Eighth Grade Language Arts
Recommended Prerequisite: None
Grades Offered: 8
SDE Course Code: 0801
MNPS Course Code: ENG1185Y (Advanced)
Course Description
This course encompasses a correlated study of reading, language development, literature, composition, listening, and speaking based upon the adopted District Academic Standards for Reading, Writing, Elements of Language, Listening, and Speaking. In addition, this course will prepare students to demonstrate success on the Tennessee Comprehensive Assessment Program (TCAP) Achievement Test. The study of language arts at the eighth grade level integrates the reading/literature skills with the study of language mechanics, writing, spelling, and vocabulary to create a well-rounded, balanced language arts program. The curriculum centers around the literature provided in the adopted texts and the literature designated in the Essential Literature initiative and provides opportunities for students to encounter more challenging texts and assignments in greater depth. The required and choice literary selections are read and studied in the language arts class, not the reading class.
Essential Literature (K-12) is designed to ensure that all students read a minimum number of quality literary works, discuss them in depth, and engage in writing opportunities related to the literature. There are four components to Essential Literature: the required reading titles, school choice titles delineated by grade level, alternative texts for use when a book has been challenged by a parent, and adapted texts for use with special needs students (special education and English language learners). http://www.mnps.org/Asset8131.aspx?method=1
The texts read in language arts are integrated with the skills delineated in the MNPS District Academic Standards for eighth grade. Students engage in process writing and timed writing. Each six weeks, a minimum of three writing assignments reflecting the various domains in the MNPS Writing Standards should be assessed using an analytical, holistic, and/or primary trait process.
Course of Study
The student will develop the reading skills necessary for word recognition, comprehension, interpretation, analysis, evaluation, and appreciation of the written text. The student will also develop the structural and creative skills necessary to produce written language that can be read and interpreted by various audiences. Additionally, the student will use, read, and view media/technology; analyze content and concepts accurately; ; express ideas clearly and effectively in a variety of oral contexts; and apply active listening skills in the analysis and evaluation of spoken ideas. While this sample outline is arranged by theme, other formats may be considered. Bulleted themes may require more, or less, than six-weeks of instruction.
MNPS Language Arts Website http://www.mnps.org/PageFactory.aspx?PageID=2287
MNPS Academic Standards
MNPS Reading Standards http://www.mnps.org/PageFactory.aspx?PageID=3342
MNPS Writing Standards http://www.mnps.org/PageFactory.aspx?PageID=3247
MNPS Listening and Speaking Standards http://www.mnps.org/PageFactory.aspx?PageID=3352
MNPS Academic Vocabulary – http://www.mnps.org/AssetFactory.aspx?did=9876
Required State or District Assessments
TCAP Achievement Test – Grade 8 http://www.state.tn.us/education/assessment/tsachitems.shtml
TCAP Writing Assessment – Grade 8 http://www.state.tn.us/education/assessment/tswritinggr8.shtml
Textbooks
Beers, Kylene, et. al. Elements of Literature. Austin, Texas: Holt, Rinehart, and Winston, 2007. (Basal Adopted 2006) http://www.hrw.com
Carroll, Joyce Armstrong, et. al. Prentice Hall Writing and Grammar: Communication in Action - Silver Level. Upper Saddle River, New Jersey: Pearson Prentice Hall, 2004.(Basal Adopted 2004)
Kinsella, Kate et. al. Prentice Hall Literature: Timeless Voices, Timeless Themes - Silver Level. Upper Saddle River, New Jersey: Pearson Prentice Hall, 2005.(Additional resource to complement the language arts basal)
Essential Literature Student Copies (Via Media Center)
· A Break with Charity: Story of the Salem Witch Trials – Anne Rinaldi
· Diary of a Young Girl – Anne Frank (as a play in the basal textbook)
· Gathering Blue – Lois Lowry
· For school’s choice selection titles see English Department Chairperson or Media Specialist
Reminder: The required and choice literary selections are read and studied in the language arts class, not the reading class.
