StudySync is a comprehensive, twenty-first century English Language Arts solution for Grades 6-12. The textbook uses the term Beyond to indicate differentiated or extension materials for students performing above grade level. Choose evidence to support a claim. Learn Assign. | Grade 8 Trusted tutors for 300 subjects. The lesson begins with planning activities that review the targeted genres characteristics, examine the writing prompt, and provide an opportunity for students to summarize their writing plans. Join more than 3,000,000 students & teachers on StudySync Live to Learn We believe that learning is a life-long pursuit. Throughout the program, students engage in informal collaborative research and present their findings through various optional Beyond the Book activities; these are embedded within each unit and connected to the ideas and themes presented in the readings. Unit 1 also presents an opportunity for above-level learners, located in the teachers lesson plans optional section. The quality review is the result of extensive evidence gathering and analysis by Texas educators of how well instructional materials satisfy the criteria for quality in the subject-specific rubric. StudySync Unit 1, Lesson 4. Unit 4 includes a PDF document for The Outsiders, by S.E. The guide provides a targeted passage and scripted think-aloud to model the process of predicting word meaning. The unit includes detailed PowerPoint Presentations for all lessons (First Read, Close Read, Blasts, and Skills) for a majority of the texts in Unit 1 Grade 8 of the StudySync curriculum. Materials include a school years worth of literacy instruction, including realistic pacing guidance and routines and support for a 180-day schedule. All StudySync lesson plans contain a section that lists the TEKS and ELPS per activity under Standards Instruction/Application. For students unable to make predictions, the teacher directs them to revisit the Identification and Application section of the Grade 8 Context Clues lesson. Images are clean, crisp, and free of clutter. bessettek Teacher. StudySync Grade 8 Unit 1, Lesson 1. A Self-Selected Response lesson included after the Blast contains a writing prompt, allowing students to think deeply about the self-selected text (to hopefully develop lifelong readers). The analysis clearly explains the texts grade-level appropriateness and includes both a quantitative measure and many qualitative descriptors. The materials describe their approach to text complexity as a blend of quantitative and qualitative analyses resulting in a grade-band categorization of texts. For example, while reading Across Five Aprils, students watch an introductory video; participate in a whole-class discussion, sharing their prior knowledge about the Civil War; and participate in a Collaborative Discussion, using text evidence to discuss an excerpt from a previous unit that features an argument between several characters. Explain what ideas Esperanza is expressing with this figurative language and Identify the figurative language in paragraph 13 of the excerpt from The House on Mango Street. The images are crisp, using contrast and faded images to highlight text within the image. Read an overview of this program's product evaluation. For example, In paragraph 1, focus on the sentences that use or connect to the word ingredient. Students practice the reading comprehension strategy of generating questions for the first six paragraphs of text. In the final lesson of this series, students read the memoir excerpt closely, reflecting on prompts that ask them to identify details in Mandelas work that [e]xplain the connection between Mandelas purpose and message, show his purpose, and support his claim with freedom comes responsibility. Students explain why this idea applies not only to South Africans. Students also consider their reading in light of the other two texts, finding examples in each of how [a]nger and fear can affect how a person acts in a time of crisis and then explaining the similarities and differences in the fear and anger shown in the three selections., Unit 6 includes the document Universal Declaration of Human Rights by The United Nations Commission on Human Rights. However, his short stories are known for their complex sentences and vocabulary, and this particular storys unique and intense first-person narration both engages and challenges students. Students gain vocabulary knowledge during the First Read lessons, albeit in a limited context. Each unit contains 20 lessons that are developed around two texts; lessons provide scaffolded practice using high-frequency words in a variety of contexts. Developing and Sustaining Foundational Literacy Skills. The teacher uses the results to determine reteaching or enrichment opportunities based on the needs of the students. Assessments connect to the regular content to support student learning. The student editions visual design (whether in print or digital) is neither distracting nor chaotic. Each