Unit Plan 11 (Grade 7 ELA): Reasons, Evidence, and Quoting/Paraphrasing
Grade 7 ELA unit: students evaluate arguments for credible, sufficient evidence and sound reasoning. They trace claims, quote and paraphrase accurately with attribution, and write cohesive, formal analyses while assessing how effectively authors and speakers use evidence.
Focus: Evaluating arguments; credible evidence; quoting/paraphrasing accurately
Grade Level: 7
Subject Area: English Language Arts (Reading Informational—Argument Evaluation; Writing—Argument; Speaking & Listening—Evaluating a Speaker)
Total Unit Duration: 5 sessions (one week), 50–60 minutes per session
I. Introduction
Great arguments stand on reasons supported by relevant, sufficient, and credible evidence—and the writer shows that evidence with precise quoting/paraphrasing. This week, students learn to trace and evaluate arguments in texts, test evidence quality, and integrate quotations/paraphrases with attribution and explanation. They’ll also delineate a speaker’s claims in a brief talk and judge the soundness of reasoning.
II. Objectives and Standards
Learning Objectives — Students will be able to…
- Trace and evaluate an author’s/speaker’s claims, reasons, and evidence, judging relevance, sufficiency, and soundness (RI.7.8; SL.7.3).
- Support claims with clear reasons and relevant evidence from texts; use cohesive devices and formal style in argument writing (W.7.1b–d).
- Quote and paraphrase accurately with attribution, integrating evidence and explaining how it supports a reason; draw evidence from informational texts (W.7.9b).
Standards Alignment — CCSS Grade 7
- Reading Informational 7.8 (RI.7.8): Trace/evaluate argument and specific claims; assess the soundness of reasoning and relevance/sufficiency of evidence.
- Writing 7.1b–d (W.7.1b–d): Support claims with reasons/evidence; use words/phrases/clauses for cohesion; establish and maintain formal style.
- Writing 7.9b (W.7.9b): Draw evidence from literary nonfiction to support analysis.
- Speaking & Listening 7.3 (SL.7.3): Delineate a speaker’s argument/claims and evaluate evidence and reasoning.
Success Criteria — student language
- I can map a text’s or speech’s claim → reasons → evidence.
- I can tell if the evidence is relevant, sufficient, and credible—and say why.
- I can quote/paraphrase accurately with signal phrases and explanations.
- I can write in a formal style with linking language that makes my logic clear.