Grade 8 ~ ELA Curriculum

• Unit 1 - Truth & Individuality​: Students will explore the concept of individuality and how people manifest and then sustain the uniqueness of who they are. Students will reflect on their own individuality, examining how they maintain their own identity. In addition, students will evaluate the different shades of “truth” that can be presented. Students will learn to think critically while evaluating the levels of truth portrayed in various texts. More specifically, through texts like The Giver, students will be exposed to the dangers that exist when people opt for conformity over individuality.
  Core Texts
  ● "A Retrieved Reformation" by O. Henry
  ● "After Twenty Years" by O. Henry
  ● "Charles" by Shirley Jackson
  ● Flowers for Algernon by Daniel Keyes
  ● The Giver by Lois Lowry
• Unit 2 - Conflict & Perseverance​: ​Students will delve into both internal and external conflicts through various texts that cover important eras in history such as slavery. As students evaluate the level of perseverance needed to overcome challenges, students will begin to apply this knowledge to their own life and coming-of-age conflicts. In conjunction, students will closely read the biographies of authors such as Maya Angelou and Carl Sandburg to get a deeper understanding of their intrinsic motivation to overcome conflict, as well as evaluate how their conflicts shaped who they are.
  Core Texts:
  ● Excerpts from I Know Why The Caged Bird Sings by Maya Angelou
  ● “The Most Dangerous Game” by Richard Connelly
  ● The Pigman by Paul Zindel
  ● The Outsiders by S.E. Hinton
• Unit 3 - Community & Relevance​: Students will examine their role as a citizen and the responsibilities of being a contributing member of a community. Students will read various texts that will cause them to question the role of communities and how they may shape us. Compositionally, students will write character letters, taking an argumentative and evidence-based stance.
  Core Texts:
  ● Selected texts by Langston Hughes
  ● Selected texts on Harriet Tubman and Frederick Douglass
  ● “The Lottery” by Shirley Jackson
  ● To Kill A Mockingbird by Harper Lee (Level One)
• Unit 4 - Consequence & Acceptance​: Students will consider the complexities of life choices as demonstrated both in texts with conflicted characters as well as in their own lives. Through the study of various texts, students will discover how society, morals, power and pride can serve as forces behind a person’s choices and the consequences that follow. In addition, as students begin to prepare for the future years in high school, they will delve into the tribulations of accepting the corresponding consequences of their life choices.
  Core Texts:
  ● Selected texts on The Holocaust
  ● Excerpts from The Diary of A Young Girl by Anne Frank
  ● “The American Dream” by Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.
  ● Night by Elie Wiesel

***Texts are subject to change***

1.) School-issued Chromebook (charged and in class)

2.) ELA Notebook (any type - 3-ring binder, spiral notebook, etc)

[notebook must have lined paper and a means of storing handouts]

3.) Pen OR Pencil (mandatory for all assignments)