Seventh Grade - ELA
1: Semester 1
Unit 1: The Pearl
Lesson 2
The Scorpion
Students answer questions that require linking character and plot, such as describing how Kino's life changes from the beginning to the end of Chapter 1 (Question #4) and identifying Kino's physical appearance (Question #2). Students record descriptive phrases from the text in a journal and are prompted to consider how control of the environment affects success/happiness (Ideas to Think About). Discussion prompts ask students to describe social and economic divides and to explain how feeling out of control affects Kino's perspective.
Lesson 3
The Pearl
Students are asked directly what Kino's only thing of value is and what that reveals about him (Questions #1 and #2), which links an element of setting/possession to character and circumstance. The "Things to Think About" prompts and the discussion questions ask students to consider how poverty or wealth and the discovery of the pearl will change a person's life and perspective. Several prompts ask students to interpret Steinbeck's language about villagers' minds and the pearls' effect on European power, encouraging consideration of how social/economic elements interact with characters and outcomes.
Lesson 4
Related Research
Students are asked to research the setting (La Paz, Mexico) or the history of pearl diving as background related to the novel, and to produce a travel brochure or an oral presentation. The lesson text explicitly links Kino's situation to pearl diving: it explains that Kino's lack of resources and education makes him feel little control over his destiny and that the discovery of the pearl may change his situation. The wrapping-up prompt asks students to think about how the research will help them better understand the novel and the characters' choices and circumstances.
Lesson 5
Songs
Students are asked to explain the simile comparing the town to a colonial animal and describe how news moves through the town, which requires analyzing how community elements interact. Questions and discussion prompts ask why Kino becomes "every man's enemy," why people become interested in Kino, and how the pearl will change Kino's and his family's life, prompting analysis of how wealth (an element) affects characters and plot. Activities ask students to write songs that reflect Kino's culture and to discuss how beat, tempo, and words reflect mood and culture, linking cultural elements to character experience and action.
Lesson 6
For Sale
Students are asked to explain how the pearl has changed Juana and Kino (Question #5) and to predict outcomes of Kino selling the pearl, prompting analysis of cause and effect between an element (the pearl) and characters/plot. Activity 2 asks students to brainstorm multiple symbolic meanings of the pearl and to note that "as they change, the meaning of the pearl in their lives changes," linking symbol, mood, and character development. Discussion prompts ask students to consider how money, education, and social position shape power and behavior, encouraging analysis of how social elements interact with character choices.
Lesson 7
The Attack
Students are asked to consider how Kino and Juana's lives are different as a result of the pearl and to answer discussion questions such as "How has the pearl changed Kino and Juana's relationship?" and "How is Kino and Juana's relationship different now than it was at the beginning of the story?", which prompts analysis of how a plot element (the pearl) affects characters and relationships. The Wants activity requires students to identify each character's desires and judge whether those wants are good or self-centered, prompting analysis of how character motivations interact with theme and plot. The parent-plan discussion prompts ask students to interpret cultural details (e.g., the boat/possession question) and Kino's declaration "I am man," which asks students to analyze characterization and its consequences for action.
Lesson 8
Escape
Students are asked directly to analyze setting in Question #2: "How does the setting of the story keep the action of the story going?" with an answer noting that rocks, paths, and caves create suspense and impede escape. The parent prompts ask students to predict whether Kino will be caught and to discuss his options and possible fates, which asks students to connect character decisions to situational pressures. Discussion and wrap-up questions ask students to explain symbolism, describe characters at the end, and consider the consequences of Kino's quest for wealth, linking character motivation and plot outcomes.
Lesson 9
Parables
The parent prompts ask students to explain the lesson of each parable and to compare the Parable of the Pearl to Steinbeck's The Pearl, noting how Kino "pays" for the pearl — an explicit prompt to compare plot outcomes and thematic meaning. The Skills section includes "Analyze the purpose of the author or creator by understanding the effects of the author's craft on the reader," which asks students to consider authorial choices. Activity 2 asks students to retell or illustrate a parable, which requires students to represent story elements and their relationships when they retell or depict the narrative.
Lesson 10
Writing a Parable
Students are prompted to describe setting, character, and plot on a story map and to "consider how the place and time of your parable will influence the theme or message of the story." The Things to Know section tells students that "Characters are developed through their actions, thoughts, and dialogue" and that "The setting of a story can enhance the plot and/or theme of the story." Day 2 instructs students to "establish a clear setting" and gives an explicit example from The Pearl of setting affecting action, and the parable rubric asks whether setting and theme are clearly portrayed.
Final Project
Think-Tac-Toe
Students are prompted to analyze how the pearl affects Kino in Part D ("How is Kino changed by the pearl?") which asks for short analytical responses about character change and plot consequences. The "Speech Symbols" activity asks students to identify significant symbols and explain their significance, requiring analysis of how a symbol interacts with themes and characters. The mock trial, speech, and Kino trial activities require students to use evidence from the book to argue a position, which involves connecting plot events, character motives, and textual details. The Parent Plan and answer key also direct students to describe themes, trace an author's perspective, and note Steinbeck's use of setting and songs to convey villagers' feelings, supporting analytical work.