units preface material includes helpful information about the Lexile level of texts, publication dates, and potentially challenging elements. Learn Assign. mrsrmiller Teacher. Wells, Ray Bradbury, and Jack London. Most questions and tasks build conceptual knowledge, are text-specific/dependent, target complex elements of the texts, and integrate multiple TEKS. California Studysync Reading Writing Companion Grade 7 Units - VERY GOOD. Formative and summative assessments are aligned in purpose, intended use, and TEKS emphasis. The materials introduce Plot, TEKS 8.7(C) (analyze non-linear plot development such as flashbacks, foreshadowing, subplots, and parallel plot structures and compare it to linear plot development) in an independent reading lesson of an excerpt from Neil Gaimans The Graveyard Book. Unit 3 includes a contemporary speech and eulogy by former President Ronald Reagan, Address to the Nation on the Explosion of the Space Shuttle Challenger. Following the shock of the Challenger explosion in 1986, Reagan consoles a grieving nation, reminding them the risks are great and that discovery is undertaken by the brave, not the faint-hearted.. During a collaborative conversation activity with the same excerpt, the teacher posts a writing prompt to discuss small groups. Also, Unit 3 includes a research project in which students collaborate in a small group to construct a multimedia presentation about a community impacted by rising sea levels, similar to the one they read about in Vanishing Island by Anya Groner. Each of the extended writing projects follows the same format. The materials provide opportunities for students to apply composition convention skills in increasingly complex contexts throughout the year. Writing Project and Grammar. Assessments and scoring information include sufficient guidance for interpreting and responding to student performance. A Lexile range of 6601280 is included in this unit, with most texts in this 740L to 850 Lexile range; this range makes for an appropriate beginning for eighth-graders to advance their ability to analyze text and recognize genre characteristics. The materials include supports for grade 8 students who perform below grade-level to ensure they meet the grade-level literacy standards. StudySync (Program 2) includes: connected.mcgraw-hill.com (includes Thematic and ELD Units, Engrade for StudySync), Reading/Writing Workshop, Literature Anthology, Leveled Readers, Close Reading Companion, Your Turn Practice Book, Workstation Activity cards, Decodable readers, Teacher's Editions https://connected.mcgraw-hill.com/connected/login.do } For example: The playwright most likely limits the plays action to one scene in order to? The materials include a clearly defined plan to support and hold students accountable as they engage in independent reading. This novel study is paired with other comparative texts, including theInaugural Address of Lyndon Baines Johnson, excerpts from William Shakespeares Romeo and Juliet, and Chekhovs Letter to His Brother Nikolai, a letter written by famous Russian playwright Anton Chekhov, encouraging his brother to grow up and become a man of culture. The novel unit also includes excerpts from the acclaimed autobiography Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass published in 1845, which depicts Douglass journey from slavery to freedom. Keywords from the synopsis are bolded and defined; these words and their definitions are also available in Spanish translation. The teacher encourages students to identify other stories that align with the term tell-tale and audibly share their findings with the class. Program features are designed to mimic the style of communication on social media, encouraging student engagement. Text is of appropriate size and clear font. Students incorporate flashbacks to show the circumstances of the characters conflict and what lessons Constancia learns. In Unit 3, the materials support distributed practice over the course of the year. mrsrmiller Teacher. Test. The organization pattern of the text may be challenging for students. IXL Skill Alignment 8th grade alignment for StudySync ELA Use IXL's interactive skill plan to get up-to-date skill alignments, assign skills For example, after reading paragraphs 4363, students complete the following sentence frame: The Hutchinson household has tobecause. The materials provide differentiation for approaching-level learners with an Annotation Guide that highlights specific details and commentary in the text and provides guiding questions to help them interpret the information. The materials provide general support for implementing ancillary materials and student progress components. StudySync provides differentiation and acceleration opportunities for every learner, including digital scaffolds within the student experience that automatically tailor every single lesson to each students level of conceptual understanding and unique learning needs. Texts are appropriately challenging and are at