Writing Prompts for Grade 7

Here are writing prompts for Scott Foresman ESL 7: three prompts for the topic of each unit, plus three prompts for each reading.
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Chapter
  1. Immigration Then and Now
  2. Gifts from Many Lands
  3. How the Eyes Work
  4. Looking at Colors
  5. Life in the Middle Ages
  6. Trade in the Middle Ages
  7. Reading Stories
  8. Writing
  9. Mysteries in History
  10. How Science Solves Mysteries
  11. Desert Life
  12. Water in the Desert


Chapter 1: Immigration Then and Now
  1. List three reasons people leave their countries and move to a new country.
  2. Look at page 10 in your Student Book. Study the information for 1981-1990. Make a list showing the number of immigrants coming to the United States from different places. Begin with the greatest numbers and end with the smallest numbers.
  3. You and your family have moved to another country. Write a journal entry. Tell how you felt. Tell about the things you thought would happen in the new land. Tell what actually happened.

How Many Days to America?

  1. Tell how the Thanksgiving holiday began.
  2. The immigrants in the story stopped at a new land. The soldiers would not allow them to stay. Give reasons why you think the soldiers sent them away.
  3. Imagine you were on a boat in the story. You want to live in another country. Soldiers say you cannot stop at their land. Write a journal or poem. Write how you feel.
 
Chapter 2: Gifts from Many Lands

  1. Name four famous immigrants to the United States. Tell why they are famous.
  2. Look at pages 28-29 in your Student Book. Read about the famous immigrants. Choose one of the immigrants in the book or another immigrant. Tell why you think that person is the most important. Explain your choice.
  3. Create a new holiday for students. Name the holiday. Tell the purpose of the holiday. Tell how you would celebrate it.
 
Chapter 3: How the Eyes Work

  1. Name seven parts of the eye. Choose three of these parts of the eye. Tell what they do.
  2. Compare a human eye to a bee's eye. Tell which kind of eye you would prefer. Tell why.
  3. Create an imaginary "super" eye. It would be able to do more and see more than your eye. Write a poem or story about this "super" eye.
 
Chapter 4: Looking at Colors
  1. Explain why there are different colors in the rainbow.
  2. Compare a red light wavelength to a violet light wavelength.
  3. Some people believe rainbows can bring good luck. Some people think there is a pot of gold at the end of the rainbow. Identify something in the United States or from another country that could bring good luck. Write a story or poem. Tell about the good luck it may bring.

"The River That Gave Gifts"

  1. Retell the story "The River That Gave Gifts."
  2. Yanava, Oronde, Kengee, and Jey gave Neema beautiful gifts. How do the gifts show their feelings about Neema? Explain your answers.
  3. Neema could not see very well. She had special needs. Think of someone you know with special needs. Name this person. Identify the special need. Tell what gift you will give to this person. Write a dialogue. Tell what you will say when you give this gift.
 
Chapter 5: Life in the Middle Ages
  1. Describe life in the Middle Ages. Include the people, their castles, and their food.
  2. Imagine both girls and boys could be pages. Tell why you would or would not choose to be one. Explain your reasons.
  3. Pretend you lived in one of the old, old castles. Describe what your bedroom looked like. Tell what was in this room.

The Last Battle

  1. Explain how the battle between Arthur's and Mordred's soldiers began. Tell why the soldiers drew their swords.
  2. King Arthur asked Bedivere to throw his sword in the lake. If you were Bedivere, tell what you would have done. Explain your reasons.
  3. Imagine King Arthur has returned. Prepare a report for your school magazine describing life in his new kingdom of the good and the true.
 
Chapter 6: Trade in the Middle Ages

  1. During the Middle Ages, groups of people needed others for food, ideas, and materials. Explain.
  2. Today, we continue to need each other for things in our daily lives. Explain ways we depend on one another.
  3. Write a poem. Talk about life in a harmonious world. Describe a world where people live together helping one another.
 
Chapter 7: Reading Stories

  1. Differentiate between fiction and nonfiction.
  2. Analyze and state what makes a story a fantasy.
  3. Imagine you are a scientist. Write a fantasy story about one of your experiments.

Hey, Al

  1. Tell how Eddie and Al felt at the beginning of the story.
  2. Think about how Eddie and Al's thoughts changed. Compare their feelings in the beginning, the middle, and the end of the story. Analyze what happened. Tell why they were happier at the end of the story.
  3. Write a poem or journal entry. Tell about a time you or someone you know felt that life was difficult and wanted a change.
 
Chapter 8: Writing

  1. List and explain the kinds of information you can get from a dictionary.
  2. Look at the alphabets on pages 142-143 in your Student Book. Read about the alphabets. Choose the alphabet that looks most difficult to learn. Explain your choice.
  3. There is a new student in your class. This student does not speak any English. Write a letter to this student. Tell how you felt when you did not know any English. Tell how you learned English. Do not worry if you do not speak this student's language. A translator will write your letter in the student's native language.
 
Chapter 9: Mysteries in History
  1. Describe the life of the Inca people.
  2. Tell what may have happened when the Spanish came if the Inca had not been fighting each other.
  3. If the stones of Machu Picchu could talk, write about the secrets you think they would tell.

The Nazcas' Secret

  1. Tell who the Nazcas were. Tell what you learned about them.
  2. The Nazcas survived by living in harmony with nature. Discuss the meaning of "living in harmony with nature." Tell how living in harmony with nature can relate to our lives today.
  3. Create a mysterious place. Name this place. Describe its mystery.
 
Chapter 10: How Science Solves Mysteries

  1. There are many science mysteries. Observations and hypothesis are part of the process of finding a scientific answer. Explain the terms observation and hypothesis.
  2. Look at the pictures on pages 178-179 in your Student Book. Select a picture. Prepare a plan to solve its mystery.
  3. Imagine you are out in the middle of an island. You look up and see something strange and mysterious happening. You don't understand how something like this is possible. Describe what you see. Formulate several hypotheses.
 
Chapter 11: Desert Life
  1. Explain adaptation.
  2. Give examples of ways you adapt to your environment. Include your adaptation to both people and places.
  3. Imagine you are a desert animal. Write a poem telling about your adaptation to life in the desert.

Goomble-Gubbon

  1. Retell the story of Goomble-Gubbon.
  2. Goomble-Gubbon had a conflict with the other birds. He tried to solve his conflict by burning their homes. Tell why this solution was not a good one.
  3. Write a journal entry. Tell how you would feel if you were Goomble-Gubbon. Tell how you would try to solve the problem.
 
Chapter 12: Water in the Desert

  1. Explain how plants, animals, and people adapt and survive in the desert.
  2. Look at the chart on page 224 in your Student Book. Explain how you would calculate the amount of water you use every day. Then use the chart to calculate the amount of water you use.
  3. Write a letter to the people in your community. Make recommendations for ways they can conserve water. Refer to the chart on page 224 in your Student Book.