Unit 1 – Character (4.5 Weeks) RL 8.2 Central ideas/themes/summary RL 8.3 Individuals/events/ideas RL 8.6 Point of view/purpose W 8.3 Write Narrative SL 8.3 Point of View Unit 2 – Tolerance (4.5 Weeks) RL 8.1 Inference/evidence RI 8.1 Inference/evidence RI 8.6 Point of View/Purpose W 8.1 Write arguments SL 8.4 Present findings L 8.5 Figurative language/word choice Unit 3 – Fantasy v. Reality (4.5 Weeks) RL 8.5 Text Structure and Organization RL 8.9 Comparison of text RI 8.9 Comparison of text W 8.4 Clear/Coherent Writing SL 8.5 Use Media Unit 4 – Motivation (4.5 Weeks) RL 8.8 Argument/evidence RI 8.4 Vocabulary/Word Choice RI 8.8 Argument/evidence W 8.8 Gather/Synthesize Information SL 8.6 Adapt speech/command of formal language L 8.3 Style/effective language choices Unit 5 – Perseverance (4.5 weeks) RL 8.4 Vocabulary/Word Choice RI 8.2 Central ideas/themes/summary RI 8.5 Text structure/organization W 8.7 Conduct Research SL 8.2 Content in Diverse Media Unit 6 – The Hero’s Journey (4.5 weeks) RI 8.3 Individuals/Events/Ideas W 8.5 Plan/revise/edit W 8.6 Use technology L 8.6 Academic/Domain-Specific Vocabulary Unit 7 – Inspiration (4.5 weeks) RL 8.7 Content in diverse media RI 8.7 Content in diverse media W 8.2 Write to inform/explain W 8.9 Write to sources (draw evidence) Key to Common Core Strand Abbreviations RL – Reading Literature W – Writing L - Language RI - Reading Informational Text SL – Speaking and Listening BCS 8th Grade ELA Curriculum Guide
Unit 1 - Character (4.5 Weeks) Unit Overview/ Questions: Who am I? How is character shaped? Focus Standards RL 8.2 Central ideas/themes/summary RL 8.3 Individuals/events/ideas RL 8.6 Point of view/purpose W 8.3 Write Narrative SL 8.3 Point of View Learning Targets I can . . . determine theme recognize character traits analyze a character’s development evaluate how plot/life affects a character analyze differing points of view write narratives to develop real events **Additional Learning Targets are found at bcsela.weebly.com and on the ELA Moodle Content/Academic Vocabulary characterization point of view protagonist antagonist theme traits rising action climax exposition falling action resolution conflict – internal/external literal non-literal evaluate analyze BCS 8th Grade ELA Unit Guide
Unit 1 - Character (4.5 Weeks) Suggested Text (Examples of text) Short Story “Treasure of Lemon Brown” by Walter Dean Myers (Textbook * +) “Rules of the Game” by Amy Tan (Textbook * +) “The Medicine Bag” by Virginia Driving Hawk Sneve, (Textbook *) Novel Hope Was Here by Joan Bauer Picture Book “John’s Secret Dream by Doreen Rappaport Cracker the Crab and the Sideways Afternoon by Michael Cogdill Non-Fiction Excerpt from “Harriet Tubman: Conductor on the Underground Railroad” by Ann Petry, (Textbook * +) “Letter to Harriet Tubman” by Frederick Douglas (Textbook * +) Other Media “If I Should Have A Daughter” by Sarah Kay, Ted Talk, Cartoon Tribute to John Henry (Textbook *) Poetry “Barbara Frietchie” by John Greenleaf Whittier (Textbook *) “John Henry” (Textbook * +) Memoir “The Great Rat Hunt” by Laurence Yep (Textbook * +) Textbooks Referenced: * Literature Grade 8, Holt McDougal, 2012 + The Language of Literature Grade 8, McDougal Littell , 2006
