English Language Arts — Grade 8

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 Information Skills, English Language Arts, Social Studies, and Computer Technology Skills)

By Hilda Hamilton.

Eight Parts of Speech Grammar Project

This project represents the culminating activity for a study of the eight parts of speech and presents the student a creative manner of expressing mastery of the functions of each part of speech. A ten paragraph paper is produced developing a life model reflecting the functions of each part of speech. Prior to this assignment biographies have been read, and students have created large life maps chronologically charting their lives. Students then are ready to relate various life experiences to the functions of the parts of speech. Students represent the noun; various life experiences must be shown to reflect the definitions of the parts of speech.

Format: lesson plan (grade 8 English Language Arts)

By Suzanne Brookshire.

Why Come to America?

The success of the U.S. as a world power, an advocate of individuals' rights, and a worldwide defender of freedom is due primarily to our uniquely rich and varied heritage. This culture is a composite of the aspects of each of the immigrant populations that make up our population. An understanding of the strength and commitment of these immigrants, as well as a look at the prejudices endured by many, helps us to better understand who we are today.

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

By Teddi Benson.

Lesson plans on the web

Book report alternative: Creating a childhood for a character

In this lesson, students examine the character traits of an adult character in a book they have read, create a childhood for the character, and describe that childhood in the form of a short story, journal entry, or time capsule letter. (Learn more)

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

Provider: IRA/NCTE

Book report alternative: Creating careers for characters

Students become characters in a novel or short story they have read and find a job for those characters. (Learn more)

Format: lesson plan (grade 8 English Language Arts)

Provider: IRA/NCTE

Campaigning for fair use: Public service announcements on copyright awareness

In this lesson that introduces issues of fair usage and copyright laws, students create audio public service announcements that can be broadcast over the school's public address system or published as podcasts on the Internet. (Learn more)

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

Provider: IRA/NCTE

Character clash: A mini-lesson on paragraphing and dialogue

Helps students differentiate dialogue from narrative in their stories. (Learn more)

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

Provider: IRA/NCTE

Choose your own adventure: A Hypertext writing experience

In this lesson that focuses on reading and writing, students discuss various stories and plan their own adventure story. (Learn more)

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

Provider: IRA/NCTE

Cooking up descriptive language: Designing restaurant menus

In this lesson students explore the genre of menus by analyzing existing menus from local restaurants and creating their own original menus. (Learn more)

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

Provider: IRA/NCTE

Critical media literacy: Commercial advertising

Conducting an evaluation of television and magazine advertisements, students critique the effect mass media has on American culture. (Learn more)

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

Provider: IRA/NCTE

E-pals around the world

Helps teachers select e-pals for their students and develop real-life writing and learning experiences for them. (Learn more)

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

Provider: IRA/NCTE

Entering history: Nikki Giovanni and Martin Luther King, Jr.

Students read Martin Luther King Jr.’s “I Have a Dream” speech in conjunction with Nikki Giovanni’s poem “The Funeral of Martin Luther King, Jr.” in order to better understand the speech and the impact it had on observers like Giovanni during the Civil Rights movement and Americans today. (Learn more)

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

Provider: IRA/NCTE

Every punctuation mark matters: A mini-lesson on semicolons

Students first explore Dr. Martin Luther King's use of semicolons and their rhetorical significance, then apply the lesson to their own writing by searching for ways to follow Dr. King's model and use the punctuation mark in their own writing. (Learn more)

Format: lesson plan (grade 8 English Language Arts)

Provider: IRA/NCTE

Expository escapade-Detective's handbook

In this lesson, students combine reading the detective fiction genre with expository writing. (Learn more)

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

Provider: IRA/NCTE

Fiction, plotting the story

In this lesson, one of a multi-part unit from ARTSEDGE, students explore plot as an element of fiction. They investigate how details and events are selected and arranged to contribute to the outcome of a story. (Learn more)

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

Provider: The Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts

GIST: A summarizing strategy for use in any content area

This lesson supports comprehension and summarizing skills by engaging students in reading and identifying the “5Ws and the H” in newspaper articles. (Learn more)

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

Provider: IRA/NCTE

Heroes around us

Students will select, read about, and report on a hero then identify how their hero matches the criteria and characteristics they have already decided upon. (Learn more)

Format: lesson plan (grade 8 English Language Arts)

Provider: IRA/NCTE

Honoring our veterans through poetry prewriting

Students gather information from various internet sites about the history and celebration practices associated with Veterans Day. Following the prewriting activity, students write content-rich poems that honor our veterans. (Learn more)

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

Provider: IRA/NCTE

Investigating the Holocaust: A collaborative inquiry project

Students explore a variety of resources—texts, images, movies, artwork“to learn more about the Holocaust. Beginning with journal writings and a picture book to introduce the issues, the lesson plan focuses on student-centered inquiry. (Learn more)

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

Provider: IRA/NCTE

Leading to great places in the middle school classroom

This mini-lesson examines types of leads in prominent young adult literature and challenges students to search for great leads and then write original examples. (Learn more)

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

Provider: IRA/NCTE