8 Literature
Quarter 4 Roundtable
Hiroshima by John Hersey
On August 6, 1945, Hiroshima was destroyed by the first atom bomb ever dropped on a city. This book, John Hersey's journalistic masterpiece, tells what happened on that day. Told through the memories of survivors, this timeless, powerful and compassionate document has become a classic "that stirs the conscience of humanity." --The New York Times A broadcast by the New York Time's radio won the George Foster Peabody Award for the Outstanding Educational Program of 1946. To Kill a Mockingbird - Harper Lee The atmosphere and issues within a small, Southern, Great Depression-era town are exposed through the eyes of two children, but even more so the character of the people who make up the town. In many ways, these townsfolk represent all people, and the story asks for dignity, which should be given to everyone. (Some mature language and subject matter) 1961 Pulitzer Prize for Fiction 1961 Finalist, National Book Awards 1961 Brotherhood Award |
Refugee by Alan Gratz
Josef is a Jewish boy living in 1930s Nazi Germany. With the threat of concentration camps looming, he and his family board a ship bound for the other side of the world . . .
Isabel is a Cuban girl in 1994. With riots and unrest plaguing her country, she and her family set out on a raft, hoping to find safety in America . . . Mahmoud is a Syrian boy in 2015. With his homeland torn apart by violence and destruction, he and his family begin a long trek toward Europe . . . All three kids go on journeys in search of refuge. All will face danger, but there is always the hope of tomorrow. This action-packed novel tackles topics both timely and timeless: courage, survival, and the quest for home. - Barnes and Noble overview 2018 Sydney Taylor Award Winner National Jewish Book Award YALSA 2018 Best Fiction for Young Adults 2017 Cybils Middle Grade Fiction Award Winner Kirkus Reviews Best Middle Grade Historical Books of 2017 Chicago Public Library Kids Best Fiction for Older Readers 2017 Malka Penn Award for Human Rights Honor 2017 Global Read Aloud Book for 2018 Notable Book for a Global Society 2018 Illinois Rebecca Caudill Book Award Winner 2020 |
QuarteR 3 Roundtable
Peak by Roland Smith
After fourteen-year-old Peak Marcello is arrested for scaling a New York City skyscraper, he's left with two choices: wither away in juvenile detention or go live with his long-lost father, who runs a climbing company in Thailand. But Peak quickly learns that his father's renewed interest in him has strings attached. Big strings. He wants Peak to be the youngest person to reach the Everest summit — and his motives are selfish at best. Even so, for a climbing addict like Peak, tackling Everest is the challenge of a lifetime. But it's also one that could cost him his life. He encounters the dangers of climbing, experiencing physical and emotional challenges that bring him to critical decisions testing his strength and maturity. Roland Smith has created an action-packed adventure about friendship, sacrifice, family, and the drive to take on Everest, despite the incredible risk. -Scholastic summary National Outdoor Book Award Booklist Editor’s Choice, 2007 ALA 2008 Best books for Young Adults Allies by Alan Gratz June 6, 1944 Nearly 160,000 troops crossed the English Channel to invade German-occupied France -- most of them from the United States, the United Kingdom, and Canada. Thousands more in France fought the Nazis at home. It was a day of unprecedented unity and cooperation. But many people played heroic roles on D-Day only to return to lives after the war filled with prejudice, segregation, and injustice. Algerian Muslim soldiers fought in the French Resistance and the Free French Army, only to have to wage a bloody war for independence after the war. Jewish soldiers fighting for the liberation of concentration camps dealt with anti-Semitism among the very men who fought alongside them. African-American soldiers fought on the beaches at D-Day but remained segregated from white soldiers throughout the war and returned home to find German prisoners of war treated better than they were in their hometowns. Their stories and others are told in Allies, a novel that, like D-Day itself, proves we are stronger together. -Scholastic summary 2019, TIME for Kids Recommended Books 2020, Notable Social Studies Trade Books for Young People 2020, Grateful American Book Prize Honorable Mention 2020, Junior Library Guild Selection |
Poe Unit
Students will be reading and analyzing several of Edgar Allan Poe's short stories and poems. They will explore the elements of literature as applied to his works. The students will consider how Poe's life may have affected his work, and they will compare and contrast the mood and themes found in both the stories and poems.
"Tell-Tale Heart" "The Cask of Amontillado" "The Masque of the Red Death" "Deep in Earth" "Annabel Lee" "To My Mother" "The Raven" "Eldorado" "Murder at the Rue Morgue" (extra) |
Literary Terminology
Students will discuss and look for literary elements in a variety of works throughout the rest of the school year.
Terminology: character, protagonist, antagonist, setting, plot, rising action, complications, conflict, crisis, types of conflict, climax, denouement, conclusion, resolution, theme, foreshadowing, point of view, mood, atmosphere, allusion, irony |
Story Arc
"The Necklace" by Guy de maupassant
In "The Necklace," Mathilde is given the evening of her dreams., but that dream turns into a life of drudgery. If only Mathilde had realized that things don't make life special, she might have appreciated all that she already had.
