TPSD ELA Syllabus
8th Grade General
Unit 2
Unit 2
Unit Title
Control and Manipulation
Unit Focus
Students read and analyze Shakespeare’s "A Midsummer Night’s Dream". Students will focus primarily on the theme of control. Characters in this play are controlled by
emotions, other characters, and even magic. They often attempt to manipulate others in a variety of ways. Students will examine why the characters seek control, how they
try to control others, and the results of attempting to control others. Next, students will build background knowledge as they explore the appeal and authorship of
Shakespeare. Students will read much of the play aloud in a Drama Circle, and will frequently reread key passages to deepen their understanding. Students will analyze
differences between a film version of the play and Shakespeare’s original script. For their final performance task, students will write a “confessional” narrative from the point
of view of one of the characters in A Midsummer Night’s Dream to creatively explain his or her attempts to control or manipulate someone else in the play.
Main Texts
Shakespeare’s “A Midsummer Night’s Dream”
Unit Targets
In this unit,
students will learn
these targets:
Reading
✓
✓
✓
✓
✓
✓
✓
Provide an analysis of how particular
lines of dialogue propel the action in
a story or drama.
Provide an analysis of how particular
lines of dialogue show what a
character is like and provoke a
character to make a decision.
Provide an analysis of how key
incidents in a story propel the action
to show what a character is like.
Provide an analysis of how key
incidents in a story provoke a
character to make a decision.
Provide an analysis discussing the
importance and influence of setting
on characters, plot, theme, mood,
tone, and meaning.
Provide an analysis of characters’
traits, responses, and motives and
how the central character influences
the plot or theme.
Provide an analysis of how a text
makes connections among and
distinctions between individuals,
ideas, and events through
comparisons, analogies, categories,
sequencing, cause and effect, and
subtle similarities and differences.
Writing
✓
✓
✓
Organize information and
present information in a formal
style with an introduction,
supporting details, transitions,
and a concluding section.
Write a narrative that develops
engaging context to hook the
reader, establishes a point of
view, and organizes an event
sequence that unfolds naturally
and logically.
Include narrative techniques
such as dialogue, pacing, and
description to develop the
characters’ experiences,
develops the events of the plot,
develops complex characters.
and allow the reader to create a
visual picture in their minds.
Language
✓
✓
Form and use verbs in the active and
passive voice.
Use punctuation (comma, ellipsis,
dash) to indicate a pause or break.
Vocabulary
✓
✓
✓
✓
✓
✓
I can infer the meaning of unknown
words using context clues (e.g.,
definitions, synonyms/antonyms,
restatements, examples found in
surrounding text.
I can recognize and define common
Greek and Latin affixes and roots
(units of meaning)
I can break down unknown words
into units of meaning to infer the
definition of the unknown word.
Use the relationship between
particular words to better
understand each of the words.
Distinguish among the connotations
(associations) of words with similar
denotations (definitions).
I can analyze why authors choose
specific words to evoke a particular
meaning or tone.
Unit 2
Roots to Learn
Words to Know
✓
Week 1: dict, scrib/script, graph/gram
dictate, contradict, edict, autobiography, telegram, calligraphy, graphic,
inscription, transcript, prescription
✓
Week 2: chron, temp, loc
chronological, chronically, chronicle, chronograph, temporary, contemporary,
location, local, allocate, dislocate
✓
Week 3: mob/mot, tract, tend/tens/tent
mobile, motivation, motive, tractor, detract, contract, attention, extend, tension,
contentious
✓
Week 4: hosp, onym, host
hospital, hospitable, homonym, synonym, antonym, anonymous, acronym,
pseudonym, hostile, hostage
analyze, analysis, dialogue, incidents, story, drama, propel, reveal, provoke, interact, interactions, story elements, setting, plot structure, exposition, rising action, conflict,
climax, turning point, falling action, solution, resolution, characterization, direct characterization, indirect characterization, archetypes, unfold, episodes, events, connections,
key individual, key event, key idea, distinctions, individuals, ideas, events, introduced, illustrated, elaborated, examples, anecdotes, cause and effect relationships,
interactions, flawed logic, engage, orient establish a context, point of view, first person, third person omniscient, third person limited, third person objective, introduce,
narrator, characters, event, sequence, logically, effective technique, relevant descriptive details, well-structured event sequences, narrative techniques, dialogue, pacing,
description, experiences, events, characters, effective technique, descriptive details, well-structured sequences, connotation, connotative, analyze, analysis, word choice,
meaning, tone, active voice, passive voice, punctuation, comma, ellipsis, dash, affix, prefix, suffix, root, context, relationship, analogy, distinguish, connotation, association,
denotation, definition, dictionary, positive, negative, neutral