Grade 7 Reading | FL B.E.S.T. Standard: ELA.7.R.1.2
In 7th grade, you'll move beyond identifying theme in a single text. You'll learn to compare how different authors develop similar themes - analyzing how a poet and a fiction writer might both explore courage, identity, or perseverance in completely different ways. This skill helps you see the universal truths that connect all great literature!
Some themes appear again and again throughout history, across cultures, and in every genre. These are universal themes - life lessons that matter to everyone.
Key Skill: Different authors explore these same themes in different ways. Your job is to compare their approaches!
Mira had trained for months, but standing at the base of Mt. Cascade, she wanted to turn back. The trail disappeared into fog, and her legs already ached from yesterday's practice hike.
"You don't have to prove anything," her father said gently.
But Mira knew this wasn't about proving anything to anyone else. Six months ago, she'd quit the swim team after one difficult race. She'd walked away from piano after struggling with a single piece. She was becoming someone who quit when things got hard.
She took the first step onto the trail. Then another. When her lungs burned at the halfway point, she remembered every time she'd given up before. When her legs screamed at the three-quarter mark, she thought about who she wanted to become.
At the summit, Mira didn't feel triumphant - she felt different. The view was stunning, but what mattered more was the person who had made it here. Someone who finished what she started.
"I'm never going to be the person who quits again," she told the wind.
You may write me down in history
With your bitter, twisted lies,
You may trod me in the very dirt
But still, like dust, I'll rise.
Does my confidence upset you?
Does my strength cause you to wonder?
'Cause I walk like I've got oil wells
Pumping in my living room.
You may shoot me with your words,
You may cut me with your eyes,
You may kill me with your hatefulness,
But still, like air, I'll rise.
Out of the huts of history's shame
I rise. Up from a past rooted in pain
I rise. I'm a black ocean, leaping and wide,
Bringing the gifts that my ancestors gave,
I am the dream and the hope of the slave.
I rise. I rise. I rise.
Shared Theme: Perseverance and inner strength can overcome any obstacle.
Develops theme through:
Character change - Mira transforms from someone who quits to someone who perseveres
Key evidence:
"I'm never going to be the person who quits again"
Develops theme through:
Powerful imagery and repetition - "I rise" becomes a declaration of strength
Key evidence:
"But still, like air, I'll rise"
Same theme, different approach: The story shows perseverance through one character's specific journey up a mountain. The poem shows perseverance through universal imagery and repetition that applies to anyone facing opposition.
| Question to Ask | Text A | Text B |
|---|---|---|
| What is the theme? | ||
| How is it developed? | ||
| What evidence supports it? | ||
| How does genre affect presentation? |
Text A:
Text B:
Remember: Same theme, different paths. Your job is to explain HOW each author takes you to the same destination!