Unit 2: A Girl Named Disaster
Lesson 1
Nhamo
Students are assigned the role of Cultural Commentator and asked to journal what they learn about culture and characters from the first four chapters, including customs, homes, clothing, beliefs, and food. The lesson asks students to locate Mozambique on a map and to consider geography (e.g., shading tropical climate, labeling Lake Cabora Bassa and the Zambezi River). Discussion prompts ask how villagers depend on the natural environment for survival and pose questions about family roles and Nhamo's worries, linking cultural practices to character circumstances. Special Notes prompt discussion of spiritual and religious elements and how they compare with introduced Christianity.
Lesson 2
Sickness
Students are asked to read chapters about a cholera epidemic and to take on the role of Investigator to gather background on geography, culture, and the book's setting, which they record in a journal. The Wrapping Up and discussion questions prompt students to consider why villagers attributed cholera to a witch, why the family traveled to see the nganga, and why survival would be harder in the village than in a city. These prompts require students to connect setting and cultural beliefs to characters' actions and to plot outcomes (e.g., seeking a witch, differing survival rates).
Lesson 3
A Visit with the Muvuki
Students are asked to "consider the Western influence the Portuguese have on the community" as they read, which directs attention to how setting and cultural contact affect characters and events. The Discussion Director task requires students to write big-idea questions, including an inference question and an open-ended question, prompting students to think about causes, motivations, and plot consequences. Parent-plan discussion prompts ask students to explain how the muvuki's commands and traditional beliefs shape Nhamo's options and the plot outcomes.
Lesson 4
Escape
Students are assigned Chapters 11–14 and a Literary Luminary task in which they choose two or three passages, read them aloud, and explain their reasons for picking them, prompting textual explanation. Discussion questions ask students to explain why Ambuya told Nhamo to run away and to interpret characters' motives, which requires connecting character decisions to cultural/religious context. History pages and the wrapping-up section ask students to learn about Mozambique and Zimbabwe and note that Catholicism (brought by Europeans) influences Nhamo's plan to seek protection, linking historical setting to plot decisions.
Lesson 5
Lake Cabora Bassa
Students are assigned the role of a "Travel Tracer" and told to carefully follow where the action happens in Chapters 14–16, describing where characters move to and from and describing each setting in detail. Students are explicitly asked to "explain what role the setting plays in the conflict of the story," connecting setting to plot and character struggle. The "Ideas to Think About" and "Wrapping Up" prompts ask students to consider how the environment provides for survival and how different upbringing (city vs. rural) would change Nhamo's experience, which directs students to analyze how setting shapes character outlook and actions.
Lesson 6
Abandoned Farm
The parent discussion prompts ask students to consider how geography affects survival and how Nhamo's outlook has changed now that she is fighting for survival, directly linking setting and character. The Personal Narrative Story Elements page requires students to identify Setting, Characters, Rising Action, Climax, and Falling Action, so students must connect setting and plot elements when organizing their story. The Line Locator activity asks students to select lines that are key to the story and explain why they are important, prompting students to analyze how passages (elements) contribute to character development or plot progression.
Lesson 7
Baboons
Students are prompted to consider setting explicitly via the question "How does the geography of the land affect a person's survival?" and by locating Lake Cabora Bassa on a map. The Illustrator task asks students to create a drawing about an element of the story, specifying plot, character, or setting as possible focuses. Activities ask students to learn about the environment and animals that affect Nhamo's survival and to answer discussion questions about whether Nhamo can survive on the island and how the baboon is described.
Lesson 8
Survival
Several discussion prompts ask students to consider how Nhamo survived physically and emotionally on the island and why she became sick, prompting connections between the island setting and Nhamo's actions. The "Ideas to Think About" asks how humans depend on the natural world and how struggle to survive can change priorities, which directs students to relate setting and conflict to character development. Activity 1 asks students to consider ways Nhamo uses materials from the natural environment (calabashes), linking setting resources to character behavior and plot actions.
Lesson 9
The Leopard
Students are prompted to explain how Nhamo has changed, comparing her earlier self to the stronger survivor she is now, which asks them to connect character development to events. The 'Ideas to Think About' asks how geography affects survival and how struggle changes outlook, inviting analysis of setting influencing plot and character. The Questions to Discuss ask why a kudu died (killed by a leopard) and how the natural environment affects Nhamo's ability to leave the island, which links setting and plot events. The Wrapping Up statement explicitly connects the natural environment to Nhamo's survival and timing of departure.
Lesson 10
A Rude Awakening
Students are prompted to consider how geography affects survival in the "Ideas to Think About" section and to make sure their postcard "reflects what you know about the geography of the island based on the story." Students must create a storyboard that explicitly requires scenes to "accurately reflect the culture of Nhamo's village, the geography of the land, and Nhamo's struggle for survival," which ties setting to character and plot. Students are asked to recreate character interactions as a Dialogue Designer and to discuss how Nhamo felt when encountering others, prompting analysis of how setting and events shaped her behavior.
Lesson 11
Out with the Old
The lesson includes discussion questions that ask students to explain character motivations and consequences (e.g., why Nhamo reacted violently to the dog because she had been attacked earlier, why Baba Joseph refused medicine because of his religion, and why Nhamo imprinted on Dr. Masuku). The Reading and Questions section assigns students the role of Real-life Connector, asking them to record connections between book events and outside world contexts, which asks students to relate events and character behavior to larger contexts.
Lesson 12
A New Beginning
Students are asked in Part IV to identify the two African countries where the novel is set (Zimbabwe and Mozambique) and to characterize Nhamo using text evidence, which requires attention to setting and character. Students are also asked to describe Nhamo's biggest problem and how it was solved, connecting plot events to character actions. A parent-discussion question explicitly asks, "Where does Nhamo feel most at home and why?", prompting students to explain how setting influences the character. The lesson asks students to "think about the story elements of the novel" when studying for the unit test, directing attention to relationships among elements.
