8th Grade Family Letters

Dear Families,

At the heart of the EL Education Language Arts Curriculum is a commitment to literacy  instruction through engaging, authentic books. Each of the four modules in the Grade 8  curriculum is built around a fiction or nonfiction book that guides the learning and helps  students connect to the module topic. These books act as portals, giving students access to  the perspectives of diverse characters and to the academic challenges required for grade-level  success.  

The books selected for Grade 8 lead students through an exploration of Latin American  folklore, food choices, the Holocaust, and Japanese American internment. Despite the variety  of their content, the central texts have this in common: rich, complex language; important and  compelling themes; exciting plots with meaningful conflicts; and thoughtful characters or  historical figures who, in their own ways, aim to be ethical people who contribute to a better  world. By the end of the school year, through work with these books and related texts, students  will be more effective, more strategic, and more joyful readers.  

Module 1: Summer of the Mariposas by Guadalupe Garcia McCall

Summer of the Mariposas is the story of the five Garza sisters and their adventures as they travel  from their home in Texas to Mexico and back. After the girls find a dead body floating in a  swimming hole near the Mexican border, they decide to set out to find the man’s family and  return his body to them. Meanwhile, they also plan to reunite with their grandmother, whom  they haven’t seen in many years. Along the way, the girls encounter supernatural beings; they  must outsmart an evil witch, a sneaky warlock, ferocious half-human owls, and fabled monsters  like the chupacabras. All the while, a magical earring, given to the oldest Garza sister, Odilia,  by the ghost of the legendary La Llorona, keeps the girls safe and protected in their trying  adventures. This modern retelling of The Odyssey celebrates maternal love and the bond among  sisters as they navigate both magical and real-life challenges.  

Work in this module helps students develop reading and writing skills and strategies they will  apply throughout Grade 8 and beyond. Theme and point of view are introduced through the  novel, as well as norms for carrying out a respectful and productive discussion, as students  discuss their responses to the text. Students also analyze how differences in the characters’  or reader’s points of view create effects like suspense or humor. To build research and writing  skills, students research and write a scene about a “monster” from Latin American folklore,  and then apply analysis skills to their own writing with a compare and contrast essay about the  scene they wrote. 

Module 2: The Omnivore’s Dilemma (Young Readers Edition) by Michael Pollan 

In The Omnivore’s Dilemma, Michael Pollan sets out to make sense of the complicated food  choices that modern Americans face today. Pollan presents research that examines the harsh  realities of industrial food production and the contrasts between large- and small-scale organic  food products, and tries his own hand at hunting and gathering food. He leaves the reader with  simple but convincing arguments for which food choices are the most ethical, sustainable, and  environmentally friendly.  

Throughout the module, students read excerpts from The Omnivore’s Dilemma and analyze  video clips of the documentary Nourish: Food and Community. Students analyze purpose and  point of view, consider how the authors convey key ideas, evaluate arguments and authors’  motives for conveying information, and consider the advantages and disadvantages of using  different mediums. Students then carry out research and formulate their own opinions in an  argument essay about which food choice would be the most beneficial for themselves and their  community.  

Module 4: Farewell to Manzanar by Jeanne Wakatsuki Houston and James  D. Houston 

Farewell to Manzanar depicts the experiences of Jeanne Wakatsuki and her family before,  during, and after their imprisonment at Manzanar, a Japanese American internment camp  during World War II. The story begins in California when the narrator, Jeanne, is age seven, at  the time of the bombing of Pearl Harbor, and ends when Jeanne returns to Manzanar years later,  as an adult with her own family. Jeanne’s journey of self-discovery is one that includes difficult  realizations about the dangers of fear and prejudice, but also the resilience of the human spirit.  

This module centers on the lessons of Japanese American internment. As students read the  text, they track connections and distinctions made among individuals, ideas, and events, and  consider the authors’ methods and use of language in conveying the Wakatsukis’ experience.  Students also watch the film adaptation of Farewell to Manzanar and write a literary argument  essay to analyze the ways in which the film stays faithful to or departs from the text. In a final  culmination of learning across the module, students carry out research and interviews to learn  about how community organizations are applying the lessons of Japanese American internment  today. 

Unit 1: Build Background Knowledge: Read and Analyze Summer of the Mariposas

What will your student be doing at school?

Students begin Unit 1 by reading Summer of the Mariposas. Theme and point of view are introduced through the text, as well as discussion norms as students discuss their responses to the text. They also analyze how differences in the points of view of the characters and the reader create effects like suspense or humor. While reading Summer of the Mariposas, they also closely read complex informational texts about the folklore of Mexico. In the second half of Unit 1, students analyze how incidents in the story reveal aspects of a character in order to prepare for a Socratic Seminar discussion. Theme is introduced and tracked in preparation for Unit 2.

How can you support your student at home?

