Language Arts 8th Grade (1st Semester)

Course Description\nStudents continue their exploration of literary genres, using active reading techniques such as note-taking and drawing conclusions from texts. Students review the steps of the writing process, making connections between the stages of writing, the genre they are studying, and a well-formed final product. To prepare students for writing narrative essays, lessons focus on plot, theme, and historical setting. Writing reflective and persuasive essays based on their own thoughts and ideas allows students to demonstrate their individuality. Solid research and understanding of organizational methods and visual features provide the foundation for writing informational essays. After improving their ability to recognize biased language, students write persuasive essays to express their own opinions. Students then look at the unique characteristics of poetry, myth, and folklore, and discover the conventions of playwriting and how drama employs the elements of fiction.\n\nCourse Breakdown\n\n "Rain, Rain, Go Away" by Isaac Asimov\n The Red Badge of Courage by Stephen Crane\n "The Drummer Boy of Shiloh" by W. S. Hays\n "Eleven" by Sandra Cisneros\n "Is He Living or Is He Dead?" by Mark Twain\n "My Boyhood Dreams" by Mark Twain\n "The Finish of Patsy Barnes" by Paul Laurence Dunbar\n "Gentleman of Rio en Medio" by Juan A. A. Sedillo\n "Raymond's Run" by Toni Cade Bambara\n "The Man without a Country" by Edward Everett Hale\n "A Retrieved Reformation" by O. Henry\n "The Scarlet Ibis" by James Hurst\n "The Lady or the Tiger?" by Frank Stockton\n "The Lottery" by Shirley Jackson Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass by Frederick Douglass\n "Jabberwocky" by Lewis Carroll\n "Paul Revere's Ride" by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow\n "Barbara Frietchie" by John Greenleaf Whittier\n "Runagate Runagate" by Robert Hayden\n "Columbus" by Joaquin Miller\n "Lyric 17" by José Garcia Villa\n "O Captain! My Captain!" by Walt Whitman\n "Scaffolding" by Seamus Heaney\n "Feelings about Words" by Mary O'Neill\n "Old Man" by Ricardo Sánchez\n "Four Little Foxes" by Lew Sarett\n Sorry, Wrong Number by Lucille Fletcher\n "Barack Obama Biography" by an anonymous author\n "Silver" by Walter de la Mare\n "Forgotten Language" by Shel Silverstein\n "Worms, Your Unlikely Allies" by Nathan Seppa\n "Limericks for Children" by an anonymous author\n Various haiku by Matsuo Bashō\n "Harlem" by Langston Hughes\n "Winter Moon" by Langston Hughes\n "The City is So Big" by Richard Garcia\n "The Shape of the Internet" by Emily Sohn\n "A Water-Colored World" by Kathleen Griffin\n "Identity" by Julio Noboa Polanco\n "The Road Not Taken" by Robert Frost\n "Spirit Chief Names the Animal People" by Mourning Dove\n Mules and Men by Zora Neale Hurston\n "The Rabbit Huntress and Her Adventures" by an anonymous author\n "John Henry: The Steel Driving Man" by S. E. Schlosser\n "Johnny Appleseed" by Frank B. McAllister\n "40 Fortunes" by Aaron Shepard\n "Paul Bunyan: An American Legend" by an anonymous author\n "Pecos Bill: An American Tall Tale" by an anonymous author\n The Red Badge of Courage by Stephen Crane\n\nCourse Goals\n Read and analyze fiction texts to identify the stages of plot.\n Identify short story elements in fictional works.\n Read and analyze The Red Badge of Courage.\n Write a narrative essay. Read a variety of poetry styles and analyze poetic elements.\n Read and analyze a variety of fables, folktales, and myths.\n Collect supporting evidence as part of the research process.\n Write an informational essay.