Book report alternative: Creating careers for characters

North Carolina Curriculum Alignment

English Language Arts (2004)

Grade 8

• Goal 1: The learner will use language to express individual perspectives through analysis of personal, social, cultural, and historical issues.
  • Objective 1.02: Analyze expressive materials that are read, heard, and viewed by:
    • monitoring comprehension for understanding of what is read, heard, and/or viewed.
    • reviewing the characteristics of expressive works.
    • determining the importance of literary effects on the reader/viewer/listener.
    • making connections between works, self and related topics.
    • drawing inferences.
    • generating a learning log or journal.
    • maintaining an annotated list of works that are read or viewed, including personal reactions.
    • taking an active role in and/or leading formal/informal book/media talks.
  • Objective 1.04: Reflect on learning experiences by:
    • evaluating how personal perspectives are influenced by society, cultural differences, and historical issues.
    • appraising changes in self throughout the learning process.
    • evaluating personal circumstances and background that shape interaction with text.
• Goal 5: The learner will respond to various literary genres using interpretive and evaluative processes.
  • Objective 5.01: Increase fluency, comprehension, and insight through a meaningful and comprehensive literacy program by:
    • using effective reading strategies to match type of text.
    • reading self-selected literature and other materials of interest to the individual.
    • reading literature and other materials selected by the teacher.
    • assuming a leadership role in student-teacher reading conferences.
    • leading small group discussions.
    • taking an active role in whole class seminars.
    • analyzing the effects of elements such as plot, theme, charaterization, style, mood, and tone.
    • discussing the effects of such literary devices as figurative language, dialogue, flashback, allusion, irony, and symbolism.
    • analyzing and evaluating themes and central ideas in literature and other texts in relation to personal and societal issues.
    • extending understanding by creating products for different purposes, different audiences, and within various contexts.
    • analyzing and evaluating the relationships between and among characters, ideas, concepts, and/or experiences.
  • Objective 5.02: Study the characteristics of literary genres (fiction, nonfiction, drama, and poetry) through:
    • reading a variety of literature and other text (e.g., young adult novels, short stories, biographies, plays, free verse, narrative poems).
    • evaluating what impact genre-specific characteristics have on the meaning of the text.
    • evaluating how the author's choice and use of a genre shapes the meaning of the literary work.
    • evaluating what impact literary elements have on the meaning of the text.
• Goal 6: The learner will apply conventions of grammar and language usage.
  • Objective 6.01: Model an understanding of conventional written and spoken expression by:
    • using a variety of sentence types, punctuating properly, and avoiding fragments and run-ons.
    • using subject-verb agreement and verb tense that are appropriate for the meaning of the sentence.
    • applying the parts of speech to clarify language usage.
    • using pronouns correctly, including clear antecedents and case.
    • using phrases and clauses correctly, including proper punctuation (e.g. prepositional phrases, appositives, dependent and independent clauses.)
    • determining the meaning of unfamiliar vocabulary words using context clues, a dictionary, a glossary, a thesaurus, and/or structural analysis (roots, prefixes, suffixes) of words.
    • extending vocabulary knowledge by learning and using new words.
    • evaluating the use and power of dialects in standard/nonstandard English usage.
    • applying correct language conventions and usage during formal oral presentations.
  • Objective 6.02: Continue to identify and edit errors in spoken and written English by:
    • using correct spelling of words appropriate in difficulty for eighth graders and refining mastery of an individualized list of commonly misspelled words.
    • producing final drafts/presentations that demonstrate accurate spelling and the correct use of punctuation, capitalization, and format.
    • self correcting errors in everyday speech.
    • independently practicing formal oral presentations.