Eliminate deadwood. Restore buried verbs. Choose active or passive deliberately. Pick the exact word. CCSS L.7.3.a asks students to choose language that expresses ideas precisely and concisely, recognising and eliminating wordiness and redundancy. This unit teaches every skill that standard requires — and none of it appears in Grades 3–6. 55 slides, three worksheets, and a 40-point assessment.

What’s included:

• 1 Complete Slide Deck (PPTX, 55 slides, 6 lessons):
  • Lesson 1: Wordiness — Deadwood and Redundancy (multi-word → one word; redundant pairs; circumlocutions)
  • Lesson 2: Nominalisation — Restoring Buried Verbs (identify -tion/-ment/-ance nouns; restore the verb)
  • Lesson 3: Active vs Passive Voice — Choosing Deliberately (when each is stronger; evasive passive)
  • Lesson 4: Word Choice — Precision, Denotation, and Exactness (synonym gradation; precise verbs; attribution verbs)
  • Lesson 5: Concision at the Sentence and Paragraph Level (expletive constructions; of-constructions; repetition)
  • Lesson 6: Precise Language Review & Application
• 3 Double-Sided Practice Worksheets (PDF) covering all six lessons — deadwood elimination, nominalisation restoration, active/passive evaluation, precise word choice, attribution verbs, paragraph-level concision, and a six-step concision pass.
• 1 Unit Assessment — 40 Points (PDF) with full answer key and teaching notes.

Standards: CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.L.7.3.a (choose language that expresses ideas precisely and concisely, recognising and eliminating wordiness and redundancy) — Grade 7 specific, not in the G3–G6 scope at all. Designed for Grade 7 English Language Arts.