English 8 Course Outline

Welcome to English 8. This course will introduce students to the content and skill requirements they will need to do well in high school. English combines the study of both language and literature and develops skills associated with the Language Arts: reading, writing, speaking and listening.

Students should expect to study the following genres of literature:
 
 

   Short Stories (In Context II)
   Novels (Key Novel: The Outsiders)
   Poetry (Poetry in Focus)
   Media (Film and other sources/types)
      Non-Fiction  (articles, essays, editorials etc...)

The following elements of grammar will be studied:
 
 
 

Sentence Building:
  • Complete Sentences
    		•
  • Different sentences for different purposes
    		•
  • Parts of speech (Nouns-types, verbs, adjective, adverbs)
    		•
  • Subject part (modifying nouns)
  • Predicate part
    		•
  • Verb part (main verb and auxiliaries)
    		•
  • Modifying Verbs
    		•
  • Placing prepositional phrases
    		•
  • Pronoun reference
    		•
  • S-V-O sentence pattern
    		•
  • S-V sentence pattern
    		•
  • S-LV-C sentence pattern
    		•
  • Negative sentences
    		•
  • Question sentences (interogative)
    		•
  • Commands and exclamations (imperative, declarative)
    		•
  • Focus on basic punctuation (comma, end punctuation, apostrophe, quotation marks)
    		•

    Paragraph Building:
     

  • Arranging the paragraph
    		•
  • Using topic sentences
    		•
  • Using signal words
    		•
  • Narrative paragraphs
    		•
  • Descriptive paragraphs
    		•
  • Expository paragraphs
    		•
  • Organizing Patterns
    		•
  • Time order
    		•
  • Place order
    		•
  • Classification
    		•
  • Comparing/contrasting
    		•
  • Cause and effect
    		•
  • Simple listing
    		•

    NB: Teachers will place significant emphasis on the WRITING PROCESS

    Vocabulary:
     

  • Dictionary, encyclopaedia, thesaurus (intro and orient)
    		•
  • Synonyms
    		•
  • Antonyms
    		•
  • Homonyms
    		•
  • Spelling: ONGOING. Basic rules
    		•
  • Descriptives
    		•
  • Prefixes
    		•
  • Roots
    		•
  • Suffixes
    		•
  • Connotation/denotation
    		•

     

    Reading:

    At Dover Bay, continuous emphasis will be made on the following reading strategies:

    Ongoing development of these reading strategies will be made through the study of literature and skill lessons designed to make students accomplished readers.

    The KEY writing assignments which students will be required to demonstrate proficiency will be paragraphs of the various types, journals, personal letters.

    Teachers may, at their discretion, assign larger assignments like book reports, library assignments and the like.

    Oral reports/emphasis on organization and presentation (small group format)

    Literature:

    Students will study various forms of literature which range from prose (both fiction and non-fiction) to poetry. Students will learn the following literary terms:

    Prose:

    Elements of Fiction:

    Types of Fiction: Non-Fiction: Drama:


    Poetry:

    Media: Evaluation:
     
    Term 1: 40%
    Term 2: 40%
    Final (Comp)10%
    Final (Exam)10%

    As part of the ongoing and authentic assessment, Performance Standards from the Ministry of Education, (Writing),(Reading) will be employed along with other strategies and methods of evaluation.