(04/22)  Both 8th LA classes are in the throes of a research paper!  Each student has chosen a person to research who has impacted society in some significant way.  We are learning the various steps and requirements in the research process.  The final paper is due May 14.

(03/02) 8A is in the midst of the unit from the lit book about horror/suspense stories.  We are currently studying Poe, writing an essay comparing two of his stories.  After that we will study his famous poem “The Raven”.  8B is in the midst of the science fiction unit.

(01/05) Both LA classes are taking a few weeks off from literature to focus on grammar.  We are working through a brief unit on the parts of speech.  We are concurrently using “The Ned Files” to help us review punctuation.

(11/30) 8A has finished reading their science fiction short stories, although a few of them are still working on their novels.  They are currently brainstorming ideas for a sci fi story of their own, which they will be writing over the next several days.  8B recently finished an essay comparing two Poe stories, and they are currently in the midst of studying his poem “The Raven”.  In the next two weeks, we will finish this horror story unit and move on to a brief session on grammar until Christmas break.

(11/04)  After an enjoyable unit studying The Ultimate Gift book and watching the movie, the two LA classes are going their separate ways.  8A has begun a unit on the genre of science fiction.  8B will be doing unit 8 in the literature books called “Hair-Raising Tales”, where we study “horror” stories.

(09/25)  Our next unit is a study of the book  The Ultimate Gift by Jim Stovall.  Through writing, discussion, vocabulary, and other various activities, we will discover together what it truly means to receive the ultimate gift.

(09/22)  Final drafts of paragraphs are due on Friday, 09/25.

(09/01)  In 8th grade language arts, we are starting out the year with a brief review and practice writing paragraphs.  Students are writing for a variety of purposes, including compare, contrast, explain instructions, describe, and persuade.  They are also focusing on the features of good paragraph writing: topic sentence, word choices, transition words, supporting detail sentences, closing sentence, organization, and so on.