Have you ever been so involved in reading that you didn’t pay any attention to anything that was happening around you?  When you are this excited about what you are reading, you are an active reader, one who becomes involved with the issues and events presented in the piece of literature.

The stories, poems, plays, and novels the 8th grade students will be reading this year will encourage them to become active readers.  From timeless writings to modern classics, students will experience characters, settings, themes, and plots that will tickle their curiosity and stimulate their minds.  Students will also be encouraged to question, predict, and evaluate in order to discover how a piece of literature applies to their world.

Active reading promotes active writing.  Step by step, students will untangle the mechanics of formal and informal writing to see the importance of detail and how it can bring a piece of writing to life.  

Materials: 

*The Ultimate Gift – book
*To Kill a Mockingbird – book
The Adventure of the Blue Carbuncle – short story by Sir Conan Doyle
Selected Greek myths:
Prometheus
Phaeton
Clytie
Narcissus

*All other novels and supplemental reading material provided by instructor.

  • ½” Binder 
  • Tab dividers 
  • Composition notebook for a journal
  • File Folder any color for things I return (label with student name)
  • college ruled paper hole-punch (in binder)
  • pens
  • pencils
  • highlighters

$15 for Vocabulary Power Plus – RCA will purchase this book in bulk for the students to be reimbursed by families.)