English 8

This course will help you meet these goals:

· Investigate the features of written forms of literature such as diaries, memoirs, informative
· Essays, and fictional narratives.
· Analyze stage directions and dialogue in a drama.
· Engage in character study.
· Learn about the elements of multimedia presentations.
· Compare and contrast a literary piece with its film adaptation/live performance.
· Participate in a dramatic reading of poetry.
· Investigate the origins, causes, and effects of the Civil War.
· Explain the function, features, and persuasive techniques used in informational texts.
· Examine the process of debating and participate in a debate.
· Evaluate elements of fiction such as theme, point of view, conflict, word choice, structure, and setting in short stories.
· Understand stages of human growth such as adolescence.
· Use nonfictional texts such as informative essays, scientific essays, and memoirs to explore aspects of growing up such as body image, screen time usage, and body changes.
· Analyze theme in poetry.
· Explain structures, metrical patterns, and sound patterns in poetry.
· Examine language and sound techniques required to compose a poem.
· Draft a persuasive essay based on a topic related to poetry.
· Investigate literary elements such as character, setting, conflict, and theme in one of the following novels: Louisa May Alcott’s Little Women, Lois Lowry’s The Giver, Charlotte
· Brontë’s Jane Eyre, or John Knowles’s A Separate Peace.
· Analyze the use of symbolism in one of the following novels: Louisa May Alcott’s Little Women, Lois Lowry’s The Giver, Charlotte Brontë’s Jane Eyre, and John Knowles’s A Separate Peace.
· Draft an argumentative essay based on how you relate to the characters of the novel you choose.
· Reflect upon and evaluate aspects of your past, present, and future life as a student by reading Charles Dickens’s A Christmas Carol.