Grade 8 - English
Language Arts 800 Fundamentals (Credit: 1.00) Language Arts 800 continues to build on the sequential development and integration of communication skills in four
major areas—reading, writing, speaking, and listening. It most specifically focuses on deepening and furthering
students' understanding in the following ways:
ï‚· Reading reinforces reading comprehension skills by teaching students context clues and sequencing; how to
analyze propaganda and other forms of writing, including biographies, autobiographies, formal essays and
short stories; shows students how to make denotative, symbolic, and connotative readings of a text;
introduces both Old English and Middle English languages and literature to develop students' understanding
of English language formation and development; prepares students for the higher level literary
comprehension skills required in the upper grades. Â
ï‚· Writing develops students' understanding of sentence structure, providing handsâ€on experience with
conjunctions, transitions, clauses, and common sentence errors; teaches language histories and etymologies
to help students build on knowledge of word structures, including topics like prefixes, roots, and suffixes;
expands on students' vocabulary and spelling skills; gives students the opportunity to develop their abilities in
writing business letters, friendly letters, informal essays, and basic literature analyses. Â
ï‚· Speaking offers students experience in delivering oral reports; teaches skills that enable students to become
effective speakers and communicators, weaving these skills together throughout the course. Â
ï‚· Listening teaches effective listening comprehension skills, weaving these together throughout the lessons;
builds upon students' study skills, as well as helping them become reliable and efficient noteâ€takers. Â
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