The importance of adolescent literacy is well established, and the topic continues to be of both local and national interest. Practitioners need to know not only which programs and practices appear effective, but which have the scientific evidence to support that claim. To identify effective programs and practices for general education students in…

Presents two standards-based language arts activities for middle school students. The first involves collecting family photographs, writing a descriptive essay based on each one, and publishing the final product using Microsoft Publisher. The second involves creating one-page autobiographies, designing a publishable product, and publishing it…

This book is intended to be used as a guide to develop a performance-based curriculum based on language arts standards recommended by the National Council of Teachers of English and the International Reading Association. The book helps teachers take their students beyond knowledge and basic skills by teaching them to be accountable for showing…

Based on common curriculum goals outlined by the Oregon Department of Education, this curriculum map is designed to assist eighth grade teachers in evaluating and revising their current curriculum. Instructions describe how teachers can effectively use the material provided to gather information and tally and analyze results. The map consists of…

Intended as a resource for instructional planning, this grade 8 language arts curriculum guide purposes to promote greater student achievement through alignment of the written, the taught, and the tested curriculum, and to promote broader and higher levels of thinking through objectives, activities, and strategies which integrate content and…

This handbook, intended for English language arts teachers, principals, curriculum and testing specialists, superintendents, and all educators interested in preparing students for the grade 8 California Assessment Program (CAP) writing assessment, provides the practitioner with information about the content of the test, the rationale underlying…

This manual outlines course performance standards based upon intended outcomes in courses which are part of the state-adopted curriculum frameworks, grades six through eight. The Florida standards are for selected courses in language arts including English and reading. Ten to 11 performance standards for language arts are listed for each of the 18…

Offers strategies for teaching eighth grade Georgia geography in accordance with the Georgia Quality Core Curriculum mandate of 1988. Describes the value of combining teachers from the earth sciences, mathematics, and language arts. Gives an example of team teaching at work, including student activities and answer key. (RW)

This 15-minute VHS videotape introduces an interdisciplinary math, science, and language arts project for eighth grade. Students learn about and apply laws of motion, linear functions, and technical reporting as they design and present an ultimate roller coaster. The project is organized in five phases that generate knowledge about design…

Developed as part of the Arkansas Minimum Performance Testing Program (MPT), these item specifications relate to the eighth grade language arts minimum performance test. There is one item specification for each instructional objective included in the MPT. Item specifications are intended to provide an overview of the general content and format of…

The second of seven related guides, this curriculum guide for eighth grade English outlines opportunities for students to use the skills they have acquired previously, to be involved in well-planned educational experiences in critical thinking and in oral and written expression, and to develop an understanding of others. The first half of the…

This fantasy unit focuses on C. S. Lewis's "The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe." Through the unit's 17 lessons (which correspond to the book's 17 chapters), students will read and analyze the text, using the literary elements of characterization, setting, plot, theme, character, climax, and resolution. The unit offers an overview;…

This unit of study is geared toward a heterogeneous eighth grade language arts class. The unit's goal is to show students that the American story chronicled in "My Brother Sam Is Dead" is not simply a story about a series of events that occurred in the past but about taking pride in your heritage and not being afraid to fight back when…

During the 1979-1980 school year, 23 Old Order Amish pupils in the Pleasant Hill School near Bloomfield, Iowa, took the Iowa Test of Basic Skills. On the language arts subtest, five of six third grade students ranked above 50% in capitalization, four ranked above 50% in spelling and punctuation, and three ranked above 50% in usage. Four third…

Designed to help classroom teachers implement the "Alabama Course of Study: Language Arts," this curriculum guide for grades 7-8 is in three major sections. The first section is a table of contents that lists desired student outcomes under each of the four major strands mandated by the course of study (listening, speaking,…