ELA

From the Wellesley Middle School Program of Studies:

The 8th-grade curriculum builds on the foundation of students’ earlier years in ELA by challenging students to independently apply reading and analysis strategies using more complex text structures. Students engage in this deep study of literature which represents a variety of genres, cultures, and perspectives to meet grade 8 standards. By exploring the overarching essential questions of, “What kind of citizen do you want to be?” and “In what kind of society do you want to live?” students develop an understanding of the ways that literature shapes how we view the world in which we live and the conflicts that citizens might face. Students are challenged to consider authors’ purpose, choice of genre, and the craft moves that are used to engage a reader and express themes while practicing these moves in their own writing.

Cycles of independent reading, book groups, and two core novel studies (Animal Farm and All American Boys) allow students to build reading stamina and practice the analysis strategies that are required beyond middle school. Writing instruction focuses on developing essay structures that embed multiple pieces of evidence, well-developed analysis, and purposeful formatting while supporting students to write flexibly among real-world genres including argument, informative, and narrative.

Our big questions:

• In what type of society do I want to live?

• What kind of citizen do I want to be?