Unit Title: Unit 1: Reading Fiction; Writing Responses to Literature
Content Area: Language Arts
Grade: 8th
Instructional Weeks: 6 weeks
Common Core Standard(s):RL.8.1Cite the textual evidence that most strongly supports an analysis of what the text says explicitly as well as inferences drawn
from the text.
RL.8.2 Determine a theme or central idea of a text and analyze its development over the course of the text, including its relationship
to the characters, setting, and plot; provide an objective summary of the text.
RL.8.3Analyze how particular lines of dialogue or incidents in a story or drama propel the action, reveal aspects of a character, or
provoke a decision.
RL.8.4 Determine the meaning of words and phrases as they are used in a text, including figurative and connotative meanings;
analyze the impact of specific word choices on meaning and tone, including analogies or allusions to other texts.
RL.8.5 Compare and contrast the structure of two or more texts and analyze how the differing structure of each text contributes to its
meaning and style.
RL.8.6 Analyze how differences in the points of view of the characters and the audience or reader (e.g., created through the use of
dramatic irony) create such effects as suspense or humor.
RL.8.9 Analyze how a modern work of fiction draws on themes, patterns of events, or character types from myths, traditional stories,
or religious works such as the Bible, including describing how the material is rendered new.
RL.8.10 By the end of the year, read and comprehend literature, including stories, dramas, and poems, at the high end of grades 6–8
text complexity band independently and proficiently.
SL.8.1 Engage effectively in a range of collaborative discussions (one-on-one, in groups, and teacher-led) with diverse partners on
grade 8 topics, texts, and issues, building on others’ ideas and expressing their own clearly.
L.8.4.a Explain the function of verbals (gerunds, participles, infinitives) in general and their function in particular sentences.
L.8.5 Demonstrate understanding of figurative language, word relationships, and nuances in word meanings.
W.8.1.a-e Write arguments to support claims with clear reasons and relevant evidence
W.8.4 Produce clear and coherent writing in which the development, organization, and style are appropriate to task, purpose, and
audience.
W.8.5 With some guidance and support from peers and adults, develop and strengthen writing as needed by planning, revising,
editing, rewriting, or trying a new approach, focusing on how well purpose and audience have been addressed.
W.8.6 Use technology, including the Internet, to produce and publish writing and present the relationships between information and
ideas efficiently as well as to interact and collaborate with others.
W.8.7 Conduct short research projects to answer a question (including a self-generated question), drawing on several sources and
generating additional related, focused questions that allow for multiple avenues of exploration.
W.8.8 Gather relevant information from multiple print and digital sources, using search terms effectively; assess the credibility and
accuracy of each source; and quote or paraphrase the data and conclusions of others while avoiding plagiarism and following a
standard format for citation.
W.8.9.a Apply grade 8 Reading standards to literature (e.g., “Analyze how a modern work of fiction draws on themes,
patterns of events, or character types from myths, traditional stories, or religious works such as the Bible, including describing
how the material is rendered new”).
W.8.10 Write routinely over extended time frames (time for research, reflection, and revision) and shorter time frames (a
single sitting or a day or two) for a range of discipline-specific tasks, purposes, and audiences.
SL.8.1 Engage effectively in a range of collaborative discussions (one-on-one, in groups, and teacher-led) with diverse partners on
grade 8 topics, texts, and issues, building on others’ ideas and expressing their own clearly.
L.8.2.c Spell correctly.
L.8.3.a Use verbs in the active and passive voice and in the conditional and subjunctive mood to achieve particular effects (e.g.,
emphasizing the actor or the action; expressing uncertainty or describing a state contrary to fact).
L.8.4.c Consult general and specialized reference materials (e.g., dictionaries, glossaries, thesauruses), both print and digital, to find
the pronunciation of a word or determine or clarify its precise meaning or its part of speech.
L.8.6 Acquire and use accurately grade-appropriate general academic and domain-specific words and phrases; gather vocabulary
knowledge when considering a word or phrase important to comprehension or expression.
