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Refugee Essay - Hope

School: Tapestry Charter School (K-12)

City/State: Buffalo, NY

Grade(s): 7, 8

Format(s): Essay

Subject(s): English Language Arts

Type(s): Argument/Opinion, Informative/Explanatory

Writing Assignment Description

As part of the unit, Finding Home: Refugees, students read the novel Inside Out and Back Again, plus another book of their choice, to explain the universal refugee experience. 

How This Writing Can Be Useful

  • Showcases how the 8th grade ELA curriculum module supports critical thinking, citing of literary and informational text, and using evidence to support an authentic claim
  • Develops a topic with relevant, well-chosen facts and details from text
  • Uses appropriate and varied transitions to create cohesion and build relationships among ideas and concepts
  • Connects multiple texts to discuss the universal refugee experience
  • Additional resources provide guidance on how to scaffold revision towards organization in informative writing
  • This is one of two writing pieces from the 8th grade unit on Refugees. Use this piece and the link to additional resources to compare how teachers might use the same module, but personalize the task for their students

Relevant Resources

Refugee Essay--Emma
8th grade unit--Finding Home: Refugees

Common Core State Standards

Standard Long Term Learning Target
RL.7.1
  • I can cite several pieces of text-based evidence to support an analysis of literary text.
RL.8.1
  • I can cite text-based evidence that provides the strongest support for my analysis of literary text.
RI.7.1
  • I can cite several pieces of text-based evidence to support an analysis of informational text.
RI.8.1
  • I can cite text-based evidence that provides the strongest support for an analysis of literary text.
W.7.2
  • I can write informative/explanatory texts that convey ideas and concepts using relevant information that is carefully selected and organized.
W.8.2
  • I can write informative/explanatory texts that convey ideas and concepts using relevant information that is carefully selected and organized.
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