Essential Literature Student Copies - Advanced (Via Media Center)
· The House of Scorpion – Nancy Farmer
· The Count of Monte Cristo – Alexander Dumas
· An American Plague: The True and Terrifying Story of the Yellow Fever Epedemic of 1793 – Jim Murphy (Non Fiction Selection)
Recommended and/or Required Resources:
MNPS Graduate and 12 – K Academic Standards http://www.mnps.org/Page3241.aspx
Curriculum Alignment Guide for Reading, Writing, Listening and Speaking – Grade 8
Classroom set of Dictionaries (25 per set)
Classroom set of Thesauruses (25 per set)
Coming of Age: Decisions, Decisions, Decisions
A Sample Unit
The following unit provides samples of texts that exemplify various types of connections (e.g., literary, thematic, skill-based etc.) The intent is to provide a springboard of ideas for teachers; it is not meant to dictate specific text choices or course structures.
- Sample Texts might include but are not limited to…
o Gathering Blue-Lois Lowry (Required Essential Literature)
o “Raymond’s Run”-Toni Cade Bambara (Elements of Literature)
o “The Ransom of Red Chief”-O. Henry (Elements of Literature)
o “Mrs. Flowers”-Maya Angelou (Elements of Literature)
o “The Tell-Tale Heart” – Edgar Allan Poe (Elements of Literature)
o Film Clip Planet of the Apes
General Reading Objectives - The student will… (Refer to MNPS Grade 8 Reading Standards)
o use comprehension strategies to enhance understanding, to make predictions, and to respond to literature.
o develop skills in making inferences and recognizing unstated assumptions.
o discover the common theme among several pieces of literature.
o formulate clarifying questions.
o create analogies based on words and phrases.
o identify and categorize allusions found in texts.
o address challenging vocabulary (e.g., paraphrasing, textual evidence, proposition) Create link to MNPS Voc
General Listening and Speaking Objectives - The student will… (Refer to MNPS Grade 8 Listening and Speaking Standards)
o participate in creative responses to text (e.g., debates, dramatizations, speeches).
o read aloud, discuss, and present, using correct stress, pitch, punctuation, expression, and rate.
General Elements of Language Objectives - The student will… (Refer to MNPS Grade 8 Writing Standards)
o identify the correct use of various parts of speech: nouns, verbs, pronouns, adjectives, adverbs, and conjunctions.
o combine sentences using a variety of strategies and sentence elements.
General Writing Objectives - The student will… (Refer to MNPS Grade 8 Writing Standards)
o use literature as a model for student writing.
o generate, focus, and organize ideas.
o write well-organized and coherently developed paragraphs.
o experiment with appropriate transitional devices and time-order words to enhance the flow of writing.
Sample Writing Assignments for Assessment (Refer to MNPS Grade 8 Writing Standards) Please note that a minimum of three writing assignments should be assessed each six weeks.
· Description of a place/time when the student felt safe as a child
· Personal narrative about a time in the student’s life when he/she felt safe as a child
· An alternative ending based on a character making a different choice
· Letter to a character persuading him/her to make a different choice
· Poem which reflects the student’s history
· Scene from Gathering Blue transformed into a play or screenplay
Voices of Courage
A Sample Unit
The following unit provides samples of texts that exemplify various types of connections (e.g., literary, thematic, skill-based etc.) The intent is to provide a springboard of ideas for teachers; it is not meant to dictate specific text choices or course structures.