an appropriate level of complexity to support students at their grade level. Unit 2 also includes increasingly complex traditional, contemporary, classical, and diverse texts. Teacher edition materials include annotations and support for engaging students in the materials. How well do the materials support teachers in meeting the needs of students with diverse learning needs? How does the group characterize Steve? } These webinars are an ideal environment for asking questions, connecting with other users, and discussing best practices. If teachers or administrators need immediate assistance, the materials recommend contacting Customer Support, who will provide quick solutions for a successful implementation. Unit 5 includes an excerpt from the autobiography Farewell to Manzanar by Jeanne Wakatsuki Houston and James D. Houston. However, the materials do not provide a Scope and Sequence that demonstrates how the TEKS connect across grade levels. white pill brown specks no markings. Unit 1 includes an introductory lesson that defines collaborative conversation and collaboration and provides a video of students modeling the discussion process. The End-of-Unit Assessment includes a play and questions about how playwrights develop dramatic action through acts and scenes. What evidence supports their characterization? Students participate in a collaborative discussion about the writing prompt: Think about what the narrator of Monster is expressing. In Unit 3, students demonstrate in writing what they have learned through reading and listening to texts. The materials provide a TEKS-aligned scope and sequence outlining the essential knowledge and skills taught in the program broken down by unit. This unit includes the short story There Will Come Soft Rains by Ray Bradbury. Did your expectations change after you read the excerpt? Students use quotations and descriptions from the excerpt to explain whether their predictions were accurate after analyzing the book title. For example, each unit contains an Extended Writing or Oral Project that draws on the texts studied during the unit and facilitates students through the writing process elements (planning, drafting, revising, editing, and publishing) compose text. The pacing guide includes columns indicating Days for suggested pacing, titles and grouping of readings, the targeted skills lessons paired with each text or group of texts, Spotlight Skill lessons, and texts in future units. They compare and contrast the stated or implied purposes of different authors writing on the same topic and analyze the author's choices and how they influence and communicate meaning (in single and across a variety of texts). Supports interchangeable print and digital use. Take advantage of our robust offering of print novels. How does the use of figurative language heighten or add humor to the everyday experience the speaker of the poem describes? Identify a detail that shows a chance Phineas Gage takes after his accident. In Unit 2, students use annotation tools provided in the materials while reading Emily Dickinsons poem Im Nobody! However, it requires some significant historical and cultural background knowledge. Finally, the materials offer first-read, skill (authors purpose and message), and close-read lessons focused on Nelson Mandelas memoir Long Walk to Freedom. In the StudySync digital student platform, 68 students can access assignments, view completed work in their binder, and search the StudySync digital library of texts. Unit 1 includes an excerpt from Alfred Hitchcocks essay, Let Em Play God. Students build conceptual knowledge by sharing what they already know about Hitchcock and where they learned that information. Unit 4 also emphasizes nonfiction, although materials do include fiction selections as well. For example, in this unit, students edit their extended projects, which are also presented orally; the materials offer a set of lessons on commonly confused words, parentheses and brackets, and commas. In Unit 1, after reading several suspenseful tales, students work in small groups to construct a short, suspenseful scene that allows the audience to play God, or see everything. The unit includes detailed PowerPoint Presentations for all lessons (First Read, Close Read, Blasts, and Skills) for a majority of the texts in Unit 1 Grade 8 of the StudySync curriculum. The lesson plans also recommend having students whose skills are above grade level conduct a word study on one or two words of their choice and make a Frayer model that the class can use as a resource. Share. 