7th Grade Literature Bundle Using HMH Collections Textbook

This bundle includes our teaching resources for the following six selections from the 7th grade Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Collections textbook: “Rogue Wave” by Theodore Taylor, the Greek Myth “The Flight of Icarus” retold by Sally Benson, the Greek Myth “Arachne” retold by Olivia E. Coolidge, the folk tale “The People Could Fly” by Virginia Hamilton, the drama “Sorry, Wrong Number” by Lucille Fletcher, and the informational text "Women in Aviation" by Patricia and Fredrick McKissack.

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All the activities and handouts that are included in each resource are explained in detail under each title below.

Sorry, Wrong Number

Use these resources to teach the play "Sorry, Wrong Number" by Lucille Fletcher. This file contains a PowerPoint presentation on the history of the telephone. Before reading the play, "Sorry Wrong Number", students need to have some background information about mid-twentieth century communication. This PowerPoint will help you explain important aspects of the story, like operators, busy signals, and crossed wires. We also include lesson plans and Common Core based activities and handouts to accompany the story. We ordered the movie based on the play from Amazon and showed it to our classes. This teaching unit also includes a movie watching guide and multiple choice questions that you can use to help students compare and contrast the play to the movie.

The following activities are included in this teaching unit:

1. A PowerPoint on the history of the telephone and operators

2. Elements and Structure of Drama – Interactive activities are included to help you teach the elements and structure of drama.

3. A chart for the cast to help you keep up with which student will read which part

4. Links to the script online and a link to the radio drama version

5. Vocabulary – three words on the list will be looked up in a dictionary, and the remaining words can be figured out using context clues while reading

6. Vocabulary quiz

7. Main Suspect Conclusions – Students will look for a motive and find text to support their answers. A sample is included.

8. How to Successfully Answer Text Dependent Extended Response Questions – Several activities and handouts are included for this. There is the R.A.C.E. acronym which students can use all year each time they have to answer an extended response text dependent question. There are handouts that students can keep to refer to all year when using this acronym. There is even a sample text dependent analysis question for “Sorry, Wrong Number” with examples of poor answers and an example of a good answer.

6. Things to Remember About Theme- This handout is provided in three formats, one with the complete notes, one where students can fill in the blanks as you go over the important things to remember about theme, and the last is an interactive activity that can be used to teach theme.

7. Objective Summary –There is a PowerPoint to teach how to write an objective summary for a story. A handout on how to write an objective summary along with a sample are also included.

8. Carousel Learning Activity Instructions and Management – There are several activities for students to complete after reading the play. We have found that completing these activities “carousel” style and with a partner or in groups works wonderful! Students are engaged, helping one another, and actively working on Common Core based, meaningful activities. Complete instructions with pictures are included.

The carousel activities include the following:

• Text Dependent Analysis Questions – There are four questions included and a chart that requires students to use the RACE acronym to restate the question, answer it, cite evidence from the text, and explain. Sample answers are provided.

• Parts of Plot – With this activity, students will figure out the exposition, rising action, climax, falling action, and resolution of the plot. An answer key is provided.

• Determining the Theme – This activity will guide the groups in developing a theme statement for the story. A sample theme is provided.

• Cinquain – This activity is fun for students. The group will work together and use the cinquain format to create a poem based on the story. A sample is provided.

• I Am Poem – This activity is fun for the groups. They follow the pattern to write an I Am poem based on a character, theme, or object from the story.

• Objective Summary – With this activity, students will write an objective summary of the story. A sample objective summary of “Sorry, Wrong Number” is provided.

• How does setting affect the characters? Sample answers are provided.

• Interview With Duffy Activity

• Informational article about operators with activity

• Script Rewrite Activity

9. Movie Watching guide

10. Test comparing the written drama to the movie

The Flight of Icarus

This is a 72-page teaching unit (with extra PowerPoints) for the myth “The Flight of Icarus” retold by Sally Benson. This story is in our 7th grade literature book titled Collections published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt. There is a copy of the story included in this packet as well.

The following activities are included in this teaching unit:

1. A chart listing the Common Core Standards used in each activity

2. A PowerPoint explaining the story of King Minos, Theseus, and the Minotaur. These characters are mentioned in the first paragraph of “The Flight of Icarus”. This PowerPoint will give students background knowledge that will aid in their comprehension of the story.

3. A close reading guide – Students can use this guide as they read the story. There are questions which will ensure that students are reading carefully. With this guide, the story is divided into smaller portions. Students will read a portion, stop to answer the questions and then continue to read.

4. Elements of a Myth – This handout will help you introduce or review the elements of myth. There are two options included, a handout with all of the notes included and one where students can fill in the blanks with the needed information.

5. How to Successfully Answer Text Dependent Extended Response Questions – Several activities and handouts are included for this. There is the R.A.C.E. acronym which students can use all year each time they have to answer an extended response text dependent question. There are handouts that students can keep to refer to all year when using this acronym. There is even a sample text dependent analysis question for “The Flight of Icarus” with examples of poor answers and an example of a good answer.

