Name: Ashley Whiteheart

Unit Title: Paired Texts/Sentence Types

Subject/Content: English Language Arts

Grade Level: 8th Standard

Curriculum Standards

L.8.1C. - Form and use verbs in the indicative,

imperative, interrogative, conditional, and subjunctive

mood.
L.8.2. - Demonstrate command of the conventions of
standard English capitalization, punctuation, and
spelling when writing.
L.8.1. - Demonstrate command of the conventions of
standard English grammar and usage when writing or
speaking.
W.8.1. - Write arguments to support claims with clear
reasons and relevant evidence
RL.8.1. - Cite the textual evidence that most strongly
supports an analysis of what the text says explicitly as
well as inferences drawn from the text.
RL.8.3. - Analyze how particular lines of dialogue or
incidents in a story or drama propel the action, reveal
aspects of a character, or provoke a decision.
RI.8.4 - Determine the meaning of words and phrases
as they are used in a text, including figurative,

Unit Goals

Students will be able to identify shifts in mood in

Attack of the Man-Eaters.

Students will be able to draw a conclusion about the

plight of lions based on two nonfiction texts.

Students will be able to state the ways in which Sybil

proved herself capable of doing hard things in 1777.

Students will be able to state the ways in which Shaye
Haver and Kristen Griest have proved themselves to

the Secretary of Defense, convincing him to open up

combat jobs to women in the military based on the
facts that women have proven themselves in the past

and continue to prove themselves today.

Students will be able to correct a run-on sentence
using a comma and a conjunction, a semicolon, or a

semicolon and a connective adverb.

Students will be able to restructure rambling
sentences in order to create more clear and concise

connotative, and technical meanings; analyze the

impact of specific word choices on meaning and tone,

be as capable as their fellow soldiers.

Students will be able to write a letter of persuasion to

writing.
Students will be able to identify and label simple,

including analogies or allusions to other texts.

simple compound subject, simple compound verb, and

RI.8.9 - Analyze a case in which two or more texts

compound sentences.
Students will be able to classify sentences with

compound elements.
Students will be able to edit choppy sentences by

compounding elements of the sentence.

Students will be able to classify interrogative

provide conflicting information on the same topic and

identify where the texts disagree on matters of fact or
interpretation.

sentences.
Students will be able to list helping verbs
Students will be able to determine whether a sentence
is in natural or inverted word order.

Activities Planned

Discuss mood.
Read Attack of the Man Eaters and Meet the Lion Whisperer.
Complete Drawing Conclusions and Identifying Mood worksheets
Read Girl.Fighter.Hero. and Should Women Do This?
Discuss capabilities of women
Write a letter to the Secretary of Defence.
Correct run-ons and ramblers in the Lazy Editor article
Classroom practices 26 and 32
Jeopardy Review Game

Assessment
Informal: Classroom discussion, answers to critical thinking questions. Jeopardy game,
Formal: completed worksheets, classroom practices, written letter

Lesson Title: Addressing Mood and Drawing a

Conclusion in Non-fiction.

Grade/Level: 8th (standard)

Curriculum Standards

Focus Question/Big Idea/Goal

RI.8.4 - Determine the meaning of words and phrases as they

are used in a text, including figurative, connotative, and
technical meanings; analyze the impact of specific word choices
on meaning and tone, including analogies or allusions to other
texts.
RI.8.9 - Analyze a case in which two or more texts provide
conflicting information on the same topic and identify where
the texts disagree on matters of fact or interpretation.

How does identifying the mood of a story help us to

comprehend it better?
How has our attitude toward wildlife changed since 1898?
What do you think has caused this change?

Central Focus: Mood, Drawing Conclusions

Lesson Objective(s)

Students will be able to identify shifts in mood in Attack of the Man-Eaters.

Students will be able to draw a conclusion about the plight of lions based on two nonfiction texts.

Vocabulary/ Academic Language

mood

captivity

hunkered

transfixed

jubilant

sedated

rogues

plight

Questions for higher order thinking and assessment

What is the mood of the section Fear and Sleeplessness in Attack of the Man-Eaters? How does the author create
this mood?
What attitude does Lauren Tarshis express about the lions on p.18?
People all over the country congratulated Colonel Patterson after he killed the vicious line attacking his workers. If
something similar happened today, do you think people would react the same way?

Assessment/Evaluation
Informal: Student answers to questions as the teacher reads to the class; Observation during partner reading
Formal: Exploring Mood worksheet and Drawing Conclusions worksheet

Materials
Chomp #59, SCOPE magazine November issue, Exploring Mood worksheet, Drawing Conclusions worksheet, whiteboard,
marker, projector

Bell Ringer
Students will complete Chomp #59 which requires them to write an ending to paragraph, identify a sentence that create
suspense, and identify a complex sentence.

