Semester 1 (approx. 4-5 weeks)
Central Text
Selections
Grade 8 - Intensive Reading - Collection 1 - Culture and Belonging – click for thematic connections
Anchor Text:
Short Story: “My Favorite
Chaperone” by Jean Davies
Okimoto 830L, p. 3
LG: Recognize and analyze the
elements of a story’s plot and the
author’s methods of
characterization.
Close Reader:
Short Story: “Golden Glass” by
Alma Luz Villanueva p. 30C
Reading Focus
Bar Graph
Memoir
Allusion
Imagery
Inferences
Heading/Subheading Lyric Poems
Bulleted List
Cite Evidence
Personal Essay
Expository Essay
Close Reader:
Essay: “What to Bring” by
Naisha Jackson p.52c
Kylene Beers Discussion Terms
Anchor Text:
Memoir: from The Latehomecomer
by Kao Kalia Yang 1030L, p. 53
LG: Analyze imagery and figurative
language to better understand a
memoir.
Close Reader:
Memoir: “Museum Indians” by
Susan Powers p. 70c
Documentary: New Immigrants
Share Their Stories, directed by Lisa
Gossels, p. 71
LG: Recognize elements used in a
documentary and understand and
evaluate the purpose of each one.
Golden Novel:
“The Giver”
(grammar, vocabulary, syntax)
(Novel will be
Figurative Language addressed in QBA2
Simile
Active/Passive voice exam)
Context Clues
Imperative Mood
Repetition
Using a Glossary
Participles
Latin Prefixes
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
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Performance
Task A: Write an
Expository Essay p.
79
Task A: Expository
Essay Rubric p.82
Performance
Task B: Write a
Personal Narrative
p. 83
contribute (contribution, contributor, contributing, contributable)
immigrate (immigrant, immigration, immigrating, migrate, migratory)
reaction (react, reactionary, reactional, counterreaction)
relocate (relocated, relocation, relocating )
shifting (shift, shifted, shiftingly)
Extensions - Secondary Gifted Resources
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Online Selection
Tests
Interventioncentral.
org
Task B: Personal
Narrative p. 86
Reading Report
Bingo
OPT: Tic-tac-toe
Achievethecore.org board
Vocab List
Poem: “Powwow at the End of the
World” by Sherman Alexie, p. 75
LG: Use imagery and allusion to
make inferences about the deeper
meaning of a poem.
Write a Summary: Interactive Graphic Organizer:
Sequence Chart
Determine Author’s Purpose and Perspective:
Interactive Whiteboard Lesson
Integrating Information from Text and Graphic Aids:
Level Up Tutorial: Graphic Aids
Achieve 3000
Language Focus
Interviews
Documentary
Creating a Video
Formative and
Summative
Assessments
Summative
Assessments:
Teengagement
Listening & Speaking
Focus
Research Study: “A Place to Call
Home” by Scott Bittle and Jonathan
Rochkind 1220L,
p. 41
LG: Use text features and graphic
aids to analyze and understand a
nonfiction text.
(Click icon below
for related fyi
articles)
Writing Focus
Character
Plot
Central/Main Idea
Details
Author’s Purpose
Personal Essay: “Bonne Annee” by
Jean-Pierre Benoit 700L, p.31
LG: Analyze elements of a personal
essay, including its purpose,
structure, central idea, and
supporting details.
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Additional
Suggested
Resources
EQ: How does culture impact a sense of belonging?
How can newcomers adjust to a new culture?
Close Reader
Selections
Print Version
Evaluating Sources: Interactive Lessons
Creating a Video: Interactive Lessons: Using Media in a
Presentation
Analyze Modern Fiction: Interactive White Board:
Comparing Texts
Analyze Lyric Poems: Level Up Tutorial: Narrator and
Speaker
Interventions ESE Accommodations - ELL Strategies - ELL Accommodations
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Analyze Stories: Plot: Level Up Tutorials
Determine Central Idea and Details: Level Up Tutorial
Text Features: Interactive White Board: Reading
Informational Texts
Figurative Language: Level Up Tutorial: Figurative
Language and Imagery
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Evaluate a Documentary
Determine Meaning of Words and Phrases: Allusion
Collection 1: Thematic Connections (Teacher Version)
Connection: In both texts, there is a
lack of sense of belonging. In text 5,
Alexie feels cut off from the rest of
the country, perhaps even to the
point of being disrespected, whereas
Maya, in text 1, feels held back from
experiencing all that American
culture has to offer as a young adult.
The Powwow at the End of
the World
In this text, the author
discusses the negative effects
of industrial growth on the
purity of Native American life
in the northwest.
My Favorite Chaperone:
Maya struggles with her
parent’s cultural beliefs and
traditions opposed to the
American culture in which she
is immersed. This conflict
creates a lack of sense of
belonging for Maya
Connection: In both texts, the main
characters struggle with traditions and
expectations from the culture in which
they were born. Although both characters
are living in America, their parents are
consumed with the rich culture and
tradition of their homeland, even to the
point of interfering with their children’s
American integration.
Bonne Annee
Collection 1: Culture
and Belonging
Born in Haiti, but raised in New York,
the narrator feels most connected to
Haiti while watching a World Cup
soccer match at Madison Square
Garden with other Haitian immigrants.
His homeland is not necessarily where
he was born, but where he was raised.
EQ: How does culture
impact a sense of
belonging?
Connection: In both texts there is a
sense of pride in the diversity of culture.
Yang and Alexie realize the importance
of their traditions.
Connection: In both of these texts it
is clear that many immigrants tend
to, and find comfort in, interacting
with people with the same cultural
identity.
Memoir: from The
Latehomecomer
Yang, the narrator, shares her insights
by making comparisons between the
people or things she knows best and
new ideas or feelings. She relies on
her Hmong family culture to find
strength and comfort.
A Place to Call Home
Connection: In both texts it is
further reinforced that culture
creates a community
regardless of geographic
location. In text 4 Yang learns
a valuable lesson that is
universal between American
and Hmong culture –
persistence.
Research shows that many
immigrants spend the majority
of their time with people also
from their country of origin. A
large percent also continue to
speak their native language at
home.
Collection 1: Thematic Connections (Student Version)