Proverbs: Contemporary Proverbs

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Proverbs: Contemporary Proverbs

Grade Levels

6th Grade, 7th Grade, 8th Grade

Course, Subject

English Language Arts

Related Academic Standards

Determine the central idea of a text and how it is conveyed through particular details; provide a summary of the text distinct from personal opinions or judgments.

CC.1.2.7.A CC.1.2.7.A

Determine two or more central ideas in a text and analyze their development over the course of the text; provide an objective summary of the text.

CC.1.3.6.A CC.1.3.6.A

Determine a theme or central idea of a text and how it is conveyed through particular details; provide a summary of the text distinct from personal opinions or judgments.

CC.1.3.6.C CC.1.3.6.C

Describe how a particular story or drama’s plot unfolds in a series of episodes, as well as how the characters respond or change as the plot moves toward a resolution.

CC.1.3.7.E CC.1.3.7.E

Analyze how the structure or form of a text contributes to its meaning.

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Big Ideas

Comprehension requires and enhances critical thinking and is constructed through the intentional interaction between reader and text
Concepts

Essential content of text, including literary elements and devices, inform meaning

Essential content, literary elements and devices inform meaning

Textual features and organization inform meaning
Competencies

Identify and analyze the characteristics of various genre (e.g. poetry, drama, fiction) and explain the appropriateness of chosen form for author’s purpose

Identify and analyze the characteristics of various genre (e.g. poetry, drama, fiction) to determine the appropriateness of chosen form for author’s purpose

Identify and evaluate essential content between and among various text types

Summarize and synthesize information from a variety of mediums

Summarize key information from a variety of mediums

Use and cite evidence from texts to make assertions, inferences, generalizations, and to draw conclusions

Description

"Don't store all your data on one disk" is a contemporary update of the traditional proverb "Don't put all your eggs in one basket." Such traditional proverbs, meant to convey cultural knowledge and wisdom, are often closely tied to a culture’s values and everyday experience. As a result, their meanings are not always readily apparent to us today. This lesson challenges students to craft more apparent meanings for traditional maxims. They first search for proverbs from around the world and select several they like. They then update the proverbs to be more contemporary. Finally, they write new proverbs of their own.

Web-based Resource

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Proverbs: Contemporary Proverbs

Content Provider

Thinkfinity content is provided through a partnership between the Verizon Foundation, the philanthropic arm of Verizon Communications, and eleven of the nation's leading educational organizations, including: The American Association for the Advancement of Science; The International Reading Association; The John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts; National Center for Family Literacy; Council for Economic Education; National Endowment for the Humanities; National Council of Teachers of English; National Council of Teachers of Mathematics; National Geographic Society; ProLiteracy; and The Smithsonian's National Museum of American History.

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Proverbs: Contemporary Proverbs