LEARN NC

K–12 teaching and learning · from the UNC School of Education

English Language Arts — Grade 8

Goal 4: The learner will continue to refine critical thinking skills and create criteria to evaluate print and non-print materials.

Objective 4.03. Use the stance of a critic to:

  • consider alternative points of view or reasons.
  • remain fair-minded and open to other interpretations.
  • construct a critical response/review of a work/topic.

Additional related resources

We’re in the process of aligning our content for students to the Standard Course of Study. As we do, you’ll find it here.

General resources

Aligned lesson plans

What do you see? (visit)
This lesson outlines activities for students to complete while visiting the Ackland Art Museum in Chapel Hill, NC. Students will observe and reflect upon a variety of artwork. In doing so, they will develop observation and communication skills, and learn to understand and appreciate others' interpretations and opinions of works of art. This lesson applies skills learned in the previous lesson, "What Do You See" (Pre-Visit).

This lesson may be adapted for use in a school/classroom by using museums and artwork found online (see Web sites listed below). A Powerpoint presentation which displays some artwork from the Ackland Art Museum is attached to this plan, as well.
Format: lesson plan (grade 6–8 Visual Arts Education and English Language Arts)
By Reagan West.
What do you see? (pre-visit)
This lesson introduces students to the importance of making accurate, detailed scientific observations, and the value of learning about others' views and perspectives regarding a specific topic or event. It also serves as an activity to prepare students for a visit to the Ackland Art Museum in Chapel Hill, NC (or any museum, real or virtual). This lesson is the first of three lessons that build upon each other, using the Ackland Art Museum as the focus.
Format: lesson plan (grade 6–8 English Language Arts)
By Reagan West.
What do you see? (post-visit)
In this lesson, students will use observations and reflections made while visiting the Ackland Art Museum to draw conclusions about interpreting artwork (and other works/events), make quality scientific observations, and see how these concepts are related. Students will be reproducing artwork they viewed at the museum, sharing their personal interpretations of various works, and analyzing how the presentation of information (in any situation) can influence our interpretations of a work or event. This lesson is the final lesson in the series of lessons, "What Do YOU See?", which uses the Ackland Art Museum as a resource.
Format: lesson plan (grade 6–8 Visual Arts Education and English Language Arts)
By Reagan West.

Resources on the web

Seeing integration from different viewpoints
This lesson from ReadWriteThink uses The Story of Ruby Bridges, by Robert Coles, as a basis for a Directed Reading-Thinking Activity. A prereading strategy captures students' interest using a question and a during-reading strategy focuses their... (Learn more)
Format: lesson plan (grade 6–8 English Language Arts and Social Studies)
Provided by: ReadWriteThink
Reciprocal revision: Making peer feedback meaningful
This lesson from ReadWriteThink is designed to help middle school students develop more constructive peer feedback on writing through the use of reciprocal teaching strategies. Students observe online examples of artwork, and use the strategies of predicting,... (Learn more)
Format: lesson plan (grade 6–8 English Language Arts)
Provided by: ReadWriteThink
Promoting diversity in the classroom and school library through social action
In this ReadWriteThink lesson, students explore stereotypes in children's picture books, such as Disney's Princess Collection, in order to identify the limited view established in these fictional worlds. Next, students compare these stereotyped representations... (Learn more)
Format: lesson plan (grade 6–8 English Language Arts)
Provided by: ReadWriteThink
Leading to great places in the middle school classroom
In this lesson that examines leads in literature, students consider how an author's description of setting, action, character, and use of reflection can create strong leads. After the teacher shares examples of great leads, students rate and discuss their... (Learn more)
Format: lesson plan (grade 6–8 English Language Arts)
Provided by: ReadWriteThink
Critical literacy: Point of view
In this lesson from ReadWriteThink, students learn to look at texts from different viewpoints. Was the “big bad wolf” really bad? Throughout the lesson, students are encouraged to view texts from different angles. (Learn more)
Format: lesson plan (grade 6–8 English Language Arts)
Provided by: ReadWriteThink
Book reviews, annotation, and web technology
In this lesson from ReadWriteThink, students will write a group book review, taking notes in their journals throughout the reading and discussion process; write short research papers as annotations for their reviews; and post them to the Web, demonstrating... (Learn more)
Format: lesson plan (grade 6–8 English Language Arts)
Provided by: ReadWriteThink
Book report alternative: Summary, symbol, and analysis in bookmarks
In this ReadWriteThink lesson, students practice summarizing, recognizing symbols, and writing reviews—all while writing for an authentic audience. As they create their book report bookmarks for their peers to review, the sense of audience makes a... (Learn more)
Format: lesson plan (grade 6–8 English Language Arts)
Provided by: ReadWriteThink