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Language Arts - Secondary Curriculum English Language Arts Grade 8
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Writing Standard 2

Write informative/explanatory texts to examine a topic and convey ideas, concepts, and information through the selection, organization, and analysis of relevant content.
  • Childhood Through the Looking Glass
    The goals of this lesson plan are: (1) To learn about Lewis Carroll and the vision of childhood he created in Alice in Wonderland (2) To compare Carroll's Victorian world of childhood with the world of 'Innocence and Experience' portrayed by the Romantic poet William Blake; (3) To explore the relationship between picture and text in children's literature; (4) To consider the relationship between childhood fictions and the real experience of growing up.
  • Eighth Grade On-Demand Informative / Explanatory Writing Samples
    Sample informative / explanatory pieces written by eighth graders in response to a uniform text-based prompt.
  • Eighth Grade Range of Writing Informative / Explanatory Writing Samples
    These pieces provide examples of informative / explanatory writing for a range of discipline-specific tasks, purposes, and audiences, over both extended and shorter time frames.
  • Investigating the Holocaust: A Collaborative Inquiry Project
    Students will read a range of Holocaust resources, from different genres and media; use a variety of resources to gather and synthesize knowledge about the Holocaust; work collaboratively to investigate questions about a specific topic; present information orally and in a group newspaper.
  • Lesson Starter: Compare and Contrast
    Students will analyze, compare and contrast authors' and artists' motivations for creativity.
  • Shared Spelling Strategies
    In this lesson from ReadWriteThink, students increase their spelling accuracy and their retention by "constructing" spelling using sound, sight recall, and analyzing strategies, among others, instead of memorizing lists of words. The aim is to deal with spelling during drafting while preserving fluency.
  • The Five Paragraph Essay
    Step by step instructions for completing a five-paragraph essay.


UEN logo http://www.uen.org - in partnership with Utah State Board of Education (USBE) and Utah System of Higher Education (USHE).  Send questions or comments to USBE Specialist - Naomi  Watkins and see the Language Arts - Secondary website. For general questions about Utah's Core Standards contact the Director - Jennifer  Throndsen.

These materials have been produced by and for the teachers of the State of Utah. Copies of these materials may be freely reproduced for teacher and classroom use. When distributing these materials, credit should be given to Utah State Board of Education. These materials may not be published, in whole or part, or in any other format, without the written permission of the Utah State Board of Education, 250 East 500 South, PO Box 144200, Salt Lake City, Utah 84114-4200.