Anticipatory Set
The teacher will write words on the board and ask students to call out the first thing that pops into their head when they see the
word. Some words will be: screech, trudge, eerie, etc. The teacher will explain that these kinds of words help to create a mood or
a tone in a story.

Instruction

After reviewing what mood is, the teacher will tell students to turn to p.17 in their SCOPE magazines. The teacher will
explain that the class will be reading Attack of the Man-Eaters, and that while the class is reading, they should be
looking for words that hint at what kind of mood the story evokes. She will also ask students to think about how the
plight of lions has changed over time. How do we treat wildlife differently today than we did in 1898? These things
should be written on the board so that students can refer back to them as they read.
Before beginning the story, the teacher will ask the students what kind of mood that they think the story might have

based on the title.

The teacher will read the story to the class, stopping throughout the story to ask them questions and to check for
understanding.
The teacher will show a short clip of Kevin Richardson (the lion whisperer) in action to prepare students to read the
article on p.20 of SCOPE.

Guided and Independent Practice

The teacher will tell the students to get with a partner and read Meet the Lion Whisperer together. As the students
read this, they should be looking for differences in the attitudes toward lions from this story and Attack of the ManEaters. As they read they will complete questions 2 and 3 on the Drawing Conclusions worksheet.
After the students have completed this, they will break up their groups, and the teacher will ask them some questions
from the story. She will also address question 1 from the Drawing Conclusions worksheet.

Closure

As an exit slip, students will complete the Exploring Mood worksheet. This will ask students to identify shifts in mood
in Attack of the Man-Eaters.

Adaptations to Meet Individual Needs

The teacher will provide the following to inclusion students:

Text with main ideas highlighted
Written instructions along with oral instructions
Modified worksheets
Extended reading time

Cross-curricular connections
Attack of the Man-Eaters crosses content with history and science. Meet the Lion Whisperer overlaps with geography and
science.

Lesson Title: Using Text Evidence to Persuade

Grade/Level: 8th (standard)

Curriculum Standards

Focus Question/Big Idea/Goal

W.8.1. - Write arguments to support claims with clear reasons

and relevant evidence
RL.8.1. - Cite the textual evidence that most strongly supports
an analysis of what the text says explicitly as well as inferences
drawn from the text.
RL.8.3. - Analyze how particular lines of dialogue or incidents
in a story or drama propel the action, reveal aspects of a
character, or provoke a decision.
Lesson Objective(s)

How have women of the past and present proven themselves

to be capable?

Central Focus: Persuasion, Finding Text Evidence

Students will be able to state the ways in which Sybil proved herself capable of doing hard things in 1777.
Students will be able to state the ways in which Shaye Haver and Kristen Griest have proved themselves to be as
capable as their fellow soldiers.
Students will be able to write a letter of persuasion to the Secretary of Defense, convincing him to open up combat
jobs to women in the military based on the facts that women have proven themselves in the past and continue to
prove themselves today.

Vocabulary/ Academic Language

brandish

obscure

capable

regiment

incursion

solemn

muster

brackish

Questions for higher order thinking and assessment

How does the mood in scene 1 of Girl. Fighter. Hero. support the statement that 1777 was a dangerous time?
Why does the colonel allow Sybil to call up the militia?
How do Sybils actions show that she is mentally and physically tough?

What are two reasons given in Should Women Do This? that women should not have combat roles?
What does information does the text include that rebuts these reasons?

Assessment/Evaluation
Informal: Student answers to questions as the play and the article are read
Formal: Letter to Ashton Carter, Secretary of Defense

Materials
Chomp #70, SCOPE magazine November issue, letter outline, notebook paper, whiteboard, marker, projector

Bell Ringer
Students will complete Chomp #70 which requires them to edit a paragraph in order to make it more effective.

Anticipatory Set
The teacher will play the flashback video from the SCOPE website. The video explains the context Girl. Fighter. Hero. and
allows the students to visualize the time period of the Revolutionary War before reading.

Instruction

The teacher will explain that we will be reading a play about a girl from 1777 who wanted to serve in the militia but
could not because she was a girl. The teacher will ask the students to be thinking about ways that Sybil proves herself
capable as they read.
The teacher will assign roles for the play all students will have at least some part in the drama.
The teacher will draw a compare and contrast graphic organizer on the board. Above the organizer, she will write the
question, how have women proven themselves capable. On one side, she will write Sybils name, on the other she will
write Griest/Haver, the two women from the second article the class will read.

