What's Going On in Mrs. Mason's Room?
8th ELA
ILiterature
In middle school, students transition from textbook reading to whole novel reading. We will alternate between students choosing their own books for independent reading and whole-class novels. I like to use a combination of Whole Novels for the Whole Class: A Student-Centered Approach by Ariel Sacks, Notice & Note: Strategies for Close Reading by Kylene Beers & Robert E. Probst, and Deeper Reading by Kelly Gallagher for whole novel units.
Informational Reading
Students will read a variety of informational texts, including news articles from NewsELA. Students will learn about text structure, rhetorical and persuasive devices, and language used in informational reading. Students will practice annotating text and writing in margins to help clarify understanding.
Language and Writing
Tuesdays and Thursdays are reserved for writing and grammar.
General Info.
ASSIGNMENTS
Our current unit focuses on The Hero's Journey, sometimes referred to as the monomyth. Students will first choose an independent book where the protagonist goes on a quest of some sort, whether it's a literal journey or an emotional one. While students independently read, we will look at internal and external conflicts in literature as well as recognize our first Notice and Note signposts of Contrasts and Contradictions and Again and Again. After our independent reading, we will do a class read with Jack London's The Call of the Wild Students will continue to practice recognizing internal and external conflicts, Contrasts and Contradictions, and Again & Again in the book. In addition, students will analyze setting, plot, characters, and figurative language as they are used in the book.