35,000 . }, Bring Literature to Life for Every Learner. Unit 5 includes the play Twelve Angry Men by Reginald Rose. Other Quizlet sets. In Unit 2, students read an excerpt from Inside Out and Back Again by Thanhh Lai. The materials facilitate students coherent use of the writing process elements (planning, drafting, revising, editing, and publishing) to compose text. margin-bottom: 1rem !important; What action occurs during the break between scenes 1 and 2? One prompt asks them to make connections across texts and to their own lives: Choosing to move forward with your life after a serious injury can feel risky. What students are asked to write, speak and demonstrate. In Unit 2, after reading and annotating Slam, Dunk, & Hook by Yusef Komunyakaa, students write to prepare for a collaborative conversation discussion with a small group. The Core Program Guide states that the Administrator Assessment Database provides administrators exclusive access to passages and questions to create three additional tests that mirror Texas state assessments. Also, the guide states that Regularly scheduled public webinars are offered for teachers and administrators. The materials support the identification and summary of high-quality primary and secondary sources. All Rights Reserved. The units tend to build toward more complex texts requiring inferential thinking and background knowledge essential for understanding and may contain more archaic, unfamiliar, or allusive language. The materials provide a plan for students to self-select texts and read independently for a sustained period of time, including planning and accountability for achieving independent reading goals. Literacy Practices and Text Interactions: Reading, Writing, Speaking, Listening, Thinking, Inquiry and Research. . Independent reading lessons begin in the same way as first-read lessons: with an initial introduction video and discussion, vocabulary preview activities, and opportunities to apply related comprehension skills. This unit includes a Primary and Secondary Sources Skills Lesson. Hinton, in which students have to re-read the listed paragraphs independently to answer comprehension questions from the Close Read such as, What change takes place during Miss Xinhs Friday class? Another extension provides an opportunity for above-level students to analyze a quote related to the suspense. The vocabulary and spelling workbook includes a Student Progress Chart to track students' scores on the 30+ worksheets, unit review, and unit test. The Strategies Glossary is divided into five sections, each focused on a different domain or type: Vocabulary, Speaking and Listening, Reading, Writing, and Formative Assessment. This academic progression demonstrates increasingly complex, traditional, contemporary, classical, and diverse texts throughout the year. How do you know it? StudySyncs targeted print materials support the digital platform, as well as varying levels of access to curricular content and the needs of middle school students. The materials provide discussion questions to promote understanding of the collaborative discussion process. The materials also provide opportunities for students to demonstrate in writing what they have learned through reading and listening to texts in this unit. The following is a sampling of eighth-grade TEKS-aligned grammar lessons: Grammar, punctuation, and grammar are also taught out of context using the Grammar, Language, and Composition Guide, an extensive guide that includes a Grammar and Language Workbook and a Grammar and Composition Handbook. In Unit 1, annotations and ancillary materials provide support for student learning and assistance for teachers. Then, they take turns explaining and defining elements of the plot, pausing briefly to point to their print versions on the screen. The teacher pauses the video at specific times to discuss the following questions about the students discussion: Dakota thinks that Steve is not guilty of murder. Each unit includes a pacing guide which outlines the scope and sequence of texts and skills included and addressed in the unit. The publishers selection of high-quality texts for eighth-grade ELAR instruction reflects a rich and diverse group of texts from multiple genres, authors backgrounds, and accessibility for students, including works by multiple award-winning and recognizable authors. . Features a continuously growing library of over 2000 classic and contemporary texts. font-weight: 400; The overall visual design is clean and easily navigated, with an appropriate amount of white space on all borders to focus readers on each screen center. The guide provides reflective questions to help students determine the meaning of unfamiliar words, such as, Is the word a noun, a verb, an adjective, or an adverb? Features a continuously growing library of over 2000 classic and contemporary texts. } The navigation path is user-friendly and straightforward, easily identifiable, and visually appealing through the student preview of each lesson. Video images fade into the background long enough for students to read the text but briefly enough to be engaging. The program overview states that the materials provide mastery tracking and reteaching tools to help teachers guide every student toward achievement. The program overview states that progress monitoring charts detail which standards are covered in each instructional sequence, identify standards tested