One ought, every day at least, to hear a little song, read a good poem, see a fine picture, and if it were possible, to speak a few reasonable words.
                    
                                    -Goethe
 
 
Mr. Goff’s 8th Grade English
Eighth Grade English
 
Course Description:
Students will continue their journey of becoming independent thinkers and writers for their advancement to high school. The course will emphasize process-based writing rather than product-based writing by seeking to help students develop and harness skills in creating and developing topics, creating a thesis, organizing the content, and revising the essay. Learning to research and correctly cite and integrate student research will be a key component of writing this year. In addition, students will also devote a good part of their English studies to a focus on mastering the key concepts of English grammar and mechanics. Students will read fiction and non-fiction of various lengths in order to improve their reading ability and to develop critical reading skills.
Essentially, the purpose of eighth grade language arts is to lay the foundation by preparing students for the learning they will need to do in high school that will, in turn, prepare them for college. Since most secondary programs focus on literature in historical and cultural context, this could be the last opportunity students may have to focus on these key building blocks of English.
Course Objectives:
Students will learn to examine literature of various genres including poems, short and long fiction, and non-fiction.
Students will expand their vocabulary with ownership (not simply memorization) of new words.
Students will gain understanding of the writing process and the parts of an essay and their functions.
Students will combine their study of literature with composition to create an opportunity for synthesis and critical thought.
Students will demonstrate a clear command of the parts of speech through correct usage particularly in the essay, and through grammar exercises.
4th Quarter Content:
Grammar: Students will examine the correct use of pronouns such as case, as appositives, correct usage after “then” and “as”, who and whom in subordinate clauses and agreement with the antecedent.  Students will also complete a unit on usage choices.  This will include common grammatical trouble points.
Vocabulary:  Students will be given weekly vocabulary words from the 1100 words book as well as any relevant grammatical or literary terms.  Students will be given a weekly quiz over the words.  Assessments will be a blend of writing the definition of some terms and matching others to the correct answer. The goal is to expand the vocabulary of the student.
Literature: Students will read the novel Lord of the Flies.  The students will take chapter quizzes, participate in class discussions, various subjective writing assignments and a comprehensive test involving matching, fill in the blank, and an essay portion.  The goals revolve around critical thinking.  Students will be explore the notions of law and order relative to society.  
 
For Weekly Assignments click on “The Thinker”