The Shawnee Mission Unified Studies curriculum is designed as a synthesis of language arts skills with social studies concepts. This document is a language arts curriculum guide for grades 7-9. Five major areas are delineated: composition, study of language, listening and viewing, literature and reading, and speaking. The instructional components of each major area are sequenced according to objectives, and most of them are keyed to present resources in the Shawnee Mission (Kansas) school district. The instructional components include such skills as recognizing and using the four kinds of sentences; evaluating appropriate composition elements; recognizing and using communication words, phrases, and clauses; recognizing figurative language; and recognizing tone. Also included in this document is a goal component assessment system for criterion-referenced tests in the five major areas. (TS)