English 8A - Greenways Academy
Syllabus
English 8A Course Overview English is the study of the creation and analysis of literature written in the English language. In English 8A you will study a variety of techniques to improve your reading comprehension, writing skills, and grammar and mechanics. The instruction covers a variety of writing modes: creative, descriptive, expository, and narrative. You will learn to understand your audience and purpose for writing and be able to assess and correct errors in your written works. In English 8A, you will read and analyze a variety of genres in literature with an emphasis on poetry and historical text.
Course Goals By the end of this course, you will be able to do the following:
Use strategies to determine the meaning of a word based on its structure and context. Read, interpret, and analyze literary works. Identify historical, social, and cultural themes and issues in literature. Write stories or scripts with descriptive details that engage readers. Use figurative language to achieve desired effects in your writing. Use correct punctuation in your sentences. Identify the purposes and characteristics of different types of poetry. Know the origins and meanings of foreign words used in English. Picture what you read and summarize text in different kinds of writing. Use inference strategies to read narrative and expository text. Apply principles of grammar and usage in writing. Write and revise informational compositions.
General Skills To participate in this course, you should be able to perform online research using various search engines and library databases. For a complete list of general skills that are required for participation in online courses, refer to the Prerequisites section of the Plato Student Orientation document, found at the beginning of this course.
Credit Value English 8A is a 0.5-credit course. 1 © 2013 EDMENTUM, INC.
Course Materials
Notebook Computer with Internet connection and speakers or headphones Some course readings may require a visit to the school library or public library.
Course Pacing Guide This course description and pacing guide is intended to help you keep on schedule with your work. Note that your course instructor may modify the schedule to meet the specific needs of your class.
Unit 1: Who I Am, Who I Want to Be Summary In this unit, you will explore strategies for determining word meaning. You’ll read a variety of fictional works to understand the elements of plot and determine how authors use historical contexts in their writing. You will also experiment with script writing. Day 1 day: 1 1 day: 2 1 day: 3 1 day: 4 1 day: 5 1 day: 6 5 days: 7-11
Activity/Objective Syllabus and Plato Student Orientation Review the Plato Student Orientation and Course Syllabus at the beginning of this course.
Type Course Orientation
Word Parts Use knowledge of Greek and Latin roots and affixes to understand content-area vocabulary.
Webtivity
Using Context Clues Use a strategy to figure out the meaning of a word from its context.
Courseware
Using Prefix Clues Use a strategy to find the meaning of a word from its prefix and its base word.
Courseware
Using the Dictionary Study how to use a dictionary to find the meaning of a word.
Courseware
Keeping Pronouns Consistent Modify sentences to avoid unnecessary shifts in person.
Courseware
Elements of Plot
Offline
Read, interpret, and critically analyze literature by analyzing the effect of characters, plot, setting, language, topic, style, purpose, and point of view on the overall impact of literature. Interpret a character’s traits, emotions, or motivations, and provide supporting evidence from a text. 2
5 days:
Literature—Historical Context
12–16
4 days:
Offline
Read and discuss literary and non-literary texts in order to understand human experience. Demonstrate the ability to analyze literary works, nonfiction, films, or media, including: how a literary work reflects the author’s personal history, heritage, traditions, attitudes, and/or beliefs; and how a work can be shown to reflect the period, ideas, customs, and outlooks of a people living in a particular time in history. Identify common historical, social, and cultural themes and issues in literary works and selected passages. Identify similarities and differences across a variety of reading selections. Compare and contrast reading selections with your present-day life.
Writing a Script
Webtivity
17-20
Write stories or scripts that include: well-developed characters and setting, dialogue, clear conflict and resolution, and sufficient descriptive detail.
1 day:
Posttest—Unit 1
Assessment
21
Unit 2: Poetry Workshop Summary In this unit, you will explain uses of figurative language and explore their uses by analyzing, writing, and reciting poetry. You’ll also learn about correct use of quotation marks and contractions to improve the structure of your writing. Day
Activity/Objective
5 days:
Figurative Language
22–26
Develop your vocabulary and ability to use words, phrases, idioms, and various grammatical structures as a means of improving communication.