Unit 3: The Hobbit
Lesson 1
Bilbo Baggins
Students are instructed to create and use a Setting Map where they trace Bilbo and the dwarves' journey, circle important geographical locations, and record the chapter and an important event that occurred at each location. Students answer guided questions about characterization (e.g., "How does Tolkien characterize Bilbo Baggins at the beginning of the chapter?" and "How does Bilbo change from the beginning to the end of the first chapter?") that require them to connect character actions and development to the text. The Events of the Journey pages and answer key link specific chapters and plot events to map locations, prompting students to associate plot events with settings.
Lesson 2
Trolls
Students are asked to chart the journey on a "Setting Map" page and to draw a dotted line from Hobbiton toward Elrond, and to describe the first night's camp on an "Events of the Journey" page, which has students identify setting locations and related events. Students answer comprehension and discussion questions about Bilbo's feelings on waking and whether Bilbo will be an asset on the journey, which asks them to reflect on character behavior and its relation to events. The lesson also asks students to describe the trolls and recount the encounter at the fire, which prompts identification of plot events tied to a specific location.
Lesson 3
The Elves
Students are asked to chart today's journey on a "Setting Map" page and record descriptions of what happens at each place on an "Events of the Journey" page, tying locations to events. The Skills section directs students to "identify events that advance the plot and determine how each event explains past or present actions or foreshadows future action." Activity 2 has students find examples of foreshadowing and note flashbacks that reveal character motivations.
Lesson 4
Gollum
Students draw the path across the Misty Mountains to the Goblin Gate and write a brief description of what happens in the chapter, linking setting location to events. Students record examples of foreshadowing from Chapter 5 on a chart. Students answer questions and discussion prompts about how the ring gives Gollum power and how Bilbo's and Gollum's lives will change, explaining how that object affects character behavior and plot outcomes.
Lesson 5
Wolves, Goblins, and Eagles
Students answer targeted comprehension questions that require analysis of interactions (e.g., QUESTION #1 asks how the wolves and goblins work together against the dwarves, and QUESTION #3 asks how the eagles help the dwarves), which connects character/creature actions to plot outcomes. Students are asked to draw the path from the Goblin Gate to the Eyrie on a Setting Map and to write a brief description of what happens on the "Events of the Journey" page, which links setting location to sequence of events. Students are also asked to record examples of foreshadowing and to consider how experiences and events change people, prompting consideration of how events influence characters.
Lesson 6
Skin-Changer
Students map the journey by drawing paths from the Eyrie to the Carrock to Beorn's house and label each location with chapter number and a brief description of what happened, which requires them to connect places with events. Students record examples of foreshadowing or flashback on their chart, asking them to identify how narrative time elements relate to plot development. Students answer and discuss questions about character behavior (e.g., why Gandalf introduces dwarves two at a time, whether Beorn will be a friend) and are asked to analyze characterization as delineated through the narrator's description.
Lesson 7
Spiders
Students are asked to draw a path from the Forest Gate to the spiderwebs in Mirkwood, label the chapter, and write a short sentence about the chapter's events, which engages them with setting and plot location. The activity also requires students to record an example of foreshadowing from the chapter, and comprehension questions prompt students to describe key events (e.g., how Bilbo saves the dwarves and how he feels after). Discussion prompts ask students to consider how experiences, events, and circumstances change and mold people and to explain how Bilbo has changed and how the dwarves' opinions of him have shifted.
Lesson 8
Elvenking
Students are asked to "Continue the path from the spider webs to the Elvenking's halls on your 'Setting Map' sheet" and to record chapter numbers and describe what happened at the Elvenking's Hall and how they escaped, which connects setting to events. The Skills section instructs students to "identify events that advance the plot and determine how each event explains past or present actions or foreshadows future action." Students also answer guided questions about how Bilbo has changed and are prompted to add examples of foreshadowing to their chart. The Problems and Solutions activity (with an answer key) has students link events to who solved them and how characters' actions affected outcomes.
Lesson 9
Men of the Lake
Students are asked to complete a "Setting Map" by tracing the journey from the Elvenking's halls to Long Lake and up to the Lonely Mountain and to record chapter numbers, which engages them with the story's setting and movement. Students write short descriptions on the "Events of the Journey" page and record examples of flashback or foreshadowing, which connects events (plot elements) to textual devices. The introduction asks students to explain Bilbo's plan and to discuss how the ring of invisibility has helped Bilbo, prompting consideration of how a specific element (the ring) affects a character and the plot. Question #2 asks why Bilbo has more spirit and what he encourages the dwarves to do, which requires students to link character motivation to actions in the plot.
Lesson 10
The Dragon
Students are asked questions that require analysis of character and plot (e.g., whether Bilbo should enter the cave first and how Bilbo 'had become the real leader'), which makes them explain character actions and their effect on the adventure. A question about why the dragon wakes (Bilbo stole from him) asks students to connect an event to character motivation and plot consequence. Students are instructed to record examples of flashback or foreshadowing and to summarize chapters, prompting them to identify narrative devices and how they influence events. The activities asking students to analyze greed and how Smaug's hoarding affected the people of the region ask students to link wealth/power (an element of setting/situation) to characters' lives and the plot.