- Sample Texts might include but are not limited to…
o Diary of a Young Girl – Anne Frank (Required Essential Literature-Basal)
o Selected passages from Anne Frank’s actual diary
o “The People Could Fly” – Virginia Hamilton (Elements of Literature)
o “Harriet Tubman: Conductor on the Underground Railroad” – Ann Petry (Elements of Literature)
o “Coming to America” – Janet Bode (Elements of Literature)
o “The Gettysburg Address” – Abraham Lincoln (Elements of Literature)
o “Go Down, Moses” – African-American Spiritual (Elements of Literature)
o Film Clips from Diary of Anne Frank and Life is Beautiful
o Excerpt from Shindler’s List
o Song lyric – “To Dream the Impossible Dream”
o Song lyric – “The Greatest Love of All”
General Reading Objectives - The student will… (Refer to MNPS Grade 8 Reading Standards)
o use comprehension strategies to enhance understanding, to make predictions, and to respond to literature.
o develop skills in making inferences and recognizing unstated assumptions.
o discover a common theme among several pieces of literature.
o identify statements as fact or opinion.
o formulate levels of questions (literal, interpretive, and universal)
o analyze and summarize theme.
General Listening and Speaking Objectives - The student will… (Refer to MNPS Grade 8 Listening and Speaking Standards)
o participate in creative responses to text (e.g., debates, dramatizations, speeches).
o read aloud, discuss, and present, using correct stress, pitch, punctuation, expression, and rate.
o demonstrate the ability to read fluently with expression, accuracy, and poise from a variety of texts.
General Elements of Language Objectives - The student will…(Refer to MNPS Grade 8 Writing Standards)
o identify the correct use of various parts of speech: nouns, verbs, pronouns, adjectives, adverbs, and conjunctions.
o combine sentences using a variety of strategies and sentence elements.
o edit writing samples for multiple usage errors.
General Writing Objectives - The student will… (Refer to MNPS Grade 8 Writing Standards)
o write frequently for a variety of purposes including narration, description, persuasion, exposition, and personal, creative expression.
o use literature as a model for student writing.
o generate, focus, and organize ideas.
o write well-organized and coherently developed paragraphs.
o incorporate appropriate transitional devices and time-order words to enhance the flow of writing.
Sample Writing Assignments for Assessment (Refer to MNPS Grade 8 Writing Standards) Please note that a minimum of three writing assignments should be assessed each six weeks.
· Diary entry from the point of view of Margot or Peter (Use Anne’s diary as a model.)
· Comparison/Contrast essay examining two of the characters in Diary of a Young Girl or a character from the diary and a character from one of the video clips
· Character sketch of one of the characters in Diary of a Young Girl
· Poem in the voice of one of the characters from Diary of a Young Girl
· Newspaper article (based on individual research) capturing an event from the time period exemplified in Diary of a Young Girl
· Comparison/contrast essay noting the similarities or differences in the play, Diary of a Young Girl and the primary source diary
· A 35 minute timed writing in which students respond to a prompt asking them to make a value judgment about a character’s decision and a detailed explanation as to why they think that character’s decision was right or wrong.
Truth, Justice, and Society
A Sample Unit
The following unit provides samples of texts that exemplify various types of connections (e.g., literary, thematic, skill-based etc.) The intent is to provide a springboard of ideas for teachers; it is not meant to dictate specific text choices or course structures.
- Sample Texts might include but are not limited to…
o A Break with Charity – Anne Rinaldi (Required Essential Literature)
o Trial transcript from the Salem Witch Trials (http://salemwitchmuseum.com)
o “The Open Window” – Saki (Elements of Literature)
o “Flowers for Algernon” – Daniel Keyes (Elements of Literature)
o “The Wise Old Woman” – Yoshiko Uchida (Elements of Literature)
o “The Landlady” – Roadl Dahl (Elements of Literature)
o “The Monkey’s Paw” – W. W. Jacobs (Elements of Literature)
o Someplace Special (children’s book) – Patricia McKissack
o Audio clip from “The War of the Worlds” – Orsen Welles
o Film clip – Unsolved Histories: Salem Witch Trials
o Film clip – The Crucible
General Reading Objectives - The student will… (Refer to MNPS Grade 8 Reading Standards)
o discern reading strategies appropriate to text.
o use comprehension strategies to enhance understanding, to make predictions, and to respond to literature.
o identify plot structure, including conflict and resolution.
o recognize stylistic elements, such as foreshadowing.
o compare and contrast literature.
o identify how the author reveals character.