• Talk to your student about the guiding questions, particularly if any of the topics raised might be sensitive for your student.
• Talk to your student about the texts he or she is reading in the classroom, particularly if any of the topics raised might be sensitive for your student.
• Reach out to teachers if you have any questions or concerns about the text.
• Share traditional stories from your culture or heritage with your student. Ask your student about the lessons that these stories were meant to teach and how those messages might still be relevant today.
• Talk to your student about how family and culture have influenced your life. Share examples of your family and culture and the specific impacts they have had.
• Watch films and research on the internet with your student to find out more about Latin American myths and legends. The novel your student is studying references a number of different mythological figures. Build background knowledge on this topic by discovering together the details of the figures named in the novel.
• Read chapter books with your student and discuss the point of view of characters within the books. How does the point of view differ from your own perspective? What effect does that have on you as a reader? Discuss the themes that are revealed in the books and how the author has introduced and developed these themes.

Habits of Character

Working to become ethical people is the habit of character emphasized in this unit. These are the specific skills students will focus on:

• I show empathy. This means I understand and share or take into account the feelings, situation, or attitude of others.
• I behave with integrity. This means I am honest and do the right thing, even when it’s difficult, because it is the right thing to do.
• I show respect. This means I appreciate the abilities, qualities, and achievements of others and treat myself, others, and the environment with care.
• I show compassion. This means I notice when others are sad or upset and try to help them.

Common Core State Standards addressed:

• RL.8.1, RL.8.2, RL.8.3, RL.8.4, RL.8.6, RI.8.1, RI.8.4, RI.8.8
• W.8.8
• SL.8.1
• L.8.4, L.8.5, L.8.6

Unit 1: Homework

Throughout this unit, homework focuses on independent research reading and determining the meanings of unfamiliar words using context and reference materials. Students also reread the excerpts of Summer of the Mariposas read in class and answer questions about them.

Research reading: When not reading their anchor text, your student is expected to independently research the topic by reading topic-related books of his or her choice for approximately 20 minutes each day and responding to a prompt of choice in the front of the independent reading journal. These are usually books your student will bring home from school; however, they may be topic-related books chosen by the student at the public or your home library. Prompts for independent reading can be found in the homework materials provided.

Choice reading: If your student would also like to independently read and respond to a book of free choice, he or she may use the back of the independent reading journal. Prompts for independent reading can be found in the homework materials provided.

Vocabulary Logs

Students record new vocabulary in vocabulary logs and mark academic vocabulary with a symbol—for example, a star:

• Academic vocabulary: Words you might find in informational texts on many different topics. For example, the words evidence and rationale are words that could be found in books on any topic.
• Domain-specific vocabulary: Words about a particular topic. For example, the words tadpoles, frogspawn, and amphibian are some that would be found on the topic of frogs.

Unit 2: Theme and Summary in Summer of the Mariposas: Narrative Writing

What will your student be doing at school?

In Unit 2, students will continue to read Summer of the Mariposas. The first half of the unit will focus on theme in Summer of the Mariposas, with students analyzing how the theme has developed over the text and writing a summary. In the second half of the unit, students write a new scene for Summer of the Mariposas in which they modernize a different Latin American folklore monster as a replacement for one of the other monsters chosen by Guadalupe Garcia McCall. In order to do this, students research a monster from Latin American folklore to choose.

How can you support your student at home?

• Share traditional stories from your culture or heritage with your student. Ask your student about the lessons that these stories were meant to teach and how those messages might still be relevant today.
• Talk to your student about how family and culture have influenced your life. Share examples of your family and culture and the specific impacts they have had.
• Watch films and research on the internet with your student to find out more about Latin American myths and legends. The novel your student is studying references a number of different mythological figures. Build background knowledge on this topic by discovering together the details of the figures named in the novel.
• Read chapter books with your student and discuss the point of view of characters within the book. How does the point of view differ from your own perspective? What effect does that have on you as a reader? Discuss the themes that are revealed in the books and how the author has introduced and developed these themes.

Habits of Character

Working to become ethical people and working to become effective learners are the habits of character emphasized in this unit. These are the specific skills students will focus on:

• I show empathy. This means I understand and share or take into account the feelings, situation, or attitude of others.
• I behave with integrity. This means I am honest and do the right thing, even when it’s difficult, because it is the right thing to do.
• I show respect. This means I appreciate the abilities, qualities, and achievements of others and treat myself, others, and the environment with care.
• I show compassion. This means I notice when others are sad or upset and try to help them.
• I can persevere. This means I challenge myself. When something is difficult or demanding, I keep trying and ask for help if I need it.
• I can collaborate. This means I can work well with others to accomplish a task or goal.
• I can take responsibility. This means I take ownership of my ideas, my work, my goals, and my actions.
• I can take initiative. This means I see what needs to be done and take the lead on making responsible decisions.