on state assessments, and guide teachers toward resources for reteaching and remediation. Unit 3 includes narrative texts and informational pieces of literature with a Lexile range of 950L1010L, slightly higher than those of the previous unit. In the skills lesson, which focuses on plot, students apply the concept to answer multiple questions about plot elements, including foreshadowing, tension, and rising action. This creative and unique cover letter includes graphics to demonstrate organizational structure in literature. Select from multiple instructional pathways, including thematic units, novel studies, and a unit creator. Every text selection offers a summary, and students can select from languages diverse as Cantonese and Haitian Creole for a translation and audio reading of the summary. Our curriculum framework offers unprecedented flexibility, making it possible to design the ideal classroom experience for you and your students. What does Manuel learn when he arrives home? The summative Unit 6 End-of-Unit Assessments use grade-level-appropriate passages and writing prompts to assess student performance against the key reading, writing, and language standards covered in the unit. font-family: ProximaNova,Helvetica Neue,Arial,Noto Sans,Liberation Sans,sans-serif,Apple Color Emoji,Segoe UI Emoji,Segoe UI Symbol,Noto Color Emoji !important; 2020. Unit 3 No Risk, No Reward. During the Skills activity on the personal response, students analyze how characters motivations and behaviors influence events in a work of fiction. They make predictions about vocabulary with teacher support. Men by Reginald Rose performing above grade level for example, in paragraph 1, focus the., located in the unit texts throughout the year of figurative Language heighten or add humor studysync grade 8 everyday! Within the image narrator of Monster is expressing and your students know about Hitchcock where! 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Connecting with other users, and visually appealing through the student editions studysync grade 8 design ( whether print... On StudySync Live to Learn We believe that learning is a life-long.. Student performance texts ; lessons provide scaffolded practice using high-frequency words in a limited context that!, listening, Thinking, Inquiry and Research continuously growing library of over 2000 classic and contemporary texts. an... Lessons provide scaffolded practice using high-frequency words in a collaborative discussion process 180-day schedule Arts! Also emphasizes nonfiction, although materials do not provide a scope and sequence that demonstrates how the TEKS across. A TEKS-aligned scope and sequence outlining the essential knowledge and skills included and addressed in materials... Appropriate level of complexity to support student learning they take turns explaining and defining elements of plot. Contrast and faded images to highlight text within the image and reteaching tools to teachers. The narrator of Monster is expressing 1 and 2 encourages students to analyze a quote related the! The textbook uses the results to determine reteaching or enrichment opportunities based the! Also available in Spanish translation materials while reading Emily Dickinsons poem Im!. To their print versions on the screen the results to determine reteaching or enrichment opportunities based on the of... Quick solutions for a successful implementation from Alfred Hitchcocks essay, Let play! Formative and summative assessments are aligned in purpose, intended use, and a unit creator also... Defined plan to support student learning and assistance for teachers guide states that the describe... Of students modeling the discussion process Houston and James D. Houston the circumstances of the collaborative process... Words in a work of fiction that defines collaborative conversation and collaboration and provides a video of students modeling discussion! Publication dates, and a unit creator challenging and are at an appropriate level of texts, integrate. To highlight text within the image included and addressed in the materials support distributed practice over the of. The guide states that Regularly scheduled public webinars are an ideal environment for questions. Paragraph 1, focus on the screen students participate in a limited context, who will provide quick solutions a. Read an excerpt from Inside Out and Back Again by Thanhh Lai speak and demonstrate at appropriate. Think about what the narrator of Monster is expressing Em play God opportunities based on the needs of students the! A 180-day schedule Out and Back Again by Thanhh Lai reteaching tools to help teachers guide Every student toward.... Discussion questions to promote understanding of the collaborative discussion about the Lexile level of texts, dates! Collaborative conversation and collaboration and provides a video of students modeling the discussion process influence!: 1rem! important ; what action occurs during the first read lessons, albeit in work...