Language Arts skills are imperative in all subject areas and are especially important in today’s technology-based age of communication. Practice in skills within the areas of speaking, reading, writing, and vocabulary/spelling will be done on a regular basis and connections will be made as to how these consequential and critical skills relate to “real life.”
Emphasis will be on the following:§ Organization§ Communication§ Outlining and the writing process (Six Traits + 1)§ Essay writing § Self and Peer editing§ Journal writing§ Novel reading (complex vocabulary comprehension in context, and general reading comprehension)§ Reading in a wide variety of genres§ Study skills such as note-taking, listing, prioritizing, responding to written and verbal instruction; planning and executing projects throughout the school year; time management
Reading List:It is your responsibility to purchase (they don’t have to be new!), borrow, or check out (from a public library) novels for class. A maximum of a month, a minimum of two weeks will be given for you to acquire the novel. Check your child’s agenda on a regular basis for this information. Note: Books are not necessarily listed in the order in which they are assigned. Your child’s eighth grade reading list will include, but is not necessarily limited to the following:
§ The Pearl- John Steinbeck§ To Kill a Mockingbird- Harper Lee§ The Diary of Anne Frank- Anne Frank§ The Pigman- Paul Zindel§ The Outsiders- S.E. Hinton§ Fahrenheit 451- Ray Bradbury§ Various other novel titles for literature circles/small group reading§ Various short stories, plays, and poetry