Unit Plan 33 (Grade 7 ELA): Summarizing & Synthesizing Information
Grade 7 ELA unit: students determine central ideas, condense key details, and synthesize across texts. They compare how authors shape information, integrate evidence lines, and write concise, objective summaries and synthesis paragraphs showing overlap and divergence.
Focus: Condensing key ideas; cross-text connections; evidence lines
Grade Level: 7
Subject Area: English Language Arts (Reading Informational; Writing—Analysis)
Total Unit Duration: 5 sessions (one week), 50–60 minutes per session
I. Introduction
Great researchers don’t copy—they distill. This week, students will (1) identify central ideas and key details without opinion, (2) synthesize across two texts on the same topic by tracking where ideas overlap, diverge, or extend, and (3) write concise, evidence-based summaries and synthesis paragraphs that show how authors shape information differently.
II. Objectives and Standards
Learning Objectives — Students will be able to…
- Determine central ideas of informational texts and summarize them objectively using only the most salient details (RI.7.2).
- Compare/contrast how two authors on the same topic shape their presentations (selection, emphasis, structure, tone) and integrate what each contributes (RI.7.9).
- Draw evidence from texts to support summaries and synthesis claims, citing and explaining how the evidence proves the point (W.7.9).
Standards Alignment — CCSS Grade 7
- Reading Informational 7.2 (RI.7.2): Determine central ideas; provide an objective summary.
- Reading Informational 7.9 (RI.7.9): Analyze how two or more authors on the same topic shape their presentations of key information.
- Writing 7.9 (W.7.9): Draw evidence from literary or informational texts to support analysis, reflection, and research.
Success Criteria — student language
- I can state the central idea in one precise sentence and select only the details that matter.
- I can explain what each author emphasizes and why that matters for understanding.
- I can write an objective summary and a short synthesis that use textual evidence and analysis verbs (corroborates, extends, diverges).