INSIDE THE ENGLISH CLASSROOM:

Michele Cleary, Eighth grade ELA teacher, Dual Language Middle School, Manhattan

Throughout middle school, students are taught to ground their answers in evidence from the text. In eighth-grade ELA, we push students to evaluate the evidence they are identifying and use only the strongest examples to support their claims. Students must read closely, meaning they often read texts — or certain sections of texts — multiple times. Repeated reading deepens their understanding of what they are reading, and helps them see how and why authors structure their writing in a certain way. When students really dig into a text like “To Kill a Mockingbird,” they see an excellent example of how an author can use dialogue and specific actions to develop a character.

The shift to the Common Core has brought more informational texts into the classroom. Our students read many different non-fiction articles, essays, and speeches, with a focus on analyzing and evaluating arguments. In eighth grade, students also examine how authors respond to opposing viewpoints when assessing the strength of an argument.

They often read articles on the same topic with conflicting arguments and determine which one is stronger. This teaches students to think critically about what they read and supports thoughtful, substantive discussions in the classroom.

The Common Core standards are definitely rigorous, but they allow for creativity too. When reading literary texts, we encourage students to make connections to their own

lives. For example, when we finished “To Kill a Mockingbird” last year, my students applied the theme of taking a stand to the most pressing issues in society today.

Over the course of a few weeks, my students researched multiple topics of their choosing, developed their own opinions on these issues, and constructed arguments that they presented to a public audience. Some wrote letters to presidential candidates about equal pay or immigration, while others gave presentations to community leaders on mass incarceration and gun control. This student-designed project encouraged them to be independent thinkers.

The skills learned in eighthgrade ELA not only make students better readers and writers, but better citizens as well.

Sample questions:

On the 2017 exam, students will read 11 articles and fiction excerpts, then answer multiple-choice and essay questions.

1) Excerpt from “The Peerless Four” features a girl whose passion for basketball causes conflict with her father. How does the basketball game setting relate to the theme of the story?

A. By showing where the narrator feels the most alive.

B. By showing how the narrator utilizes her knowledge.

C. By showing how the narrator differs from other girls.

D. By showing why the narrator supports

her brother.

2) In Guy de Maupassant’s story “An Uncomfortable Bed,” the tables are turned on a practical jokester. Which detail best expresses the theme of the story?

A. “One autumn I went to spend the hunting season with some friends.” (Line 1.)

B. “Assuredly I am to be the victim.” (Line 11.)

C. “I heard persons moving around outside my door.” (Line 23.)

D. “For at least another hour I remained awake, starting at the slightest sound.” (Line 51.)

3) Western novelist Zane Grey follows a pair of gold prospectors lost in the desert in “Stranger from the Tonto.” In the excerpt, how do lines 23 through 26 contribute to the plot? Use two details from the story to support your response.

ANSWERS: 1. A; 2. B; 3. Two points possible.