Grade 8 English Language Arts
5 units matched to the BC Curriculum. Kids see this subject as “Language Arts”.
Big Ideas
- Language and story can be a source of creativity and joy.
- Exploring stories and other texts helps us understand ourselves and make connections to others and to the world.
- People understand text differently depending on their worldviews and perspectives.
- Texts are socially, culturally, and historically constructed.
- Questioning what we hear, read, and view contributes to our ability to be educated and engaged citizens.
Units
Unit 1
Close Reading
Reading original short passages and answering questions about theme, tone, word choice, inference and the author's purpose, using evidence from the text.
Learning standard: Reading closely: theme, tone, inference and evidence from short fiction and non-fiction texts
Unit 2
Literary Devices
Naming devices like simile, metaphor, personification, hyperbole, irony, foreshadowing and symbolism in short excerpts, and identifying a narrator's point of view.
Learning standard: Literary elements and devices, including irony, symbolism, foreshadowing and point of view
Unit 3
Argument & Media
Telling fact from opinion, spotting persuasive appeals (ethos, pathos, logos) and weak reasoning, and judging how reliable a source or media message is.
Learning standard: Evaluating arguments and media: claims, evidence, persuasive appeals, bias and credibility
Unit 4
Grammar & Style
Active and passive voice, run-ons, parallel structure, commas, apostrophes, semicolons, colons and common usage choices.
Learning standard: Conventions of Canadian English: sentence structure, voice, punctuation and agreement
Unit 5
Word Study
Using prefixes, suffixes and Greek and Latin roots to work out unfamiliar words, reading context clues, and noticing how word choice changes feeling.
Learning standard: Vocabulary strategies: Greek and Latin roots, affixes, context clues and connotation
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