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North Carolina Standards

North Carolina 7th Grade ELA Standards

All 36 North Carolina English language arts standards for 7th grade, each explained in plain English. The official wording is in North Carolina Department of Public Instruction's document, linked at the end of this page.

36 standards

Reading Literature

9 standards
RL.7.1
Support a point about a story, play or poem with several quotes or details from it, not just one, for both what it says outright and what it only suggests.
RL.7.2
Identify a story's theme and trace how it grows from beginning to end, then write a summary that sticks to what the text says, free of opinions.
RL.7.3
Analyze how parts of a story or play affect one another, like how the setting shapes the characters or how a character's choice drives the plot.
RL.7.4
Work out what words and phrases mean in a literary work and explain how rhyme and repeated sounds, like alliteration, shape the meaning and tone of a line or stanza.
RL.7.5
Analyze how the form or structure of a poem, play or other type of literature adds to its meaning, like a soliloquy in a play or line breaks in a poem.
RL.7.6
Analyze how an author builds and contrasts the viewpoints of different characters, like two siblings who see the same event in opposite ways.
RL.7.7
Compare a written story, play or poem with its audio, film, stage or multimedia version, explaining the effects of tools only each form has, like camera angles.
RL.7.9
Set a historical novel or story beside a factual account of the same time or person, and show where the fiction keeps the history and where it changes it.
RL.7.10
By the end of grade 7, read novels, plays and poetry at the grades 6 to 8 level on your own and with focus for long periods, drawing on what you know and have lived.

Reading Informational

10 standards
RI.7.1
Support a point about a story, play or poem with several quotes or details from it, not just one, for both what it says outright and what it only suggests.
RI.7.2
Find two or more central ideas in a nonfiction text, trace how each one develops from start to finish, and give a neutral summary of the text.
RI.7.3
Analyze how people, events and ideas in a nonfiction text influence one another, like how a leader's ideas shaped a historical event.
RI.7.4
Figure out the meaning of words and phrases in a nonfiction text and explain how a word choice shapes meaning and tone, like calling a rule strict versus harsh.
RI.7.5
Map how a nonfiction text is organized and explain what each major section contributes to the whole and to the way the ideas build.
RI.7.6
Find an author's stance or purpose in a nonfiction text and explain how the author sets that position apart from what other people think.
RI.7.7
Compare a written text with an audio, video or multimedia version of it, like a speech on paper and on film, and analyze how each one presents the subject.
RI.7.8
Follow an author's argument claim by claim and judge whether the reasoning makes sense and whether the evidence is on point and enough to support each claim.
RI.7.9
Compare two or more authors on the same topic and show how each stresses different evidence or reads the same facts differently.
RI.7.10
By the end of grade 7, read nonfiction at the grades 6 to 8 level, like essays and science articles, independently for long periods, connecting it to your own experience.

Writing

6 standards
W.7.1
Write an argument with a clear claim, reasons and evidence from credible sources, linking words, a formal style and a conclusion that follows from it.
W.7.2
Write an informative piece that introduces a topic, organizes facts, definitions and examples under headings or charts where they help, and ends with a conclusion.
W.7.3
Write a true or made-up story that sets the scene, uses dialogue, pacing and sensory detail, moves clearly through time and ends with a fitting conclusion.
W.7.4
Use digital tools to write and publish work, link to and credit your sources, and collaborate with others, like co-editing a research slideshow online.
W.7.5
Research a question across several sources in a short project, and let what you find spark new related questions worth looking into next.
W.7.6
Pick good search terms to find print and online sources, check each for accuracy and reliability, and quote or paraphrase it with a citation in a format like MLA.

Speaking and Listening

5 standards
SL.7.1
Discuss 7th-grade texts having done the reading, cite evidence, keep the group on its goals and deadlines, draw others out, and change your mind when warranted.
SL.7.2
Analyze the main ideas and supporting details in videos, graphics, podcasts and other media, and explain how they make the topic, text or issue being studied clearer.
SL.7.3
Outline a speaker's argument and each claim in it, then judge whether the reasoning is sound and the evidence is both on point and enough to prove the claim.
SL.7.4
Give a focused, well-organized talk that stresses your key claims and findings with relevant facts and examples, adjusting how you speak to each setting and task.
SL.7.5
Use slides, charts, images or short clips in a presentation to make your claims and findings clearer and to drive home the most important points.

Language

6 standards
L.7.1
Use standard grammar from the grades 6 to 8 list in speech and writing, like explaining gerunds and participles, varying sentence types, and fixing dangling modifiers.
L.7.2
Use correct capitals, punctuation and spelling from the grades 6 to 8 list, like an ellipsis for left-out words and a semicolon joining two closely related sentences.
L.7.3
Notice the difference between formal and casual English, like Good morning, Mrs. Lee versus Hey, and choose which fits the moment.
L.7.4
Figure out unknown or multiple-meaning words in grade 7 reading using context, word parts, related words or reference tools, like the root ject in reject and project.
L.7.5
Interpret figures of speech in grade 7 reading, like allusions, and explain how words with similar dictionary meanings differ in feeling, like confident and arrogant.
L.7.6
Learn and accurately use grade 7 academic and subject-area words, like evaluate or ecosystem, growing your vocabulary when a word matters to understanding or expression.

The official North Carolina documents

The plain-English lines on this page are EMStudio's own explanations of North Carolina's standards, not the official wording, which North Carolina Department of Public Instruction publishes in the documents above. Codes and strand names identify each standard.