Central Ideas in Literature 7th grade

The Long Walk

 As the group finally joined back together as one and rounded a curve in the trail, the woods opened and a tall statue of a woman stood in the clearing reaching to the tops of the trees. The sun reflected off the bronze coating, forcing Tracy and her daughters to shield their eyes. "Isn't it magnificent?" Tracy asked.
     "It was worth the walk, and waiting for you two slow-pokes," Shaye said in agreement.

What is the central idea?

• Tracy is the only character surprised by the size of the statue.

• All three characters are disappointed when they finally see the statue.

• The statue is revealed to the three characters at the same time.

• Shaye is the first character to see the statue.

Tags

CCSS.RI.6.2

CCSS.RI.7.2

CCSS.RI.8.2

CCSS.RL.7.2

CCSS.RL.8.2

Starting at the Bookstore

     Travis was nervous as he entered the building for the first time. He was starting a new job at a bookstore today, and even though he had worked at a bookstore before, he still felt anxious. Travis wondered what his coworkers would be like, how his manager would be to work with, and how busy the store would be. During his interview, the manager had seemed nice. She had explained to Travis he would be working three or four shifts a week, nights and weekends, and that he could expect to be very busy the entire time he was at work. Being busy didn't bother Travis whatsoever; he wanted to ensure he was meeting his boss's expectations.

What is the central idea?

• Travis has a good feeling about working at the bookstore.

• Travis has confidence in his ability to win over his coworkers.

• Travis is unsure about his new job at a bookstore.

• Travis is worried about working for the store manager.

Tags

CCSS.RI.6.2

CCSS.RI.7.2

CCSS.RI.8.2

CCSS.RL.7.2

CCSS.RL.8.2

The Hardest Road

 The mountains loomed in their path,   

And Father, knowing that time was short,   

Looked concerned about the prospects facing the party.   

The wagon train had grown, fifteen families now,

5  And our family was at the head of the train,   

Father was the lead.    

The summer sun bore down on us,   

Exhausting our animals, making our train a snail.   

Father knew we must cross the mountains before snow fell,

10 And this was the cause of his concern.  

 He could only push the train so hard,   

The water and food would not hold out forever.    

That night, around the fire, Father met with the leaders;  

 Each one listened as he expressed his concerns.

15 They had three months to make it through the mountains,   

There were enough supplies for one more month,   

And the distance to cover would take exactly three months.   

There was not a day to spare.    

The Best, Growen, and King families decided they would depart our train;

20 They would take their chances on their own.   

Eight other families decided to turn back.   

Those families took their leave from the meeting,   

Leaving Father and the remaining three.   

What were we to do? 

25 "Push on," Mr. Wilmot said, "We can make it."   

"There are fewer of us now," said Mrs. Walters,  

 "We can move faster."  

 "We should get to the edge of the mountains and camp for the winter," 

  Young Mr. Stevens said, his voice casting doubt.

30 My father, unsure, called for a vote.   

 It was decided. We would travel as far as our supplies would take us,  

 And then we would discuss the circumstances.   

There was gold pulling us like magnets,   

Riches beyond anyone's wildest imagination.

35 Mountains could not stop us,   

Only our own fear and doubt.

Which lines from the poem best support the central idea of the poem?

• They had three months to make it through the mountains, There were enough supplies for one more month, And the distance to cover would take exactly three months.

• Father knew we must cross the mountains before snow fell, And this was the cause of his concern.

• The Best, Growen, and King families decided they would depart our train; They would take their chances on their own.

• The wagon train had grown, fifteen families now, And our family was at the head of the train, Father was the lead.

Tags

CCSS.RL.7.10

CCSS.RL.7.4

CCSS.RL.7.5

CCSS.RL.8.10

CCSS.RL.8.5

Another Museum

CHARACTERS: GRANDMOTHER

ANNA

CHARLIE

Setting: Grandmother is in the front seat of her car, driving through a suburban area. Charlie, 14-years-old, and Anna, 13-years-old, are in the back seat.

GRANDMOTHER: I know we have never been to this museum, and I know you think it will be boring, but I believe you will truly enjoy the experience.

CHARLIE: (Charlie gives a frustrated look to his sister.) What kind of museum is this one, Grandma?

GRANDMOTHER: This is a Civil Rights museum. It was built to remember the people who dedicated themselves to fight for equal rights for African Americans and record the history of that important era in American history. I think you'll be surprised at how much we will learn today.

ANNA: We learned about the Civil Rights movement in school. We read about Rosa Parks and Medgar Evers.

CHARLIE: (Charlie rolls his eyes.) What are we going to have for lunch?

ANNA: (Whispers to Charlie.) Be respectful.

CHARLIE: (Whispers to Anna.) I am tired of going to all of these museums. Why can't we go to someplace fun, like a baseball game?

ANNA: (Whispers to Charlie.) It is important to Nana. She does many things for us, so we should be appreciative of what she does for us.

