COURSE INFORMATION

Instruction in grade eight addresses students’ increasing maturity and the growing sophistication of their abilities. Students should be able to comprehend more challenging books and articles, basing all of their analyses, inferences, and claims on explicit and relevant evidence from the texts. Students will expand on their ability to identify central ideas by identifying how those themes are shaped and conveyed by particular details. Their analysis of basic literary elements will extend to identifying connections and complexities within narratives and how individual elements weave together to advance plot and reveal character. The evaluation of the impact of language on tone and meaning will begin to include more sophisticated concepts such as analogy and allusion, subtleties in point of view such as dramatic irony, and a more sophisticated appreciation for connotative diction. These skills will be incorporated into the students’ own narrative, informational, and argumentative writing. Students will become increasingly adept at understanding an author’s biases, the use of complex rhetorical devices including logical fallacies, and tailoring his or her own prose for maximum influence. In addition, the sixth grade curriculum embraces the three major shifts of the Georgia Standards of Excellence:

• 1. Complexity: The standards require regular practice with complex text and its academic language
• 2. Evidence: The standards emphasize reading and writing grounded in evidence from text, both literary and informational
• 3. Knowledge: The standards require building knowledge through content rich non-fiction

While continuing with a variety of literary non-fiction, students in grade six will begin to tackle more technical informational texts as well. Literary selections will include foundational materials from mythology, cultural histories, and religious traditions. Text complexity levels are assessed based upon a variety of indicators.

Additionally, key research concepts will include media literacy, conducting searches, and finding and using sources. The Speaking and Listening standards require students to develop a range of broadly useful oral communication and interpersonal skills. Students must learn to work together, express and listen carefully to ideas, integrate information from oral, visual, quantitative, and media sources, evaluate what they hear, use media and visual displays strategically to help achieve communicative purposes, and adapt speech to context and task.  

More information regarding the course standards can be found by accessing the following link:https://www.georgiastandards.org/Georgia-Standards/Pages/ELA-6-8.aspx

DISCIPLINE

Warning (Strike 1): Verbal/Non-Verbal Warning

1st OFFENSE (Strike 2): Student/Teacher Conference

2ND OFFENSE (Strike 3): Parent Phone Call, Text, or Email

3RD OFFENSE:  Isolation

4TH OFFENSE: After-School Detention

5TH OFFENSE:  Parent Conference Requested

6th OFFENSE:  Office Referral