English Course Overview:

This course will serve as a foundation for continued study in the English Language Arts Reading and Writing curriculum and assist students in preparing for their academic and professional careers. We study the four domains of Reading, Writing, Speaking and Listening with class content learning objectives taken directly from Arizona's College and Career Ready Standards. These standards are available on the Arizona Department of Education’s website under Standards or at this web address.

8th Grade English Language Arts maintains a rigorous curriculum throughout the year that emphasizes the integration of vocabulary, literature, reading strategies, composition, oral language skills, research and grammar. Literature, media and technology experiences become increasingly analytical as students study the elements of ELA. In teaching this course, I will make decisions involving differentiating the curriculum to meet the needs of individual students. Any student who has questions or concerns about an assignment, finds the work confusing or too challenging should seek advice from their teacher.

This course will consist of analyzing texts for literary elements in order for students to comprehend the central ideas of the pieces. In writing, they will be honing their writing skills by developing personal narrative (writings about their own experiences), expository pieces (writings on various topics) and argumentative writing (writings about topics of opinion). Discussion, both speaking and listening, as well as working in collaboration with others will play a large role in class and will help to prepare students for the college and career world.