Advanced English Overview

Lakelands Park MS, 8th grade

Mrs. Tippets, Kirsten_E_Tippets@mcpsmd.org
Mrs. Fernandes, Nicole_E_Fernandes1@mcpsmd.org
Mr. Koval, Matthew_H_Koval@mcpsmd.org
Mrs. Spriggs, Bridget_T_Spriggs@mcpsmd.org

Welcome to Advanced English 8! The curriculum is organized into two semesters with English 8A focusing
on Writing and Language, and English 8B emphasizing Literature and Reading. In this course, students
become skilled in using the five processes to engage meaningfully in society. In preparing to enter the
world conversation, students focus on the essential skills of each communication process:

Writing Speaking Reading Viewing  Listening 

What is different about advanced courses?

Advanced courses are designed to provide explicit direction to teachers related to the selection of content,
differentiation of instructional processes, or development of student products. Depending on the content area and
unit, one or more of these areas will be substantively more challenging than on-level instruction. Frequently the
content and topics of the advanced courses are the same as on level classes, but the depth of study, or the
expression of understanding, or the product from learning is more challenging.

Materials: Grading Policies:

 Binder (English Section)
 Notebook Paper
 Pens and Pencils
 Silent reading materials
 Headphones
You are expected to bring these necessary materials to
class EVERY DAY.
 HW should be recorded in agenda book and
will be given a score of 100, 75, 50 or 0.
Due Dates and Deadlines:  Task & Assessment (TA) grades include
 Task grades will have a due date and deadline quizzes, projects, essays, exit cards, and
date. The deadline is usually a week after the summarizers.
due date.  Progress Checks are given during quarters 2
 After the deadline the assignment receives a & 3.
zero or is given a grade based on what has been
completed. Reassessments:
 HW assignments have the same due date and Assignments marked with an “R” in the title
deadline. may be redone for a higher grade.
 All missing work is recorded as a “Z” until Redone assignments must be submitted by the
turned in. reassessment date (along with the original work).
 Advanced English 8A/8B Semester Overview
Writing and Language 8A
The first semester of English 8, like its counterpart in ninth grade—puts writing at the center of teaching and
learning. This course prepares students to communicate in a world that is changing so rapidly that we may not
even be able to imagine future means of communication. The course focuses on developing the skills students need
to communicate effectively for a variety of purposes, audiences, and media. The writing class is a workshop:
Students write every day, keep a portfolio to track progress and set goals, and explore ways to convey their own
voice. They read as writers, analyzing short texts, practicing the writers’ techniques, and imitating the style and
sentence structures of published authors. They study literature and language as an integral part of the writing and
revision process. Students write to explore their own thinking, engage in reflection, and learn each day that they
have control over improving their craft.

Literature and Language 8B

Unit 1 of second semester provides the transition between Writing and Language 8A and Literature and Language
8B. Just as students make choices in their own writing, they now consider more carefully the choices the authors
make in the works they read.

Unit 1: Literature as Craft Unit 2: Literature in Context Unit 3: Literature as Art

Students will analyze how and
why an author makes stylistic
choices and what effects these
choices have on their writing.
Choices of text:
Life as We Knew it
House of the Scorpion
The Giver
Students will examine how Students will interpret creative
social and historical forces writing and demonstrate their
shape an author’s work and understanding of performance.
understand how literature that
engages with issues of its time Class text:
may lead to social change. 12 Angry Men
Choices of text:
Cuba 15
Chasing Lincoln’s Killer
Animal Farm

Extension Texts:
Across Five Aprils The Girl Who Owned a City March, Book Two The Red Pony
Beauty The Good Earth Mostly True Adventures of The River Between Us
Brian’s Song Growing Up in Coal Country Homer P. Figg The Road to Memphis
Canyons Harriet Tubman Mother Jones: The Most Dangerous
Ship Breaker
Chains Herland Woman in America Solitary Blue
Chinese Cinderella Homecoming my brother Sam is dead Tasting the Sky
The Contender House of Dies Drear Nation Treasure Island
Deathwatch I Heard the Owl Call My Name Of Nightingales that Weep Trouble
Dicey’s Song Jane Eyre Pedro’s Journal Uglies
Gathering Blue Kim/Kimi The Pigman Z for Zachariah
Thunder Rolling in the Mountains Red Moon at Sharpsburg

Excerpts from the MCPS Advanced English Curriculum Guide © 2009