Grade 8 English: 2011/2012 Syllabus
Martha Douglas-Osmundson
CONTACT INFO
Ms. Martha Douglas-Osmundson
mdouglas-osmundson@lincolnschool.org
Tel: (401) 331-9696x4032
CLASS WEBSITES
Martha D-O: http://www.lincolnschool.org/page.cfm?p=571
COURSE OVERVIEW
Grade 8 English is an exercise in listening to strong voices – mostly women’s – through
the filter of their respective experiences; beginning with the retelling of the story of
Macbeth through a teenaged girl’s eyes, we will examine the character of Lady Macbeth,
discuss writings by Nadine Gordimer, Doris Lessing, Rumer Godden, Harper Lee, and
others as the students continue to explore their own writers’ voices. The presentation
of a personal poetry portfolio is a way in which the girls can celebrate the voices they
hear as well as the ones they make. One of the major events of the year for Grade 8 is
their participation in Shakespeare in the City, when the girls will act in a scene from
Macbeth with dozens of students from around the city. This will be an exhilarating end
to an exciting year.
REQUIRED TEXTS
Summer Reading:
 Shakespeare’s Secret by Elise Broach
 The Phantom Tollbooth by Norton Juster
Reading for 2011/2012 School Year:
 D’Aulaire’s Book of Greek Myths by Ingri and Edgar D’Aulaire
 Boy by Roald Dahl
 Tales from Shakespeare by Tina Packer
SUPPLIES
 One three-ring binder with lined paper and five dividers labeled:
 Vocabulary
 Grammar
 Reading
 Writing
 Miscellaneous
 English dictionary (for homework – I recommend the American Heritage for its
broader etymological information)
 Pencils and pens (blue or black)
 Assigned reading material listed above
 Independent reading book
COURSE ASSESSMENT
Students will be graded on the following:
50% Homework
50% Class Work, Participation, Responsibility*
*The responsibility portion of the grade includes being prepared for class, having
homework and other assignments completed on time, and coming to class on time. The
class participation portion of the grade includes demonstrating effort in class, making
positive contributions, and listening to and being respectful of others.
Course overview: The Five Acts of Grade 8 English
Act I – September, October, 2011
Essential Questions:
What are the costs of blind ambition?
How does tenderness survive such things as genocide?
What is beauty?
Macbeth by William Shakespeare – 11th century Scotland
“Fair is foul, and foul is fair.”
A Long Walk to Water by Linda Sue Park – modern day Sudan
“Where are we going? Where is my family? When will I see them again?”
An Episode of Sparrows by Rumer Godden
London after WWII (1940s)
“Things are more than just themselves.”
Act II November, December, 2011
Modern South African short stories – Apartheid era (1930’s – end of 20th century)
“Somehow tenderness survives.”
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Act III – January, February 2012
To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee – Maycomb, Alabama during the Great Depression
(1930s)
“Mockingbirds don’t do one thing but…sing their hearts out
for us. That’s why it’s a sin to kill a mockingbird.”
What does the mockingbird symbolize?
Act IV – March, April 2012
Poetry – everywhere, for all time, especially 19 Varieties of Gazelle by Naomi Shihab
Nye, Middle East, post 9/11
Fourth Annual Middle School Shakespeare Recitation Contest – 18 April 2012
Grade 6 – Hamlet or Much Ado About Nothing
Grade 7 – Romeo and Juliet or A Midsummer Night’s Dream
Grade 8 – Macbeth or Twelfth Night
Act V – May, 2012
Macbeth revisited: Shakespeare in the City 2012 – Providence, RI
Starring students from:
Lincoln School
Nathan Bishop Middle School
Central High School
Classical High School
Community Preparatory School
Paul Cuffee School
DelSesto Middle School
Hope High School
Mt. Pleasant High School
French-American School
Gordon School
Nathanael Greene Middle School
Providence Career and Technical Academy
Sophia Academy
Gilbert Stuart Middle School
Trinity Academy for Performing Arts
Wheeler School
Roger Williams Middle School
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