8th Grade Full Curriculum English Language Arts (ELA) 1st Semester (FLEX)
In this 16-week Flex Class, students complete 1 semester of a full-year Middle School English Language Arts curriculum. It will cover poetry; drama; narrative, argumentative and informational writing; literary analysis, and novel study.
Elisabeth Chandler
Average rating:
4.8
Number of reviews:(4)
What's included
Homework
Homework assignments can include but are not limited to, essays, written journal entries, analyses, readings, presentations, and text annotation. Students should plan to spend 1-2 hours per week outside of class to complete assignments. All homework assignments are due every Friday by 10 pm EST if the student would like feedback. I provide feedback on every assignment and will grade assignments upon request. Students should read 20-40 pages a night, depending on the level of the student. Reading guides for all texts will be shared with the student, indicating how many pages need to be read each day in order to finish it within the time it takes to teach the unit.Assessment
All learners will receive written feedback from the teacher for all assignments. If you would like a letter grade for assignments and the class, please contact me and I will provide it.Grading
includedClass Experience
US Grade 8
In this 16-week Flex Class students will complete 4 units, or 1 semester, of a full-year Middle School English Language Arts curriculum. It will cover units in novel study, genre study, and narrative writing. The course follows Common Core standards. This class is for learners who would like enrichment in Language Arts skills, as well as students who would like to take this course for homeschooling purposes. Students who take it for enrichment purposes are encouraged to complete the homework and receive feedback, however, the homework is optional. Students who take the course for a letter of completion are required to complete the homework assignments. WHAT WILL MY STUDENT LEARN? Students will complete 4 units: Unit 1: Realistic Fiction - "The Outsiders" Unit 2: Autobiography - "The Diary of Anne Frank" Unit 3: Horror Genre Mini Unit Unit 4: Historical Fiction/Memoir - "Farewell to Manzanar" Through these units, students will complete assignments such as responses to readings, analysis, reflection, informational writing, oral interpretation, and vocabulary and grammar study. WEEKLY LESSONS Week 1: May 15 - May 19 - Welcome to class - Narrative writing - Introduction to grammar and vocabulary study - Elements of Fiction/Literary Terms Week 2: May 22 - 26 - Start to read "The Outsiders" while studying relevant elements of fiction as we read - Literary analysis - Writing instruction and practice (basic paragraph, providing textual evidence) - September 11th mini-lesson - focused on non-fiction reading and response writing; view the documentary "Boatlift" Week 3: May 29 - June 2 - Read the book "The Outsiders" by S.E. Hinton and complete various literary analysis assignments - Discuss various elements of fiction - Read associated non-fiction articles Week 4: June 5 - 9 - Read the book "The Outsiders" by S.E. Hinton and complete various literary analysis assignments - Discuss various elements of fiction - Read associated non-fiction articles Week 5: June 12 - 16 - Introduce background information for "Diary of a Young Girl", a summary of the political and historical background of pre-WW2 Europe - Use clips of the movie "Swing Kids" to demonstrate nuances of society at the time "Diary" was written - Focus on those who helped the Frank family, discussion of memoir genre Week 6: June 19 - 23 - Read "Diary..." by Anne Frank and complete various literary analysis assignments Week 7: June 26 - 30 - Read "Diary..." by Anne Frank and complete various literary analysis assignments - Culminating activity for "Diary.." Week 8: July 3 - 7 - Introduction to horror mini-unit - discuss elements of the horror genre including suspense, setting, mood, tone, and plot structure - Read the short story "The Elevator" by William Sleator Week 9: July 10 - 14 - Read short story "Click Clack the Rattlebag" by Neil Gaiman - Writing activity - Read the short story "The Tell-Tale Heart" by E. A. Poe - watch a short animated video of "..Heart" and compare it to the story - writing assignment about wishes and consequences Week 10: July 17 - 21 - Do E.A. Poe escape room activity - Read parts of the E.A. Poe "The Raven" - discuss suspense and compare to other tasks we've read - begin historical fiction unit; introduce the genre - introduce book "Farewell to Manzanar" by Jeanne Wakatsuki Houston & James D. Houston Week 11: July 24 - 28 - Read "Farewell..." and do associated writing assignments Week 12: July 31 - August 4 - Read "Farewell..." and do associated writing assignments - begin advertising methods and propaganda unit Week 13: August 7 - 11 - Read "Farewell..." and do associated writing assignments - continue advertising methods and propaganda unit Week 14: August 14 - 18 - Finish "Farewell..." and do final quiz/project - finish advertising methods and propaganda unit Week 15: August 21 - 25 - Argumentative Essay unit - school start times Week 16: August 28 - September 1 - Argumentative Essay unit - school start times CLASS STRUCTURE and INTERACTION Since this is a Flex Class students will work through the material on their own. Weekly lessons are posted each Monday by 9 am EST to the Outschool Classroom. Lessons consist of instructional videos of me introducing the lesson, readings, Nearpod and Edpuzzle interactive videos, and Padlet, an interactive bulletin board Lessons will include all instructional material, assignments, and worksheets. Students and parents can contact me at any time through the Outschool Classroom to ask questions. I also provide every student feedback for every assignment.