Using a Venn diagram, students will compare and contrast the character and actions of Mathilde and "The Gift of the Magi's" Della. The women are obviously different, but what characteristics do they share as far as personality as well as lifestyle? |
"Gift of the Magi" by O. Henry
Skipping Christmas by John grisham
Imagine a year without Christmas -- no crowded malls, no corny office parties, no fruitcakes, no unwanted presents. That’s just what Luther and Nora have in mind when they decide that, just this once, they’ll skip the holiday altogether. Theirs will be the only house on Hemlock Street without a rooftop Frosty; they won’t be hosting their annual Christmas Eve bash; they aren’t even going to have a tree. They won’t need one because come December 25 they’re setting sail on a Caribbean cruise. As this weary couple is about to discover, skipping Christmas brings enormous consequences—and isn’t half as easy as they’d imagined. - Amazon summary
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Quarter 2 Roundtable
The Book Thief - Markus Zusak
Historical fiction: Liesel, the book thief, lives in a small German town just before and during WWII. At the beginning of the novel, Liesel can’t read; but as the tragedy of the war rages on, she comes to understand the power of words that comfort and words that incite violence. In 2006, the novel was awarded the Commonwealth Writers' Prize for Best Book, School Library Best Book of the Year, the Daniel Elliott Peace Award, Publishers Weekly Best Children's Book of the Year, the National Jewish Book Award for Children's and Young Adult Literature, and the Bulletin Blue Ribbon Book. In 2007, the novel was given the Michael L. Printz Honor Book, given to the best book for teenagers, based only on the quality of the writing; Book Sense Book of the Year for Children's Literature; the Sydney Taylor Book Award for the best in Jewish children's and YA literature; and Best Book for Young Adults (American Library club). Little Women - Louisa May Alcott Classic coming-of-age story: Four sisters grow up in Boston after the Civil War and try to find their place in a world where women’s choices are limited by tradition and custom. |
I Will Always Write Back by Caitlin Alifirenka and Martin Ganda
A pen pal assignment between a girl in Pennsylvania and a boy in Zimbabwe teaches them as much about themselves as the world they live in, and it ends up changing both of their lives.
In 1997, a 12-year old girl from Hatfield, Pa., and a 14-year-old boy from Mutare, Zimbabwe, began a pen-pal relationship. In alternating chapters, Alifirenka and Ganda recount how their mutual curiosity led to an increasingly honest, generous correspondence. Martin loves receiving Caitlin's photo, but when she requests one in return, "My heart went from sprinting to a standstill." He sends her the only photo his family owns. - Publishers Weekly 2015 Parents’ Choice Book Awards: Nonfiction, Silver 2016 Notable Social Studies Trade Books for Young People, 6–8 2015 Cybils Awards Nomination, Young Adult Nonfiction |
September 11 & Primary Sources
Books, images, videos, timelines, maps, children's stories, speeches, and newspapers help to remember and pay respect to those who lost their lives on September 11 as well as those who served heroically.
Topic highlights: events of the day, first responders, boat rescues, air traffic, Tribute Lights, the Survivor Tree, and NY, Pentagon, and Pennsylvania memorials and museums |
"The Ransom of Red Chief" by O. Henry
A quiet town is the setting for one of O. Henry's most famous short stories. Two bumbling scammers think that they have found a way to make easy money in a small, rural community. They are going to pull a quick job and then take the money and run. A horrid little boy foils their plans. The twists and turns lead to several ironic moments. The students discuss foreshadowing, irony, and allusion as they read this classic tale.
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Independent Reading Projects
Reading is a vital way to learn information, and it can be a source of enjoyment. In addition to reading together in class, I would like students to do some independent reading. Ideally, I would love for them to be able to do a great deal of reading, but I know that life keeps all of us busy, and sometimes we cannot always fit in as much as we would like. They should try to fit in a little daily.
The reading for the projects should be at the student's ability level, and various genre should be chosen. What is genre? Genre is the category that the book falls under: biography/ autobiography, historical fiction, fantasy, nonfiction, drama, science fiction, realistic fiction, mystery, etc... Students should challenge themselves to read a different genre each quarter. Each quarter, students will need to present a book in one of the following ways: orally, with the use of technology, written, or in a roundtable discussion (quarters two through four). For example, one quarter the eighth grader might dress up as a character and tell "their" story. Another quarter the student might choose to do a mini newspaper, writing articles about major events in the story. A Google Slides presentation, news broadcast, movie short, puppet show, treasure box, or series of journal entries are just some of the possibilities. Presentation options are limitless as long as they show effort and creativity as well as demonstrate knowledge and understanding of the book. I am not looking for a standard book report or book summary. (Before students spend a great deal of time on a project, please run it by Ms. Ketcham.) Just as with the genre of the book, students should choose a different presentation category each quarter. Projects are due approximately one week before the end of the quarter. If a project is going to be presented to the class, let Ms. Ketcham know so that she can schedule some time for the presentation. Please ask questions and do not wait until the last minute to complete this assignment. If there are still three weeks left in the quarter, that’s okay. Turn the project in early. Thomas Jefferson said, "I cannot live without books." I hope sstudents find some authors and books that they love, too.
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Active Participation
A Sampling of News from around the Country
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Resource Links
• Champaign Public Library http://champaign.org
• Urbana Public Library urbanafreelibrary.org/
• Digital Public Library of America http://www.dp.la
• Internet Public Library Kidspace http://ipl.org/div/kidspace
IPL is an exhaustive roundup of educational links, complete with a homework help section.
• InfoPlease http://www.infoplease.com/
Online encyclopedia, dictionary, thesaurus, atlas, and almanac
• Fact Monster http://factmonster.com
Flash cards, multiplication tables, history timelines, biographies of U.S. presidents
• Google Scholar http://scholar.google.com/
• Urbana Public Library urbanafreelibrary.org/
• Digital Public Library of America http://www.dp.la
• Internet Public Library Kidspace http://ipl.org/div/kidspace
IPL is an exhaustive roundup of educational links, complete with a homework help section.
• InfoPlease http://www.infoplease.com/
Online encyclopedia, dictionary, thesaurus, atlas, and almanac
• Fact Monster http://factmonster.com
Flash cards, multiplication tables, history timelines, biographies of U.S. presidents
• Google Scholar http://scholar.google.com/
- C-Span Classroom http://www.c-spanclassroom.org