(Grandmother parks the car, and the three family members walk through the glass doors into the museum. Charlie and Anna turn around in wonder at the murals painted on the walls of the lobby.)

ANNA: This is beautiful!

CHARLIE: Wow! This is amazing! I bet the rest of the museum is going to be awesome!

GRANDMOTHER: Are you still worried about lunch, Charlie?

CHARLIE: Thank you for bringing us, Nana. I am excited we came.

Which sentence from the drama best supports the central idea of the text?

• Thank you for bringing us, Nana. I am excited we came.

• I know we have never been to this museum, and I know you think it will be boring, but I believe you will truly enjoy the experience.

• I think you'll be surprised at how much we will learn today.

• She does many things for us, so we should be appreciative of what she does for us.

Tags

CCSS.RL.7.10

CCSS.RL.7.3

CCSS.RL.7.4

CCSS.RL.7.5

CCSS.RL.7.7

Stage Fright

Erin stood behind the curtain on the stage, just out of sight of the entire seventh-grade class, who packed the auditorium to hear the speeches of the candidates running for class president. Each candidate had to give a five-minute speech on a topic that was important to them personally but also impacted all students in the school. Erin was running against two other candidates: Melissa, her best friend, and Trey, who she had lived next door to since she was a little girl. Erin wanted to be class president, but she knew she would be equally excited if either of her opponents won the election.

What is the central idea?

• Erin is feeling scared about giving a speech to the whole seventh-grade class.

• Erin is running for class president against two friends and has to give a speech.

• Erin is preparing a speech on an important topic to present to her classmates.

• Erin is hoping that she will make a good class president for the seventh grade.

Tags

CCSS.RI.6.2

CCSS.RI.7.2

CCSS.RI.8.2

CCSS.RL.6.2

CCSS.RL.7.2

The Hat

James knew he had a top hat around somewhere, but he was starting to wonder if he wasgoing to find it in time for Crazy Hat Day at school. He rifled through his closet and drawers; hewas even brave enough to scour the items under his bed, but he came up empty handed.

"Hey, Mom, where's my top hat?" James shouted from his bedroom.

"It must be in the attic with your old magic set, but dig around carefully, since there arecherished artifacts up there," his mom replied from the office.

James raced to the hall, giving the attic hatch a gentle tug. The hatch opened, and a ladderslowly slid down—he enjoyed exploring the attic and was soon surrounded by a sea of boxes.James quickly began ripping open boxes to reveal the contents; most of it looked like trash tohim. He dumped the items on the floor until he finally found what he'd been looking for—hewas pleased to see his top hat was placed gently on top of his magic cards and magiciancape. He left the attic and raced to his room to clean the dust off and inspect it for damage.

The next morning, before school, James heard his mom holler for him; he noticed the openattic hatch and climbed up. His mother was sitting on the floor with a look of disappointmentacross her face, but James could not figure out why she would be upset—after all, he hadfound his hat.

"James, the attic is a disaster; it took several days to organize these items, and now theyare in a jumbled heap on the floor," his mom said sternly.

"I guess I forgot to clean up after I found my hat—most of it looks like trash anyway," Jamesreplied honestly.

"This may look like trash to you, but most of it belonged to my mother. This is all I have leftof her—these items are priceless to me," his mom said sorrowfully.

"I had no idea! I'm really sorry! As soon as I get home from school, I promise I'll help youreorganize everything; it will look as good as new when I'm done," exclaimed James. He gavehis mom a hug, hurried down the ladder, and started getting ready for school.

What is the central idea of the passage?

• James can't find his top hat for Crazy Hat Day, so he has to spend all afternoon digging around in the attic.

• James feels frustrated because his mom is going to make him clean the entire attic after school even though most of the items in the attic are trash.

• James is excited to find his hat placed gently on top of his magic cards and magician cape just as his mom thought.

• James doesn't clean up his mess because he thinks most of the items are junk, but the items belonged to his grandmother and are priceless to his mom.

Tags

CCSS.RI.6.2

CCSS.RI.7.2

CCSS.RI.8.2

CCSS.RL.7.2

CCSS.RL.8.2

Community Service

Allison's school required each student to complete one community service project each semester. The class was given a list of possible projects they could undertake, which included cleaning the local playground and park, reading to the residents at the local assisted living facility, serving lunch at the community soup kitchen, reading to elementary school students, among others. When the list was posted by the school office, Allison and her friends ran to see which projects they could do together.

As they looked at the list, they all agreed that they would spend the next Saturday at Crescent Rise Assisted Living Facility reading with the residents. Allison, Carmen, Andrew, and Lexie would meet at the local diner, have breakfast, and make their way to the facility. Each one of them were excited to spend their time with the retired residents at Crescent Rise, but none more so than Allison. Her mother was a nurse at Crescent Rise, and Allison already knew many of the residents. She was thrilled to have her classmates join her and was filled with anticipation as Saturday approached.

