English Language Arts — Grade 8

Which word is it?

Students will determine the meaning of unfamiliar vocabulary words using Context Clues, a dictionary, and structural analysis within a game format.

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

By Donna Harkey.

The Lumbee: Who are they?

In Teaching about North Carolina American Indians, page 3.4

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.

Learn new words using context

With guided practice students will use context clues to determine meaning of unfamiliar words in short passages. When students have completed the practice activities, they will read a newspaper or magazine article, picking out unfamiliar words and using context clues to decide what the word means. As a group activity they will share the article, the words, and their meanings with the class.

Format: lesson plan (grade 4–8 English Language Arts)

By Betty DeLuca.

Grammar Scramblers, spreadsheets, and parts of speech

Students use and create Grammar Scramblers with a spreadsheet in order to practice identifying and using parts of speech in a fun way.

Format: lesson plan (grade 3–9 English Language Arts)

By Tom Munk.

E-pal adventure

Students will be paired with an e-pal they will hopefully meet during their 8th grade trip to the coast.

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

By Hilda Hamilton.

Dialect Awareness in Literature and Life

Dovey Coe, a young adolescent novel by Frances O'Roark Dowell of Boone, North Carolina, takes place in the 1930s in the mountains of Western North Carolina. The use of mountain dialect continues to remind the reader of the importance of setting in this novel. The study of a selection from this novel will help students realize the impact of dialect in literature as well as their own speaking and writing.

Format: lesson plan (grade 8 English Language Arts)

By Barbara Groome and Jo Peterson Gibbs.

Defining career vocabulary

In CareerStart lessons: Grade eight, page 1.6

In this lesson, students learn vocabulary terms associated with careers.

Format: lesson plan (grade 8 English Language Arts)

By Andrea Fedon, Gail Frank, and Cindy Neininger.

Creating found poetry from picture books

Students select and read a picture book and afterwards create “found poetry” based on the picture book.

Format: lesson plan (grade 8 English Language Arts)

By Barbara Groome and Jo Peterson Gibbs.

The ABCs of the Three Little Pigs

This lesson uses a familiar fairy tale to teach writing. It is designed to emphasize using varied sentence patterns in writing.

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

By Penny Canipe.

Resources on the web

You know the movie is coming—Now what?

After exploring cinematic terms, students read a literary work with director's eyes and then try to predict what elements would be present in the film version of the book. (Learn more)

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

Provided by: IRA/NCTE

Writing Free Verse in the "Voice" of Cesar Chavez

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 of Chavez, compose free verse poetry... (Learn more)

Format: lesson plan (grade 8 English Language Arts)

Provided by: IRA/NCTE

Why Do We Remember Revere? Paul Revere's Ride in History and Literature

Contains four activities for students to examine how the historical Paul Revere's ride differs from the account in Longfellow's poem, then reflect on why this event is so significant in American cultural history. (Learn more)

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

Provided by: National Endowment for the Humanities

Using a word journal to create a personal dictionary

This lesson enables students to track unfamiliar words as they read, link these words to their background knowledge, create new sentences for their words, and develop a final project that displays their new vocabulary. (Learn more)

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

Provided by: IRA/NCTE

Timelines and texts: Motivating students to read nonfiction

Students use a historical timeline and their prior knowledge to predict when specific inventions were produced and explain their reasons for placing an invention in a particular year. (Learn more)

Format: lesson plan (grade 8 English Language Arts)

Provided by: IRA/NCTE

She did what? Revising for connotation

In this writing mini-lesson, students examine word choice to effectively portray action in a simple sentence. (Learn more)

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

Provided by: IRA/NCTE

Shared spelling strategies

Students increase their spelling accuracy and their retention by “constructing” spelling using sound, sight recall, and analyzing strategies, among others, instead of memorizing lists of words. (Learn more)

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

Provided by: IRA/NCTE

Scaling back to essentials: Scaffolding summarization with fishbone mapping

In this lesson, students work in pairs and cooperative groups as they complete fishbone maps that highlight the main ideas and relevant details from a cause-effect text. (Learn more)

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

Provided by: IRA/NCTE

Persuasive essay: Environmental issues

Students explore environmental issues that are relevant to their own lives, self-select topics, and gather information to write persuasive essays. (Learn more)

Format: lesson plan (grade 8 English Language Arts)

Provided by: IRA/NCTE

Persuading an audience: Writing effective letters to the editor

Students write a persuasive letter to the editor of a newspaper, focusing on a current local or national issue. (Learn more)

Format: lesson plan (grade 7–8 and 10 English Language Arts)

Provided by: IRA/NCTE

Orphan trains

In this lesson students will develop their ideas about social trade-offs by examining the history of the Orphan Trains and the New York Children's Aid Society, created in 1853. (Learn more)

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

Provided by: American Association for the Advancement of Science