Lesson 11
Bard
Students are asked reflective questions such as "How can power and greed motivate people and lead to disastrous outcomes?" and "How can power or wealth change a person?", prompting them to connect character traits to consequences. The reading comprehension and discussion prompts ask students to explain why Thorin refuses a council and whether the townspeople deserve some of Smaug's treasure, requiring analysis of character motivations and resulting plot events. The wrapping-up paragraph has students consider Bilbo's and Thorin's differing responses to Bard and the Lake-men, linking characters' decisions to the unfolding conflict.
Lesson 12
The Arkenstone
Students are prompted to discuss major themes and to describe how change shapes characters, specifically explaining Bilbo's transformation and Thorin's alteration after encountering the treasure. Students answer comprehension questions that require explaining Bilbo's secret trip and his decision to give the Arkenstone, linking the object to plot consequences and characters' reactions. In the Quest Cube activity, students identify the six quest elements and are explicitly asked to explain how each element contributes to central themes and the mood of the story.
Lesson 13
The Battle
Students are asked to read early reviews of The Hobbit and "Describe any literary elements that the reviewer alludes to in the review," which requires identification of elements such as theme, character, and plot. The "Ideas to Think About" prompts ask students to consider how power or greed can change a person and how such motives can lead to disastrous outcomes, prompting consideration of how theme influences character and plot. The parent prompts and wrapping-up questions ask students to explain Thorin's change, Bilbo's changed life, and reviewers' focus on themes, characters, and plot, encouraging reflection on relationships among elements.
Final Project
Responding to Literature
Students are asked to write two required body paragraphs: one on how the characters changed and one on an important timeless lesson, which prompts analysis of character development and theme. The introductory outline specifically requires students to identify the setting and main characters, and an optional third paragraph prompt lets students choose "What did you like about the setting?" Prewriting webs and the rubric require students to supply textual evidence and interpretation to support their responses, and study pages direct students to review a "Setting Map" and "Events of the Journey."
Unit 4: A Single Shard
Lesson 1
Korea
Students are told to "pay careful attention to what you learn about the culture of Korea" and to "consider the unique relationships that exist among the characters and how they develop as the story progresses," prompting attention to setting and character development. Students complete a Map of Asia activity where they locate and label Korea, China, Japan, and surrounding seas, and they color and label geographic features. Students use an "Elements of Korean Culture" chart to record information about housing, religion, clothing, food, jobs, transportation, geography and weather, and traditions for "Today" and "Centuries Past."
Lesson 2
Tree-Ear
The lesson asks students to read the first two chapters and explicitly tells them to "consider the unique relationships the main character has with the people in his life and how these people influence him." Students are prompted to "pay close attention to what the author teaches us about the Korean culture during this time in history" and to add details to an "Elements of Korean Culture" page. Discussion questions ask students to describe the relationship between Tree-ear and Crane-man, to explain Min's behavior toward an unseen watcher, and to judge whether working for Min is a good opportunity, all of which require considering interactions among characters and cultural context.
Lesson 3
Hard Work
Students are asked to answer questions that require identifying events and character development, for example: "What events contribute to the overall plot of the story?" and "What events contribute to the development of the main characters?" The "Ideas to Think About" prompts ask students to consider how events shape relationships and how jobs in a culture reflect values and structure, linking cultural/setting elements to character and plot. Parent discussion questions ask students to explain Min's impatience and why Tree-ear values earning his meal, prompting interpretation of how events and social context influence character motivations and relationships.
Lesson 4
Food and Pottery
Students are asked to explore aspects of 12th-century Korean culture by preparing kimchi or investigating local clay for pottery, linking those activities to elements shown in the story (e.g., kimchi that Tree-ear ate and potters in the narrative). The lesson prompts students with questions such as "How does the natural environment help shape a culture?" and "Think about how the art and food of 12th century Korea reflected natural resources," requiring students to connect setting/resources to cultural practices. Students are prompted to discuss what people 500 years from now could learn about our culture from food and artwork, which encourages consideration of how setting and material culture interact with human behavior.
Lesson 5
The Royal Emissary
Students are asked to explain how the natural environment helps shape a culture and to describe how the pottery-making process depends on environmental resources, linking setting to cultural practice. Students respond to discussion prompts about Tree-ear's reaction to a vase and his ethical struggle over what he observed, and identify the arrival of a royal emissary and its purpose, connecting events to plot development. Students produce written questions (prediction, fact-based, opinion, personal reaction) about Chapters 5 and 6 that can prompt analysis of character decisions and plot events.
Lesson 7
Opportunity
The Parent Plan skills list explicitly tells students to "analyze the connections of relationships between and among characters" and to "analyze the development of the plot through the internal and external responses of the characters, including their motivations." Question 2 asks students to explain how Crane-man's encounter with a fox changed his actions and led him to live under the bridge, linking setting to character choice. The Tree-Ear mini-book activity requires students to identify specific opportunities (events) and record how each opportunity benefited Tree-ear or changed his life, prompting analysis of how events and character interact.
Lesson 9
Words of Wisdom
Students are asked to explain why Tree-ear decides to go on the journey and to evaluate Crane-man's warning that people are the greatest danger, prompting analysis of how character relationships and traits drive plot choices. Discussion prompts ask students to consider how relationships affect decisions and emotions and to evaluate how pride helped and hurt both Tree-ear and Min, requiring students to connect character motivations to plot outcomes. The Quotes activity asks students to interpret Crane-man's sayings and to explain how those words of wisdom guide Tree-ear during his journey, linking character dialogue/thoughts to subsequent actions.