Other Details
Parental Guidance
The book "The Outsiders" contains scenes of language and violence. While these elements are present, Hinton does not glorify them, but uses them in the analysis of the characters, the setting, and the plot. The book is a coming-of-age story that emphasizes characters from different walks of life, their decisions, and the impact of those decisions.
The book "The Diary of a Young Girl" by Anne Frank is the diary of a young Jewish girl hiding from the Nazis during WW2. Although the events within the diary offer a limited glimpse of the horrors inflicted on Jewish people by the Nazis, there is an element of fear throughout and references to historical events that, once explored, indicate the cruel reality of the period known as the Holocaust. Also, depending on what edition of the book the learner reads, there are some scenes and references to teenage romantic feelings and hopes.
The book "Farewell to Manzanar" is a memoir by a young Japanese-American woman who was placed in an internment camp for Japanese people during WW2. This book contains potentially disturbing scenes like details about violent events including WW2 battles and bombings, a family fight, and a riot in the camp in which rocks and tear gas are used and several men are shot. This story is told from the memory and viewpoint of a young girl, and referencing this information allows for a faithful retelling of her experience.
We will be using several third-party platforms in the class.
Nearpod (nearpod.com)- Learners will NOT have to create an account for Nearpod. Nearpod allows teachers to make PowerPoint presentations interactive where the learner can type answers, drag and drop items around the screen, and play games to learn the information. Learners will be able to access the activity via a link that I share. Screengrabs or videos of information shared on Nearpod may be included in the class material.
Padlet (padlet.com) - Learners will NOT have to create an account for Padlet. Padlet is a virtual bulletin board where learners can write a response to material, or even share graphics. Learners will be able to access the activity via a link that I share. Screengrabs or videos of information on Padlet may be included in the class material.
Edpuzzle (edpuzzle.com) - Learners will NOT have to create an account for Edpuzzle. Edpuzzle is a tool that allows teachers to pause a video at specific points so a question can be asked on the screen. The video will progress once the student answers the question. Learners will be able to access the activity via a link that I share. Screengrabs or videos of information on Edpuzzle may be included in the class material.
Flipgrid (flipgrid.com) - Learners will NOT have to create an account for Flipgrid. Flipgride is a tool that allows learners to video record themselves leaving a short message or response to a question. Other learners in the class can respond to the messages. Only the teacher and other learners in the class will have access to these messages. Learners will be able to access the activity via a link that I share.
This course contains videos that I create. I house them on a hidden playlist on YouTube. Any YouTube videos used in this course are created by me and focus on course content.
Supply List
1. Copies of the following books: -"The Outsiders" by S.E. Hinton - "Diary of a Young Girl" by Anne Frank - "Farewell to Manzanar" by Jeanne Wakatsuki Houston & James D. Houston 2. PDF copies of all the other readings will be provided by the teacher or the learner will be told where to find them online.
Language of Instruction
English
Joined March, 2021
4.8
4reviews
Teacher expertise and credentials
I am a certified middle school teacher and personal tutor with classroom teaching experience. I also completed a Bachelor's in Secondary English Education, grades 7-12 and a Master's in Curriculum and Instruction.Reviews
Live Group Class
$19
weekly or $300 for 16 weeks16 weeks
Completed by 2 learners
No live video meetings
Ages: 13-14
