ELA – Grade 8 Required Core Connections Text and Lessons in green and Core Connections performance text and tasks in purple Quarter Extended Text Literary Text Informational Text Writing Tasks Research Projects Other 1 – Thrill of Horror Writing to Inform and Explain Literary Reading RL.3 W.2 RL.6 W.7 RL.7 RL.9 Short Story: “The Monkey’s Paw” (W. W. Jacobs) Play: “The Monkey’s Paw” (W. W. Jacobs dramatized by Mara Rockliff) (Holt, Second Course, pp. Film Clip: “The Monkey’s Paw” (Ricky Lewis Jr.) Short Story: Heart” (Edgar Allan Poe) Short Story: “The Outsider” (H. P. Lovecraft) (Close Reader) Short Story: “Afflicted” (Matthew Johnson) (Gale) Short Story: “The Black Cat” (Edgar Allan Poe) (Gale) *Short Story: “Poison” (Roald Dahl) “Scary Tales” (Jackie Torrence) Literary Criticism: “What Is the Horror Genre?” (Sharon A. Russell) Info Text: “Salem Witch Trials” (Smithsonian.org) Daily routine writing tasks to develop and convey understanding of texts 4-6 short response analyses that inform and explain 1 research project to integrate knowledge from sources/culminating writing analysis essay (using multiple texts from unit) Sources from Collection 2 Blog: “Famous Horror First Lines” (C.T. Westing) 2 – The Move Toward Freedom Excerpt: “Bloody Times: The Funeral of Abraham Lincoln Poem: “O Captain! My Captain!” (Walt Whitman) Speech Excerpts: “Abraham Lincoln” (Eulogy) Daily routine writing tasks to develop and convey 1 research project to integrate knowledge from sources/culminating Sources from Collection 3
Writing to Inform and Explain Informational and Literary Reading Focus RI/RL.3 W.2 RI/RL.4 W.6 RI/RL.5 W.8 and the Manhunt for Jefferson Davis” (James L. Swanson) Poem: “Identity” (Julio Noboa Polanco) Poem: “Hard on the Gas” (Janet Wong Short Story Short Story: “A Mystery of Heroism” (Stephen Crane) (Close Reader) *Poem: Refugee in America (Langston Hughes) (Reading classes) (Historical Fiction): “The Drummer Boy of Shiloh” (Ray Bradbury) (Ralph Waldo Emerson) Autobiography Excerpts: Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass, an American Slave (Frederick Douglass) Biography: “My Friend Douglass” (Russell Freedman) (Close Reader) Biography Excerpt: “Harriet Tubman: Conductor on the Underground Railroad” (Ann Petry) Media: “Battle of Shiloh” (History Channel) (Student eBook/Teacher edition, p. 172) understanding of texts 4-6 short response analyses that inform and explain writing analysis essay (using multiple texts from unit) Teachers may want to pull in additional resources (pictures, poems, letters, etc.) Additional excerpts from Frederick Douglass Battle of Shiloh info text Civil War from N and S viewpoints Slavery from differing viewpoints () (/wnet/slavery/ Resources/wpa. Html) Pair Historical Fiction and clip on Battle of Shiloh
3 – Culture and Belonging Writing to Argue Informational Reading Focus RI.3 W.1 RI.5 W.7 RI.8 SL.3 Short Story: “My Favorite Chaperone” (Jean Davies Okimoto) “Dear America” series Short Story: “Golden Glass” (Alma Luz Villanueva) (Close Reader) Essays: or Bad Should individuals be prosecuted for statements made on social media? (pp. 23-29 in HMH Assessment Workbook) Text 1: “The Dangers of Cyberbullying Text 2: “Sacrificing the First Amendment to Catch ‘Cyberbullies’” Text 3: “What is Cyberbullying?” Essay: “What to Bring” (Naisha Jackson) (Close Reader) Memoir excerpt: “The Latehomecomer” (Kao Kalia Yang) Memoir: “Museum
Poem: “The New Colossus” (Emma Lazarus) (Assessment Booklet) *Poem: “Legal Alien” (Pat Mora) Poem: “Chisholm” (Ruth Evelyn Reid) (Gale) Poem: “Americanization” Edwards) (Gale) Media & Analysis: “New Immigrants Share Their Stories” (Lisa Gossels) Info Text: “Why Learn Another Language?” (Samantha Roberts) (Assessment Booklet) Info Text: “Why Waste Time on a Foreign Language?” (Jay Matthews) (Assessment Booklet) Article: “How a Sonnet Turned a Statue into the Mother of Exiles” (Sam Roberts) (Assessment Booklet)
4 - Approaching Adulthood Writing to Argue Narrative Writing Informational Reading Focus RI.6 W.1 RI.7 W.3 RI.9 W.6 W.8 Short Story: “Marigolds” (Eugenia Collier) Novel Excerpt: “The Adventures of Tom Sawyer” (Mark Twain) Short Story: “The Whistle” (Anne Estevis) (Close Reader) Poem: “Hanging Fire” (Audre Lorde) Poem: “Teenagers” (Pat Mora) Poem: “Identity” (Julio Noboa Polanco) (Close Reader) Poem: “Hard on the Gas” (Janet S. Wong) (Close Reader) Articles: “When Do Kids Become Adults?” (arguments from New York Times weekly feature) History Article: “Much Too Young to Work So Hard” (Naoki Tanaka) (Close Reader) Article: “Nike Pledges to End Child Labor And Apply U.S. Rules Abroad” (John H. Cushman, Jr.) (Assessment Booklet) Article: “Nike’s Dilemma: Is Doing the Right Thing Wrong?” (David Montero) (Assessment Booklet) Essay: “This Company Is Employing