THE SEVENTH-GRADE STUDENT PACKET, PRODUCED BY THE NEBRASKA CURRICULUM DEVELOPMENT CENTER, BEGINS WITH THE UNIT ENTITLED "THE MAKING OF STORIES" IN WHICH STUDENTS CONSIDER WRITERS' AUDIENCES AND METHODS OF COMPOSITION AND PRESENTATION. SUCH MATERIAL AS "A CHRISTMAS CAROL" AND SELECTIONS FROM "THE ODYSSEY,""BEOWULF,""HYMN TO HERMES," AND GRIMM'S "FAIRY TALES" ARE STUDIED TO SHOW THE DIFFERENT SETS OF CONDITIONS UNDER WHICH AUTHORS "MAKE UP" STORIES. A RELATED UNIT, "THE MEANING OF STORIES," ATTEMPTS TO TEACH STUDENTS, THROUGH POEMS AND STORIES, TO ASK WHAT A STORY MEANS AND HOW THE MEANING IS COMMUNICATED. WITH THIS BACKGROUND, STUDENTS ARE PREPARED TO STUDY SELECTIONS IN THREE UNITS ON MYTHOLOGY--GREEK MYTHS, HEBREW LITERATURE, AND AMERICAN INDIAN MYTHS. IN THE FOLLOWING UNIT, STUDENTS ENCOUNTER BALLADS, AMERICAN FOLKLORE, AND A WESTERN NOVEL, "SHANE." THE FINAL LITERATURE UNIT, "AUTOBIOGRAPHY--BENJAMIN FRANKLIN," IS DESIGNED FOR THE STUDY OF A LITERARY GENRE AND THE WRITING OF PERSONAL AUTOBIOGRAPHIES. IN THE LANGUAGE UNITS, STUDENTS STUDY FORMS OF WORDS AND POSITIONS OF WORDS IN SENTENCES, THE ORGANIZATION AND USE OF THE DICTIONARY, AND METHODS OF SOLVING INDIVIDUAL SPELLING PROBLEMS. UNITS CONTAIN OVERVIEWS OF MATERIAL TO BE STUDIED, DISCUSSIONS OF LITERARY GENRES, HISTORICAL BACKGROUNDS OF WORKS, STUDY AND DISCUSSION QUESTIONS, COMPOSITION ASSIGNMENTS, EXERCISES, SUPPLEMENTARY READING LISTS, VOCABULARY LISTS, AND GLOSSARIES. LITERARY SELECTIONS NOT READILY AVAILABLE IN TEXTBOOKS ARE REPRINTED IN THE STUDENT PACKET. THIS MANUAL (THREE VOLUMES) IS AVAILABLE FROM THE UNIVERSITY OF NEBRASKA PRESS, 215 NEBRASKA HALL, LINCOLN, NEBRASKA 68508. THE RELATED TEACHER PACKET FOR GRADE SEVEN IS TE 000 059. (LK)