6. Things to Remember About Theme- This handout is provided in three formats, one with the complete notes, one where students can fill in the blanks as you go over the important things to remember about theme, and the last is an interactive activity that can be used to teach theme.

7. Objective Summary -PowerPoint to teach how to write an objective summary for a story. A handout on how to write an objective summary along with a sample are also included

8. Carousel Learning Activity Instructions and Management – There are several activities for students to complete after reading the story. We have found that completing these activities “carousel” style and with a partner or in groups works wonderful! Students are engaged, helping one another, and actively working on Common Core based, meaningful activities. Complete instructions with pictures are included.

The carousel activities include the following:

• Text Dependent Analysis Questions – There are four questions included and a chart that requires students to use the RACE acronym to restate the question, answer it, cite evidence from the text, and explain. Sample answers are provided.

• Parts of Plot – With this activity, students will figure out the exposition, rising action, climax, falling action, and resolution of the plot. An answer key is provided.

• Point of View Rewrite –Students will choose one of the passages included on the handout and rewrite the passage using the first person point of view (from either Icarus’ or Daedalus’ point of view). This will allow students to see just how much the point of view can alter a story.

• Determining the Theme – This activity will guide the groups in developing a theme statement for the story. A sample theme is provided.

• Vocabulary – There are two handouts in which students can use context clues to figure out some of the words in the story. The first activity will allow the groups to figure out the words on their own without help from multiple choices. Once this activity is complete, students will be given the second activity. This works wonderfully! Like any story, there are some vocabulary words that cannot be figured out from context clues. For those words, we created the K.I.M. vocabulary handout. This is a wonderful vocabulary strategy that students can use in every subject and as a lifelong learning tool. Answer keys and student samples are provided.

• Cinquain – This activity is fun for students. The group will work together and use the cinquain format to create a poem based on the story. A sample is provided.

• Readers’ Theater – With this activity, students simply reread the story reader’s theater style. The groups decide who will read each part and then they reread the story this way. It’s a wonderful way to complete a reread, and it gives the students practice with using inflection and reading with emotion.

• I Am Poem – This activity is fun for the groups. They follow the pattern to write an I Am poem based on a character, theme, or object from the story.

• Objective Summary – With this activity, students will write an objective summary of the story. A sample objective summary of “The Flight of Icarus” is provided.

• Epitaph for Icarus – Groups will work together to write the epitaph for Icarus’ gravestone.

• Bonus Activity: How does setting affect the characters? Sample answers are provided.

The People Could Fly

This teaching packet contains meaningful activities for the folk tale “The People Could Fly” by Virginia Hamilton. Using the handouts provided, students will analyze the plot, theme, characters, and more.

The lessons included in this packet are Common Core based and meaningful. Both pre-reading and postreading activities are included. Students will defend answers with the text, answer post-reading questions which require them to return to the text, analyze theme, and write a poem. An answer key is provided.

There resources in this book are provided in several formats, some of them for interactive notebooks. You can pick and choose the ones you think will be best for your students.

The following resources are included.

Prereading Activity – Making predictions

Elements of Folk Tales – This comes as a completed handout and as one with blanks that your students can fill in as you go over the important information about folk tales.

Readers’ Theater Version – Allow students to experience this story as it should be – read aloud. There are two versions. In the first, there are only two narrators plus the parts of Toby, Sarah, and the Overseer. In the other version, there are four narrators. We provide both versions so you can choose the size of the groups that will read it.

Parts of Plot – There are handouts to explain the parts of plot plus a interactive activity and a regular handout for students to figure out the exposition, rising action, climax, falling action, and resolution. You choose the format you would like to use. An answer key is provided.

Objective Summary – There are handouts to help you teach how to write an objective summary for a story, a page where students will write one, and a sample summary for this story.

Text Dependent Questions and Instruction – There is the RACE acronym included, which will help students know exactly what to do when answering text dependent questions. There are two activities and a page of questions for students to practice answering text dependent questions. Answer keys are provided.

Theme – There are several handouts to help you teach students what a theme is. Interactive activities as well as non interactive activities and handouts are included. Sample theme statements for this story are also included.

I Am Poem – Students can complete this poem after reading the story. They will enjoy this activity, and the poems usually turn out wonderful!

Other Ideas – Extra ideas to use while teaching this story

Answer keys are provided for all handouts.

Rogue Wave

This is a Common-Core-based teaching packet for the short story “Rogue Wave” by Theodore Taylor. The handouts and ideas included in this packet will engage your students in meaningful, Common Core aligned pre-reading and post reading activities. Take a look at the preview to see the detailed table of contents for this packet.

Arachne

This is a 70-page teaching unit for the myth “Arachne” retold by Olivia E. Coolidge. This story is included in the 7th grade Close Reader workbook by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt.

The following activities are included in this teaching packet:

1. A chart listing the Common Core Standards used in each activity

2. A close reading guide – Students can use this guide as they read the story. There are questions which will ensure that students are reading carefully. With this guide, the story is divided into smaller portions. Students will read a portion, stop to answer the questions and then continue to read.