Learning Targets:
I can…
Define cite
Find evidence for strong support
Make inferences
Determine theme
Analyze theme development
Explain how the theme relates to the characters, setting, and plot
Write an unbiased summary
Explain how dialogue and incidents moves the action, develops a character, and provokes decisions
Define figurative language
Define connotative meaning
Explain the impact of figurative language on a literary piece
Determine the meaning of a word
Explain how structure affects meaning of two or more texts
Define point of view
Explain the similarities and differences of characters’ points of views and how they create suspense or humor
Explain how modern piece is affected by or draws from myths, traditional stories, or religious works
Comprehend many genres of literature at my grade level
Participate in one-on-one discussions, group discussions, teacher-led discussions
Prepare for a discussion
Follow rules for discussions
Ask questions that connect the ideas of my group members
Respond to questions posed by my group members
Summarize the group’s discussion
Understand others’ perspectives
Use context clues to determine the meaning of a word
Use print reference materials
Use electronic reference materials
Interpret figurative language
Write an argumentative paper
Define claims
Define argument
Create a strong claim
Organize evidence to support a claim
Include relevant evidence for and against an argument
Use credible sources
Use transitions to clarify relationships
Define cohesion
Use a formal style
Make a concluding statement
Develop grade-level appropriate writing
Use revision strategies, editing strategies, and revise for specific purpose and audience
Use feedback from teachers and/or peers
Use technology to publish writing, and collaborate
Show relationships between information and ideas
Do a research project
Use several sources to answer a question
Generate focused questions for research
Find information from print sources, and digital
Use search items
Define credible
Decide if a source is credible
Define plagiarism
Paraphrase information
Include quotes
Cite sources
Produce bibliography
Use pieces from literary texts, and informational texts to support my writing
Write for many reasons
Spell Correctly
Use proper conventions
Use verbs in multiple forms to achieve an effect
Use context clues to determine the meaning of word
Use print reference materials
Use electronic reference materials
Use grade appropriate vocabulary
Essential QuestionsRL.8.1 What do good readers do?
Am I clear about what I just read?
How do I know?
RL.8.2 (Same as above)
RL.8.3 (Same as above)
RL.8.4 Author’s choice: Why does it
matter?
What makes a story a “great” story?
RL.8.5 (same as above)
RL.8.6 (same as above)
RL.8.9 In what ways does creative choice
impact an audience?
Whose story is it, and why does it
matter?
RL.8.10 What do good readers do?
Am I clear about what I just read?
How do I know?
SL.8.1 What makes collaboration
meaningful? Making meaning from a
variety of sources: What will help?
L.8.4.a When a word doesn’t make sense,
what can I do?
How do I use what I know to figure out
what I don’t know?
L.8.5 (same as above)
W.8.1 What do good writers do?
What’s my purpose and how do I
develop it?
W.8.4 Writing Clearly: What makes a
difference?
Final Product: What does it take?
W.8.5 (Same as above)
W.8.6 (Same as above)
W.8.7 What do good researchers do?
“Cut and Paste:” What’s the problem?
W.8.8 (Same as above)
W.8.9 (Same as above)
W.8.10 Why write?
What do good writers do?
SL.8.1 What makes collaboration
meaningful? Making meaning from a
variety of sources: What will help?
L.8.2 What do the rules of language matter?
Communicating clearly: What does it
take?
L.8.3 How does situation affect meaning?
How does author’s choice impact an
audience?
L.8.4 When a word doesn’t make sense,
what can I do?
How do I use what I know to figure
out what I don’t know?
L.8.6 When a word doesn’t make sense,
what can I do?
How do I use what I know to figure
out what I don’t know? / Key Vocabulary
textual evidence
analyze
inference
explicit
theme
summary
objective
central idea
opinion
dialogue
analyze
figurative language
denotative meaning
analogy
literal language
connotative meaning
allusion
compare
contrast
text structure
infer
point of view
dramatic irony
suspense
theme
modern work of fiction
render
reading strategy
comprehension
collaborate
elaborate
integrate
warranted
justify
context clues
affix
root
reference material
figure of speech
word relationships
denotation
connotation
debate
counterclaim
transition
argument
evidence
claim
credible source
writing style
purpose
task
audience
revision strategy
edit
purpose
audience
publish
research
central question
source
credibility
search terms
plagiarism
paraphrase
citation
reflection
ellipsis
dash
active voice
passive voice
conditional mood
subjunctive mood
general academic words
domain specific words / Resources
Daily Lesson Log
Date / Target(s) / Target Type(K, R, S, P) / Activity / Assessment
(i.e. Bell Ringer, Flashback, Questioning, Class Discussion, Think/Pair/Share, Student Presentations, Unit Test, Common Assessment, etc…)
(Day1) or Date