Virginia State Standards for Language Arts: Grade 7
7.1. The student will give and seek information in conversations, in group discussions, and in oral presentations.
7.1.a) Use oral vocabulary and style appropriate for listeners.
7.1.b) Communicate ideas and information orally in an organized and succinct manner.
7.1.c) Ask probing questions to seek elaboration and clarification of ideas.
7.1.d) Make supportive statements to communicate agreement with or acceptance of others' ideas.
7.1.e) Use grammatically correct language and vocabulary appropriate to audience, topic, and purpose.
7.2. The student will identify the relationship between a speaker's verbal and nonverbal messages.
7.2.a) Use verbal communication skills, such as word choice, pitch, feeling, tone, and voice.
7.2.b) Use nonverbal communication skills, such as eye contact, posture, and gestures.
7.2.c) Compare/contrast a speaker's verbal and nonverbal messages.
7.3. The student will describe persuasive messages in non-print media, including television, radio, and video.
7.3.a) Identify persuasive technique used.
7.3.b) Distinguish between fact and opinion.
7.3.c) Describe how word choice conveys viewpoint.
7.4. The student will read to determine the meanings and pronunciations of unfamiliar words and phrases.
7.4.a) Use roots and affixes to expand vocabulary.
7.4.b) Recognize analogies and figurative language.
7.4.c) Identify connotations.
7.5. The student will read and demonstrate comprehension of a variety of fiction, narrative nonfiction, and poetry.
7.5.a) Describe setting, character development, plot structure, theme, and conflict.
7.5.b) Compare and contrast forms, including short stories, novels, plays, folk literature, poetry, essays, and biographies.
7.5.c) Describe the impact of word choice, imagery, and poetic devices.
7.5.d) Explain how form, including rhyme, rhythm, repetition, line structure, and punctuation, conveys the mood and meaning of a poem.
7.5.e) Draw conclusions based on explicit and implied information.
7.5.f) Make inferences based on explicit and implied information.
7.5.g) Summarize text.
7.6. The student will read and demonstrate comprehension of a variety of informational texts.
7.6.a) Use knowledge of text structures to aid comprehension.
7.6.b) Use knowledge of words and phrases that signal an author's organizational pattern to aid comprehension.
7.6.c) Distinguish fact from opinion in newspapers, magazines, and other print media.
7.6.d) Identify the source, viewpoint, and purpose of texts.
7.6.e) Describe how word choice and language structure convey an author's viewpoint.
7.6.f) Summarize what is read.
7.6.g) Organize and synthesize information for use in written and oral presentations.
7.7. The student will apply knowledge of appropriate reference materials.
7.7.a) Use print and electronic sources to locate information in books and articles.
7.7.b) Use graphic organizers to organize information.
7.7.c) Synthesize information from multiple sources.
7.7.d) Credit primary and secondary sources.
7.8. The student will develop narrative, expository, and persuasive writing.
7.8.a) Apply knowledge of prewriting strategies.
7.8.b) Elaborate the central idea in an organized manner.
7.8.c) Choose vocabulary and information that will create voice and tone.
7.8.d) Use clauses and phrases to vary sentences.
7.8.e) Revise writing for clarity and effect.
7.8.f) Use a word processor to plan, draft, revise, edit, and publish selected writings.
7.9. The student will edit writing for correct grammar, capitalization, punctuation, spelling, sentence structure, and paragraphing.
7.9.a) Use a variety of graphic organizers, including sentence diagrams, to analyze and improve sentence formation and paragraph structure.
7.9.b) Demonstrate understanding of sentence formation by identifying the eight parts of speech and their functions in sentences.
7.9.c) Choose pronouns to agree with antecedents.
7.9.d) Use subject-verb agreement with intervening phrases and clauses.
7.9.e) Edit for verb tense consistency.