Eighth Grade ELA

Course Description

Eighth Grade English Language Arts encourages students to examine themselves, their society, and most importantly, the role they play within the world. Students will analyze text through personal reflection, small group discussion, and whole class activities.  8th grade students analyze and discuss the organizational elements within the text, closely read and annotate while applying reading skills and strategies, and engage in thematic discussions centered on essential questions. This course offers diverse text options for students to examine where they can both see themselves within the content and see others’ lives.  This allows for students to identify their voice. Pairing with the reading experiences in English Language Arts students will write and produce pieces of varying length that demonstrate understanding of themes, display creativity, and show deep analysis and critical thinking. Students will focus on the purpose of writing and structure their pieces to include the fundamentals required.  Narrative, informative and argumentative writing will be included throughout the course.

Grade Level(s): Eighth Grade

Related Priority Standards (State &/or National): DESE ELA Priority Standards, Grade 8

Essential Questions

• How can literature serve as a mirror and a window?
• Why is annotating and reading critically important?
• How does annotation provide a window into our world? 
• How do word study strategies deepen our understanding of a text?
• How can literature inspire a call to action?
• How does reading and writing help define who we are as a society?
• How do we use reading and writing to become critical thinkers?
• Why is being a critical thinker important to our community?
• In what ways do reading and writing impact our interactions?

Enduring Understandings/Big Ideas

• Comprehend and interpret texts as a reader
• Analyze craft and structure as a reader
• Synthesize ideas from multiple texts
• Approach a task as a researcher, as a writer, and as a reader
• Demonstrate understanding of multiple perspectives through reflection and paraphrasing
• Plan and deliver presentations based on appropriate task, audience, and purpose 

 

Course-Level Scope & Sequence (Units &/or Skills)

Unit 1 - Building Relationships with Text: Students will compare and contrast a written story, drama, or poem to its audio, filmed, staged, or multimedia version. Students will develop narratives, including poems, about real or imagined experiences, with clearly identified characters, sequence of events, and relevant descriptive details appropriate to the task, purpose, and intended audience. Students will integrate multimedia into presentations to clarify information, strengthen claims and evidence while adding interest.

• Reading
• Compare and contrast a written story, drama, or poem to its audio, filmed, staged, or multimedia version
• Analyze how the techniques unique to each medium contribute to meaning
• Compare and contrast a portrayal of a time, place, or character with realistic accounts of the same subject matter in multiple texts
• Explain how characters and settings reflect historical and/or cultural contexts in multiple texts
• Read and comprehend literature independently and proficiently in multiple texts
• Determine the theme(s) of a text, citing text evidence to support their analysis
• Summarize a text

• Writing
• Follow a writing process to produce clear and coherent writing in which the development, organization, style, and voice are appropriate to the task, purpose, and audience; develop writing with narrative techniques
• Develop narratives, including poems, about real or imagined experiences with clearly identified characters, well-structured event sequences, narrative techniques, and relevant descriptive details.
• Review, revise, and edit writing with consideration for the task, purpose, and audience
• Organize the content of the writing by introducing the topic appropriate to task, purpose, and audience
• Choose precise language and establish and maintain an appropriate and consistent style; sentences are complete
• Demonstrate a command of the conventions of standard English grammar and usage, including spelling and punctuation, and the use of complete sentences
• Use transitions to clarify relationships, connect ideas and claims, and signal time shifts
• Use technology, including the Internet, to produce and publish writing as well as to interact and collaborate with others

• Speaking & Listening
• Speak clearly, audibly, and to the point, using conventions of language as appropriate to task, purpose, and audience when presenting including appropriate volume
• Speak to the point as appropriate to task, purpose, and audience
• Use conventions of language as appropriate to task, purpose, and audience
• Position their body to face the audience when speaking, making eye contact with listeners at various intervals and using gestures to communicate a clear viewpoint when presenting
• Plan and deliver appropriate presentations based on the task, audience, and purpose integrating multimedia into presentations to clarify information, strengthen claims and evidence, and add interest
• Acknowledge the new information and viewpoints of others, including those presented in diverse media
• Qualify or justify, when warranted, his/her own views in light of evidence presented from others’ viewpoints
• Evaluate reasoning and sufficiency of evidence in order to pose questions that connect the ideas of several speakers
• Respond to others’ questions and comments with relevant evidence, observations, and ideas

Unit 2 - Choice & Voice - How do our decisions impact our lives?: Students will compare and contrast texts from different genres that address similar themes or topics. Students will produce clear and coherent argumentative writing with development, organization, style, and voice. Students will demonstrate an understanding of multiple perspectives through reflection and paraphrasing during collaboration with peers.