Explain how writers and speakers achieve specific effects by choosing words and using figurative language such as similes and metaphors, personification and hyperbole, and allusion.
Type Webtivity
3
1 day: 27
Putting Commas and Periods inside Quotation Marks
Courseware
Modify sentences to put a quotation’s ending punctuation marks inside the quotation marks. Putting Quotation Marks around Quotations Put double quotation marks around direct quotations.
1 day: 28
Using Quotation Marks with Titles of Short Works
Courseware
Put quotation marks around the titles of works that are short works or parts of other works. Contractions with Is and Am Identify the correct meaning of contractions with is and am.
1 day: 29
Contractions with Will
Courseware
Identify the correct meaning of contractions with will. Contractions with Are Identify the correct meaning of contractions with are.
1 day: 30
Contractions with Not
Courseware
Identify the correct meaning of contractions with not. Contractions with Would Identify the correct meaning of contractions with would.
5 days:
Analyzing Poetry
31–35
Determine and articulate the relationship between the purposes and characteristics of different forms of poetry (e.g., narrative, epic, ballad, lyric, elegy, ode, sonnet).
Respond to and analyze the effects of sound, form, figurative language, and graphics in order to uncover meaning in poetry, specifically including rhythm, rhyme, and repetition, and the use of graphic elements.
Identify and analyze how an author’s use of words creates tone and mood and give supporting evidence in a text.
Webtivity
5 days:
Writing Poetry
36–40
Write poems using poetic techniques (e.g., alliteration, onomatopoeia, rhyme scheme), figurative language (e.g., simile, metaphor, personification), and graphic elements (e.g., capital letters, line length, word position).
Recite poems (of four to six stanzas), sections of speeches, or dramatic soliloquies using voice modulation, tone, and gestures expressively to enhance the meaning.
Webtivity
4
1 day:
Assessment
Posttest—Unit 2
41
Unit 3: Heritage Summary In this unit, you will explore stories of perseverance and heritage as you learn about summarizing texts. You’ll also study several techniques to help you better understand informational texts. Finally, you will practice using modifiers with and without –ly in your sentences. Day
Activity/Objective
1 day: 42
Foreign Words and Phrases
1 day: 43
When to Use -ly Modifiers
1 day: 44
Knowing When Not to Use -ly Modifiers
1 day: 45
Summarizing Stories
1 day: 46
Summarizing Information
1 day: 47
Summarizing More Information
2 days: 48–49
Summarizing Text
1 day: 50
Picturing What You Read When You Read Stories
1 day: 51
Picturing What You Read When You Read Information
Type Webtivity
Know the origins and meanings of common foreign words used in English (e.g., ad infinitum, bon voyage, a la carte, carte blanche, de luxe, pro rate, quid pro quo) and use these words accurately. Courseware
Change adjectives incorrectly used to modify verbs, adverbs, or other adjectives into adverbs. Courseware
Change adverbs incorrectly used to modify nouns and pronouns into adjectives. Courseware
Use a strategy to summarize narrative text. Courseware
Use a strategy to summarize expository text. Courseware
Use a strategy to summarize expository text. Offline
Compare an original text to a summary to determine whether the summary accurately captures the main ideas, includes critical details, and conveys the underlying meaning of the original. Courseware
Use mental pictures to understand narrative text better.
Use mental pictures to understand expository text better.
5
Courseware
2 days: 52–53
Reading Between the Lines in Stories
1 day: 54
Reading Between the Lines in Information
1 day: 55
Reading Between the Lines in More Information
3 days: 56–58
Using Published Writing as a Model
3 days: 59–61
Literature as a Model
1 day: 62
Posttest—Unit 3
Courseware
Use an inference strategy to read narrative text. Courseware
Use an inference strategy to read expository text. Courseware
Use an inference strategy to read expository text. Courseware
Intentionally emulate one or more aspects of a published piece of writing in your own writing. Webtivity
Compose using recognized literature as models. Assessment
Unit 4: Writer’s Workshop Summary In this unit, you will practice using sentence variety, distinguishing between phrases and clauses, and developing your vocabulary, as you complete a research paper using a writer’s workshop process. Day 1 day: 63
Activity/Objective Classifications, Denotations, and Connotations
Comprehend and display an extended vocabulary through reading, listening, viewing, writing, speaking, and presenting: Classifications.
