using strategies such as definition, classification, comparison/contrast, and cause/effect; include formatting (e.g., headings), graphics (e.g., charts, tables), and multimedia when useful to aiding comprehension.

Develop the topic (including but not limited to a Catholic topic) with relevant facts, definitions, concrete details, quotations, or other information and examples.

Use appropriate transitions to create cohesion and clarify the relationships among ideas and concepts. 

Use precise language and domain-specific vocabulary to inform about or explain the topic. 

Establish and maintain a formal style.

Provide a concluding statement or section that follows from and supports the information or explanation presented

Engage and orient the reader by establishing a context and point of view and introducing a narrator and/or characters; organize an event sequence that unfolds naturally and logically.

Use narrative techniques, such as dialogue, pacing, and description, to develop experiences, events, and/or characters (character study may detail the implicit and/or explicit Catholic virtues and values). 

Use a variety of transition words, phrases, and clauses to convey sequence and signal shifts from one time frame or setting to another.

Use precise words and phrases, relevant descriptive details, and sensory language to capture the action and convey experiences and events. 

Provide a conclusion that follows from and reflects on the narrated experiences or events. 

Explain the function of phrases and clauses in general and their function in specific sentences.

Choose among simple, compound, complex, and compound-complex sentences to signal differing relationships among ideas.

Place phrases and clauses within a sentence, recognizing and correcting misplaced and dangling modifiers.

Use a comma to separate coordinate adjectives (e.g., It was a fascinating, enjoyable movie but not He wore an old [,] green shirt). 

Spell correctly.

Choose language that expresses ideas precisely and concisely, recognizing and eliminating wordiness and redundancy. 

Use context (e.g., the overall meaning of a sentence or paragraph; a word’s position or function in a sentence) as a clue to the meaning of a word or phrase.

Use common, grade-appropriate Greek or Latin affixes and roots as clues to the meaning of a word (e.g., belligerent, bellicose, rebel).

Consult general and specialized reference materials (e.g., dictionaries, glossaries, thesauruses), both print and digital, to find the pronunciation of a word or determine or clarify its precise meaning or its part of speech.

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). 

Interpret figures of speech (e.g., literary, biblical, and mythological allusions) in context.

Use the relationship between particular words (e.g., synonym/antonym, analogy) to better understand each of the words.

Distinguish among the connotations (associations) of words with similar denotations (definitions) (e.g., refined, respectful, polite, diplomatic, condescending).

Come to discussions prepared, having read or researched material under study (including but not limited to Catholic texts and sources); explicitly draw on that preparation by referring to evidence on the topic, text, or issue to probe and reflect on ideas under discussion.

Follow rules for collegial discussions, track progress toward specific goals and deadlines, and define individual roles as needed.

Pose questions that elicit elaboration and respond to others’ questions and comments with relevant observations and ideas that bring the discussion back on topic as needed. 

Acknowledge new information expressed by others and, when warranted, modify their own views.