8th Grade ELA
Skills to Know
READING LITERARY
Annotate texts to gather text evidence for claims (i.e., “reading for a purpose”).
Understand the difference between theme and central idea; that theme is an author’s universal statement on a topic (message, moral, lesson).
Examine plot structure, understanding how conflict drives the action in a story and how the chapters or sections of a text are organized and compiled.
Identify subplots and parallel plots, understanding their relationship to the central plot and theme.
Identify and understand the major types of figurative language as they are used in the text (for Seventh Grade: metaphor, simile, hyperbole, personification, idioms)
Identify and understand the major sound devices (for Seventh Grade: alliteration, assonance, consonance, onomatopoeia)
Acquire or review foundational knowledge of characterization and character traits, including the literary terms regarding character development (major, minor, static, dynamic, flat, round, protagonist, antagonist, tragic hero, foil, etc.)
Understand that conflict is a driver of plot action; characters (along with events, settings, and other elements) experience conflicts that propel a story (e.g., characters love or hate one another, experience an obstacle or hindrance, are torn apart by circumstance, etc.)
READING INFORMATION
Use organizers (charts, text maps, outlines, etc.) to show the importance of relationships between people, events, and ideas in the informational text.
Analyze and evaluate how language is used to aid comprehension and how an author’s use of words creates tone, mood, or focus in informational text.
Identify and explain author bias both when it is overt and when it is subtle; subtle bias is often expressed through diction (“she left the party” compared to “she fled the party”)
Acquire or review knowledge in inductive and deductive reasoning.
WRITING
Employ knowledge of appropriate organizational structures for argument and informational writing that include a focus on audience and purpose.
Employ the exploration of counterclaims and knowledge of audience bias in your arguments.
Learn interesting strategies for introduction, such as a story illustrating a point, and avoid listing the facts that will be covered in the essay.
Learn interesting strategies for closure (such as a call to action), and avoid restating what was already said in the essay or argument.
Cite appropriately and avoid plagiarism.
Exclude personal opinions and biases from informative/explanatory writing.
Activities to Try
READING LITERARY
Read a wide variety of texts, including various styles, genres, literary periods, authors, perspectives, and subjects.
READING INFORMATIONAL
Read a wide variety of texts across genres, historical periods, styles, and points of view, but also read a wide variety of texts on single topics or current topics of debate in our country and the world to make a considered assessment of alternative points of view.
WRITING
Read the "Comic Craze" on pages 4 - 5 of TIME Magazine's March 27, 2020 issue. Create your own comic based on a book you are currently reading. Retell the story, or a chapter in the story, ensuring that you include the events and dialogue that emphasize the plot, subplot, or parallel plot, conflict, and resolution. Try adding figurative language and sound devices in the dialogue.
Choose a character from the book you are reading. Create a profile page for the person featured in the text. In your description, be sure to include literary terms regarding character development (major, minor, static, dynamic, flat, round, protagonist, antagonist, tragic hero, foil, etc.) somewhere in your description.
Analyze the characters in the book you are currently reading. Make a list of the main characters and their traits. Use these graphic organizers (one for each character) to compare two of the main characters. Identify points of agreement and points of conflict between and among the characters. Did the book begin with these conflicts, or where they developed over time? Write a brief response analyzing how the relationships among characters propelled the action in the story.
Practice summarizing a text using only facts. Summarize one chapter of a book you are reading. Use this guide as an example.
Identify as many literary elements (such as tone, mood, sensory details, connotative images or colors, characters, setting, ect) as you can from Pixar short video "For The Birds."
Write a concrete description of the picture Tiger in a Tropical Storm (Surprised!) by Henri Rousseau using figurative and connotative language, imagery, and sensory details. Then compare your word choice to the poem “Tiger Dance” by Carconti Etva.
Explore different types of poetry. Try writing poems of your own on various subject matter and using different styles of poetry.
Practice creating objective summaries free of editorial bias (opinion) using notes and annotations. Interview friends or family members about vacation plans for the summer. Use your notes to create two lists: 1) the information and facts and 2) opinions and feelings. Summarize your findings of the facts.