• Reading
• Determine the theme(s) of a text, citing evidence to support development of the theme(s)
• Summarize a text
• Compare and contrast the experience of reading a story to listening to or viewing an audio, video, or live version of the same text
• Note how a performance impacts personal interpretation
• Compare and contrast texts from different genres that address similar themes or topics
• Explain how the plot and conflict reflect historical and/or cultural contexts in multiple texts
• Read and comprehend literature, including stories, dramas, and poems, independently and proficiently

• Writing
• Follow a writing process to develop an argumentative essay, producing clear and coherent writing in which the development, organization, style, and voice are appropriate to the task, purpose, and audience
• Develop writing with argumentative writing techniques appropriate to the task, purpose, and audience, introducing and supporting a claim with clear reasons and relevant evidence
• Review, revise, and edit writing with consideration for task, purpose, and audience
• Introduce a topic in writing, maintaining a clear focus throughout the text and providing a conclusion that follows from the text
• Demonstrate a command of the conventions of standard English grammar and usage, including spelling and punctuation, and the use of complete sentences
• Use transitions to clarify relationships, connect ideas and claims, and signal shifts in time, appropriate to task, purpose, and audience
• Use technology, including the Internet, to produce and publish writing appropriate to task, purpose, and audience, as well as to interact and collaborate with others
• Conduct research to answer a question, gathering relevant information from multiple sources (print and digital), and integrating information using a standard citation system
• Gather relevant information from multiple print and digital sources, using search terms effectively and assessing the credibility and accuracy of each source
• Quote or paraphrase the data and conclusions of others while avoiding plagiarism and following a standard format for citation
• Acknowledge counterclaims and establish relationships among claims, counterclaims, and supporting evidence

• Speaking & Listening
• Speak clearly, audibly, and to the point, using conventions of language as appropriate to task, purpose, and audience when presenting, including appropriate volume
• Follow rules for collegial discussions and decision making while collaborating with others, defining individual roles, as needed, and tracking specific goals and deadlines
• Delineate a speaker’s argument and claims, evaluating reasoning and sufficiency of evidence in order to pose questions that connect the ideas of several speakers
• Respond to others’ questions and comments with relevant evidence, observations, and ideas
• Acknowledge the new information and viewpoints of others, including those presented in diverse media, and qualify or justify his/her own views in light of evidence presented from others’ viewpoints, when warranted

Unit 3 - Walking through the World - being an insider & outsider: Students will cite textual evidence when analyzing what a text says explicitly, as well as inferences drawn from the text. Students will develop informative/explanatory writing to examine a topic with relevant facts, examples, and details. Students will follow rules for collegial discussions and decision making while collaborating. Students will acknowledge the new information and viewpoints of others, including those presented in diverse media.\

• Reading
• Determine the theme(s) of a text, citing evidence to support development of the theme(s)
• Summarize a text
• Analyze how a particular sentence contributes to meaning in a text
• Explain how an author develops the narrator or speaker’s point of view (perspective) in a text
• Explain how contemporary texts make use of archetypal characters and universal themes from older or traditional texts
• Explain how themes reflect historical and cultural contexts in multiple texts
• Read and comprehend literature, including stories, dramas, and poems, independently and proficiently