Comprehend and display an extended vocabulary through reading, listening, viewing, writing, speaking, and presenting: Denotation and connotation.
3 days: Combining Sentences to Make Your Writing Interesting 64–66 Enhance sentence variation (in terms of length and verb repetition) in your writing by combining sentences.
6
Type Webtivity
Courseware
3 days: Sentences, Phrases, and Clauses 67-69 Know and apply principles of grammar and usage in writing, speaking, and presenting and apply these mechanics in writing.
Develop compound and complex sentences.
Use correct and varied sentence types and sentence openings to present a lively and effective personal style.
Distinguish phrases from clauses. Webtivity
1 day: 70
Sentence Fragments
1 day: 71
Parallelism
3 days: 72–74
Splitting Fused Runons
5 days: 75–79
Writing Informational Compositions
Know and apply principles of grammar and usage in writing, speaking, and presenting and apply these mechanics in writing: Fragments. Webtivity
Identify and use parallelism, including similar grammatical forms, in all written discourse to present items in a series and items juxtaposed for emphasis. Courseware
Separate fused sentences.
Write compositions with focus, related ideas, and supporting details.
Select a topic of appropriate breadth for the particular situation.
Generate questions, take notes, and summarize information gleaned from reference works and experts.
Use a variety of strategies to generate and organize ideas.
Webtivity
Courseware
3 days: 80–82
Writing Strong Introductions
5 days: 83–87
Writing and Revising Informational Compositions
1 day: 88
Offline
Write introductory paragraphs for factual essays using standard techniques for enticing the reader and narrowing the focus.
Revise and edit descriptive compositions to improve voice, content, organization, word choice, and sentence fluency.
Use a variety of primary and secondary sources and distinguish the nature and value of each.
Use subordination, coordination, apposition, and other devices to indicate the relationship between ideas clearly.
Posttest—Unit 4
Offline
Assessment
7
1 day: 89
Semester Review
1 day: 90
End-of-Semester Test
Assessment
8
English 8A Course Overview English is the study of the creation and analysis of literature written in the English language. In English 8A you will study a variety of techniques to improve your reading comprehension, writing skills, and grammar and mechanics. The instruction covers a variety of writing modes: creative, descriptive, expository, and narrative. You will learn to understand your audience and purpose for writing and be able to assess and correct errors in your written works. In English 8A, you will read and analyze a variety of genres in literature with an emphasis on poetry and historical text.
Course Goals By the end of this course, you will be able to do the following:
Use strategies to determine the meaning of a word based on its structure and context. Read, interpret, and analyze literary works. Identify historical, social, and cultural themes and issues in literature. Write stories or scripts with descriptive details that engage readers. Use figurative language to achieve desired effects in your writing. Use correct punctuation in your sentences. Identify the purposes and characteristics of different types of poetry. Know the origins and meanings of foreign words used in English. Picture what you read and summarize text in different kinds of writing. Use inference strategies to read narrative and expository text. Apply principles of grammar and usage in writing. Write and revise informational compositions.
General Skills To participate in this course, you should be able to perform online research using various search engines and library databases. For a complete list of general skills that are required for participation in online courses, refer to the Prerequisites section of the Plato Student Orientation document, found at the beginning of this course.
Credit Value English 8A is a 0.5-credit course. 1 © 2013 EDMENTUM, INC.
Course Materials
Notebook Computer with Internet connection and speakers or headphones Some course readings may require a visit to the school library or public library.
Course Pacing Guide This course description and pacing guide is intended to help you keep on schedule with your work. Note that your course instructor may modify the schedule to meet the specific needs of your class.
Unit 1: Who I Am, Who I Want to Be Summary In this unit, you will explore strategies for determining word meaning. You’ll read a variety of fictional works to understand the elements of plot and determine how authors use historical contexts in their writing. You will also experiment with script writing. Day 1 day: 1 1 day: 2 1 day: 3 1 day: 4 1 day: 5 1 day: 6 5 days: 7-11
Activity/Objective Syllabus and Plato Student Orientation Review the Plato Student Orientation and Course Syllabus at the beginning of this course.