General Listening and Speaking Objectives - The student will… (Refer to MNPS Grade 8 Listening and Speaking Standards)
o participate in creative responses to text (e.g., debates, dramatizations, speeches).
o create choral readings and/or Readers’ Theater presentations based on read texts.
General Elements of Language - The student will… (Refer to MNPS Grade 8 Writing Standards)
o identify the correct use of various parts of speech: nouns, verbs, pronouns, adjectives, adverbs, and conjunctions.
o combine sentences using a variety of strategies and sentence elements.
o edit writing samples for multiple usage errors.
o correctly identify academic vocabulary (e.g., gerund, infinitive, verbals) Create link to MNPS Voc
General Writing Objectives - The student will… (Refer to MNPS Grade 8 Writing Standards)
o identify and write for a variety of audiences.
o use literature as a model for student writing.
o generate, focus, and organize ideas.
o write well-organized and coherently developed paragraphs.
o incorporate appropriate transitional devices and time-order words to enhance the flow of writing.
Sample Writing Assignments for Assessment (See MNPS Grade 8 Writing Standards) Please note that a minimum of three writing assignments should be assessed each six weeks.
· Expository essay explaining three of the four theories for the girls’ behavior in A Break with Charity
· Letter from Susannah English to the magistrates persuading them to stop the witch hunt
· Short story using Mary English as the main character
· Journal entry about a time when someone said something untrue about you or you said something untrue about someone else
· Original piece of historical fiction based on research on the colonial period in America
Exploring New Worlds
A Sample Unit
The following unit provides samples of texts that exemplify various types of connections (e.g., literary, thematic, skill-based etc.) The intent is to provide a springboard of ideas for teachers; it is not meant to dictate specific text choices or course structures.
- Sample Texts might include but are not limited to…
o The House of Scorpion – Nancy Farmer (Essential Literature/Advanced)
o “In Trouble” – Gary Paulsen (Elements of Literature)
o “There Will Come Soft Rains” – Ray Bradbury (Elements of Literature)
o “The Circuit” – Francisco Jimenez (Elements of Literature)
o “The Shipwreck at the Bottom of the World” – Jennifer Armstrong (Elements of Literature)
General Reading Objectives - The student will… (Refer to MNPS Grade 8 Reading Standards)
o identify how the author reveals character.
o analyze setting, mood, and tone.
o develop skills in making inferences.
o formulate clarifying questions.
o address challenging vocabulary (e.g., dynamic character, inflectional ending, colloquialism)
General Listening and Speaking Objectives - The student will… (Refer to MNPS Grade 8 Listening and Speaking Standards)
o reenact a scene using a dialogue portion from the novel.
o create choral readings and/or Readers’ Theater presentations based on read texts.
o deliver presentations and use delivery techniques effectively.
General Elements of Language - The student will…(Refer to MNPS Grade 8 Writing Standards)
o recognize usage errors in context.
o recognize appropriate uses of gerunds, infinitives, and verbals.
o correctly identify MNPS Academic Vocabulary (e.g., gerund, infinitive, verbals)edit for parallel construction.
General Writing Objectives - The student will… (Refer to MNPS Grade 8 Writing Standards)
o revise drafts using rubrics and participate in guided peer revision.
o use “show, don’t tell” techniques in writing.
o use literature as a model for student writing.
Sample Writing Assignments for Assessment (See MNPS Grade 8 Writing Standards) Please note that a minimum of three writing assignments should be assessed each six weeks.
· Expository essay describing a time when the student explored a “new world” (new place)
· Write a story using the setting as the character
· Persuasive essay on genetic engineering, including supporting details and counter arguments
· Poem about a new experience