course description/syllabus
Course Description: English 8 is a genre course that uses the short-story, the novel, poetry and drama as the basis for learning precise analytical literary techniques. These different texts are also used as inspiration for both creative and formal compositions. In addition to writing about literature, students are encouraged to seek out their own writing voice; students write poetry, character-sketches, and descriptive paragraphs. Formal instruction and practical application of grammar is also an important part of the course. Students work though the year to master grammar concepts that will serve them well throughout their writing careers. Public speaking, too, is taught and practiced during the year. By the end of Eighth grade, students have had many opportunities to speak in front of an audience. Finally, reading outside of the classroom is stressed. Eighth graders participate in the Middle School Independent Reading Program and read 3-4 books per quarter.
English 8: Extended Syllabus-Knight
Short Fiction
21 Great Stories (and handouts)
“Tickits”
“Sunday in the Park”
“So Much Unfairness of Things”
“The Secret Life of Walter Mitty”
“The Flowers”
“The Cliff”
“Noel”
“Child in the Leaves”
“Thirteen and a Half”
Literary Terms
Plot, Setting, Characterization, Foreshadowing, Symbols, Conflicts, Theme
Connections:
Death
Loss of Innocence
Parenting
Effects of Environment
Independence
Adult world vs. child word
Ego-centric vs. global awareness
Dysfunctional relationships
Poetry
Teaching with Fire (and other poems)
“My Papa’s Waltz”
“Saturday at the Canal”
“Sonnet 130”
“The Gift”
“Shoulders”
“Fueled”
“My Father’s Hats”
“Digging”
“I wandered lonely as a cloud”
“The Bean Eaters”
“The Taxi”
“Relearning Winter”
“Domestic Work, 1937”
“Marcus Millsap”
“Hotel Nights with my Mother”
“The Writer”
*Poetic Literary Terms
Simile, metaphor, hyperbole, personification, tone, end rhyme, near rhyme, alliteration, assonance, onomatopoeia, euphony, cacophony, meter, visual, aural, tactile, olfactory, gustatory, sonnet, ode, iambic pentameter, stanza, theme, tone, subject, speaker
Poetry Memorization and Recitation
Romeo and Juliet
To Kill a Mockingbird
Stargirl
*Vocabulary will taken from the texts
supplies
One three-ring binder
0ne 100 page spiral notebook
tabs/divders (4: grammar, vocabulary, writing, literature)
pens/pencils
mini=stapler (optional)
mini-hole punch (optional)
Writing
nightly journal entries (responses to reading)
in-class essays (responses to nightly reading)
analytical essays
reviews
persuasive essays
vocabulary-based sentences and paragraphs
business letters
Creative Writing
short-short story
poetry chapbook (written in the 2nd and 3rd quarter)
descriptive paragraphs
daily writing practice
Grammar
review of 7th grade grammar
mastery of parts of speech
all clauses
all phrases
4 sentence types
uses of a comma, semi-colon, colon, punctuation,
sentence errors(comma spice, fragments, run-on sentence,
sentence construction
common errors(sub/verb. Agreement, faulty pronoun reference, dangling modifiers)
*GRAMMAR PROFICIENCY EXAM in May
Sentence, Paragraph, and Essay Improvement
Diction
Sentence Variety
Transition between sentences and paragraphs
Mature thesis statements
Supporting theories with textual evidence
Profound observations
Using imagery/figurative language
Using Sensory details
Public Speaking
Book talks for independent reading books
Poetry readings and recitations
Student teaching opportunities
Technology
Voice Recording of short story using Garage Band
Making movies of To Kill A Mockingbird
Grammar shorts using IMovie
Appropriate use of internet for research purposes
Frequent use of Knight Blog.
Knight Rules
- You must have the appropriate text, your spiral notebook, your English folder, and a writing utensil every day.
- You must have your homework completed every day. You will be penalized 1 point per infraction (quarter average). If you fail to complete your homework more than three times during a quarter, you will write an essay describing your deficiency and how you will improve it. This typed essay will be signed by your parents.
- Be nice.
- Respect “the floor”.
- Respect the classroom and the things in it.
On my honor I pledge I have neither given nor received unauthorized aid on this material, nor am I aware of any breach of this Honor Code.
8th Grade Independent Reading Program
- You will read 2 books per quarter
- You will read one Knight Book per quarter.
- Any book you read must be approved by me.
- Assessments will be different for each independent reading book.
*extra credit may be given for reading extra books (2points per quarter maximum)
Knight Books
A Raisin in the Sun-Hansberry
The Girl of the Sea of Cortez-Benchley
Hoot-Hiassen
I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings-Angelou
Fever 1793- Anderson
The Good Earth- Buck
The Moves Make the Man-Brooks
The Old Man and the Sea-Hemingway
The Golden Compass-Pullman
Call of the Wild-London
Little Women-Alcott
Hiroshima-Hershey
A Tale of Two Cities-Dickens
Treasure Island-Stevenson
A Separate Peace-Knowles
All Quiet on the Western Front-Remarque
A Wizard of Earthsea-Leguin
A Tree Grows In Brooklyn-Smith
The Hunger Games (series)- Collins
Of Mice and Men- Steinbeck
