Ms. Potter
English 8
2014-2015
Room 502
Contact Information:
School E-mail: [email protected]
School Phone: (434) 352-8257 (voicemail—)
8th Grade English SOLs
8.1 The student will use interviewing techniques to gain information.
8.2 The student will develop and deliver oral presentations in groups and individually.
8.3 The student will analyze mass media messages.
8.4 The student will apply knowledge of word origins, derivations, inflections, analogies, and figurative language to
extend vocabulary development.
8.5 The student will read and analyze a variety of narrative and poetic forms.
8.6 The student will read, comprehend, and analyze a variety of informational sources.
8.7 The student will write in a variety of forms, including narration, exposition, persuasion, and informational.
8.8 The student will edit writing for correct grammar, capitalization, punctuation, spelling, sentence structure, and
paragraphing.
8.9 The student will apply knowledge of appropriate reference materials to produce a research product.
Reading and Writing Course Overview
Reading: At the eighth-grade level, students will continue to develop appreciation of literature through the
study of literary elements in classic and contemporary selections. They will describe themes and inferred main
ideas, interpret cause-effect relationships, and draw conclusions from a variety of literary and informational
selections. Students will build on the foundations for literacy developed in the previous grades. Students will
apply critical reading and reasoning skills across the content areas, including history and social science, science,
and mathematics.
Writing: At the eighth-grade level, students will plan, draft, revise, and edit narratives as well as informational,
persuasive, and expository pieces with attention to composition and written expression. Students will continue
the process of becoming independent with sentence formation, usage, and mechanics and understand that the
conventions of language help convey the message from the writer to the reader. Students will use writing for
expressive purposes and as a tool for learning academic concepts. They will use technology as available and
appropriate.
This year, all 8th graders will take two English SOLS.
1. The Writing SOL will be given in March of 2015. The Writing SOL will be given over a two-day
period. The first day will consist of Multiple-Choice questions while the second day will focus on direct
writing to a prompt. This will be taken on the computer. If you have a computer at home, it would be
helpful for your child to practice their keyboarding skills.
2. The Reading SOL will be given in May of 2015. The Reading SOL will be multiple-choice and
technology enhanced and is taken on the computer.
Ms. Potter
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English 8
Symbolism
Static Character
Dynamic Character
Types of Conflict
(Internal/External)
Onomatopoeia
Personification
Alliteration
Simile
Metaphor
Hyperbole
Foreshadowing
Inference
Third person limited point of view
First person point of view
Second person point of view
Third person omniscient pov
Genre
Realistic fiction
Historical fiction
Autobiography
Biography
Fiction
Non-fiction
Theme
Context clues
Plot diagram parts (Exposition,
rising action, climax, falling action,
resolution)
Protagonist
Antagonist
Root word, prefix, suffix
Text Structure
Author’s purpose
Main idea
Summarizing
Irony
2014-2015
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Room 502
Parts of an essay
Parts of a paragraph
Expository writing
Narrative writing
Persuasive writing
Commas
Comparative/superlative adjectives
Noun
Verb
Adverb
Adjective
Capitalization
Subject/Verb agreements
Descriptive writing
Apostrophes
Quotation marks
Word choice
Writing process (Brainstorming,
drafting, revising, editing,
publishing)
Transitions
Combining sentences
Commonly misspelled/confused
words
Repetitive information
Staying on topic
Sentence fragments
Sentence run-ons
Proper punctuation
Pronoun usage (I vs. Me)
Double negatives
Ms. Potter
English 8
2014-2015
Room 502
Grade Weights
Participation 10%
Classwork 30%
Homework 10%
Quizzes 20%
Tests/Projects 30%
Quizzes
After each reading/writing concept is covered students will be given a short quiz to determine mastery of the
concept.
Tests
Students will be given a combination of cumulative multiple-choice tests and writing prompts for each nine
weeks. For English, these exercises determine whether they have mastered certain Reading and Writing
concepts. This data is used to help teachers, students, and parents work together to strengthen students in areas
of weakness. ALL TESTS WILL BE COUNTED FOR A GRADE. Class instruction AR books will also be
a test grade, as is AR point goal for each 9 weeks.
Participation
Each grading period students will be given the card below to complete:
Homework
ü Students will be assigned a weekly reading passage (mainly from their textbook) and will be asked to fill
out a 1-page analysis of this passage.
ü Students are also expected to study for vocabulary quizzes at home to prepare for their weekly tests.
Make-up Work
Students are allowed (and encouraged) to make up missing/poor assignments and quizzes. I am more concerned
with each student’s ability to learn rather than penalizing. However, it is the STUDENT’S responsibility to ask
me for the make-up assignment! All make up work must be turned in 3 days before the end of the grading
period.
Ms. Potter
English 8
2014-2015
1st offense: Verbal Warning
2nd offense: Silent Lunch
3rd offense: Parent Contact
4th offense: Referral
Room 502