HOME

BACK

LINKS

2nd, 6th, & 8th hr - 8th grade English

Activities:

1. Students learn word processing     using Microsoft Works 3.0.

2. Students learn study skills and     test-taking strategies.

3. Students do journal writing and     process writing.

4. Students write various types of     essays.

5. Students research and write     research papers in a     multi-disciplinary     English/Robotics Unit.

6. Students do interviews and     group discussions.

7. Students learn to do public     speaking.

Goals:

1. Students learn to set page      parameters, type, edit, save, and      print word documents.

2. Students learn to work smarter     not harder using organizing,     reading, note taking, studying     and managing test questions as     strategies to learn more     successfully and get better     grades in school.

3. Students learn to use sensory     words, to organize their thinking     before writing, and to prewrite,     draft, revise, and polish essays.

4. Students learn to recognize and     correctly respond to a variety of     different writing prompts     including narrative, expository,     and persuasive models.

5. Students learn basic history,     terms and concepts in robotics     using worksheets and and     guided experiments. Students     build or observe the building     process of a robot to analyze the     robotic system. Students extend     their learning by researching a     particular robotics topic     including internet research.     Students apply their knowledge     of robotics by writing a formal     research paper. Students learn     to write a working bibliography,     thesis, outline, note cards, rough     draft, and final draft with works     sited including proper citation of     electronic media

6. Students learn how to prepare     and perform a formal interview.     Students learn the various roles     and responsibilities in formal     group discussions. Students     learn to prepare and perform     group discussions.

7. Students learn to prepare and     present 3 types of speeches     including an improvised speech,     a speech to inform, and a     speech

Schedule:

Students come to class for 45 minutes each day for the entire school year.

What students have to say about class:

1. What is the most important thing that you learned this year in English?

"I'd say writing on certain topics, like topics on what we think about robots and writing about what we think about pictures and what we think about parents and other topics. I think I'm a pretty good writer."

"The study skills unit because it helped me learn how to study for a test correctly because it pointed out things like abbreviations or signs I could use to tell me to look at this or study this when I'm taking notes. I'm doing much better at taking tests In my career I'd like to learn the skills of computers and the internet."

2. What do you enjoy most about English class?

"The thing that's most enjoyable about English class is writing the essays about various subjects. For example, drug abuse, premarital sex, animals, etc."

Learning to build robots and where they first came from and learnig how to write good paragraphs."

"To work as a group, be successful at what I do, and respect everyone in my classroom."

"What I enjoy most about English class is it will help me lead a succesful life when I get out in the work force because I'm learning how to get along with my classmates and how robots operate, and I learned how to make good narrative essays."