English Language Arts — Grade 8

What does it mean?

In Teaching about North Carolina American Indians, page 2.5

Introduction Visual symbols can be important ways of communicating ideas. Individuals, corporations, communities, and organizations use logos, seals, flags, icons, and other visual symbols to represent their values, share their histories, and send...

Format: lesson plan (grade 4 and 8 English Language Arts and Social Studies)

By Gazelia Carter.

Understanding the complexities of setting

In order to address a variety of learning styles with emphasis upon the tactile learner, students will participate in a class project to construct a wall-sized, three dimensional mural of the setting of the novel, Where the Lilies Bloom. This project cannot be too large (an outside corridor wall is suggested.) The massive size of the mural makes the project distinctly different from similar art projects attempted in the past, it allows students enough space for all of the details desired in the end result of the mural, and it affords enough space for all students in the class to display their work.

Format: lesson plan (grade 7–8 Visual Arts Education and English Language Arts)

By Pam Altom.

Take action, save the past

In Intrigue of the Past, page 5.8

In their study of archaeological resource conservation, students will use a problem-solving model to identify a problem and solve it creatively.

Format: lesson plan (grade 8 English Language Arts and Social Studies)

Story shackles: Linking students to written text

Chain your students to reading a given text critically! Story Shackles is an imaginative and stimulating way for students to acquire the ability to retell events of a story or text, sequence the action or happenings in a story, or to simply summarize the plot, main ideas with supporting details, or general information of a story or text.

Format: lesson plan (grade 6–8 English Language Arts)

By Kim Rector.

Sticky-note discussions

Sticky-notes discussions are fun, add variety to reading, and allow students to respond to the written text immediately. They are easy to implement in all content areas. Sticky-note discussions are effective when used individually, in a small or large group, or a combination of settings.

Format: lesson plan (grade 3–8 English Language Arts)

By Kim Rector.

Reading guides

Groups will develop a Reading Guide for each non-fiction resource book for units in science, social studies, and other curriculum areas. Students will identify useful features each book and where the important information will be found. Reviewing non-fiction features of print resources will familiarize the class with material on reserve for the unit. Overviewing and identifying text features will help students determine how to approach the various formats of text relevant to the topic.

Format: lesson plan (grade 6–8 English Language Arts and Information Skills)

By Elizabeth Hubbe.

Paideia seminar plan: "A Soldier Recalls the Trail of Tears"

In this Paideia seminar, students examine the text of an 1890 letter written by an American soldier. In the letter, the soldier, now eighty years old, recalls being tasked with helping to forcibly relocate North Carolina's Cherokee Indians to Oklahoma in 1837–1838.

Format: lesson plan (grade 8–12 English Language Arts and Social Studies)

By Terry Roberts.

N.C.- The Rip Van Winkle State

This lesson introduces students to Washington Irving's short story "Rip Van Winkle" and correlates it with the history of North Carolina. In the 1800s North Carolina was nicknamed "The Rip Van Winkle State."

Format: lesson plan (grade 6–8 English Language Arts and Social Studies)

By Kay D. Lopossay.

The mythology connection

Mythology is fascinating and students enjoy the research and learning more about different characters. By allowing them to choose some of the activities for the booklet, they take more ownership in learning. They also enjoy dressing up and pretending to become a mythological character. This unit incorporates many goals in a fun and stimulating way.

Format: lesson plan (grade 8 English Language Arts)

By Cindy Bowman.

Mountain dialect: Reading between the spoken lines

This lesson plan uses Chapter 13 of Our Southern Highlanders as a jumping-off point to help students achieve social studies and English language arts objectives while developing an appreciation of the uniqueness of regional speech patterns, the complexities of ethnographic encounter, and the need to interrogate primary sources carefully to identify potential biases and misinformation in them. Historical content includes American slavery, the turn of the century, and the Great Depression.

Format: lesson plan (grade 8 English Language Arts and Social Studies)

By Kathryn Walbert.

Maya Angelou: Study and response to "Still I Rise"

Students read biographical information on Maya Angelou and her poem, "Still I Rise." Students identify support and elaboration in poem, then respond by either writing a letter to the author or his/her own poem in response.

Format: lesson plan (grade 7–8 English Language Arts)

By Barbara Groome and Jo Peterson Gibbs.

Martin Luther King, Jr.'s “I Have A Dream” speech

Students will display their understanding of the symbolism and references that Dr. King used to enrich his famous speech on August 28, 1963 from the steps of the Lincoln Memorial by constructing a “jackdaw,” a collection of documents and objects.

Format: lesson plan (grade 8 English Language Arts and Social Studies)

By Charlotte Lammers.

The Lumbee: Who are they?

In Teaching about North Carolina American Indians, page 2.4

Introduction This activity for middle school grades allows students to survey the various theories concerning the ancestry of the Lumbee. Students will read and analyze four threads that seek to chronicle the ancestry of North Carolina’s largest...

Format: lesson plan (grade 8 English Language Arts and Social Studies)

By Gazelia Carter.

Lumbee learning

In Teaching about North Carolina American Indians, page 2.2

Introduction Education for the Lumbee Tribe has always been important. After Reconstruction ended and the state of North Carolina began its journey to educate its people, no provisions were made for American Indians. Segregated schools provided education...

Format: lesson plan (grade 4 and 8 English Language Arts and Second Languages)

By Gazelia Carter.

Literature lamps: The Weirdo

Literature is tied to an integrated curriculum for student success. Emphasis is on reading and communication.

Format: lesson plan (grade 8 English Language Arts and Social Studies)

By Wendy Sirias.

Literature biography project

Students will learn to develop the various processes used in researching and writing a biographical research paper, including brainstorming, note taking, outlining, creating a bibliography, and writing the final draft.

Format: lesson plan (grade 6–8 English Language Arts and Information Skills)

By Sandra Dail.

Good medicine

Students will examine changes in technology, medicine, and health that took place in North Carolina between 1870 and 1930 and construct products and ideas which demonstrate understanding of how these changes impacted people living in North Carolina at that time. To achieve these goals, students will employ the eight intelligences of Howard Gardner's Multiple Intelligences Theory.

Format: lesson plan (grade 8 English Language Arts, Mathematics, Science, and Social Studies)

By Leslie Ramsey.

Folklife

Students will learn North Carolina folklore, traditions, war activities, local legends, superstitions, food preparation traditions, art, songs and dances which are unique to the area.

Format: lesson plan (grade 8 Social Studies)

By Carolyn Early.

Walk Two Moons: An integrated unit

Walk Two Moons by Sharon Creech is a bittersweet story of a teenager who desperately wants to be reunited with her mother. This unit is an integrated study combining setting, theme, point of view, character, and plot with geography and geometry.

Format: lesson plan (grade 8 English Language Arts)

By Janet Fore.

Resources on the web

Writing free verse in the "voice" of Cesar Chavez

In this ReadWriteThink lesson, students familiarize themselves with the characteristics of free verse and write a free verse poem using written material about labor activist Cesar Chavez. Students take notes about experiences that helped shape the life... (Learn more)

Format: lesson plan (grade 6–8 English Language Arts)

Provided by: ReadWriteThink