Warwick Middle School

All eighth grade English students continue to develop reading, writing, thinking, speaking, and listening skills through the study of various literary forms: short stories, essays, plays, poems, novels, and non-fiction within major thematic units. The course builds on skills learned in seventh grade so that students are prepared to write in the narrative, expository/informational, and persuasive/argumentative modes in paragraphs, multi-paragraph essays, and research papers. To help students understand and use words effectively, the course will follow a systematic approach to grammar study and will examine vocabulary in context of literature. This course will prepare students for the PSSA exams.

Unit #1 - Short Fiction
Unit #2 - Text Structure
Unit #3 - Reading Strategies with a Novel
Unit #4 - Literary Elements with a Novel
Unit #5 - Making Text Connections (Choice Novel)
Unit #6 - Vocabulary
Unit #7 - Grammar and Usage
Unit #8 - Effective Communication
Unit #9 - Research Strategies
Unit #10 - Narrative Writing
Unit #11 - Expository Writing

Short Fiction

Text: 18 Short Stories by Edgar Allan Poe

-"The Tell-Tale Heart"

-"The Raven"

-"Annabel Lee"

Non-fiction articles on Poe's life and death

Sherlock Holmes stories:

"The Adventures of the Speckled Band"

"Silver Blaze"

Optional:

• "The Lottery"
• "The Bus Ride"
• "The Last Answer"
• "Fetch"
• "The Stroke of Twelve"
• A&E Poe Biography
• "Hound of the Baskervilles" VHS
• Other stories and poems by Edgar Allan Poe such as "Alone" "Dream Within a Dream," and "Conquorer Worm"

Text Structure

Text: Raisin in the Sun
Brown Girl Dreaming (excerpts used for extension activities)
March: Book One 

Optional: 

• "I Have a Dream"
• The Ernest Green Story
• Langston Hughes poetry

Reading Strategies in a Novel

Text: The Giver by Lois Lowry

-Lois Lowry Newbery Acceptance Speech

Optional:

• "Harrison Bergeron"
• "The Lottery"
• "Jeremiah's Song"
• "The Pedestrian"
• "Old Glory"
• "The Speeders"
• The Truman Show DVD (excerpts)

Literary Elements within a Novel 

Text: The Outsiders by S.E. Hinton

"Nothing Gold Can Stay" and other poems by Robert Frost

The Outsiders DVD

Optional:

• Teacher selected poetry

ADDITIONAL RESOURCES:

• TED.com
• AmericanRhetoric.com