Lesson 10
The Fox
The Parent Plan's skills list includes: "Identify events that advance the plot and determine how each event explains past or present actions or foreshadows future action," which asks students to analyze plot elements and their functions. Activity 2 has students read multiple folktales featuring a fox, think about the purpose of each story, and identify what each tale teaches, prompting analysis of character and theme. Students are instructed to write their own fox story that keeps the fox true to literary representations, which has them apply characterization and plot choices informed by the texts they read.
Lesson 11
Relationships
Students are prompted to consider how relationships affect a person's decisions and view of self (Ideas to Think About) and told that understanding relationships is critical to understanding novels (Things to Know). The Parent Plan skills instruct students to analyze characterization through characters' thoughts, words, speech patterns, and actions and to justify interpretations with textual evidence. The Relationship Web and Relationship Words activities require students to describe Tree-ear's relationships with Min, Crane-man, and Min's wife in at least two sentences and support those descriptions with examples from the text.
Final Project
Comparison and Contrast Writing
Students are prompted in the Brainstorming activity to consider how Tree-ear's relationships with Min and Crane-man affect his decisions and emotions and to consider how the relationships provide him opportunities. The Essay Organizer and Option 1 explicitly require students to describe similarities and differences between the two relationships and to provide text-based support for each point. The end-of-unit test asks students to list opportunities given to Tree-ear and to describe the setting, which requires recall of story elements that could be related to character outcomes.
2: Semester 2
Unit 1: Greek Myths
Lesson 1
Ancient Greece
Students read the Greek creation story (D'Aulaires, pp. 9-15) and summarize its events (QUESTION #2). Students answer a prompt asking why Greeks chose gods who looked and acted like ideal people (QUESTION #1), which has them consider how cultural context or setting influenced character portrayal. Students compare this creation story to others (QUESTION #3) and reflect on recurring themes of power and revenge in the myths (Wrapping Up), prompting consideration of how themes and character motives interact.
Lesson 2
The Gods and Goddesses
Students read myths and answer direct questions that link characters' actions to natural events (e.g., Question #2 explains Typhon under a mountain for volcanoes; Question #3 links Poseidon's trident to sea storms; Question #4 links Persephone's departure to winter). Students also answer how Athena's origin explains the origin of the spider and are asked to consider how myths explain natural phenomena in discussion prompts. The family tree and character-card activities require students to identify relationships and roles that relate characters to events and outcomes.
Lesson 3
The Stories
Students are asked to consider how the stories and beliefs of a society reflect its culture and to answer questions such as how these stories could have brought order or what questions people were trying to answer (Activity 2). The Parent Plan explicitly lists that students should "Explain how the values and beliefs of particular characters are affected by the historical and cultural setting of the literary work." When creating a pot or acrostic poem, students are told to "think about the gods' story and the symbols often associated with the god(s) you are drawing," which asks them to connect narrative elements and cultural symbols.
Lesson 4
Minor Gods, Nymphs, Satyrs, and Centaurs
Students are asked to consider how greed and the desire for power lead to devastating consequences (Questions on Prometheus, Pandora, and examples of greed), which asks them to connect character motives to plot outcomes. The Parent Plan skill explicitly asks students to explain how the values and beliefs of particular characters are affected by the historical and cultural setting, requiring students to relate setting/culture to character. Activity 2 asks students to imagine life without fire and write a descriptive paragraph, prompting students to consider how a specific environmental condition (absence of fire) would shape people's lives and actions. Activity 4 asks students to adapt a myth into a short play and to reveal the story through characters' actions and dialogue, which requires attention to how dramatic elements and character interactions convey plot.
Lesson 5
Mortal Descendants of Zeus
Students are asked to "Explain how the values and beliefs of particular characters are affected by the historical and cultural setting of the literary work" in the Skills section, which explicitly directs them to connect setting and character. The "Ideas to Think About" prompts and wrap-up discussion questions ask students to consider how the desire for power affects decisions and consequences, leading students to analyze interactions between character motivations and plot outcomes. The Conventions of a Myth activity and accompanying answer key require students to identify elements (hero, gods, monster, problem, assistance, maiden), giving them text-based components to compare and connect.
Lesson 6
Vainglorious Kings
Students complete Activity 3, a comparison chart that explicitly includes a "Setting" row and asks them to compare the traditional Daedalus and Icarus myth with a contemporary retelling, requiring them to note how setting (prison vs. spacecraft) relates to method of flight and consequences. Activity 4 asks students to watch a filmed version and note how film techniques (sound, music, images, added dialogue) change character presentation and scenes, prompting analysis of how elements interact. The Parent Plan skills state that students will "explain how the values and beliefs of particular characters are affected by the historical and cultural setting" and will "synthesize and make logical connections between ideas within a text and across two or three texts," supporting cross-text analysis of interacting elements.
Final Project
A New Twist on an Ancient Myth
Students are asked in prewriting to consider different settings and events for a myth and to identify the conventions and theme of the original myth before developing a retelling. The Conventions of a Myth pages require students to name a hero, gods, a monster, the problem, helpers, and the theme, guiding them to connect elements of the story. Instructions state that students should make their myth reflect the culture of the setting and the rubric asks for providing insight into the culture, which directs students to link setting/culture to plot and character choices.
