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Plagiarism and Academic Honesty Violation
Students, plagiarism is defined as copying someone else's work and presenting it as your own. This includes working together on an assignment when it should be done independently. All work needs to be your own, unless it is a collaborative group activity. Copying someone else's work, whether it is a student, a sibling, or an online author, IS considered plagiarism and is an Academic Honesty Offense. A first-time Academic Honesty Offense for the student copying AND the student allowing someone to copy their work will result in a ZERO on the entire assignment.
1st Academic Honesty Offense
Automatic zero on the assignment/test and parent contact.
2nd Academic Honesty Offense
Automatic zero on the assignment/test and parent contact; referral in discipline file; removal from leadership positions.
3rd Academic Honesty Offense
transfer from the class with a grade of "F"; referral in discipline file; suspension.
English 7
Honors Requirements
7th Grade Honors
Dear Parents,
Congratulations! Your child’s 6th grade teacher has recommended your child for 7th grade honors English, based on the following criteria:
- Mostly As for end of trimester grade for subject. (one B okay)
- High homework completion rate.
- High attendance rate (special temporary situations exempt).
- The student demonstrates a consistent pattern of high achievement in the subject over time.
- The student has a strong work ethic, and is not reliant on homework completion, extra credit, and/or participation to offset lower test grades.
- The student consistently scores well above average on tests, quizzes, writing assignments, long-term projects, etc.
- The student demonstrates that he/she grasps abstract concepts at a deep level of understanding.
- The student is familiar with grade level content and reads at or above grade level.
- The student generates novel ideas and solutions for open-ended assignments and projects (what you might call an “out-of-the-box” or lateral thinker).
- The student responds to open-ended or complex questions or comments with a sensible, logical sequence to how he/she constructs the response (he/she is not “all over the place”).
- The student demonstrates tenacity—when faced with a challenging assignment, continuing to persevere or try other avenues.
- The student pays attention to detail and checks his/her work for accuracy, reflecting on whether the response makes sense.
- The student has mastered key concepts in the subject area. Student generally outperforms his/her peers in the subject area or related topics.
- The student can construct evidence-based, logical arguments verbally and in writing, and recognizes flaws in the reasoning of others.
- The student is inquisitive, asks follow-up questions, challenges assumptions, and often wants to know the rationale for decisions or grades.
8th Grade Honors
Summer Reading 8th
Summer Reading HS
English 8
Trimester 1
In the first trimester of the year, students will practice recognizing descriptive and figurative language by reading and analyzing the poem “Where I’m From,” by Joella Lyons. Students will then start an Author’s Craft unit to explore how authors create meaningful and noteworthy stories and poems. English 8 and Honors students will read many of the same authors, although some reading assignments will differ. Authors include Poe, Bradbury, Teasdale, Vonnegut, Cisneros, Collier and others. This unit culminates in a narrative writing assignment.
Simultaneously, students will learn to analyze works of fiction independently during our first trimester Book Club.
Before the trimester ends, students in English 8 will begin their novel study of the dystopian classic, The Giver, by Lois Lowry. This unit culminates in a response-to-literature writing assignment and a Socratic seminar. Students in Honors will read Chains, by Laurie Halse Anderson. This unit also culminates in a response-to-literature writing assignment and a Socratic seminar.
Trimester 2
In the second trimester, we focus on argumentative writing, beginning with a unit on animal testing. Students often find this topic interesting; many end up changing their minds as they discover new arguments for and against animal testing. Students learn to evaluate, balance and cite evidence drawn from informational text. This unit culminates in an argumentative writing assignment, in which students practice writing counterclaims and rebuttals.
Students next engage in an immersive unit on the literature of war. They learn how propaganda and personal stories both influence our understanding of events, such as World War II. The anchor text is The Diary of Anne Frank, a theatrical adaptation of Anne’s journals. The play is followed up by short texts that address the internment of Japanese Americans after the bombing of Pearl Harbor. Writing assignments during this unit include informational essays and imagined personal narratives. The unit will culminate in a Socratic seminar.
