Curriculum Night
2014-2015
8th Grade
English Language Arts
Ms. Steffen
Ms. Steffen
O Welcome to 8th grade! I am excited to get to
know each of you.
O I majored in Secondary English Education at
the University of Florida.
O I have been teaching Language Arts at
Centennial Middle School for 9 years.
O I truly love the art of language and hope to
share it with all of my students.
8th Grade Expectations
O Late Work
O Students will be assigned to lunch bunch if they
do not complete practice work
O Supplies
O Pens, pencils, and highlighters
O Red folders
O College-Ruled Loose Leaf Paper
O Composition Book
O Always keep a chapter book with you in your
backpack for SSR!
Advanced ELA
O In Class Writing
O Literature Circles
O Independent Reading Requirement
O Critical and Higher Level Thinking
O Above Grade Level Selections
O Cooperative Learning Environment
O Rigor, Rigor, Rigor!
Writing
O Arguments to support claims
O Informative/Explanatory
O Narrative
O Research/Evidence based
O Presentation with Commentary
Reading
O Literary Text
O Cite textual evidence
O Determine theme
O Narrative analysis
O Compare and contrast
O Points of view
O Text to film comparison
O Allusion
Informational Text
*Cite Evidence
*Central Idea
*Text Connections
*Meaning of Words
and Phrases
*Paragraph Structure
*Media and
Argument Analysis
* Authors POV
Units of Study
O Module 1
O Focus: Reading Closely and Writing To Analyze
O Black Swan Green
O Romeo and Juliet
O Standards
O Theme or central idea
O Analyze complex characters
O Author’s choices
O Informative/Explanatory
Units of Study
O Module 2
O Focus: Working with Evidence and Making
Claims
O The Tell-Tale Heart
O Oedipus the King
O Standards
O Point of view
O Comparing Themes
O Informative/Explanatory
O Draw evidence to support claims
Units of Study
O Module 3
O Focus: Building and Communicating Knowledge
through Research: The Inquiry and Writing
Processes
O Animals in Translation (Mysteries of Autism)
O Standards
O Cite strong evidence
O Central idea
O Author’s purpose
O Comparing mediums
O Research
Units of Study
O Module 4
O Focus: Understanding and Evaluating
Argument: Analyzing Text to Write Arguments
O Sugar Changed the World
O Fahrenheit 451
O Standards
O Compare and contrast texts
O Development of central idea
O Analyze figurative and connotative language
O Delineate and evaluate an argument
O Argument Essay
How Can You Help?
You are the most influential person in your child’s life. Your
presence is evidence of your commitment to your child’s
success.
O Ask your child to share one part of his or her day with you…
(sweet/sour, highs/lows)
O Check the website and online grades.
O If you have any concerns about your child here at school,
never hesitate to email!
O Look for progress reports 4th -5th week.
O NEVER hesitate to contact me with any questions or
concerns. We have the same goal for your child which is to
help him/her reach his/her highest potential! We’re in this
together.
Questions/Concerns
O Email:
lsteffen@kyrene.org
O Phone:
480-541-6523