Unit Plan 22 (Grade 7 ELA): Poetry, Drama, and Prose Structures

Focus: Structural elements; staging/visual adaptations; media comparisons

Grade Level: 7

Subject Area: English Language Arts (Reading Literature; Media/Performance; Speaking & Listening)

Total Unit Duration: 5 sessions (one week), 50–60 minutes per session

I. Introduction

Texts are built, not just written. This week, students examine how structure—stanzas and line breaks in poetry, acts/scenes and stage directions in drama, and chapters/paragraphing in prose—shapes meaning and pacing. They’ll stage a brief scene/poem, then compare the written version to an audio/video performance to analyze how medium-specific choices change interpretation.

II. Objectives and Standards

Learning Objectives — Students will be able to…

1. Identify and analyze how poetic form, dramatic structure, and prose organization contribute to meaning, tone, and emphasis (RL.7.5).
2. Compare a text to its audio/video/stage presentation and explain how performance techniques (pace, blocking, camera, sound, visuals) affect meaning (RL.7.7).
3. Engage in collaborative discussions to plan staging and analyze media, building on others’ ideas with text-grounded contributions (SL.7.1).

Standards Alignment — CCSS Grade 7

• Reading Literature 7.5 (RL.7.5): Analyze how a poem’s/drama’s/prose’s structure contributes to meaning.
• Reading Literature 7.7 (RL.7.7): Compare and contrast a text and its audio/video/stage presentation, analyzing techniques unique to each medium.
• Speaking & Listening 7.1 (SL.7.1 a–d): Collaborative discussions with preparation, rules, questions, and evidence-based responses.

Success Criteria — student language

• I can name a structural feature (stanza, refrain, line break; act/scene, stage direction; chapter/paragraph) and explain its effect.
• I can point out performance choices and describe how they change tone or meaning compared with the page.
• I can plan and discuss staging with my group using text evidence and clear roles.