What does a student learn in StateTexas,GradeGrade 7,SubjectEnglish Language Arts?

Students decide why they're reading before they start. That focus helps them notice what matters most in the text and stay with it when the reading gets harder.

Before, during, and after reading, students ask their own questions about the text to push past surface understanding and find answers in what they read.

Students predict what will happen next in a reading, then check whether they were right by looking back at how the text is built and what the author included.

Reading a text, students link what they find to something they have lived, to another book or article they know, or to something happening in the world around them.

Reading between the lines is a skill. Students figure out what a text implies, then point to specific words or sentences that back up their thinking.

Students restate what a passage says in their own words, keeping the main ideas in the right order without changing what the text means.

Students pull ideas from several texts or sources, then combine what they learn to reach a conclusion or form an opinion that no single source gave them on its own.

When a paragraph stops making sense, students know how to fix it. They reread, connect the text to what they already know, write notes in the margins, or ask a question to get back on track.

Students connect what they read to their own life, explaining how a story, article, or other source relates to something they've already experienced or believed.

Students read two or more texts and write about how they connect, overlap, or differ. The focus is on pulling specific details from each source to back up every point.

Students back up their answers with specific details, quotes, or examples pulled directly from what they read. The evidence has to actually fit the point they are making.

Students restate what a text says in their own words without changing what it actually means. This covers retelling a story beat by beat, paraphrasing a section, or boiling the whole piece down to the key points.

Students mark up a text, jot notes in the margins, or sketch ideas to make sense of what they read or hear. The goal is to think on paper, not just consume the source.

Students identify how a story's plot, characters, setting, and theme work together to shape its meaning. They practice this across fiction, poetry, nonfiction, and drama.

Students look at how a text is built, whether it's a poem, a news article, or a short story, and think about why that shape affects what the text means and how it feels to read.

Students identify what makes different types of writing work: how an argument builds a case, how a news article or essay organizes facts, and how a story or poem is put together.

Students look at why an author made specific choices in a text, like word choice or structure, and figure out what effect those choices have on the reader the author had in mind.

Students look at how an author uses headings, photos, captions, charts, or other visual elements to make a point or guide the reader through the text.

Students look at why an author chose specific words, considering both the dictionary meaning and the emotional weight those words carry. They also examine how comparisons and sensory details shape the feeling of a text.

Students look at how an author's choices, like metaphors, irony, or imagery, change how a reader feels or thinks about a story. The goal is to see how those tools shape the reading experience from the inside out.

Writing isn't just drafting and turning it in. Students plan, write, revise, and edit repeatedly, moving back and forth between steps until the piece is clear and correctly written.

Students choose the right type of writing for what they're trying to say. A personal story, an argument, or an explanation each calls for a different approach, and this standard is where students learn to make that call before they start writing.

Students take an early draft and shape it into a finished piece: one clear focus, a logical structure, and sentences that flow from start to finish.

Students go back through a draft and make it better: tightening sentences, strengthening ideas, reordering paragraphs, and swapping weak words for sharper ones.

Students go back through their writing to fix grammar, capitalization, punctuation, and spelling before the work is finished. This is the editing stage, where small errors get corrected so the writing is clear and ready to share.

Students take a finished piece of writing and share it with a real audience, choosing a format that fits the purpose, whether that means printing, posting, or presenting.

Students write personal stories and poems, using the techniques that make each form work: pacing in a narrative, line breaks in a poem, specific details throughout.

Students write nonfiction pieces like reports or how-to guides, choosing the right structure and details to explain a topic clearly. The focus is on organizing information so a reader can follow and learn from it.

Students write a persuasive piece that takes a clear position on an issue and backs it up with reasons and evidence. The goal is to convince a real reader, not just complete an assignment.

Students write letters, emails, or other messages that say what they mean without extra words. The tone and details match whoever will read it, whether that's a friend, a teacher, or someone they've never met.

Students come up with questions about a topic before they start researching it, then sharpen those questions until they're focused enough to actually investigate.

Students map out a plan for finding information on a topic, then collect sources that actually answer their research question. A teacher helps guide the process.

Students find and collect information from multiple sources, like books, articles, and websites, that actually relate to their topic. They practice sorting out what's useful from what isn't.

Students learn to tell the difference between a firsthand source (a diary, a speech, a photograph) and a secondhand source (a textbook, a news article) and then judge whether each one can be trusted.

Students pull information from multiple sources together into one clear explanation, then show where each idea came from by citing the source.