Course Info

ELA 8

ELA Grade 8 is a full-year course structured around the philosophy of Lucy Calkins, founder of the Reading and Writing Project at Columbia University. The philosophy highlights the idea of Balanced Literacy through a workshop model. These units focus on an array of genres. The workshop approach allows for a teacher-instructed mini-lesson followed by independent student work. The mini-lesson includes the teaching point for the day, modeled writing or interactive read-aloud using a mentor text, an opportunity for students to turn and talk, and the “forever” link. This approach also allows for one-on-one and small-group guidance within a homogenous classroom setting.

The 8th Grade Curriculum includes two stand-alone units: Launching Literacy and Poetry; three reading units in the form of book clubs - Horror Book Clubs, Dystopian Book Clubs, and Social Issues Book Clubs; and three writing units to complement the reading units - Horror Literary Essay, Research Writing, and Comparative Literary Analysis Essay . Each unit includes the following: overarching unit goals, standards, essential teaching points/questions, assessments, and suggested activities. Each unit includes the following: goals, standards, essential questions, teaching points, and assessments.