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DMPS Middle School Literacy
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This website is dedicated to the curriculum, instruction, and assessment of 7th grade students of Des Moines Public Schools.
Curriculum guide
{7th grade curriculum guide, 2011-2012.pdf}{2012-2013 7th Grade English Language Arts Curriculum guide.docx}
Back to Des Moines Public Schools
Middle School Home Page

The Highwayman
Titanic Deconstructed
Movie Trailer
(it takes a while to
load)Animated video
Narrated by Orson Wells
Video - Students
love this one!

Comphrehension:
1. A lesson plan idea for you - visit this video. Take some still shots of one of the boys and have students write thought bubbles showing his internal conflict. The video outlines internal conflict. FUNNY!
Word Knowledge:
Writing:
Fluency:Rikki-Tikki-Tavi
Background Knowledge -
Titanic
Video of Titanic
Sinking
Cobra v. Mongoose
from National Geographic
Another video

Instructional Focus:
Authors Purpose (From Judy @ Brody)
words from thertheir speech that
http://www.americanrhetoric.com/speeches/nativeamericans/chiefbuckongahelas.htm
http://www.americanrhetoric.com/speeches/nativeamericans/chieftecumseh.htm
and Supporting DeatilsDetails (From Judy
I found this interview with Julia Alvarez—Name/Nombres this week—and used 17 minutes of this with my class. We focused on main ideas (big ideas) we heard her say about being a writer and then listened for supporting details. They recorded this in a 2 column paper. I had mostly thumbs-ups as a rating for the video. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HZ2xe2OFTX8
Speaking and Listening 5

Main Idea and Supporting Deatils (From Judy @ Brody)
I found this interview with Julia Alvarez—Name/Nombres this week—and used 17 minutes of this with my class. We focused on main ideas (big ideas) we heard her say about being a writer and then listened for supporting details. They recorded this in a 2 column paper. I had mostly thumbs-ups as a rating for the video. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HZ2xe2OFTX8
Speaking and Listening 5
Use multimedia components and visual displays to clarify claims and findings, and emphasize salient points in a presentation.
Possible Resources:
www.prezi.com
www.photopeach.com
www.glogster.com
www.animoto.com
www.Xtranormal.com

Big idea: Characters and point of view
Guiding Questions: What makes a great character?
Instructional FocusNarrative Writing
{Ten pre-writing activities for narrative writing.docx}