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|  | | | | English 8 | | Welcome to English 8! I am excited about the units we are planning to study this year.
Course Description: This course will cover the Minnesota State Standards for English Language Arts grade 8. The curriculum for this course is a district-wide curriculum. Students will be expected to write throughout the year in a Reader/writer response journal—kept in the classroom. Throughout the year students will be working with the theme of power. There are four major units in this course:
1. Individual Power: Students will read narrative fiction (both short story and drama) to answer questions such as: What is power? Who has power, and how is power used? and What does this piece teach us about power?
2. Community Power: Students will read longer works of literature in literature circles to examine questions such as: How does the exercise of power impact our world? How do individuals and communities influence each other? and How does community power differ from individual power?
3. Political Power: Students will examine Holocaust literature to help them ponder questions such as: How does the exercise of political power impact individuals and communities?
4. Persuasive Power: Students will read and study a variety of expository texts to explore their influence on power—and their own power—in the world. Students will work through such questions as: How can I influence others and make a positive difference in the world? What power do I have and how can I use it? and How do I read to determine my position about an issue?
Ongoing learning objectives throughout the year:
-vocabulary expansion
-build comprehension skills
-improve spelling, and grammar usage
-increase media literacy
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