8th Grade Literature & Language Arts
Objectives
The Literature and Language Arts curriculum has been designed to emphasize the connection between reading and writing and is in the process of being aligned with the Common Core State Standards. In order to help students develop better communication skills through reading, writing, speaking, and listening, a variety of techniques are used throughout the year to guide students in the practice of these different forms of communication.
Literature & Language Arts Units:
Click here or on the links below to access notes and assignments for each unit.
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Textbook & Resources:
HMH Into Literature Textbook
Google Classroom for notes, assignments, audio
Novel Units:
That was Then, This is Now by S.E. Hinton
Chew On This by Eric Schlosser and Charles Wilson
A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens
Legend by Marie Lu
A Long Walk to Water by Linda Sue Park
Speak by Laurie Halse Anderson
Textbook Units:
Unit 1: Gadgets and Glitches
Unit 2: The Thrill of Horror
Unit 3: The Places We Call Home
Unit 5: Finding Your Path
Unit 6: The Legacy of Anne Frank
Nonfiction Units:
Text structure and text features
Chew On This, by Eric Schlosser
Honors Literature Curriculum
Novel Units:
The Pearl by John Steinbeck
Flowers for Algernon by Daniel Keyes
Chew on This by Eric Schlosser and Charles Wilson
Frankenstein by Mary Shelley and Bernie Wrightson
Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury
Julius Caesar by William Shakespeare
Anne Frank: The Diary of a Young Girl by Anne Frank
Night by Elie Wiesel
Speak by Laurie Halse Anderson
Freshman Honors English Requirements:
To be eligible for Honors English, a student must attain the following three criteria:
8th-grade teacher recommendation
A 3.5 GPA in Language Arts and Literature classes for 8th grade
A score of 460 or above on both the English portion of the PSAT Test (taken in October/November)
Writing Units:
Narrative Writing
Argumentative Writing
Research Simulation
Poetry:
Poetic Devices
Poetic Forms
Literary Analysis
Grammar Units:
Parts of Speech
Punctuation
Capitalization
Words Often Confused
Standard Usage
Subject-Verb Agreement
Sentence Structure
Cross-Curricular Units:
Patriot Day: Remembering September 11th
The Holocaust/ "The Diary of Anne Frank"
Required Materials:
Students are required to have reading and writing materials with them at all times when they come to class. They should have a folder or binder, which we organized and labeled the second week of school. Novels are issued to students during different units and are the responsibility of the student.
Evaluation:
Practice........................20%
Application..................30%
Assessment.................50%
Various forms of assessment will be used throughout the year. Both the teacher and the students will take part in the evaluation process so that in the future, the students will be able to analyze their writing. The process of writing will be as important in the assessment and grading as the quality of the final piece.
Parents are encouraged to take some time this year to check what their children are reading and to read what their children have written. There are some great storytellers in class!
Key ideas and details
Craft and structure
Integration of knowledge and ideas
Range of reading and level of text complexity
Research to build and present knowledge
Comprehension and collaboration
Vocabulary acquisition and use
Language Arts Common Core Focus:
Text Types and Purposes
Production and Distribution of Writing
Range of Writing
Presentation of Knowledge and Ideas
Conventions of Standard English
Knowledge of Language