Unit 2: Tales from the Middle Ages
Lesson 1
Medieval Times
Students examine a detailed map of a medieval manor and record observations about jobs, clothing, homes, inventions, and military defenses, linking features of the setting to daily life. Students analyze feudal relationships and then write 3–4 sentence commentaries from the perspectives of a knight, a lord, and a peasant, practicing how social setting and roles shape characters' viewpoints and voices. The lesson explicitly states the goal of exploring life in the Middle Ages to better understand the setting and characters in the unit's books.
Lesson 2
Beetle
Students are assigned a Researcher role to dig up information about the geography, culture, or history of the book's setting to better understand story context. In Activity 1 students read a poem about poverty and answer questions that ask them to compare the narrator's situation to Beetle's, identify what each lacks physically and emotionally, and consider how point of view affects the poem versus the novel. Discussion prompts ask students to explain how Beetle's struggle to survive resembles the poem's narrator and to analyze why Jane keeps Beetle out of the birthing room (a question about character motivation tied to social context).
Lesson 3
Summer
The Getting Started section asks students to "consider the relationship between Beetle and the midwife" and summarizes their mutual dependence, prompting thought about how that relationship affects Beetle. The Ideas to Think About explicitly asks "How do relationships shape who we are and how we approach the world around us?" The Reading And Questions task requires students (as Discussion Director) to write four discussion questions and answers, with at least one question focusing on a relationship and one focusing on survival. The Wrapping Up reiterates that students "examined the complex relationship that Beetle and midwife have" and that "Each relationship helps form her."
Lesson 4
Special Delivery
Students take on the role of a Line Locator, finding three to five lines or short passages and writing explanations of why those passages are important to the story. Discussion prompts ask students to explain how Will's and Alyce's relationship changes after she saves him and why Alyce is proud to deliver the calves, prompting analysis of character development tied to events. The Venn diagram activity asks students to compare a personal event to Alyce's delivering of the calves, identifying similarities and differences related to how the event changed her.
Lesson 5
A Baby
Students read Chapters 9–11 and take on the role of Dialogue Designer, creating conversations that must center on events from those chapters. The 'Questions to Discuss' ask students to explain why Alyce's relationships with the community change, how Alyce's method of delivering babies differs from Jane, and how Alyce's relationships change after particular plot events. The 'Ideas to Think About' prompt explicitly asks how relationships change over time and how they shape who we are and how we approach the world, and the Wrapping Up paragraph connects Alyce's decisions to changes in relationships and plot consequences.
Lesson 6
The Inn
Students are assigned the role of Illustrator and asked to draw a picture related to plot, character, or setting from Chapters 12 and 13, which requires them to attend to those story elements. Discussion questions ask students to explain Alyce's feelings, Magister Reese's reason for teaching the cat, and Alyce's wants, prompting analysis of character motivation and relationships. The Medieval Dishes activity asks students to compare medieval food and social status with their own culture, linking setting (time period, food availability) to people's lives and survival.
Lesson 7
An Angel or a Saint
Students are asked to "analyze the importance of domesticated animals in medieval culture" by reading monologues (Mogg, Alice, Edgar) that "highlight the important role domesticated animals played." In Option 2 students draw three domesticated animals and write examples of how each animal "influenced the economics of life during the Middle Ages," including consequences if an animal or serf died. Discussion prompts ask students to consider Alyce's relationship with Edward and why she cleans herself after shearing the sheep, connecting character actions to animal-related events.
Lesson 8
Newborn Hope
Activity 2 (Relationships) asks students to describe Alyce's relationships at the beginning and end of the book and provide textual details, requiring students to trace how relationships change and affect Alyce. The Parent Plan explicitly lists as a skill that students should "analyze the connections of relationships between and among characters," reinforcing that students will examine character interactions. Discussion prompts (e.g., how Alyce's life changes from survival to living and whether she makes the right decision) push students to connect character development and plot outcomes to relationships and choices.
Lesson 9
Cast of Characters
Students read a series of monologues and fill a "Cast of Characters" chart that requires a 1-2 sentence summary of each character and a description of one relationship or encounter the character has with another character. The introduction and reading directions tell students they will "see how their relationships with others on the manor (often the lord of the manor) affect their lives," prompting attention to how social relationships shape characters. Discussion prompts and the "Ideas to Think About" section ask students to consider what cultural elements (jobs, religion, food, architecture) reveal about a time period, which directs students to consider aspects of setting.
Lesson 10
Point of View
Students read monologues and chart information about each character, with prompts to look for relationships between characters and how relationships shape who we are. Students receive explicit instruction defining first-, second-, and third-person points of view and distinctions between limited/omniscient and objective/subjective narration, and they are asked to find examples in books and decide which narrator type and level of subjectivity each uses. The Parent Plan directs students to contrast points of view and explain how they affect the overall theme, and the wrap-up questions ask students to compare characters (e.g., how Jack and Otho are similar; how Edgar and Simon are different) using examples from the text.
Lesson 11
Village Life
Students are asked to read paired monologues and note overlapping and differing perspectives (Getting Started) and to fill out a "Cast of Characters" chart for the monologues they read, which directs attention to characters. Discussion prompts ask students to compare Isobel's and Barbary's perspectives and to explain the relationship between Jews and Christians and what Petronella and Jacob learn, which requires students to consider how relationships and social roles influence characters. The Wrapping Up section explicitly asks students to consider how the lord's daughter and a common peasant lived differently and how those differences related to emotional experiences and responsibilities.
