AMERICAN EXPERIENCE:

8TH GRADE ENGLISH AND AMERICAN HISTORY     {WELCOME}

 

American Experience enables students to appreciate the growth of and relationship between American literature and history from pre-colonial days to World War I.  Students are challenged in vocabulary development, literary response and analysis, writing strategies,  writing applications, written and oral English language conventions, listening and speaking strategies, and speaking applications.  Students learn to use the processes of history to develop an understanding of our nation's past.  In addition, students investigate recurring themes and/or values in American literature and history.  This course is intended for students who are prepared to accept a demanding pace, difficult readings, and an extended workload. 

The students in eighth grade study the ideas, issues, and events from the framing of the Constitution up to World War I.  After reviewing the development of America's democratic institutions founded on the Judeo-Christian and English parliamentary traditions, particularly the shaping of the Constitution, students trace the development of American politics, society, culture, and economy and relate them to the emergence of major regional differences.  They learn about the challenges facing the new nation, with an emphasis on the causes, course, and consequences of the Civil War.  They make connections between the rise of industrialization and contemporary social and economic conditions.

 

 

WRITING SYMPOSIUM

 

This course is offered to exceptional seventh and eighth grade writers.  Students are selected based on their achievement on the 3rd quarter writing assignments and core teacher recommendations.  The course will be offered in the fall and/or spring semester, depending on demand. 

Students will keep a writing notebook in which they collect ideas for writing.  They will choose ideas on which to elaborate from the collection in their notebooks, and write drafts.  They will revise and word process their drafts to produce publishable work. 

Students will explore several genres of writing, including genres not usually taught in core classes, such as the writing of plays and novellas. The class will also showcase their writing in the school's literary magazine.