Simultaneously, students will read selected companion books in the war genre, along with small groups who are reading the same text. They will learn to interrogate the text with literature circle activities.
Trimester 3
In the third trimester, students will practice analyzing speeches from such famous changemakers as Dr. Martin Luther King and Malala Yousafzai, among others. Students will then choose their own issues on which they would like to speak out, from any side they choose, and create a persuasive essay or speech.
To finish the year, English 8 students will read the classic novel Roll of Thunder, Hear My Cry, by Mildred D. Taylor, practicing all the literary analysis skills they have learned over the course of the year. Honors students will read science fiction texts, including “The Machine Stops,” by E.M. Forster. These units will culminate in response-to-literature essays.
Simultaneously, students will engage in a Book Club, reading and sharing books of their choice, all connected to the theme of personal challenges.
Finally, each 8th grade student will write a “Letter to My Future Self,” in which students document aspects of their lives now and pose questions for their future selves. The letters will be returned to them by mail at the time of their high school graduations.
Book Club
Students will participate in one Book Club per trimester, practicing the skills of literary analysis and collegial discussion that they have learned throughout the year. For one of the book clubs, students will choose to read the same book as a small group of peers, and they will engage in discussions based on a “literature circle-type” curriculum.
Resources and Handouts
Essay Outline
Introduction
- Strong hook: A quote or a strong statement supporting your thesis statement or claim--this should NOT be a question.
- TAG: Introduce title of the story, the author, and the genre.
- Background: (transition word/phrase) Brief summary of what the story is about.
- Thesis Statement or Claim: Answer the prompt and provide two reasons (one for each body paragraph).
Body Paragraph #1
- Topic Sentence: (transition word/phrase) Restate your thesis statement or claim and describe Reason #1.
- Evidence: (transition word/phrase) A direct quote from the story (cited).
- Elaboration: (transition word/phrase) Connect your evidence to your thesis statement or claim.
- Evidence: (transition word/phrase) A direct quote from the story (cited).
- Elaboration: (transition word/phrase) Connect your evidence to your thesis statement or claim.
Body Paragraph #2
- Topic Sentence: (transition word/phrase) Restate your thesis statement or claim and describe Reason #2.
- Evidence: (transition word/phrase) A direct quote from the story (cited).
- Elaboration: (transition word/phrase) Connect your evidence to your thesis statement or claim.
- Evidence: (transition word/phrase) A direct quote from the story (cited).
- Elaboration: (transition word/phrase) Connect your evidence to your thesis statement or claim.
- Counterclaim: (for argument essay only) The opposing side of your claim.
- Rebuttal: (for argument essay only) Another strong point about your claim.
Conclusion
- Topic Sentence: (transition word/phrase) Restate your thesis statement or claim in different words *Do NOT say "in conclusion" or "to conclude"
- Summary: (transition word/phrase) Discuss the main points of your body paragraphs.
- Lesson Learned: (transition word/phrase) What is an important lesson to be learned?
Elements of Literature
Elements of a Story
Basic Elements of a Short Story
- Plot: the sequence of events in the story; what happens and the order in which it happens
- Character: who or what acts out the plot
- Setting: where and when the story takes place; the time, place, and atmosphere of the story
- Point of View: who tells the story; an objective narrator, a main character
- Theme: the underlying meaning or message the author wants the reader to see; a general truth about life or mankind. The theme may be moral or lesson of the story, but is not necessarily so. Themes may be directly stated in the story or merely implied. **Theme is what the author is trying to say; it is usually why he wrote the story
Basic Plot Structure
The series of events in a plot centers on a conflict, which is the struggle between opposing forces or a complication that must be solved.
- Exposition: the beginning of the story; sets the stage and gives the who, what, where, when of the story
- Narrative Hook: the point at which the author catches our attention. Usually a complication sets in.
- Rising Action: more complications added to the story; increases our interest.
- Climax: the point of highest interest in the story; the moment of greatest intensity. It is at this point in the story which we know for certain how the problems will be solved.
- Falling Action: what happens immediately after the climax
- Resolution: the final outcome; also called the DENOUEMENT. Not all the stories will have this.
