Thomas Jefferson Middle School

Welcome to 8th grade Language Arts and Literature Connections!

We hope everyone had an enjoyable summer break and are excited to welcome students back to the classroom! We look forward to sharing our love of reading and writing through various lessons and activities throughout the year.

Our main goal this year is to ensure that our students have the social and academic skills necessary for success in high school. Self-confidence, organization, and responsibility will be emphasized and nurtured through engagement with our various units of study. This is an important year, and we hope to help prepare your child for the transition to high school and beyond.

Specific to the ELA classes, your child will become more self aware as a reader and writer. Each student will be challenged to look deeper into a text and stretch ideas further, with a focus on the following areas along the way:
Writing: Narrative, Research Simulation, Literary Analysis, and Poetry
Reading: novels, short stories, drama, non-fiction, biography, and autobiography
*In Literature Connections, we will begin the school year with The Outsiders by SE Hinton and The House on Mango Street by Sandra Cisneros (enriched)
* In Language Arts, we will begin the year with “Sorry, Wrong Number” by Lucille Fletcher, “The Landlady” by Roald Dahl and a selection of works by Edgar Allan Poe.

Word study: Vocabulary (in context, word structure)
Grammar: mini-lessons and in context of reading/writing)
Speaking and Listening: collaboration, presentations, and multimedia exposure

For the latest updates in our class, please join our Google Classrooms for a list of assignments, announcements, and reminders. Assignments and grades will also be posted to Genesis throughout the marking period.

If you have any questions or concerns throughout the year, please do not hesitate to reach out via e-mail. We are looking forward to working together this year!

Sincerely,
Grade 8 ELA team

Email Mrs. Stolerman