Middle School ELA
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6th Grade | Summer Reading - Bridge to Terabithia by Katherine Paterson: Incoming 6th graders will all read this over the summer. | Argumentative Writing - Literary Essay Students will work on literary analysis skills (character and theme). Students will choose from a variety of short stories, read in class, to work with. Stories include: “Raymond's Run” by Toni Cade Bambara “Thank You, Ma'am” by Langston Hughes "The Scholarship Jacket" by Martha Salinas “The Image” by A.B. Guthrie “Return to Air” by Phillipa Pierce | The Giver by Lois Lowry: Book Clubs - The whole class reads The Giver and discusses strategies for identifying themes in literature. Students then read a second book, they choose from a list of six, in a small group where they will practice these skills more independently. Whole class novel: The Giver by Lois Lowry | Narrative Writing - Realistic Fiction: Students will be reading and analyzing short stories through the lens of “What Makes a GOOD Story?” Students will then write their own realistic fiction story focusing on story arc, character development, and revision. Stories include: “Ribbons” by Laurence Yep “Thirteen and a Half” by Rachel Vail “What’s the Worst that Could Happen?” by Bruce Coville | Poetry - Students will explore the work of a variety of poets to examine the ways in which these poets use language effectively. Students will learn and practice strategies for analyzing poetry and understanding the deeper meaning. Students will ultimately illustrate and analyze a poem of their choosing. Selected poems from: Walt Whitman Robert Frost Ted Kooser | Informational Writing - Students will work on the skills of researching, reading, and writing to ultimately create and share an informational piece of writing based on a topic of their choosing. | Rules by Cynthia Lord - Students will read Rules and investigate different types of author’s craft and how it impacts the meaning of the story. Whole class text: Rules by Cynthia Lord | 12 Angry Men by Reginald Rose - Play read aloud in class. Discussions include how to read drama, bias, and fairness. Whole class text: 12 Angry Men by Reginald Rose | ||
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7th Grade | Summer Reading - Ugly: A Memoir About Childhood, Deformity, and Learning to Love a Distinctive Face by Robert Hoge: Incoming 7th graders will all read this over the summer. | Personal Narrative Memoir - Students will learn techniques that writers use in personal narrative writing and will craft their own short memoirs. Short Memoirs Include: “Everything Will Be Okay” by James Howe “Fish Cheeks” by Amy Tan “A Christmas Memory” by Truman Capote “The Bicycle and the Sweet Shop” by Roald Dahl “My Entire Football Career” by David Bauer | Ghost by Jason Reynolds: Book Clubs - The whole class reads Ghost, learning strategies to consider more complex character traits, to investigate how setting shapes characters, and to analyze how characters are vehicles for themes. Students then read a second book, they choose from a list of six, in a small group where they will continue to dive deeper into characters with more independence. Class Texts: Ghost by Jason Reynolds “Seventh Grade” by Gary Soto | Art of Argument - Students will continue to learn more sophisticated techniques to argue effectively through speech and writing. Students will ultimately write an argumentative essay focused on issues of sustainability. Class Text: Oh, Rats by Albert Marin | Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck: Book Clubs - The whole class reads Of Mice and Men and investigates the author's craft moves. Students then read a second book, they choose from a list of six, in a small group where they will continue to identify and analyze craft moves with more independence. Class Texts: Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck “The Story of an Hour” by Kate Chopin “The Conquering Storm” by Sarah Zimeri | Writing about Reading: Companion Books - In this unit, students will practice the skills of analyzing and writing about literature. They will explore the questions: How do writers read and how do readers write? Students will create their own companion book for a novel of their choosing, which will highlight their understanding of concepts, themes, characters, places, and ideas in the original work. Class Text: “The Stolen Party” by Liliana Heker | A Midsummer Night’s Dream by William Shakespeare - Students are introduced to Shakespeare’s language and plays through class readings and acting workshops. Class Text: A Midsummer Night’s Dream by William Shakespeare | ||
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8th Grade | Summer Reading - Lord of the Flies by William Golding: Incoming 8th graders will all read this over the summer. | Lord of the Flies by William Golding- Review key skills such as identifying themes; and analyzing characters and symbols to consider how they inform themes. Students will be introduced to allegory as a craft move and consider the political and social messages in the text according to the author's suggestion. The students write their first formal analytical response in class to this text, choosing to analyze how characterization or symbolism inform a theme of the novel. | To Kill A Mockingbird by Harper Lee: Book Clubs - The whole class reads To Kill A Mockingbird by Harper Lee examining ideas of race conflict, social injustice, and differing perspectives. Students will continue to work on skills of literary analysis. Students will then read a second book, they choose from a list of eight, in a small group where they will continue to examine these ideas with more independence. Class Text: To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee | Literary Analysis Across Texts: Comparative Literary Essay - Students will use the novels previously read this year to work on writing a comparative literary essay. Students will focus on themes and craft moves evidenced across multiple texts and discuss how they relate to one another. | Argument Writing: Position Paper - Students will continue honing their argumentative writing skills while researching and writing position papers. Students will first focus as a whole class on the topic of child soldiers. Students will research and discuss issues within this topic. Students will then choose an issue from a list of approved topics to research and write about on their own. | Informational Writing: Investigative Journalism - Students will use their narrative and informational writing skills to tell true stories in an interesting and engaging way, focusing on multiple perspectives. Students will research and write about enduring issues throughout history viewed through a contemporary lens | Night by Eli Wiesel - The whole class reads Night by Eli Wiesel examining ideas such as the bystander effect, conformity, compliance with perceived authority, and how trauma affects one’s perception of the world. Class Texts: Night by Eli Wiesel Various research articles/studies including Asche Conformity Experiment, The Kitty Genovese story, and the Milgram Paradigm. | Romeo and Juliet by William Shakespeare - Students continue to examine Shakespeare's language through choral reading, performance, and word study; including a week-long workshop with the Hudson Valley Shakespeare Players. Throughout this unit, students will examine the themes of love vs. hate and fate vs. freewill. Class Text: Romeo and Juliet by William Shakespeare | ||
Grammar Conventions 8th Grade ELA Standards
Book Club Choice Novels
6th Grade | 7th Grade | 8th Grade | ||
Books Paired with The Giver by Lois Lowery: Tuck Everlasting by Natalie Babbitt Counting by 7’s by Holly Goldberg Sloan The Watsons Go to Birmingham-1963 by Christopher Paul Curtis Fish in a Tree by Lynda Mullaly Hunt Wolf Hollow by Lauren Wolk Warriors Don’t Cry by Melba Petillo Beals | Books Paired with Ghost by Jason Reynolds: The Crossover by Kwami Alexander Harbor Me by Jacqueline Woodson Illegal by Eoin Colfer The Length of a String by Elisa Brent Weissman Orbiting Jupiter by Gary D. Schmidt The Outsiders by S.E. Hinton The Cage by Ruth Sender | Books Paired with Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck: The Selection by Kiera Cass A Separate Peace by John Knowles Animal Farm byGeorge Orwell Ghost Boys by Jewell Parker Rhodes 90 Miles to Havana by Enrique Floris-Galbis | Books Paired with To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee: March Trilogy by John Lewis The Hate U Give by Angie Thomas Dear Martin by Nic Stone Monster by Walter Dean Meyers All American Boys by Jason Reynolds and Brendan Kiely Punching the Air by Yusef Salaam and Ibi Zoboi Just Mercy by Bryan Stevenson How it Went Down by Kekla Magoon | |