Type Course Orientation
Word Parts Use knowledge of Greek and Latin roots and affixes to understand content-area vocabulary.
Webtivity
Using Context Clues Use a strategy to figure out the meaning of a word from its context.
Courseware
Using Prefix Clues Use a strategy to find the meaning of a word from its prefix and its base word.
Courseware
Using the Dictionary Study how to use a dictionary to find the meaning of a word.
Courseware
Keeping Pronouns Consistent Modify sentences to avoid unnecessary shifts in person.
Courseware
Elements of Plot
Offline
Read, interpret, and critically analyze literature by analyzing the effect of characters, plot, setting, language, topic, style, purpose, and point of view on the overall impact of literature. Interpret a character’s traits, emotions, or motivations, and provide supporting evidence from a text. 2
5 days:
Literature—Historical Context
12–16
4 days:
Offline
Read and discuss literary and non-literary texts in order to understand human experience. Demonstrate the ability to analyze literary works, nonfiction, films, or media, including: how a literary work reflects the author’s personal history, heritage, traditions, attitudes, and/or beliefs; and how a work can be shown to reflect the period, ideas, customs, and outlooks of a people living in a particular time in history. Identify common historical, social, and cultural themes and issues in literary works and selected passages. Identify similarities and differences across a variety of reading selections. Compare and contrast reading selections with your present-day life.
Writing a Script
Webtivity
17-20
Write stories or scripts that include: well-developed characters and setting, dialogue, clear conflict and resolution, and sufficient descriptive detail.
1 day:
Posttest—Unit 1
Assessment
21
Unit 2: Poetry Workshop Summary In this unit, you will explain uses of figurative language and explore their uses by analyzing, writing, and reciting poetry. You’ll also learn about correct use of quotation marks and contractions to improve the structure of your writing. Day
Activity/Objective
5 days:
Figurative Language
22–26
Develop your vocabulary and ability to use words, phrases, idioms, and various grammatical structures as a means of improving communication.
Explain how writers and speakers achieve specific effects by choosing words and using figurative language such as similes and metaphors, personification and hyperbole, and allusion.
Type Webtivity
3
1 day: 27
Putting Commas and Periods inside Quotation Marks
Courseware
Modify sentences to put a quotation’s ending punctuation marks inside the quotation marks. Putting Quotation Marks around Quotations Put double quotation marks around direct quotations.
1 day: 28
Using Quotation Marks with Titles of Short Works
Courseware
Put quotation marks around the titles of works that are short works or parts of other works. Contractions with Is and Am Identify the correct meaning of contractions with is and am.
1 day: 29
Contractions with Will
Courseware
Identify the correct meaning of contractions with will. Contractions with Are Identify the correct meaning of contractions with are.
1 day: 30
Contractions with Not
Courseware
Identify the correct meaning of contractions with not. Contractions with Would Identify the correct meaning of contractions with would.
5 days:
Analyzing Poetry
31–35
Determine and articulate the relationship between the purposes and characteristics of different forms of poetry (e.g., narrative, epic, ballad, lyric, elegy, ode, sonnet).
Respond to and analyze the effects of sound, form, figurative language, and graphics in order to uncover meaning in poetry, specifically including rhythm, rhyme, and repetition, and the use of graphic elements.
Identify and analyze how an author’s use of words creates tone and mood and give supporting evidence in a text.
Webtivity
5 days:
Writing Poetry
36–40
Write poems using poetic techniques (e.g., alliteration, onomatopoeia, rhyme scheme), figurative language (e.g., simile, metaphor, personification), and graphic elements (e.g., capital letters, line length, word position).
Recite poems (of four to six stanzas), sections of speeches, or dramatic soliloquies using voice modulation, tone, and gestures expressively to enhance the meaning.
