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8th Grade ELA Studies 2025-2026

Ms. Meghan Tankersley

Room 814 | P:864-355-8129 | E: mtankersley@greenville.k12.sc.us | Website

Course Information: Language Arts Studies involves challenging analysis of both literary and informational texts as well as response to these texts with a variety of writing types. Technology, research, communications skills, and the arts are integral parts of the course.

Unit 1 - Finding Your Own Path -Literary analysis & narrative writing - The Outsiders

Unit 2 - The Thrill of Horror - Argument & informational texts

Unit 3 - Fight for Freedom - Research, rhetoric, and analyzing media

Unit 4 - The Legacy of Anne Frank - Analyze drama & expository writing - The Diary of Anne Frank

All classwork will be located in Google Classroom. You can find all SC ELA standards we’ll be covering on the Greenville County Schools website and my website (linked above).

The syllabus & reading list is subject to change, but will stay aligned with GCS standards & learning targets

Grading Scale & Information

A: 90-100

B 80-89

C 70-79

D 60-69

F 50-59

50% Major: 2-3 major grades per quarter

50% Minor: 8 minor grades per quarter

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Retake & Late Work Policy

Student Redo/Retake Policy

League Academy holds each student responsible for their own education. In this regard, student self advocacy is important for creating intrinsic motivation to complete work timely with mastery.

Students will have the opportunity to retake or correct major assessments within of week of getting grades returned.

All retakes must be completed by the of the unit at the discretion of the teacher depending on the successful completion of prior assessments or assignments.

Student Late Work Policy

The Late Work Policy at League Academy will be the following:

Late work will be accepted until the end of a unit or other defined length of study depending on the class and teacher’s deadlines.
Students will be required to identify all missing/incomplete assignments weekly during C3

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Class Expectations:

Students are expected to follow all school & district rules as outline in the student handbook.

Students are expected to abide by the class social contract, rules, and procedures.

Students are expected to follow all classroom norms including: no using cell phones in class, staying on task, be prepared, actively participate, and engage with classmates, the teacher and the space in a respectful manner.

Discipline: If students choose not to adhere to class and school rules they will conference with me and/or followed by a warning, parent contact, lunch detention, and then referral.

Class Materials:

Students do not need any extra materials outside of what League Academy sent out at the beginning of the year.

However, I strongly encourage students to have the following materials:

Pencils/Pens & Highlighters
Composition notebook and a folder for papers
Markers/Colored Pencils
Chromebook (Provided by the district)
HMH textbook & grammar book (provided)
Headphones -wired headphones that can connect to their Chromebooks. No Airpods (or similar headphones).

Classroom AI Policy:

Any use of AI on assignments requires prior approval from the teacher.

Any assignment is subject to a verbal review with the teacher. If you can not adequately represent your work, it will be assumed AI was utilized as a replacement for your learning and result in disciplinary consequences.

Using AI for assignments is like using a forklift at the gym.

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Annotated Book List

The Outsiders by S.E. Hinton

Hinton, S. E. The Outsiders. Penguin, 2012.

The Outsiders is about two weeks in the life of a 14-year-old boy. The novel tells the story of Ponyboy Curtis and his struggles with right and wrong in a society in which he believes that he is an outsider.

The Diary of Anne Frank (Drama version)

Frank, Anne. The Diary of Anne Frank: A Play. Adapted by

Frances Goodrich and Albert Hackett, Bantam Books, 1993.

The Diary of Anne Frank is one of the most famous and haunting stories to emerge from the 20th Century. The memoirs of this young Jewish girl, forced to hide for nearly two years to escape Nazi persecution, are an essential part of how we remember one of the darkest periods of our human history. Wendy Kesselman’s adaptation of the original, Pulitzer Prize award-winning script by Goodrich and Hackett draws from previously unpublished parts of Anne Frank’s real-life diary, allowing the audience to experience Anne in a way that breathes life into this passionate, complex young woman.

The Book Thief by Markus Zusak

Zusak, Markus. The Book Thief. Knopf Books for Young Readers, 2007.

Set in Nazi Germany, award-winning author Markus Zusak has given us one of the most enduring stories of our time The story, told through Death’s POV, is about a young girl named Liesel whose life is changed when she discovers her love of books and the cost of bravery.

Student Novel Selection - Students will be encouraged to read independently throughout the year and may pick texts from our school or class library