• Writing
• Follow a writing process to develop an expository essay, producing clear and coherent writing in which the development, organization, style, and voice are appropriate to the task, purpose, and audience
• Develop writing with expository writing techniques appropriate to the task, purpose, and audience, introducing and supporting a claim with clear reasons and relevant evidence
• Develop informative/explanatory writing to examine a topic with relevant facts, examples, and details
• Review, revise, and edit writing with consideration for task, purpose, and audience
• Introduce a topic in writing, maintaining a clear focus throughout the text and providing a conclusion that follows from the text
• Demonstrate a command of the conventions of standard English grammar and usage, including spelling and punctuation, and the use of complete sentences
• Use transitions to clarify relationships, connect ideas and claims, and signal shifts in time, appropriate to task, purpose, and audience
• Use technology, including the Internet, to produce and publish writing appropriate to task, purpose, and audience, as well as to interact and collaborate with others
• Conduct research to answer a question, gathering relevant information from multiple sources (print and digital), and integrating information using a standard citation system
• Gather relevant information from multiple print and digital sources, using search terms effectively and assessing the credibility and accuracy of each source
• Quote or paraphrase the data and conclusions of others while avoiding plagiarism and following a standard format for citation
• Acknowledge counterclaims and establish relationships among claims, counterclaims, and supporting evidence

• Speaking & Listening
• Speak clearly, audibly, and to the point, using conventions of language as appropriate to task, purpose, and audience when presenting, including appropriate volume
• Follow rules for collegial discussions and decision making while collaborating with others, defining individual roles, as needed, and tracking specific goals and deadlines
• Delineate a speaker’s argument and claims, evaluating reasoning and sufficiency of evidence in order to pose questions that connect the ideas of several speakers
• Respond to others’ questions and comments with relevant evidence, observations, and ideas
• Acknowledge the new information and viewpoints of others, including those presented in diverse media, and qualify or justify his/her own views in light of evidence presented from others’ viewpoints, when warranted

Unit 4 - Leaving a Legacy: Students will explain how an author develops the narrator or speaker’s point of view (perspective) in a text. Students will develop blended writing by introducing and supporting a claim with clear reasons and relevant evidence. Students will include multimedia components in presentations to clarify claims and findings and emphasize significant points appropriate for the task, audience, and purpose.

• Reading
• Draw conclusions, make inferences, and cite textual evidence to support analysis of what the text says explicitly as well as inferences drawn from the text
• Determine the meaning of words and phrases as they are used in the text, including figurative and connotative meanings using context, affixes, or reference materials
• Interpret visual elements of a text and draw conclusions from them, when applicable
• Determine the theme(s) of a text, citing evidence to support development of the theme(s)
• Summarize a text
• Analyze how a particular sentence, chapter, scene, stanza, or image contributes to meaning in a text
• Explain how an author develops the narrator or speaker’s point of view (perspective) in a text
• Analyze how word choice, including the use of figurative language and/or the repetition of words or word sounds, contributes to meaning

• Writing
• Follow a writing process to develop an argument, producing a clear and coherent blended writing with development, organization, style, and voice
• Develop writing with blended writing techniques appropriate to the task, purpose, and audience, introducing and supporting a claim with clear reasons and relevant evidence
• Demonstrate a command of the conventions of standard English grammar and usage, including spelling and punctuation, and the use of complete sentences
• Use precise language for task, purpose, and audience
• Use transitions to clarify relationships, connect ideas and claims, and signal shifts in time, appropriate to task, purpose, and audience
• Use technology, including the Internet, to produce and publish writing appropriate to task, purpose, and audience, as well as to interact and collaborate with others
• Develop argumentative writing, acknowledging counterclaims and establishing relationships among claims, counterclaims, and supporting evidence
• Conduct research to answer a question, gathering relevant information from multiple sources (print and digital), and integrating information using a standard citation system
• Gather relevant information from multiple print and digital sources, using search terms effectively and assessing the credibility and accuracy of each source
• Quote or paraphrase the data and conclusions of others while avoiding plagiarism and following a standard format for citation

• Speaking & Listening
  • Speak clearly, audibly, and to the point, using conventions of language as appropriate to task, purpose, and audience when presenting, including appropriate volume
  • Follow rules for collegial discussions and decision making while collaborating with others, defining individual roles, as needed, and tracking specific goals and deadlines
  • Delineate a speaker’s argument and claims, evaluating reasoning and sufficiency of evidence in order to pose questions that connect the ideas of several speakers
  • Respond to others’ questions and comments with relevant evidence, observations, and ideas
  • Acknowledge the new information and viewpoints of others, including those presented in diverse media, and qualify or justify his/her own views in light of evidence presented from others’ viewpoints, when warranted

Date Last Revised/Approved: 2020