8th Grade ELA: 1st 9-weeks Student Objectives

BIG IDEAS OR KEY CONCEPTS

TEXTS, MATERIALS, OR PROGRAMS

Unit One

Everyone Loves a Mystery

Essential Question

What attracts us to the mysterious?

Genre Focus: Fiction

Extended Writing Project: Narrative

• The Tell-Tale Heart (Fiction)

• Monster (Fiction/Drama)
• Let ’Em Play God (Informational Text)
• Sympathy (Poetry)
• Ten Days in a Mad-House (Chapter IV) (Informational Text)
• The Lottery (Fiction)
• The Graveyard Book (Fiction)
• The Conjure-Man Dies: A Mystery Tale of Dark Harlem (Fiction)
• The Monkey’s Paw (Fiction)
• Phineas Gage: A Gruesome but True Story About Brain Science

ONGOING STANDARDS AND EXPECTATIONS

Note to Teachers: The following ongoing standards will be practiced all year long and embedded into your instruction instead of being taught in isolation

• 8.RI.KID.1 Analyze what a text says explicitly and draw logical inferences; support an interpretation of a text by citing relevant textual evidence.
• 8.RL.KID.1 Analyze what a text says explicitly and draw logical inferences; support an interpretation of a text by citing relevant textual evidence.
• 8.L.CSE.1 Demonstrate command of the conventions of standard English grammar and usage.
• 8.L.VAU.4.a Use context as a clue to the meaning of a word or a phrase.
• 8.L.VAU.6 Acquire and accurately use grade-appropriate general academic and domain-specific words and phrases; develop vocabulary knowledge when considering a word or phrase important to comprehension or expression.
• 8.RI.CS.4 Determine the meaning of words and phrases as they are used in a text, including figurative, connotative, and technical meanings; analyze the impact of a > specific word choice on meaning and tone, > including analogies and allusions to other texts.
• 8.RL.IKI.9 Analyze how contemporary texts are shaped by foundational texts or literary archetypes, and how authors allude to traditional works, myths, or religious texts; describe how traditional elements are rendered anew.
• 8.RI.KID.2 Determine a central idea of a text and analyze its development over the course of the text, including its relationship to supporting ideas; provide an objective summary.

CONTENT STANDARDS

STUDENT-FRIENDLY “I CAN” STATEMENTS

Week One

The Tell-Tale Heart

• 8.RL.KID.1 Analyze what a text says explicitly and draw logical inferences; support an interpretation of a text by citing relevant textual evidence.
• 8.RL.CS.4 Determine the meaning of words and phrases as they are used in a text, including figurative and connotative meanings; analyze the impact of specific word choices on meaning and tone, including allusions to other texts, repetition of words and phrases, and analogies.

• 8.L.VAU.4.a Use context as a clue to the meaning of a word or a phrase.
•  8.RL.RRTC.10 Read and comprehend a variety of literature at the high end of the grades 6-8 text complexity band independently and proficiently.
• 8.SL.CC.1 Prepare for collaborative discussions on 8th grade level topics and texts; engage effectively with varied partners, building on others’ ideas and expressing one’s own ideas clearly
• 8.W.PDW.4 Produce clear and coherent writing in which the development, organization, and style are appropriate to task, purpose, and audience.
• 8.W.PDW.5 With some guidance and support from peers and adults, develop and strengthen writing as needed by planning, revising, editing, rewriting, or trying a new approach, focusing on how well purpose and audience have been addressed. 

Week Two

Monster

• 8.RL.KID.3 Analyze how particular lines of dialogue or incidents in a story or drama propel the action, reveal aspects of a character, or provoke a decision.

• I can annotate and analyze new text and gain understanding of what the text means.
• I can figure out the deeper meanings of words and phrases as they are used in a story.
• I can figure out the meanings of words and phrases in a piece of informational text by thinking about how they are used.
• I can read and understand stories, dramas and poems at my grade level independently.
• I can effectively participate in different types of discussions and with different people about 8th grade topics, texts and issues.
• I can produce clear writing with appropriate development, organization and style to suit my task, purpose and audience.
• I can plan, revise, edit, rewrite or try a new approach in my writing with some help from peers and adults.   

