Parents- Please read the Class Procedures and please also read the Team 8-3 Guidelines after you have read this page. Thank you.
8th grade Language Arts- Mrs. Burbridge
(In conjunction with Mrs. Speed, Mr. Stephens, and Mrs. Shuleva)
Welcome to Team 8-3 Language Arts!
Driving Question for ELA 2018-19: Is it our similarities or our differences that matter most and why?
1st 9 Weeks: Unit One- A Harmony of Differences: To Welcome or to Resist
Reflection on colonization and immigration as it impacts our lives today.
Drama: "The Dance" and "The Diary of Anne Frank"
We will be using hard copies, our Literature textbook, Common Lit, and Newsela readings- all accessible via their online textbooks or Chromebooks. We have a classroom set of textbooks, and if students need to read at home, there is an online textbook as well.
Nonfiction: CommonLit and Newsela: Various Immigration and Holocaust stories about Anne Frank and about survivors and rescuers.
Writing: Essay writing using topics and themes from the play and about Anne Frank and those she hid within the Secret Annex.
2nd 9 Weeks: Unit Two- A Harmony of Differences: Survival, Struggle, Success
Book Clubs and Short Story Unit- fiction books and short story study
Fiction: Young Adult Novels of student choice (to be purchased by each student).
Short stories: from CommonLit and from ELA Textbook
Writing: Students will create web pages to blog their reactions, analysis, and reflect on their Fiction Club books.
3rd Nine Weeks: Unit Three: Outcast: Chosen or a Choice
The Outcast and Hero's Journey Unit- a fiction book study, poetry, and film study
Fiction: Young Adult Novels or Nonfiction Memoirs of student choice (to be purchased by each student).
Short stories and poetry: from CommonLit and from ELA Textbook
Writing: Students will write an Argumentative MLA cited essay based on the driving question and the book they chose to read.
4th Nine Weeks: Unit Four- A Harmony of Differences: Mystery, Magic, and Mayhem
"Bumpus Goes to Birmingham" Project
Primary source research and writing
Nonfiction, Short Stories and Poetry: CommonLit and Newsela articles and readings from ELA Textbook based on the Civil Rights Movement and specific to the Birmingham Crusade, the Birmingham Children’s March, and the bombing of the 16th Street Baptist Church in 1963.
Writing: Narrative Journals based on primary source documents and their individual field trip experience.
Year-long work:
1- Article of the Week Nonfiction Readings
2- Independent Reading novels
3- IXL grammar review, practice, and discussions
4- Daily/weekly Journal writing