Warwick School District

Course Description

All eighth grade English students continue to develop reading, writing, thinking, speaking, and listening skills through the study of various literary forms: short stories, essays, plays, poems, novels, and non-fiction within major thematic units. The course builds on skills learned in seventh grade so that students are prepared to write in the narrative, expository/informational, and persuasive/argumentative modes in paragraphs, multi-paragraph essays, and research papers. To help students understand and use words effectively, the course will follow a systematic approach to grammar study and will examine vocabulary in context of literature. This course will prepare students for the PSSA exams.

Core Curriculum Content Standards

PA Common Core: English Language Arts (2013)

• Writing: Students write for different purposes and audiences. Students write clear and focused text to convey a well-defined perspective and appropriate content.

• GRADE 8

• Identify and introduce the topic clearly, including a preview of what is to follow.(1.4.8.B)
• Develop and analyze the topic with relevant, well-chosen facts, definitions, concrete details, quotations, or other information and examples; include graphics and multimedia when useful to aiding comprehension.(1.4.8.C)
• Organize ideas, concepts, and information into broader categories; use appropriate and varied transitions to create cohesion and clarify the relationships among ideas and concepts; provide a concluding statement or section; include formatting when useful to aiding comprehension.(1.4.8.D)
• Demonstrate a grade appropriate command of the conventions of standard English grammar and spelling.(1.4.8.E)
• Write with an awareness of the stylistic aspects of composition.-Use precise language and domain-specific vocabulary to inform about or explain the topic.-Use sentences of varying lengths and complexities-Create tone and voice. though precise language.-Establish and maintain a formal style.(1.4.8.F)
• Write with an awareness of the stylistic aspects of composition.-Use precise language and domain-specific vocabulary to inform about or explain the topic.-Use sentences of varying lengths and complexities-Create tone and voice. though precise language.-Establish and maintain a formal style.(1.4.8.K)
• Demonstrate a grade appropriate command of the conventions of standard English grammar and spelling.(1.4.8.L)
• Write narratives to develop real or imagined experiences or events.(1.4.8.M)
• Engage and orient the reader by establishing a context and point of view and introducing a narrator and/or characters.(1.4.8.N)
• Use narrative techniques such as dialogue, description, reflection, and pacing, to develop experiences, events, and/or characters; use precise words and phrases, relevant descriptive details, and sensory language to capture the action and convey experiences and events.(1.4.8.O)
• Organize an event sequence that unfolds naturally and logically using a variety of transition words, phrases, and clauses to convey sequence, signal shifts from one time frame or setting to another and show the relationships among experiences and events; provide a conclusion that follows from and reflects on the narrated experiences or events.(1.4.8.P)
• Write with an awareness of the stylistic aspects of writing.-Use verbs in the active and passive voice and in the conditional and subjunctive mood to achieve particular effect.-Use sentences of varying lengths and complexities-Create tone and voice. though precise language.(1.4.8.Q)
• Demonstrate a grade appropriate command of the conventions of standard English grammar and spelling.(1.4.8.R)
• 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. 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.(1.4.8.T)
• Use technology, including the Internet, to produce and publish writing and present the relationships between information and ideas efficiently as well as to interact and collaborate with others.(1.4.8.U)
• Conduct short research projects to answer a question (including a self-generated question), drawing on several sources and generating additional related, focused questions that allow for multiple avenues of exploration.(1.4.8.V)
• Write routinely over extended time frames (time for research, reflection, and revision) and shorter time frames (a single sitting or a day or two) for a range of discipline-specific tasks, purposes and audiences.(1.4.8.X)

English Language Arts: Assessment Anchors and Eligible Content (2014/2017)

• Grade 8

• Literature Text

• Vocabulary Acquisition and Use

• Demonstrate understanding of vocabulary and figurative language in literature.(E08.A-V.4.1)

• Writing

• Text Types and Purposes

• Write narratives to develop real or imagined experiences or events using effective techniques, relevant descriptive details, and well-structured event sequences.(E08.C.1.3)

• Language

• Conventions of Standard English

• Demonstrate command of the conventions of standard English grammar and usage.(E08.D.1.1)
• Demonstrate command of the conventions of standard English capitalization, punctuation, and spelling.(E08.D.1.2)

• Knowledge of Language

• Use knowledge of language and its conventions.(E08.D.2.1)
• Use verbs in the active and passive voice and in the conditional and subjunctive mood to achieve particular effects (e.g., emphasizing the actor or the action, expressing uncertainty, or describing a state contrary to fact).(E08.D.2.1.1)
• Choose language that expresses ideas precisely and concisely, recognizing and eliminating wordiness and redundancy.(E08.D.2.1.2)
• Vary sentence patterns for meaning, reader/listener interest, and style.(E08.D.2.1.3)
• Maintain consistency in style and tone.(E08.D.2.1.4)
• Choose punctuation for effect.(E08.D.2.1.5)
• Choose words and phrases for effect.(E08.D.2.1.6)

Units

Unit #1 - Short Fiction

Unit #2 - Text Structure

Unit #3 - Reading Strategies with a Novel

Unit #4 - Literary Elements with a Novel

Unit #5 - Making Text Connections (Choice Novel)

Unit #6 - Vocabulary

Unit #7 - Grammar and Usage

Unit #8 - Effective Communication

Unit #9 - Research Strategies

Unit #10 - Narrative Writing

Unit #11 - Expository Writing

Unit #12 - Published Writing