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 Grade 7 ELA Activities
My Motto
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At times, it might be hard for your child to see the big picture right away. A story might
have many events or characters, or an essay may twist and turn as the main argument is developed.
In these cases it is useful to talk about ways to identify main ideas and how to restate them
in our own words. In this activity, you can compare main idea story summaries to mottoes that
act as main ideas in people’s lives.
A motto is a brief statement that expresses a principal, a goal, or an ideal. It is a summary
that pulls together many ideas about a person’s life. A motto can be defined as a theme
to live by. It is usually a guide to one's conduct.
Here's what you need:
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| Paper or notebook (This writing could be the beginning of a journal) |
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| Pen or pencil |
Here's what you do:
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Use a motto as a way for your child to practice summarizing an important principle or goal.
What is her motto and why? Have her describe an experience in which she put her motto to use.
As she thinks about her own motto, ask her to think about why people choose mottoes. How can
a motto help influence the decisions you make in life? What are some other mottoes that you’ve
heard? (For example, Excelsior, meaning “ever upward,”
is the motto of the state of New York.) Help your daughter apply this same idea to the characters
she meets in books. What ideals guide the behavior of each character? What are the principles
of each character? Ask your child to come up with what their mottoes would be. What specifics
drawn from the books would reveal why these mottoes are fitting?
Keep going...
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Extend this activity by talking with your child about her favorite entertainer or hero.
Ask her to choose a motto that would summarize this person's life goals or principles. Ask
her to explain how the person's actions demonstrate the motto in practice.
Grade 7 ELA Activities
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