8th Grade Year at a Glance

YEAR AT A GLANCE COURSE: 8th grade - ELAR

2018 - 2019 School Year

The CSISD English, Language Arts, and Reading program ensures students and their families:

• Students will be able to independently use their learning to…

  • Critically engage with a range of texts and media created for a variety purposes and audiences to better understand themselves, others, and the world around them.

  • Appropriately communicate (receptively and expressively) for a variety of audiences, purposes, and occasions.

  • Ask meaningful questions, seek answers, and critically reflect on the results.

  • Compose texts in a variety of forms for a variety of purposes and audiences.

 

Pacing Overview**

1st 6 weeks 8/20-9/28

2nd 6 weeks 10/1-11/9

3rd 6 weeks 11/12-12/21

4th 6 weeks 1/7-2/15

5th 6 weeks 2/19-4/5

6th 6 weeks 4/8-5/24

Unit 1

Unit 2

Unit 3

Unit 4

Unit 5

**Note:  Throughout the year the units may shift due to testing and school activities.

 

Unit Overviews

Unit 1: Understanding Through Reading & Response

TIMELINE: 5-6 weeks

SUMMARY:  Setting a foundation for reading habits, reading critically, and responding to reading both orally and in writing.

 

Unit 2: Understanding Through Author's Craft & Language

TIMELINE: 4-5 weeks

SUMMARY:  Analyzing author’s craft (including choices made regarding structure, language, etc.) to determine meaning in text and to apply to products.

 

Unit 3:  Understanding Through Genre Study

TIMELINE: 12-15 weeks

SUMMARY:  Recognizing and analyzing genre elements and characteristics across increasingly complex texts. Composing genre specific drafts.

 

Unit 4:  Understanding the Writing Process

TIMELINE: 2-3 weeks

SUMMARY:  Using a draft from Unit 3, complete the writing cycle, focusing specifically on argumentative writing. Time is allotted for STAAR Prep.

 

Unit 5:  Understanding Through Inquiry & Research

TIMELINE: 3-4 weeks

SUMMARY:  Use inquiry and research to gain a deeper understanding of a selected topic and communicate findings.