• I can explain how dialogue and actions in a story work together to develop the story.

Week Three

Let Em’ Play God

• 8.RI.CS.6 Determine an author’s point of view or purpose in a text and analyze how the author acknowledges and responds to conflicting evidence or viewpoints. 

• I can determine an author's point of view in a piece of informational text and explain how the author acknowledges and responds to others' opinions.

Week Four

Sympathy 

Ten Days in a Mad-House

• 8.RI.CS.6 Determine an author’s point of view or purpose in a text and analyze how the author acknowledges and responds to conflicting evidence or viewpoints. 
• 8.RI.IKI.9 Analyze a case in which two or more texts provide conflicting information on the same topic and identify where the texts disagree on matters of fact or interpretation. 

Week Five

The Lottery

• 8.RL.KID.2 Determine a theme or central idea of a text and analyze its development over the course of the text, including its relationship to the characters, setting, and plot; provide an objective summary.
• 8.RI.IKI.9 Analyze a case in which two or more texts provide conflicting information on the same topic and identify where the texts disagree on matters of fact or interpretation

• I can determine an author's point of view in a piece of informational text and explain how the author acknowledges and responds to others' opinions.
• I can analyze two or more texts on the same topic to identify examples of conflicting facts or interpretation.

• I can use details from the text to determine the theme or message of a story.
• I can analyze two or more texts on the same topic to identify examples of conflicting facts or interpretation.

Week Six

The Graveyard Book

 The ConjureMan Dies: A Mystery Tale of Dark Harlem

• 8.RL.KID.3 Analyze how particular lines of dialogue or incidents in a story or drama propel the action, reveal aspects of a character, or provoke a decision.
• 8.RL.CS.5 Compare and contrast the structure of two or more texts and analyze how the differing structure of each text contributes to its meaning and style. 

Week Seven

The Monkey’s Paw

• 8.RL.KID.3 Analyze how particular lines of dialogue or incidents in a story or drama propel the action, reveal aspects of a character, or provoke a decision.
• 8.RL.CS.5 Compare and contrast the structure of two or more texts and analyze how the differing structure of each text contributes to its meaning and style. 

• I can explain how dialogue and actions in a story work together to develop the story.
• I can compare and contrast two or more texts.

• I can explain how dialogue and actions in a story work together to develop the story.
• I can compare and contrast two or more texts.

Week Eight

Phineas Gage: A Gruesome but True Story About Brain Science

•  8.RI.KID.2 Determine a central idea of a text and analyze its development over the course of the text, including its relationship to supporting ideas; provide an objective summary.
• 8.RL.KID.1 Analyze what a text says explicitly and draw logical inferences; support an interpretation of a text by citing relevant textual evidence.

• I can find more than one central idea of a text and explain how the ideas develop throughout the text.
• I can annotate and analyze new text and gain understanding of what the text means.

Week Nine

Narrative Writing Process

• 8.W.TTP.3.a Engage and orient the reader by establishing a context and point of view and introducing a narrator and/or participants/characters
• 8.W.TTP.3.b Organize an event sequence that unfolds naturally and logically.
• 8.W.TTP.3.c Create a smooth progression of experiences or events.
• 8.W.TTP.3.d Use narrative techniques, such as dialogue, pacing, description, and reflection when appropriate, to develop experiences, events, and/or characters.
• 8.W.TTP.3.f Craft an effective and relevant conclusion that reflects on the narrated experiences or events.
• 8.W.TTP.3.g Use precise words and phrases, relevant descriptive details, and sensory language to convey experiences and events.
• 8.L.CSE.2 Demonstrate command of the conventions of standard English capitalization, punctuation, and spelling. When reading and writing, explain the functions of punctuation in creating sentence variety and style.