Guided and Independent Practice

The students will perform the play at the front of the room. The teacher will have written which characters are in
which scenes on the board so that students can quickly transition from scene to scene.
As the students perform the play, the teacher will stop them throughout to ask them critical thinking questions and to
check for understanding.
When they finish the play, the teacher will ask students to think of ways that Sybil proves herself. Selected students will
write these on the board.
The teacher will then tell the class to turn the page. She will ask them to describe the image. She will ask them if they
think the story takes place in the past or in the present. She will ask a student to read the title and subtitle. She will
explain that the class will be reading an article about two present day women who have proven themselves able to do
the same jobs that men can.
She will call on a student to read, that student will then pick another and another. As the students read the teacher
will stop them and ask them questions about vocabulary words and the article itself.
When the article is finished, the teacher will have students fill in the graphic organizer for ways that the women in the
article have proven themselves.
The teacher will let the class know that the Secretary of Defense will be deciding whether or not to allow women in
certain combat roles soon. She will give the students an outline to help them structure a letter that they will write to
him to persuade him to allow women into the roles or to keep the roles male only. They will use examples from the text
to support their opinion.
The students will fill in their outline and then write their letter.

Closure

As the students write, the teacher will answer any questions they have.
To close the lesson, the teacher will have the students share some of what they wrote. She will ask them to share their
reasoning as well as some examples that support their opinion.

Adaptations to Meet Individual Needs

The teacher will provide the following to inclusion students:

Text with main ideas highlighted
More checks for understanding during reading
Modified critical thinking questions
An outline with some key ideas filled in

Extended writing time

Cross-curricular connections
Girl. Fighter. Hero. integrates well with history as it takes place during the Revolutionary War Era and is based on a true
story.

Lesson Title: Correcting Run-ons and Ramblers

Grade/Level: 8th (standard)

Curriculum Standards

Focus Question/Big Idea/Goal

L.8.1. - Demonstrate command of the conventions of standard

English grammar and usage when writing or speaking.

Why is editing an important part of writing?

How do rambling sentences effect the clarity of a text?

Central Focus: Editing, Run-ons and Ramblers.

Lesson Objective(s)

Students will be able to correct a run-on sentence using a comma and a conjunction, a semicolon, or a semicolon and
a connective adverb.
Students will be able to restructure rambling sentences in order to create more clear and concise writing.

Vocabulary/ Academic Language

run-on

semicolon

independent clause

rambler

conjunction

connective adverb
Questions for higher order thinking and assessment

How can we know when a sentence is a run-on sentence?

How do rambling sentences effect the clarity of a text?
Why should we bother correcting rambling sentences if they are grammatically correct?

Assessment/Evaluation
Informal: Observation, Class Discussion
Formal: Editing magazine article, Run-ons and Ramblers worksheet

Materials
Chomp #68, SCOPE magazine November issue, Run-ons and Ramblers Worksheet, whiteboard, marker, projector

Bell Ringer
Students will complete Chomp #68 which requires them to correctly use words such as affect/effect; further/farther, etc.

Anticipatory Set
The teacher will display a long rambling sentence on the board and then ask a student to read the whole thing aloud. She will
ask the student if he/she struggled with it likely he/she will say yes. She will then ask the same student to read an edited
version of the sentence and ask him/her which sentence was easier to read as well as which sentence they understood better.

Instruction

The teacher will have students take notes as she goes through a powerpoint explaining the definitions of vocabulary
words and the rules for correcting run-on sentences.
She will have students practice correcting 3 sentences on the board.
She will then go over ways to identify and correct rambling sentences.
The students will be given 2 practice sentences on the board.

Guided and Independent Practice

Students will turn the The Lazy Editor article in their SCOPE magazine.
The teacher will read the first paragraph aloud and ask students to find and correct the run-on sentence. The teacher
will then explain that the students are to read through the article and edit any mistakes the author made. She will
point out the directions which state how many errors are in each paragraph for the students.
Students will work with their reading partners to complete this activity.

When the students finish the teacher will have them share their answers and answer any questions they have about the
activity.

Closure

As an exit slip, students will individually complete the Run-ons and Ramblers worksheet. This will allow the teacher to
see how much of the concept each individual understands.

Adaptations to Meet Individual Needs

The teacher will provide the following to inclusion students:

Modified Worksheet
More examples as a class before individual work
Extended time for work

Lesson Title: Compound Elements/Choppy Sentences

Grade/Level: 8th (standard)

Curriculum Standards

Focus Question/Big Idea/Goal

L.8.2. - Demonstrate command of the conventions of standard

English capitalization, punctuation, and spelling when writing.

Which parts of a sentence can be compounded?

Central Focus: Compound Sentences, Combining

Short Sentences
Lesson Objective(s)

Students will be able to identify and label simple, simple compound subject, simple compound verb, and compound
sentences.
Students will be able to classify sentences with compound elements.
Students will be able to edit choppy sentences by compounding elements of the sentence.

