Unit Plan 12 (Grade 7 ELA): Cohesion, Counterclaims & Conclusions
Grade 7 ELA unit: students refine argument writing through precise transitions, fair counterclaims, and strong conclusions. They practice revision cycles to improve cohesion, tone, and correctness, producing polished, logically connected arguments with formal style and accurate conventions.
Focus: Transitions, counterarguments, concluding statements; revision cycles
Grade Level: 7
Subject Area: English Language Arts (Writing—Argument; Language—Conventions)
Total Unit Duration: 5 sessions (one week), 50–60 minutes per session
I. Introduction
Arguments snap into place when the logic is visible. This week, students sharpen the glue that holds arguments together: cohesion (sentence- and paragraph-level transitions), fair counterclaim + response, and concluding statements that actually follow from the reasons/evidence. We’ll run short, repeatable revision cycles to strengthen clarity, tone, and correctness.
II. Objectives and Standards
Learning Objectives — Students will be able to…
- Use cohesive devices (words, phrases, clauses; pronoun/reference clarity; parallel structure) to link claims, reasons, and evidence within and across paragraphs (W.7.1c).
- Maintain a formal style and objective tone appropriate to audience/purpose while acknowledging and responding to a counterclaim (W.7.1d).
- Provide a concluding statement/section that follows from and supports the argument presented (W.7.1e).
- Develop and strengthen writing through focused planning, revising, and editing cycles, with peer and teacher feedback (W.7.5).
- Demonstrate command of capitalization, punctuation, and spelling in final drafts (L.7.2).
Standards Alignment — CCSS Grade 7
- Writing 7.1c–e (W.7.1c–e): Cohesion with linking language; formal style & tone; concluding statement/section.
- Writing 7.5 (W.7.5): Plan–revise–edit–rewrite with guidance and support.
- Language 7.2 (L.7.2): Conventions of capitalization, punctuation (incl. commas) and spelling.
Success Criteria — student language
- I can use precise transitions to show cause/effect, contrast, concession, and synthesis.
- I can acknowledge a counter-idea fairly and respond without straw-manning.
- I can write a conclusion that reflects the reasons/evidence—not a repeat or a new claim.
- I can revise for clarity and edit for clean punctuation, capitalization, and spelling.