What is the central idea?

• Allison has a difficult time choosing between the various options for her community service project but chooses to volunteer at a nursing home.

• After having to choose a community service project, Allison, along with her friends, chooses to volunteer at a nursing home she is familiar with.

• Allison is not looking forward to choosing a community service project, so she chooses to volunteer at a nursing home because her mother works there.

• The group of students is excited about the community service project and consider all of the different options would be good opportunities.

Tags

CCSS.RI.7.2

CCSS.RI.8.2

CCSS.RL.6.2

CCSS.RL.7.2

CCSS.RL.8.2

Another Museum

CHARACTERS:

GRANDMOTHER

ANNA

CHARLIE

Setting: Grandmother is in the front seat of her car, driving through a suburban area. Charlie, 14-years-old, and Anna, 13-years-old, are in the back seat.

GRANDMOTHER:

I know we have never been to this museum, and I know you think it will be boring, but I believe you will truly enjoy the experience.

CHARLIE:

(Charlie gives a frustrated look to his sister.)

What kind of museum is this one, Grandma?

GRANDMOTHER:

This is a Civil Rights museum. It was built to remember the people who dedicated themselves to fight for equal rights for African Americans and record the history of that important era in American history. I think you'll be surprised at how much we will learn today.

ANNA:

We learned about the Civil Rights movement in school. We read about Rosa Parks and Medgar Evers.

CHARLIE:

(Charlie rolls his eyes.)

What are we going to have for lunch?

ANNA:

(Whispers to Charlie.)

Be respectful.

CHARLIE:

(Whispers to Anna.)

I am tired of going to all of these museums. Why can't we go to someplace fun, like a baseball game?

ANNA:

(Whispers to Charlie.)

It is important to Nana. She does many things for us, so we should be appreciative of what she does for us.

(Grandmother parks the car, and the three family members walk through the glass doors into the museum. Charlie and Anna turn around in wonder at the murals painted on the walls of the lobby.)

ANNA:

This is beautiful!

CHARLIE:

Wow! This

is

amazing! I bet the rest of the museum is going to be awesome!

GRANDMOTHER:

Are you still worried about lunch, Charlie?

CHARLIE:

Thank you for bringing us, Nana. I am excited we came.

What is the central idea of the drama?

• A. Nana decides to take Charlie and Anna to a museum, and they are excited to go.

• B. Anna is excited to go to a museum because she has learned about the topics in school.

• C. Charlie is disrespectful to his grandmother, and his sister scolds him for his behavior.

• D. Charlie and Anna are pleasantly surprised on a trip to the museum with their grandmother.

Tags

CCSS.RL.7.10

CCSS.RL.7.3

CCSS.RL.7.4

CCSS.RL.7.5

CCSS.RL.7.7

The Hat

James raced to the hall, giving the attic hatch a gentle tug. The hatch opened, and a ladder slowly slid down—he enjoyed exploring the attic and was soon surrounded by a sea of boxes. James quickly began ripping open boxes to reveal the contents; most of it looked like trash to him. He dumped the items on the floor until he finally found what he'd been looking for—he was pleased to see his top hat was placed gently on top of his magic cards and magician cape. He left the attic and raced to his room to clean the dust off and inspect it for damage.

What is the central idea?

• James tugs on the attic hatch until the ladder slides down.

• James has a hard time finding his top hat amongst all the trash.

• James tears open boxes in the attic until he finally finds his top hat.

• James wonders why his mom is hollering for him from the attic.

Tags

CCSS.RI.7.2

CCSS.RI.8.2

CCSS.RL.6.2

CCSS.RL.7.2

CCSS.RL.8.2

The Hat

The next morning, before school, James heard his mom holler for him; he noticed the openattic hatch and climbed up. His mother was sitting on the floor with a look of disappointmentacross her face, but James could not figure out why she would be upset—after all, he hadfound his hat.

"James, the attic is a disaster; it took several days to organize these items, and now theyare in a jumbled heap on the floor," his mom said sternly.

"I guess I forgot to clean up after I found my hat—most of it looks like trash anyway," Jamesreplied honestly.

"This may look like trash to you, but most of it belonged to my mother. This is all I have left of her—these items are priceless to me," his mom said sorrowfully.

"I had no idea! I'm really sorry! As soon as I get home from school, I promise I'll help you reorganize everything; it will look as good as new when I'm done," exclaimed James. He gave his mom a hug, hurried down the ladder, and started getting ready for school.

What is the central idea of last paragraph?

• James felt terrible and was determined to clean the attic.

• James felt reassured that he didn't break anything.

• James felt sad for his mom and wished he could help.

• James felt frustrated because he was late for school.

Tags

CCSS.RI.6.2

CCSS.RI.7.2

CCSS.RI.8.2

CCSS.RL.6.2

CCSS.RL.7.2