School in the Coulee - Seventh Grade Curriculum Option - Longfellow Middle School

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Wisconsin State Academic Standards - Department of Public Instruction Website

Oral Language Content Standard: Students in Wisconsin will listen to understand and will speak clearly and effectively for diverse purposes.

C.8.1 Orally communicate information, opinions, and ideas effectively to different audiences for a variety of purposes.
•  Share brief impromptu remarks about topics of interest to oneself and others
•  Speaking from notes or an outline, relate an experience in descriptive detail, with a sense of timing and decorum appropriate to the occasion
•  Perform expressive oral readings of prose, poetry, and drama
•  Prepare and conduct interviews
•  Present a coherent, comprehensive report on differing viewpoints on an issue, evaluating the content of the material presented, and organizing the presentation in a manner appropriate to the audience
•  Differentiate between formal and informal contexts and employ an appropriate style of speaking, adjusting language, gestures, rate, and volume according to audience and purpose
•  Observe the appropriate etiquette when expressing thanks and receiving praise

C.8.2 Listen to and comprehend oral communications.
•  Summarize and explain the information conveyed in an oral communication, accounting for the key ideas, structure, and relationship of parts to the whole
•  Distinguish among purposes for listening, such as gaining information or being entertained, and take notes as appropriate
•  Recall significant details and sequence accurately

C.8.3 Participate effectively in discussion.
•  Participate in discussion by listening attentively, demonstrating respect for the opinions of others, and responding responsibly and courteously to the remarks of others
•  Explain and advance opinions by citing evidence and referring to sources
•  Evaluate the stated ideas and opinions of others, seeking clarification through questions
•  Invite ideas and opinions of others into the discussion, responding clearly and tactfully to questions and comments
•  Accept and use helpful criticism
•  Establish and maintain an open mind when listening to others' ideas and opinions
•  Summarize the main points of a discussion, orally and in writing, specifying areas of agreement and disagreement and paraphrasing contributions discussion
•  Attend to the content of discussion rather than the speaker

Language Content Standard: Students in Wisconsin will apply their knowledge of the nature, grammar, and variations of American English.

D.8.1 Develop their vocabulary and ability to use words, phrases, idioms, and various grammatical structures as a means of improving communication.
•  Consult dictionaries, thesauruses, handbooks, and grammar texts when choosing words, phrases, and expressions for use in oral and written presentations
•  Explain how writers and speakers choose words and use figurative language such as similes, metaphors, personification, hyperbole, and allusion to achieve specific effects
•  Choose words purposefully and evaluate the use of words in communications designed to inform, explain, and persuade

D.8.2 Recognize and interpret various uses and adaptations of language in social, cultural, regional, and professional situations, and learn to be flexible and responsive in their use of English.
•  Describe how American English is used in various public and private contexts, such as school, home, and work
•  Make appropriate choices when speaking and writing, such as formal or informal language, considering the purpose and context of the communication
•  Evaluate how audience and context affect the selection and use of words and phrases, including technical terms, slang, and jargon

Media and Technology Content Standard: Students in Wisconsin will use media and technology critically and creatively to obtain, organize, prepare and share information; to influence and persuade; and to entertain and be entertained.

E.8.1 Use computers to acquire, organize, analyze, and communicate information.
•  Demonstrate efficient word-processing skills
•  Construct and use simple databases
•  Use manuals and on-screen help in connection with computer applications
•  Perform basic computer operations on various platforms
•  Collect information from various on-line sources, such as web pages, news groups, and listservs

E.8.2 Make informed judgments about media and products.
•  Recognize common structural features found in print and broadcast advertising
•  Identify and explain the use of stereotypes and biases evident in various media
•  Compare the effect of particular symbols and images seen in various media
•  Develop criteria for selecting or avoiding specific broadcast programs and periodicals

E.8.3 Create media products appropriate to audience and purpose.
•  Write informational articles that target audiences of a variety of publications
•  Use desktop publishing to produce products such as brochures and newsletters designed for particular organizations and audiences
•  Create video and audiotapes designed for particular audiences

E.8.4 Demonstrate a working knowledge of media production and distribution.
•  Plan a promotion or campaign that involves broadcast and print media production and distribution
•  Analyze how messages may be affected by financial factors such as sponsorship
•  Identify advertising strategies and techniques aimed at teenagers

E.8.5 Analyze and edit media work as appropriate to audience and purpose.
•  Revise media productions by adding, deleting, and adjusting the sequence and arrangement of information, images, or other content as necessary to improve focus, clarity, or effect
•  Develop criteria for comprehensive feedback on the quality of media work and use it during production

Writing Content Standard: Students in Wisconsin will write clearly and effectively to share information and knowledge, to influence and persuade, to create and entertain.

