Reading Focus:

• Choose strongest evidence and provide analysis to support inferences (RL.8.1) 

Writing Focus:

• Write analysis paragraphs with strongest evidence, embedded quotes, & analysis (W.8.2 & W.8.4 in conjunction with RL.8.1)

• Build stamina and fluency through routine writing (W.8.10)

Supporting Skills:

• Summarize literary text; analyze theme development in relation to characters, setting, and plot (RL.8.2)

• Analyze how lines of dialogue or incidents propel the action or provoke decisions in a story or drama (RL.8.3)

• Analyze...analogies and allusions to other texts (RL.8.4)

• Use ellipsis to indicate omission (L.8.2.B)

• Use ellipsis, comma, dash for pause or break (L.8.2.C) 

Commonly Assessed Standard: RL.8.1

Anchor Texts:  

• “Autumntime” by Anthony Lentini

• “Examination Day” by Henry Slesar      

• The Giver by Lois Lowry (summer reading assignment)

Culminating Summative Task: Read a dystopian text independently.  Create a project to answer the question:  How is the story an example of dystopian fiction? Include evidence & analysis to support your thinking.  

Reading Focus:

• Analyze arguments for sound reasoning and relevant & sufficient evidence (RI.8.8)

• Analyze bias and impact of conflicting information (RI.8.9)

Writing Focus:

• Write claim statements with acknowledgment of counterargument about societal issues (W.8.1)

• Develop arguments with logical reasons & relevant evidence (video or debate) (W.8.1)

Supporting Standards:

• Summarize informational text; determine the central idea of informational text & analyze its development (RI.8.2)

• Analyze the impact of specific word choice on meaning & tone (RI.8.4)

• Analyze the author’s perspective & how author acknowledges conflicting evidence or viewpoints (RI.8.6)

• Use verbs in the active and passive voice to achieve particular effects (e.g., emphasizing the actor or the action) (L.8.3.A) 

Commonly Assessed Standard: RI.8.8/8.9

Anchor Texts: 

• Current event op-eds/essays

• Hitler Youth by Susan Bartoletti (optional excerpts)

• Twelve Angry Men by Reginald Rose (optional excerpts)

Culminating Summative Task: Research a debatable topic related to one of your passions (with teacher approval).  Identify the different perspectives on the topic, and complete a graphic organizer that evaluates the research for relevancy, sufficiency, and bias. 

Reading Focus:

• Choose strongest evidence and provide analysis to support inferences (RL.8.1)

Writing Focus:

• Develop an argument essay with logical reasons & relevant evidence (W.8.1 in conjunction with RL.8.1)

Supporting Standards:

• Determine the theme and analyze its development over the course of the text. (RL.8.2)

• Analyze how lines of dialogue or incidents propel the action or provoke decisions in a story or drama (RL.8.3)

• Determine meaning of words and phrases, including figurative and connotative meanings; analyze impact of specific word choice, including analogies and allusions. (RL.8.4)

• Recognize and correct misplaced and dangling modifiers (L.8.1.F)

• Use verbs in the indicative, imperative, interrogative, conditional, and subjunctive mood (L.8.1.C/8.3.B)

Commonly Assessed Standard: W.8.1

Anchor Texts:

• Audacity by Melanie Crowder

• “Thank You, M’am” by Langston Hughes

• “The Perils of Indifference” by Elie Wiesel

• “I’ve Been to the Mountaintop” speech - by MLK, Jr.

Culminating Summative Task: In Audacity Clara Lemlich strives to make an important change in the world around her.  Think about the world around you and a change you would like to make.  Consider reasons and evidence that would support your thinking, and write a letter advocating for your change.