[ELA] English/Language Arts 8 Semester A (1 of 2): Extended Campus (SM)

In this course, you will read and analyze literary and informational texts. These texts come from many genres and sources, including short stories, novels, myths, poems, magazine articles, and autobiographies. Through the presentation of these reading selections, the course demonstrates ways to understand explicit and implicit information, theme, central idea, and figurative language. You will read the novel The Call of the Wild and short stories such as "The Lottery," "A Sound of Thunder," and "The Tell-Tale Heart." You will examine informational texts to better your understanding of the Yukon, the Klondike Gold Rush, dog sledding, and wolves. In addition, you will encounter many infographics and videos that build on the instruction.

As you read the selections in this course, you will practice ways to identify central ideas, make inferences, use supporting evidence, analyze word choice, and identify figurative and connotative language in both literary and informational texts. In addition, you will learn about basics in punctuation, including the use of ellipses, dashes, and commas to create pauses or breaks. You will also focus on context clues to determine word meaning; learn about Greek and Latin prefixes, suffixes, and roots; and learn how to use reference materials such as dictionaries, glossaries, and thesauruses.

In addition, you will learn the elements of a fictional narrative in order to plan, create, write, revise, and edit your own fictional narrative.

Through the lessons provided in this course, you will master techniques that help you achieve a deeper appreciation of literary and informational texts.