Vocabulary/ Academic Language

independent clause

choppy sentence

conjunction

compound subject

compound verb

simple sentence

compound sentence
Questions for higher order thinking and assessment

How can we know when a sentence is choppy?

What is the difference between a compound verb/subject and a compound sentence?
How does having a variety of sentence lengths and types improve the flow of writing?

Assessment/Evaluation
Informal: Questions answered together as a class
Formal: Classroom Practice 26

Materials
Chomp #62, Shurley English Book, level 8, Shurley English workbook, whiteboard, marker, projector

Bell Ringer
Students will complete Chomp #62 which requires them to interpret the meaning of a poem.

Anticipatory Set
The teacher will display a paragraph from a fictional text with several choppy sentences. She will request that each student
read a sentence aloud. She will then combine some of the sentences and repeat the exercise. She will ask the students which
paragraph they would rather read? She will ask them to imagine reading an entire book filled with choppy sentences. She will
explain that that would be distracting, which is why learning to edit choppy and rambling sentences is an important part of
editing.

Instruction

The teacher will explain that just like we can correct run-ons using compound sentences, we can correct choppy
sentences with them as well.

After the teacher explains what a compound sentence is as well as how to create a compound sentence out of two simple
sentences, she will tell students that not only can sentences be compounded, but parts within a sentence can be
compounded as well.
She will show the students examples.

Guided and Independent Practice

The teacher will display sentences with compound elements on the board. She will classify them together with the
students.
The students will classify sentences on the board as a class. The teacher will not aid them unless they get stuck and
need help.
The teacher will tell the students that they can also use compound subjects and verbs to correct choppy sentence.
The class will practice doing this with examples on the board.
The students will complete classroom practice 26.

Closure

The teacher will bring the class back together.

She will put sentences on the board and have the students tell her what type of sentences it is (S, SCS, SCV, CD)

Adaptations to Meet Individual Needs

The teacher will provide the following to inclusion students:

More examples as a class prior to independent practice.

Lesson Title: Interrogative Sentences/Helping

Verbs/Inverted Word Order

Grade/Level: 8th (standard)

Curriculum Standards

Focus Question/Big Idea/Goal

L.8.1C. - Form and use verbs in the indicative, imperative,

How do we know when a sentence is in natural or inverted

word order?

interrogative, conditional, and subjunctive mood.

Central Focus: Interrogative Sentences

Lesson Objective(s)

Students will be able to classify interrogative sentences.

Students will be able to list helping verbs
Students will be able to determine whether a sentence is in natural or inverted word order.

Vocabulary/ Academic Language

interrogative sentence

helping verb

natural order

inverted order
Questions for higher order thinking and assessment

Why do we use helping verbs?

How do we know when a sentence is in natural or inverted word order?

Assessment/Evaluation
Informal: jeopardy game
Formal: Classroom practice 32

Materials
Chomp #60, Shurley English Book level 8, Shurley English Workbook, whiteboard, marker, projector, buzzers

Bell Ringer
Students will complete Chomp #60 which requires them to read an excerpt from The Gift of the Magi and answer questions
about the passage.

Anticipatory Set
The teacher will display a sentence in natural order on the board and have students classify it together. She will then display

an interrogative sentence on the board and have students attempt to classify it. They will likely have difficulty. After a few
minutes of effort, the teacher will explain that the sentence is inverted some predicate parts come before the subject parts. She
will then show the class how to classify this type of sentence.

Instruction

The teacher will review helping verbs with the students and practice the helping verb jingle with the students. This will
help the students to be able to identify the helping verbs when they see them in a sentence.
The teacher will classify a sentence with the class that uses helping verbs.
The teacher will define an interrogative sentence.
The teacher will classify a sentence with the students.
The teacher will explain the difference between natural and inverted order. She will go over the three ways in which a
sentence can be inverted.
She will have students identify whether 3 sentences are in natural or inverted order.
She will classify an inverted sentence with the students.

Guided and Independent Practice

The teacher will ask the students to get out classroom practice 32
She will announce that the class will play a jeopardy game. The game questions will be the classroom practice
questions. This is the last class practice of the unit, so the students will be reviewing all of the concepts they have
learned as well as practicing the new concepts from today.
The class will already be divided down the middle. One student from each side will be given a buzzer. The teacher will
have students pick a number between 1-10 to determine which team goes first.
The team that goes first will pick the category. Whichever student buzzes first will answer the question. The team that
correctly answers the question picks the next category. The students with the buzzers pass the buzzers to the students
behind them.
. Students must complete questions on their classroom practice as they play the game. The classroom practice will be
turned in.

Closure

The teacher will collect the classroom practices.

Adaptations to Meet Individual Needs

The teacher will provide the following to inclusion students:

Easier jeopardy questions
Modified classroom practice