Grade 8 English Language Arts
What is English Language Arts?
"English language arts recognizes that the particular discipline of ELA has both its own way of thinking and the responsibility to support the literacy learning that transfers through and between other disciplines. Literacy practices from all fields as well as those that are particular to ELA offer multiple ways for learners to engage with, connect with, and respond to their world" (Manitoba Education, 2020, p. 5).
Source: https://www.edu.gov.mb.ca/k12/cur/ela/framework/full_doc.pdf
The English Language Arts program consists of a continuum of skills and outcomes students have developed in previous years. Students in grade 8 will continue to develop and enhance their skills through various programming and experiences in my classroom.
The main components of the English Language Arts program include:
Reading, Writing, Speaking, Listening, Viewing, and Representing.
Students in grade 8 will demonstrate skills in English Language Arts across their other disciplines of learning (Science, Social Studies, Math). During our time together, we will focus on developing literacy skills that can be applied throughout the students' lives. Students will have a range of opportunities to experience different types of texts, including but not limited to novels, short stories, poetry, digital texts, dramas, podcasts and much more.
"In today’s world, language and literacies are defined as much more than the ability to speak a language or to read and write print text. The texts that fill the world of today’s learners are multimodal, and combine print, digital, physical, aural/oral, gestural, spatial, and visual modes, along with many more" (Manitoba Education, 2020, p. 12).
P19Handout 2023.pdfA PDF of class information can be found by clicking the picture to the left. This is subject to teacher discretion and can be modified at any point throughout the school year.
Reading
"Today’s learners are expected to innovate, take risks, and negotiate diversity and uncertainty. This requires learners to have the capacity and capability to navigate multiple uses of language and literacies and a wide range of texts and contexts" (Manitoba Education, 2020, p. 12).
I encourage students to read every day. Please see the attached handout below to help support your reading learner at home!
All grade 8 students will participate in a 40-book Genre Challenge this year. This will give students choice and voice about the texts they are reading within set genre expectations.
A bit of the research from Donalyn Miller about the 40-book challenge
Sign up for a library card and listen for free at: https://winnipeg.overdrive.com/
Ways to support your middle grade reader.pdfWriting
Writing is a way for everyone to express themselves and share thoughts.
"During writing processes, learners use a range of sentence types and consider appropriate punctuation. They notice and make decisions about run-on sentences and fragments depending on form and purpose" (Manitoba Education, 2020, p. 91).
I encourage everyone to write daily. It should be an authentic task that students enjoy doing. Keep a journal about your daily activities, create pictures, paint or use technology (Google slides) are a few suggestions to continue expressing your thoughts.
This daily writing at home is not writing that needs to be corrected, and mistakes show that your child is taking a chance on paper! This will help encourage them and will help motivate them to continue getting their ideas out.
In writing, we will focus on the Six Traits of Writing and The Writing Process.
Six Traits of Writing Include
These traits of writing will be used all year to support your learner's writing. We will be focusing on particular traits at particular times of the year and will use assessment practices to evaluate understanding.
Ideas - the content of the writing.
Voice - the tone of the writing piece.
Conventions - the mechanical correctness of the piece.
Organization - the structure of the piece.
Word Choice - the vocabulary used in the piece of writing.
Sentence Fluency - the way words and phrases flow through the piece.
The Writing Process
The writing process includes the following steps to support your learner's understanding of composing a piece of writing. We will be using this system to help develop our writing throughout the school year.
Prewrite/Brainstorm - Use an organizer if it helps you to organize your ideas.
Draft - Use your ideas to write and create a story.
Revise - A - Add Details, R - Remove, M - Move, S - Substitute.
Edit - C - Capitalize, U - Usage, P - Punctuation, S - Spelling.
Publish - Write the final copy of your story.
Assessment
The assessments in English Language Arts are provided to access feedback as the student progresses throughout the year and provide opportunities for growth in learning.
Students’ marks will be composed of, but not limited to, reading responses, reading assessments, writing pieces, inquiry projects, presentations, and discussions in class.
Term marks are assigned on the report card during our three reporting periods (November, March and June).