Common Core State Standards addressed:

• RL.8.1, RL.8.2, RL.8.10, RI. 8.1, RI.8.2, RI.8.4
• W.8.3, W.8.4, W.8.5, W.8.6, W.8.10

Unit 2: Homework

In all Unit 2 lessons, homework focuses on research reading and determining the meaning of unfamiliar words using context and reference materials. At the beginning of the unit, students also reread the chapter of Summer of the Mariposas that they have read in class and answer questions about it.

Research reading: When not reading the anchor text, your student is expected to independently research the topic by reading topic-related books of his or her choice for approximately 20 minutes each day and responding to a prompt of choice in the front of the independent reading journal. These are usually books your student will bring home from school; however, they may be topic-related books chosen by the student at the public or home library. Prompts for independent reading can be found in the homework materials provided.

Choice reading: If your student would also like to independently read and respond to a book of free choice, he or she may use the back of the independent reading journal. Prompts for independent reading can be found in the homework materials provided. 

Vocabulary Logs

Students record new vocabulary in vocabulary logs and mark academic vocabulary with a symbol—for example, a star:

• Academic vocabulary: Words you might find in informational texts on many different topics. For example, the words evidence and rationale are words that could be found in books on any topic.
• Domain-specific vocabulary: Words about a particular topic. For example, the words tadpoles, frogspawn, and amphibian are some that would be found on the topic of frogs.

Unit 3: Compare and Contrast Essay: Summer of the Mariposas and Latin American Folklore

What will your student be doing at school?

In the first half of the unit, students read informational texts relevant to Summer of the Mariposas and the topic to determine central idea and write a summary. In the second half of the unit, students write a literary analysis essay using the Painted Essay® structure comparing and contrasting how La Llorona was portrayed in Summer of the Mariposas with the original story, to explain how Guadalupe Garcia McCall has rendered the story new. For their end of unit assessment, students write another essay explaining how they modernized their own monster in the narrative piece they wrote in Unit 2.

How can you support your student at home?

• Share traditional stories from your culture or heritage with your student. Ask your student about the lessons that these stories were meant to teach and how those messages might still be relevant today.
• Talk to your student about how family and culture have influenced your life. Share examples of your family and culture and the specific impacts they have had.
• Watch films and research on the internet with your student to find out more about Latin American myths and legends. The novel your student is studying references a number of different mythological figures. Build background knowledge on this topic by discovering together the details of the figures named in the novel.
• Read chapter books with your student and discuss the point of view of characters within the book. How does the point of view differ from your own perspective? What effect does that have on you as a reader? Discuss the themes that are revealed in the books and how the author has introduced and developed these themes.

Habits of Character

Working to become ethical people and working to become effective learners are the habits of character emphasized in this unit. These are the specific skills students will focus on:

• I show empathy. This means I understand and share or take into account the feelings, situation, or attitude of others.
• I behave with integrity. This means I am honest and do the right thing, even when it’s difficult, because it is the right thing to do.
• I show respect. This means I appreciate the abilities, qualities, and achievements of others and treat myself, others, and the environment with care.
• I show compassion. This means I notice when others are sad or upset and try to help them.
• I can persevere. This means I challenge myself. When something is difficult or demanding, I keep trying and ask for help if I need it.
• I can collaborate. This means I can work well with others to accomplish a task or goal.
• I can take responsibility. This means I take ownership of my ideas, my work, my goals, and my actions.
• I can take initiative. This means I see what needs to be done and take the lead on making responsible decisions.

Common Core State Standards addressed:

• RL.8.1, RL.8.2, RL.8.3, RL.8.9, RI.8.1, RI.8.2, RI.8.4, RI.8.10
• W.8.2, W.8.4, W.8.5, W.8.6, W.8.9, W.8.10
• L.8.4, L.8.6

Unit 3: Homework

In all lessons in this unit, homework focuses on research reading.

Research reading: When not reading their anchor text, your student is expected to independently research the topic by reading topic-related books of his or her choice for approximately 20 minutes each day and responding to a prompt of choice in the front of the independent reading journal. These are usually books your student will bring home from school; however, they may be topic-related books chosen by the student at the public or home library. Prompts for independent reading can be found in the homework materials provided.

Choice reading: If your student would also like to independently read and respond to a book of free choice, he or she may use the back of the independent reading journal. Prompts for independent reading can be found in the homework materials provided.

Vocabulary Logs

Students record new vocabulary in vocabulary logs and mark academic vocabulary with a symbol—for example, a star:

• Academic vocabulary: Words you might find in informational texts on many different topics. For example, the words evidence and rationale are words that could be found in books on any topic.
• Domain-specific vocabulary: Words about a particular topic. For example, the words tadpoles, frogspawn, and amphibian are some that would be found on the topic of frogs.

Coming soon!

Coming soon!

Coming soon!

Coming soon!

Coming soon!

Coming soon!