BCS 8th Grade ELA Unit Guide Unit 2 - Tolerance (4.5 Weeks) Suggested Text (Examples of text) Short Story “Catbird Seat” by James Thurber Non-Fiction “Mississippi School Holds First Interracial Prom” Poetry “The Charge of the Light Brigade” by Alfred Lord Tennyson (Textbook +) “Courage” by Anne Sexton “Scottsboro, Too, Is Worth Its Song by Countee Sullen “Sympathy” by Paul Laurence Dunbar “We Wear the Mask” by Paul Laurence Dunbar “The Haunted Oak” by Paul Laurence Dunbar “One More Round” by Maya Angelou (Textbook *) Other Media “Strange Fruit” song written by Abel Meeropol and performed by Billie Hollyday Lyrics YouTube Video “A Lesson in Tolerance in 2 minutes and 44 seconds” (Video) Textbooks Referenced: * Literature Grade 8, Holt McDougal, 2012 + The Language of Literature Grade 8, McDougal Littell , 2006
BCS 8th Grade ELA Unit Guide Unit 5 – Perseverance (4.5 Weeks) Suggested Text (Examples of text) Short Story “Raymond’s Run” by Toni Cade Bambara (Textbook * +) “The Tortoise and the Hare” (Aesop Fable) “To Build a Fire” by Jack London Non-Fiction “The Diary of a Young Girl” excerpt from novel by Anne Frank (Textbook *) “The Last Seven Months of Anne Frank” excerpt by Hannah Elisabeth Pick-Gosler (Textbook +) “Decades After King’s ‘I Have a Dream’ Speech, Hate Crimes Still Exist” “March on Washington” History Channel Speech “I Have a Dream” by Martin Luther King, Jr. YouTube video Text: Poetry “Mother to Son” by Langston Hughes (Textbook * +) “Crystal Night” by Lyn Lifshin “The Survivor” by John C. Pine Novel The Boy in the Striped Pajamas by John Boyne If I Should Die Before I Wake by Han Nolan (Not on BCS Middle School Approved List) We Fought Back: Teen Resistors of the Holocaust by Allan Zullo (Not on BCS Middle School Approved List) Textbooks Referenced: * Literature Grade 8, Holt McDougal, 2012 + The Language of Literature Grade 8, McDougal Littell , 2006
BCS 8th Grade ELA Unit Guide Unit 6 – A Hero’s Journey (4.5 Weeks) Suggested Text (Examples of text) Short Story “Pandora’s Box” Greek Myth retold by Louis Untermeyer (Textbook *) “The Wise Old Woman” Japanese Folktale retold by Yoshiko Uchida (Textbook *) “Loo-Wit, the Fire-Keeper” Native American Myth retold by Joseph Bruchac (Textbook *) “Pecos Bill” Tall Tale retold by Mary Pope Osborne (Textbook * +) Non-Fiction “The Spiderman Behind Spiderman” (Textbook *) Poetry “Paul Revere’s Ride” by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow (Textbook * +) “Before You Knew You Owned It” by Alice Walker “Nothing Gold Can Stay” by Robert Frost Poetry in The Hobbit “The Lady of Shalott” by Alfred Tennyson Novel The Outsiders by S. E. Hinton The Hobbit by J. R. R. Tolkien The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins (Not on BCS Middle School Approved List) Textbooks Referenced: * Literature Grade 8, Holt McDougal, 2012 + The Language of Literature Grade 8, McDougal Littell , 2006 BCS 8th Grade ELA Unit Guide
Unit 7 – Inspiration (4.5 Weeks) Suggested Text (Examples of text) Short Story “Raymond’s Run” by Toni Cade Bambara (Textbook * +) pairs with Garth Brooks video Excerpt from “Roll of Thunder, Hear My Cry” by Mildred D. Taylor (Textbook *) Picture Book Oh, The Places You’ll Go by Dr. Seuss Non-Fiction “Over the Top: The True Adventures of a Volcano Chaser” (Textbook *) Play “The Miracle Worker” by William Gibson YouTube video of play Novel The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian by Sherman Alexie (Not on BCS Middle School Approved List) Films Freedom Writers (2013) PG-13 Pursuit of Happyness (2006) PG-13 Video “Standing Outside the Fire´ performed by Garth Brooks “Kid President” Textbooks Referenced: * Literature Grade 8, Holt McDougal, 2012 + The Language of Literature Grade 8, McDougal Littell , 2006