B.8.1 Create or produce writing to communicate with different audiences for a variety of purposes.
•  Write a coherent and complete expository piece, with sufficient detail to fulfill its purpose, sufficient evidence to support its assertions, language appropriate for its intended audience, and organization achieved through clear coordination and subordination of ideas
•  Write a persuasive piece (such as a letter to a specific person or a script promoting a particular product) that includes a clear position, a discernible tone, and a coherent argument with reliable evidence
•  Write a narrative based on experience that uses descriptive language and detail effectively, presents a sequence of events, and reveals a theme
•  Write clear and pertinent responses to verbal or visual material that communicate, explain, and interpret the reading or viewing experience to a specific audience
•  Write creative fiction that includes major and minor characters, a coherent plot, effective imagery, descriptive language, and concrete detail
•  Write in a variety of situations (during an exam, in a computer lab) and adapt strategies, such as revision, technology, and the use of reference materials, to the situation
•  Use a variety of writing technologies including pen and paper as well as computers
•  Write for a variety of readers, including peers, teachers, and other adults, adapting content, style, and structure to audience and situation

B.8.2 Plan, revise, edit, and publish clear and effective writing.
•  Produce multiple drafts, including finished pieces, that demonstrate the capacity to generate, focus, and organize ideas and to revise the language, organization, content, and tone of successive drafts in order to fulfill a specific purpose for communicating with a specific audience
•  Identify questions and strategies for improving drafts in writing conferences with a teacher
•  Given a writing assignment to be completed in a limited amount of time, produce a well developed, well organized, and effective response in correct English and an appropriate voice

B.8.3 Understand the function of various forms, structures, and punctuation marks of standard American English and use them appropriately in communications.
•  Understand the function of words, phrases, and clauses in a sentence and use them effectively, including coordinate and subordinate conjunctions, relative pronouns, and comparative adjectives
•  Use correct tenses to indicate the relative order of events
•  Understand and employ principles of agreement, including subject-verb, pronoun-noun, and preposition-pronoun
•  Punctuate compound, complex, and compound-complex sentences correctly
•  Employ the conventions of capitalization
•  Spell frequently used words correctly and use effective strategies for spelling unfamiliar words

Research and Inquiry Content Standard: Students in Wisconsin will locate, use, and communicate information from a variety of print and nonprint materials.

F.8.1 Conduct research and inquiry on self-selected or assigned topics, issues, or problems and use an appropriate form to communicate their findings.
•  Formulate research questions and focus investigation on relevant and accessible sources of information
•  Use multiple sources to identify and locate information pertinent to research including encyclopedias, almanacs, dictionaries, library catalogs, indexes to periodicals, and various electronic search engines
•  Conduct interviews, field studies, and experiments and use specialized resources (such as almanacs, fact books, pamphlets, and technical manuals) when appropriate to an investigation
•  Compile, organize, and evaluate information, taking notes that record and summarize what has been learned and extending the investigation to other sources
•  Review and evaluate the usefulness of information gathered in an investigation
•  Produce an organized written and oral report that presents and reflects on findings, draws sound conclusions, adheres to the conventions for preparing a manuscript, and gives proper credit to sources

Reading/Literature Content Standard: Students in Wisconsin will read and respond to a wide range of writing to build an understanding of written materials, of themselves, and of others.

A.8.1 Use effective reading strategies to achieve their purposes in reading.
•  Use knowledge of sentence and word structure, word origins, visual images, and context clues to understand unfamiliar words and clarify passages of text
•  Use knowledge of the visual features of texts, such as headings and bold face print, and structures of texts, such as chronology and cause-and-effect, as aids to comprehension
•  Establish purposeful reading and writing habits by using texts to find information, gain understanding of diverse viewpoints, make decisions, and enjoy the experience of reading
•  Select, summarize, paraphrase, analyze, and evaluate, orally and in writing, passages of texts chosen for specific purposes

A.8.2 Read, interpret, and critically analyze literature.
•  Identify the defining features and structure of literary texts, such as conflict, representation of character, and point of view
•  Analyze the effect of characters, plot, setting, language, topic, style, purpose, and point of view on the overall impact of literature
•  Draw on a broad base of knowledge about the genres of literature, such as the structure and conventions of essays, epics, fables, myths, plays, poems, short stories, and novels, when interpreting the meaning of a literary work
•  Develop criteria to evaluate literary merit and explain critical opinions about a text, either informally in conversation or formally in a well-organized speech or essay

A.8.3 Read and discuss literary and nonliterary texts in order to understand human experience.
•  Provide interpretive responses, orally and in writing, to literary and nonliterary texts representing the diversity of American cultural heritage and cultures of the world
•  Identify common historical, social, and cultural themes and issues in literary works and selected passages
•  Draw on a broad base of knowledge about the themes, ideas, and insights found in classical literature while reading, interpreting, and reflecting on contemporary texts
•  Evaluate the themes and main ideas of a work considering its audience and purpose

A.8.4 Read to acquire information.
•  Interpret and use technical resources such as charts, tables, travel schedules, timelines, and manuals
•  Compare, contrast, and evaluate the relative accuracy and usefulness of information from different sources
•  Identify and explain information, main ideas, and organization found in a variety of informational passages
•  Distinguish between the facts found in documents, narratives, charts, maps, tables and other sources and the generalizations and interpretations that are drawn from them

For more information go to http://www.dpi.state.wi.us/standards/elaintro.html