Grades 7 to 8 - Staking a Claim
In their transition to high school, seventh and eighth graders develop their ability to express themselves logically, clearly, and with effective use of detail. Practicing expressive skills such as connecting observation to emotion, avoiding clichés, and using strong verbs strengthens students’ ability to convey their unique perspective and “hook” the reader. Focusing on a single topic or theme, students are able to establish an argument and use evidence to back up what they claim. They also learn to identify and eliminate common technical errors such as inconsistent verb tense, sentence fragments, and run-on sentences. The WEX Method™ helps students discover the power of their own voices and trains them to assess their writing carefully and critically so that errors are minimized.
Getting Started: 
- WEX Habits & Routines to Develop a Writing Community
Skills Covered:
- Focus (topic development)
- Showing (using evidence)
- Strong Verbs
- Sensory Detail
- Dialogue & Evidence I
- Character Development
- Setting & Context I
- Logical Structure I
- Punctuating & Formatting Quotations
- Logical Structure II
- Dialogue & Evidence II
- Setting & Context II
- Varying Sentence Style
- Minimizing Cliché
- Playing with Voice
- Sentence Mechanics & Usage II
- Verb Tense
- Subject Verb Agreement II
- Dialogue & Evidence III
Genre Units:
- Personal Essay
- Short Story
- Response to Literature
- Persuasive Essay
