Grade 8
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Language
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Reading: Informational
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Reading: Literature
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Speaking & Listening
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Writing
Arizona ELA Standard: 8.RL.5
Compare and contrast the structure of two or more texts and analyze how the differing structure of each text contributes to its meaning and style.
Think Like An Author: Hemingway vs Dickens
What if your students rewrote Dickens in the style of Hemingway and vice versa?
Stories with the Same Problems and Solutions
Have you ever noticed that some stories have awfully similar problems? What if we looked for the most unusual way of solving a repeating problem?
Writing About Art: Burning of the Houses of Lords and Commons
Look closely at Burning of the Houses of Lords and Commons. What do you notice? Now turn those details into a poem you didn’t know you could write.
Paradox: Rebuilding A Ship
What if we completely rebuild something slowly? What if we completely rebuild it all at once? Is it still the same thing?
Simple or Compound Sentences – What’s In My Brain?
Can your students spot simple sentences vs compound sentences?
Describing Author’s Voice
What if… Edgar Allen Poe wrote Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland?
Content Imperatives: Convergence
Add complexity by considering how multiple factors 🔄 Converge within one topic.
Better Stories Part 1: The Big Idea
We open our unit on narrative writing with a big idea: “structure increases creativity.” I show how this is true by bringing in examples from across all disciplines.