8th+Grade


 * =**Sample Syllabi**= ||



8th Grade Literature,


 * //October Sky//**//,// Homer Hickam

[|Vocabulary 1-111 Quiz.docx] [|Vocabulary 111-225 Quiz.docx] [|Vocabulary 225-335 Quiz.docx] [|Vocabulary 335-428 Quiz.docx] [|October Sky reading quiz.doc] [|Reading Quiz 111-223.docx] [|October Sky Reading Quiz 225-335.doc] [|Final Project.docx] [|Final Project Rubric.docx]

//**Rebecca**//, Daphne Dumaurier [|Rebecca Summer Reading Quiz.docx] [|Big Questions compiled.docx] (I had the kids each write three "big questions" about the book on an index card, then compiled them into this word document. The students then wrote a five-paragraph essay in which they took a stance on one of these many, many "big questions.") F[|ive paragraph essay formula.docx] (This is the essay formula I gave them. I worked very hard with Rebecca to get them to follow the formula and use textual evidence, and they continued to improve in these areas over the course of the year. I often referred back to this sheet.)

//**To Kill a Mockingbird**//, Harper Lee [|Photography Analysis.doc] ("Borrowed" project idea. It was a nice way to introduce The Great Depression -- and they do need an introduction -- but technical difficulties made this project quite frustrating.) [|Anticipation Questions.docx] [|Quiz Part 2-3.docx] [|To Kill a Mockingbird Final Test.docx] As a class, we watched the courtroom scene of the movie. We talked about the fact that even a well-adapted movie like TKAM is a different experience from reading the book. We talked a lot about the fact that we lose our beloved narrator/point of view with a film simply because of the nature of the medium. First, students watched the film and took notes on similarities and differences between the book and movie on their own. [|Comparing the Book to Movie Interpretations - Individual.doc] Then, I put them in groups to discuss their findings. [|Comparing the Book to Movie Interpretations - Groups.doc]

//**The Book Thief**//, Marcus Zusak Previously, 8th graders read The Diary of Anne Frank, but they found it exceedingly dull and boring... During the 2008-2009 school year, I changed the Holocaust book to The Book Thief, which was wildly popular. The students adored the narrator, and I liked that it is focused on an innocent German girl. It gives insight into the fact that not every Nazi was evil and the horrors of war not only for Jews, but also for civilians. It's an amazing book. [|pg 3-35 quiz.docx] [|Quiz pg 407-474.docx] [|In-Class Writing (Halfway).docx] At the end of the fall semester, students completed scrapbooks, commemorating important images, people, events, etc. in Liesel's life. The focus was "symbolism" -- not literal representations of these items. They also had to include quotations from the text, forcing them to use "textual evidence" again. [|Liesel's Scrapbook Project.docx]

//**The Call of the Wild**//, Jack London We started with "To Build a Fire," which can be found online [|here]. [|Alaska glog] After reading the book, students completed a five-paragraph essay about how the theme of their choice is developed in the book. They were to include a thesis statement and three body paragraphs exploring three different methods through which London communicates the theme. Each body paragraph then included two separate specific events from the book as support.


 * Miscellaneous**

Zip File containing all of my documents, including some that were not listed on this page may be acquired from Kathleen Jensen.