3. Elements of a Myth – This handout will help you introduce or review the elements of myth. There are two options included, a handout with all of the notes included and one where students can fill in the blanks with the needed information.

4. How to Successfully Answer Text Dependent Extended Response Questions – Several activities and handouts are included for this. There is the R.A.C.E. acronym which students can use all year each time they have to answer an extended response text dependent question. There are handouts that students can keep to refer to all year when using this acronym. There is even a sample text dependent analysis question for “Arachne” with examples of poor answers and an example of a good answer.

5. Things to Remember About Theme- This handout is provided in three formats, one with the complete notes, one where students can fill in the blanks as you go over the important things to remember about theme, and the last is an interactive activity to.

6. Objective Summary -There is a PowerPoint included to help you teach how to write an objective summary for a story. A handout on how to write an objective summary along with a sample are also included.

7. Test – There is an 18 question multiple choice test included.

8. Carousel Learning Activity Instructions and Management – There are several activities for students to complete after reading the story. We have found that completing these activities “carousel” style and with a partner or in groups works wonderful! Students are engaged, helping one another, and actively working on Common Core based, meaningful activities. Complete instructions with pictures are included.

The carousel activities include the following:

• Text Dependent Analysis Questions – There are four text dependent analysis questions for “Arachne” included and a chart that requires students to use the RACE acronym to restate the question, answer it, cite evidence from the text, and explain. We found that if using the carousel activity, it works best for the group to choose two of the four questions to answer. Sample answers are provided.

• Parts of Plot – With this activity, students will figure out the exposition, rising action, climax, falling action, and resolution of the plot. An answer key is provided.

• Point of View Rewrite –Students will choose one of the passages included on the handout and rewrite the passage using the first person point of view (from either Arachne’s or Athene’s point of view). This will allow students to see just how much the point of view can alter a story.

• Determining the Theme – This activity will guide the groups in developing a theme statement for the story. A sample theme is provided.

• Vocabulary – There are two handouts in which students can use context clues to figure out some of the words in the myth. The first activity will allow the groups to figure out the words on their own without help from multiple choices. Once this activity is complete, students will be given the second activity. This works wonderfully! Like any story, there are some vocabulary words that cannot be figured out from context clues. For those words, we created the K.I.M. vocabulary handout. This is a wonderful vocabulary strategy that students can use in every subject and as a lifelong learning tool. Answer keys and student samples are provided.

• Cinquain – This activity is fun for students. The group works together and use the cinquain format to create a poem based on the myth. A sample is provided

• Readers’ Theater – With this activity, students simply reread the story reader’s theater style. The groups decide who will read each part and then they reread the story this way. It’s a wonderful way to complete a reread, and it gives the students practice with using inflection and reading with emotion.

• I Am Poem – This activity is fun for the groups. They follow the pattern to write an I Am poem based on a character, theme, or object from the story.

• Objective Summary – With this activity, students will write an objective summary of the story. A sample objective summary of “Arachne” is provided.

*If you choose not to use the carousel learning activity, you can still pick and choose the post reading activities that you think your students need to do, or you can have them complete them all!

Women in Aviation

• Close Reading Guide – Twenty-seven questions are included in this guide. This will require students to slow down as they read to comprehend. The guide divides the text into smaller portions, and after students read each portion, they stop to answer the questions. These questions require students to infer along with comprehend what is written in the text.

• Finding the Main Idea Using the W.I.N. Strategy- This is a strategy that you can use with other informational texts as well! Directions are included to help you understand how the strategy works and an activity sheet for the students to use with this text is also included. A sample key is included as well.

• Analyze the Development of the Central Idea – Students will analyze and map out how the author developed this central idea.

• Text Dependent Analysis Questions – We are including out R.A.C.E. strategy to help you teach students how to effectively answer text dependent questions. A handout is included with questions where students can use this strategy, and sample answers are included as well.

• Vocabulary in Context- Two handouts are included, one where students read the word in context and write a definition. Once this is complete, students can use their answers to complete the second handout, which includes the same sentences but with multiple choice answers.

• K.I.M. Vocabulary Strategy – This is another strategy that you can use not only with this text but with anything you read all year!

• Writing an Objective Summary – Handouts and examples are provided to help your students know exactly how to write an objective summary for nonfiction. A sample objective summary is included!

• Top Ten Facts from the Text – With this activity, students will have the opportunity to record what they have learned from this text.

• Famous Names in the History of Aviation – Students will write down important information about the famous people mentioned.

• Research Opportunity – This is an enrichment activity.

Each teaching unit is JAM-PACKEDwith strategies, activities, and Common-Core based materials. These are not generic worksheet kind of packets. You will LOVE these activities, and you will be able to use a lot of what is included with other stories that you teach as well!

View each resource in this bundle by clicking the links below.

Click here to view our Sorry, Wrong Number Teaching Unit

Click here to view our complete teaching unit for the myth Arachne

Click here to view our teaching unit for The People Could Fly

Click here to view our teaching unit for Rogue Wave

Click here to view our teaching unit for The Flight of Icarus