Webtivity
4
1 day:
Assessment
Posttest—Unit 2
41
Unit 3: Heritage Summary In this unit, you will explore stories of perseverance and heritage as you learn about summarizing texts. You’ll also study several techniques to help you better understand informational texts. Finally, you will practice using modifiers with and without –ly in your sentences. Day
Activity/Objective
1 day: 42
Foreign Words and Phrases
1 day: 43
When to Use -ly Modifiers
1 day: 44
Knowing When Not to Use -ly Modifiers
1 day: 45
Summarizing Stories
1 day: 46
Summarizing Information
1 day: 47
Summarizing More Information
2 days: 48–49
Summarizing Text
1 day: 50
Picturing What You Read When You Read Stories
1 day: 51
Picturing What You Read When You Read Information
Type Webtivity
Know the origins and meanings of common foreign words used in English (e.g., ad infinitum, bon voyage, a la carte, carte blanche, de luxe, pro rate, quid pro quo) and use these words accurately. Courseware
Change adjectives incorrectly used to modify verbs, adverbs, or other adjectives into adverbs. Courseware
Change adverbs incorrectly used to modify nouns and pronouns into adjectives. Courseware
Use a strategy to summarize narrative text. Courseware
Use a strategy to summarize expository text. Courseware
Use a strategy to summarize expository text. Offline
Compare an original text to a summary to determine whether the summary accurately captures the main ideas, includes critical details, and conveys the underlying meaning of the original. Courseware
Use mental pictures to understand narrative text better.
Use mental pictures to understand expository text better.
5
Courseware
2 days: 52–53
Reading Between the Lines in Stories
1 day: 54
Reading Between the Lines in Information
1 day: 55
Reading Between the Lines in More Information
3 days: 56–58
Using Published Writing as a Model
3 days: 59–61
Literature as a Model
1 day: 62
Posttest—Unit 3
Courseware
Use an inference strategy to read narrative text. Courseware
Use an inference strategy to read expository text. Courseware
Use an inference strategy to read expository text. Courseware
Intentionally emulate one or more aspects of a published piece of writing in your own writing. Webtivity
Compose using recognized literature as models. Assessment
Unit 4: Writer’s Workshop Summary In this unit, you will practice using sentence variety, distinguishing between phrases and clauses, and developing your vocabulary, as you complete a research paper using a writer’s workshop process. Day 1 day: 63
Activity/Objective Classifications, Denotations, and Connotations
Comprehend and display an extended vocabulary through reading, listening, viewing, writing, speaking, and presenting: Classifications.
Comprehend and display an extended vocabulary through reading, listening, viewing, writing, speaking, and presenting: Denotation and connotation.
3 days: Combining Sentences to Make Your Writing Interesting 64–66 Enhance sentence variation (in terms of length and verb repetition) in your writing by combining sentences.
6
Type Webtivity
Courseware
3 days: Sentences, Phrases, and Clauses 67-69 Know and apply principles of grammar and usage in writing, speaking, and presenting and apply these mechanics in writing.
Develop compound and complex sentences.
Use correct and varied sentence types and sentence openings to present a lively and effective personal style.
Distinguish phrases from clauses. Webtivity
1 day: 70
Sentence Fragments
1 day: 71
Parallelism
3 days: 72–74
Splitting Fused Runons
5 days: 75–79
Writing Informational Compositions
Know and apply principles of grammar and usage in writing, speaking, and presenting and apply these mechanics in writing: Fragments. Webtivity
Identify and use parallelism, including similar grammatical forms, in all written discourse to present items in a series and items juxtaposed for emphasis. Courseware
Separate fused sentences.
Write compositions with focus, related ideas, and supporting details.
Select a topic of appropriate breadth for the particular situation.
Generate questions, take notes, and summarize information gleaned from reference works and experts.
Use a variety of strategies to generate and organize ideas.
Webtivity
Courseware
3 days: 80–82
Writing Strong Introductions
5 days: 83–87
Writing and Revising Informational Compositions
1 day: 88
Offline
Write introductory paragraphs for factual essays using standard techniques for enticing the reader and narrowing the focus.
Revise and edit descriptive compositions to improve voice, content, organization, word choice, and sentence fluency.
Use a variety of primary and secondary sources and distinguish the nature and value of each.
Use subordination, coordination, apposition, and other devices to indicate the relationship between ideas clearly.
Posttest—Unit 4
Offline
Assessment
7
1 day: 89
Semester Review
1 day: 90
End-of-Semester Test
Assessment
8