Lesson 12
Glassblowers, Tanners, and Snigglers
Students finish reading the monologues in Good Masters! Sweet Ladies!, complete a "Cast of Characters" chart, and reread character monologues to create descriptive "painted" sentences about specific characters. The parent/discussion questions ask students to compare living in a town with multiple mills, bakers, or blacksmiths to living in the country, and to describe the relationship between Piers, Maud, and Mariot. Students are prompted to expand basic sentences about named characters (e.g., "Alyce walked," "Hugo hunted," "Alice sang") using details tied to the book.
Final Project
Life in the Middle Ages Think-Tac-Toe
Students create and use a Story Cube template that labels theme, plot, setting, and character, organizing story elements for a creative story. Students write and perform monologues and short stories (e.g., as a medieval queen or squire), producing character perspective and actions. The unit test asks students to identify narrative perspectives (first person, third-person limited, omniscient) and to write essays summarizing monologues and describing a peasant's life, which require attention to character, setting, and plot details.
Unit 3: The Prince and the Bard
Lesson 1
Introduction to The Little Prince
Students are prompted to consider "How do characters persuade or change one another?" and to "look for messages about love and friendship and ... what techniques are used by different characters to persuade or change one another's opinions," which directs them to analyze character interactions. Activity 2 has students identify, collect, and create examples of persuasive techniques (promises, dares, flattery, glittering generalities) and to role-play as creators, giving practice in recognizing how characters' persuasive actions affect others. The lesson also points out use of parentheses to indicate stage directions in A Midsummer Night's Dream, which highlights an element of drama (stage directions) that interacts with dialogue and action.
Lesson 2
Meeting the Little Prince
Students read Chapters I–VI and answer questions asking why the little prince wants his sheep to eat baobabs and why he wants a drawing of a planet taken over by baobabs, prompting them to connect the setting (baobabs) to character actions and potential consequences. A question asks why the narrator shows his drawing to strangers and how he treats them differently based on their reaction, requiring students to analyze how character interactions and perspectives affect behavior. The "Ideas to Think About" prompts and the Friend Venn Diagram activity ask students to compare child and adult perspectives and consider how characters persuade or change one another, guiding analysis of interacting story elements.
Lesson 3
The Flower and Other Planets
Students are asked in Getting Started to consider whether the little prince and the narrator have a child's or an adult's way of looking at things, prompting analysis of character perspective. Question #2 asks students to explain how the flower's fears change when the little prince leaves, requiring students to track character change and its causes. Question #3 and Activity 2 prompt students to connect inhabitants' living situations and persuasive interactions (e.g., inhabitants live alone on small planets and students must create a persuasive message the flower would use), which asks students to consider how character relationships and situational contexts affect actions.
Lesson 4
Earth and Other Planets
Students read Chapters XIII-XX of The Little Prince and answer comprehension questions about specific inhabitants and their behaviors. Students create a clay model of a chosen planet, describing its size, proximity to other objects, and what is on it, then use the "Planet Problem" worksheet to list problems the inhabitant faces and brainstorm solutions. Students write persuasive letters (one or two views) to an inhabitant proposing changes, explicitly considering how the planet's characteristics and the inhabitant's situation relate. Discussion prompts ask students to consider how characters persuade or change one another and to identify the problems faced by each inhabitant.
Lesson 5
Making Friends on Earth
Students are asked to read Chapters XXI-XXV and answer comprehension questions that require analysis of character interactions (QUESTION #1 asks what it means to be "tamed" and QUESTION #2 asks why the rose has tamed the little prince). The "Ideas to Think About" prompts explicitly ask, "How do characters persuade or change one another?" and the "Wrapping Up" asks students to explain how friendship (a character relationship) prevents activities from becoming monotonous, connecting character interaction to consequences in the story.
Lesson 6
Saying Goodbye
Students answer questions about why the little prince had to go back and how he left, prompting analysis of character motivation and plot causation. Students create a poem or drawing to persuade the fox and must describe emotions, perspectives, and the narrator's evidence that the prince made it home. The lesson explicitly reviews foreshadowing and asks whether the author foreshadowed the ending, which asks students to connect earlier events (the snake) to the plot outcome.
Lesson 7
Introduction to Shakespeare
Students group characters into three categories (actors, humans in love, and fairies) using the Character List activity, which requires them to identify roles and relationships. The Parent Plan question asks students to infer what the presence of fairies indicates about the play, with the expected answer that magical events are likely to happen, directly linking a character element to plot expectations. The Reading questions and strategies prompt students to restate confusing Shakespearean lines in modern English to focus on overall meaning, supporting comprehension of how language affects understanding of events.
Lesson 8
Beginning A Midsummer Night's Dream
Students are prompted to consider how characters persuade or change one another in the "Ideas to Think About" section and in questions about who loves whom and how characters behave (e.g., Questions #2 and #3). In the Activities, students must create a collage or casting description that explicitly requires them to show the problems a character faces and at least one image showing what the character tries to persuade someone else to do. The Parent Plan asks students to identify the three main plot lines and to predict how the plot lines will cross, which requires analyzing interactions among plot elements.
Lesson 9
Puck's Pranks
Students are prompted to "find out how magic affects the characters in the play," directing them to analyze the supernatural element's impact on characters and plot. Question prompts ask students to explain what Oberon does to Titania and why, to identify Puck's mistake and its effects, and to describe Oberon's plan to fix the problem, requiring analysis of cause-and-effect relationships. A question about why the actors are rehearsing in the woods and a parent-discussion prompt about fairies' viewpoints ask students to consider how setting and character traits influence events and reactions.
