Week 2(3) – Study Guide – ELA 8th

Unit 1(Is “Better” Always Better?): A Literary Unit based on the short story “Flowers for Algernon” by Daniel Keyes

Guiding Questions:

  • Is our desire to seek improvement through technological advancement/artificial means handicapping us as a society?
  • What do our judgements about the imperfections of others reveal about our own character? How do our fears about others’ opinions of us affect our behaviors and goals? Should we change ourselves or encourage change to fit our idea of what is “better”?
  • What constitutes intelligence and can testing actually measure it?

Assignment / Due Date / Parent Signature
(Bonus Point Each Day Signed)
Monday
  • Review Cold-Read – OKto test animals?
  • Discuss Multiple Intelligences (quiz) as an extension of the Rorschach test.
  • Reading 2nd part of “Flowers for Algernon”
/
  • Study story notes & vocabulary – test 8/31/16.
  • Poem 1 (50 Points).

Tuesday
  • Review vocabulary for first test.
  • Complete reading and discussion of story.
  • Rorschach game – if time.
/
  • Poem 2 (50 Points).

Wednesday
  • Flowers for Algernon - Test (100 Points)
  • Writing process – read “Brain Implant…” to begin developing argumentative essay.
/
  • Poem 3 (50 Points).

Thursday
  • Review new vocabulary.
  • Continue pre-writing and discussion of essay.
/
  • Poem 4 (50 Points).

Friday
  • Argumentative Essay 9/2/16 (100 Points)
  • Time perm. watch “Flowers for Algernon.”
/
  • Poem 5 (50 Points).
  • Study Vocab & Story – TEST 9/9/16.
  • Poetry Assignment Due Monday 8/29.

Week 2 - 8th Grade Grammar

You will receive grammar reminders when I notice patterns of errors in your writing. For the first two weeks – know these basic rules and tips.

  • Parts of a Paragraph - The basic paragraph consists of three parts:
  • Topic Sentence: The main idea of each paragraph is stated in a topic sentence that shows how the idea relates to the thesis or overall focus of the paper. Generally, the topic sentence is the first sentence of a paragraph. All subsequent points made in the paragraphs should support the topic sentence.
  • Supporting Details: Supporting details elaborate upon and prove the topic sentence. Supporting details should be drawn from a variety of sources including research and experiences, depending on the assignment, and include the writer’s own analysis.
  • Concluding Sentence: Each paragraph should end with a final statement that ties together the ideas brought up in the paragraph and emphasizes the main idea one last time. If the assignment is longer, it should transition to the ideas of the next paragraph.
  • More Paragraph Rules:
  • Either skip a line in between paragraphs OR indent the first line of each paragraph.
  • Put only one main idea per paragraph.
  • Aim for three to five or more sentences per paragraph, even though a paragraph can be shorter.
  • Make your paragraphs proportional to your paper. Since paragraphs do less work in short papers, have short paragraphs for short papers and longer paragraphs for longer papers.
  • If you have a few very short paragraphs, think about whether they are really parts of a larger paragraph—and can be combined—or whether you can add details to support each point and thus make each into a more fully developed paragraph.
  • Essay Transitions:

  • To Show Sequence:
/
  • To Give an Example:
/
  • To Summarize or Conclude:

  • first
  • second
  • third
  • next
  • then
  • following this
  • subsequently
  • finally
/
  • for example
  • for instance
  • in this case
  • in another case
  • on this occasion
  • in this situation
  • take the case of
  • to demonstrate
/
  • in brief
  • on the whole
  • summing up
  • to conclude
  • in conclusion
  • as I have shown
  • as I have said
  • consequently

Week 2(3) – Reading Vocabulary Words – ELA 8th

From the short story “The Scarlet Ibis” by James Hurst and “There Will Come Soft Rains” by Ray Bradbury

Ibis / (pronounced EYE biss) wading birds of warm regions having long slender down-curved bills
invalid / someone who is incapacitated by a chronic illness or injury.
reiterated / said again, repeated
doggedness / persistent determination
exotic / characteristic of another place or part of the world
imminent / close in time; about to occur
precariously / in a manner affording no ease or reassurance
evanesce / disappear gradually
heresy / a belief that rejects the orthodox tenets of a religion
infallibility / the quality of never making an error
oblivious / lacking consciousness or awareness of something
relays / devices that automatically turn switches in electric currents on and off.
silhouette / a shadowlike image of the outline of a person's image.
Baal / an idol worshiped by certain ancient peoples of the Middle East.
manifested / appeared.
okapi / an antelope-like hoofed mammal of the African jungle.
tremulous / trembling.
Picassos and Matisses / paintings by the famous 20th-century artists Pablo Picasso and Henri Matisse.
warrens / passageways or burrows.
sublime / splendid.