Character
Character: a person, animal, or thing that takes part in the action of a literary work.
- Protagonist: the main character. It is his or her story.
- Antagonist: a character or force in conflict with the main character, or protagonist
- Round: fully developed character; writer reveals character’s background and his/her personality traits, both good and bad.
- Flat: seems to possess only one or two personality traits and little, if any, personal history.
- Dynamic: A character who changes in some way during the course of the story. This change or “lesson learned” often points to the theme of the story.
- Static: a character that does not change.
- Minor Character: takes part in the story’s events but is not the main focus of attention; sometimes helps the reader learn about the main character.
- Hero/Heroine: a character whose actions are inspiring or noble.
- Motivation: the reason that explains or partially explains a character’s actions.
- Foil: a person whose main purpose in the story is to make another character look brighter. He makes the other character “shine”. (Like Patrick in Spongebob Squarepants)
Plot
Conflict
Two types of conflict:
External Conflict: the character struggles against some person or force
- man vs. man
- man vs. environment
- man vs. society
Internal Conflict: the struggle takes place within the character’s mind
- man vs. his duty
- man vs. his selfishness
- man vs. his fears
Suspense: the feeling of anxious uncertainty about the outcome of events in a literary work. The suspense in a story can be especially intense if the writer has created convincing, interesting characters about whom the reader cares strongly.
Foreshadowing: the use of clues in a literary work that suggest events that have yet to occur. Foreshadowing helps create suspense by making the reader wonder what will happen next.
Red Herrings: false clues purposefully planted in a plot to throw the reader off track. Commonly found in mystery plots.
Willing Suspension of Disbelief: the reader puts his disbeliefs aside and ignores flaws in the plot in order to enjoy the plot.
Irony: any sudden twist or turn in the plot
Three types of irony
- Verbal Irony: words are used to suggest the opposite of their usual meaning, as when a weak person is called a “born leader.” Sarcasm is a form of verbal irony.
- Dramatic Irony: there is a contradiction between what a character thinks and what the audience or reader knows to be true (i.e. we are in on the surprise).
- Situational Irony: an event occurs that directly contradicts the expectations of the characters and the readers (i.e. the characters AND the audience are both surprised).
Point of View, Symbolism, Tone
Flashback: a scene inserted into a story showing events that happened in the past. Flashback is usually used to make a deeper connection between events in the past and how they have influenced the present.
Chronological Order: the order in which the events occurred in time are the order in which they appear in the story.
In Media Res: ( Latin: “in the midst of things”) the practice of beginning a narrative by plunging into a crucial situation that is part of a related chain of events; the situation is an extension of previous events and will be developed in later action. The narrative then goes directly forward, and exposition of earlier events is supplied by flashbacks.
Symbolism: Symbolism is the use of symbols in a story. A symbol is any thing that stands for or represents something else. Symbols are usually concrete objects, images, or actions used to represent abstract ideas.
Tone: the attitude toward the subject and the audience conveyed by the language and the rhythm of the speaker in a literary work.
Mood: (also called “atmosphere”) the feeling created in the reader by a literary work or passage. The author may decide to sustain the same mood throughout a literary work, or the mood may change with each new twist of the plot. The tone of the narrator often helps set the overall mood.
Points of View
Three main points of view:
- First-Person Point of View: one of the characters tells the story, which is indicated by the pronouns “I” and “me.” The audience or reader becomes familiar with the narrator, but we can only know what this person knows and and only observe what this person observes. All of our information about the story comes from this narrator, who may be unreliable (“Duffy’s Jacket”, “Three Skeleton Key”).
- Limited Third-Person Point of View: the narrator focuses on the thoughts and feelings of only one character without actually being that character. From this point of view we observe the action from the point of view of only one of the characters in the story. (“The Smallest Dragonboy”).
- Omniscient Third-Person Point of View: the narrator knows everything about the characters and their problems. This all-knowing narrator can tell us about the past, present, or future of the characters. The narrator can also tell us what the characters are thinking and what is happening in several places at the same time. However, the narrator does not take part in the story’s action(“Rikki Tikki Tavi”).