Lesson 10
Dreams
Students answer targeted questions that require analysis of character and plot interaction (e.g., QUESTION #1 asks how Demetrius's magically changed love alters the original love triangle; QUESTION #3 asks which characters feel differently after they wake up). Option 2 asks students to choose a passage dealing with persuasion and write a paragraph summarizing what happens and how the passage deals with persuasion, prompting analysis of how a rhetorical element affects characters and events. The wrapping-up discussion and Option 1 paragraph require students to explain how the performed section uses the themes of love or friendship, connecting thematic elements to character actions and plot outcomes.
Lesson 11
Watching the Play
The lesson provides definitions that link character traits to plot outcomes (Things to Know: tragedies involve a main character's moral flaw leading to disastrous conclusions; comedies involve characters growing through challenges to a happy ending). Students are asked to classify the play as a comedy or tragedy and justify their answer (Question #3), which requires connecting character development and plot outcome. The prompt "How might this play have ended differently if it were a tragedy?" asks students to reason about how changing one element (genre/character consequence) would change the plot.
Lesson 12
Tragic Love
Students answer questions that require explaining causal relationships in the play, such as why Romeo kills Tybalt (because Tybalt killed Mercutio) and how Friar John being quarantined sets the final scene in motion. Students explain how family rivalry keeps Romeo from being invited to the Capulet party, linking social context to plot events. Students are asked to consider how the play's genre (tragedy vs. comedy) might affect the ending, prompting consideration of how an element like genre shapes plot outcomes. The activity asking students to find quotes for an interview requires locating textual evidence about characters' feelings and actions.
Final Project
Love Letters
Students are asked to choose a couple and write a persuasive essay that states a thesis, explains the couple's problem and solution, and provides evidence and important quotations about their relationship (Activities 1–3). The outlining pages direct students to use quotations and evidence to support reasons and to organize how causes and effects will be presented in body paragraphs. The unit test asks students to identify Romeo's moral flaw and explain how it brings about the tragic ending, requiring students to connect a character trait to plot outcome.
Unit 4: Newton at the Center
Lesson 4
Newton and Motion
Students are asked to select a specific event from the book and "describe the event as it is described in the book," which requires summarizing plot material. Students take notes on two people involved and "note what he or she would say," then write opposing newspaper headlines or act out each person's viewpoint, which requires examining how characters respond to the same event. The activity directions frame real historical figures as "characters," explicitly asking students to represent differing perspectives on a single event.
Unit 5: British Poetry
Lesson 1
Rhythm and Meter
Students read the introduction about historical time periods and modernism (pages 5–15) and answer Question #1 asking what societal influences (e.g., Industrial Revolution, urban growth, science) affected writing during Queen Victoria's reign. Students respond to Question #3 by comparing how poems from the Victorian era differ from those between the World Wars and explain why, linking time period to poem form and subject. Parent-plan discussion prompts ask students to identify which time period would likely include highly structured poems, reinforcing thinking about how historical setting shapes poetic form.
Lesson 2
Voice and Rhyme
Students are asked to compare Elizabeth Barrett Browning's voice with Robert Browning's in "My Last Duchess," prompting analysis of point of view and how a speaker's voice shapes meaning. Students answer a question about how "My Last Duchess" might change if it included both sides of the conversation, which asks them to consider how narrative perspective interacts with characterization and implied action. Students are also prompted to consider the time period the poets lived in and how that is reflected in their writing, linking historical setting to poetic voice and theme.
Lesson 4
Figurative Language
Students read Matthew Arnold's "Dover Beach" and answer a question asking which natural phenomenon Arnold uses to represent the passage of time and change, requiring them to link setting (the tide) to theme. Students answer questions identifying similes and personification in poems and note how Rossetti personifies winter, which requires them to analyze how poetic elements convey meaning. The parent/discussion prompts ask students to compare themes and how Arnold's shoreline/ocean imagery relates to his poems about love and separation.
Lesson 5
Allusions
Students are asked to discuss where the three poets lived and how that location affected each poet's perceptions of the wars, which asks them to link setting to viewpoint. Students answer questions about Edith Sitwell's repeated line "Still falls the rain" representing constant bombing, which asks them to analyze how a poetic element (repetition) shapes meaning related to historical context. Students read about Wilfred Owen's role on the front lines and note his poems show the horrors of war, connecting author experience (situation/setting) to tone and content.
Lesson 6
Tone
Students are asked to compare Stevie Smith's poem to Browning's monologue (Question #3), noting differences in who speaks and in rhyme and meter. The Parent Plan explicitly lists that students will "Analyze how the author's choice and use of a genre shapes the meaning of the literary work" and "Analyze the importance of graphical elements (e.g., capital letters, line length, word position) on the meaning of a poem." In the writing activity, students write a conversational poem and are instructed to change line position to make speaker distinctions clearer, practicing how form and layout affect meaning.
Lesson 7
Themes
Students are asked to explain "What role does the country of Wales play in Thomas' poetry?" which directs them to analyze how a setting (Wales) influences poetic content. Students answer how the speaker changes between the first and last lines of "Fern Hill," which requires analyzing a character/speaker's development across a text. The wrap-up and parent-plan discussion questions ask students to identify themes common to Auden and Thomas and to explain what the poems communicate about the era in which they were written, connecting setting/era to meaning.