📙 YEAR 8 ENGLISH – FULL CURRICULUM

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Reading strategies

A. Main idea

1. Determine the main idea of a passage

B. Theme

1. Match the quotations with their themes

2. Determine the themes of short stories

C. Author’s purpose and tone

1. Identify the author’s purpose

2. Which sentence is more formal?

3. Compare passages for tone

D. Point of view

1. Determine the author’s point of view

E. Text structure

1. Compare and contrast in informational texts

2. Match causes and effects in informational texts

3. Match problems with their solutions

4. Identify text structures

F. Literary devices

1. Interpret the meaning of an allusion from its source

2. Recall the source of an allusion

3. Interpret figures of speech

4. Classify figures of speech

5. Analyse the effects of figures of speech on meaning and tone

G. Analysing literature

1. Analyse short stories

H. Analysing informational texts

1. Read and understand informational passages

2. Trace an argument

I. Comparing texts

1. Compare two texts with different genres

J. Visual elements

1. Compare illustrations of literary and historical subjects

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Writing strategies

K. Organising writing

1. Order topics from broadest to narrowest

2. Organise information by topic

3. Transitions with conjunctive adverbs

L. Developing and supporting arguments

1. Distinguish facts from opinions

2. Choose evidence to support a claim

3. Identify supporting details in informational texts

4. Identify supporting details in literary texts

5. Identify counterclaims

M. Creative techniques

1. Use personification

N. Editing and revising

1. Use parallel structure

2. Remove redundant words or phrases

3. Use the correct frequently confused word

4. Correct errors with frequently confused words

5. Suggest appropriate revisions

O. Research skills

1. Identify plagiarism

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Vocabulary

P. Prefixes and suffixes

1. Words with pre-

2. Words with re-

3. Words with sub-

4. Words with mis-

5. Words with un-, dis-, in-, im- and non-

6. Words with -ful

7. Words with -less

8. Words with -able and -ible

Q. Greek and Latin roots

1. Use Greek and Latin roots as clues to the meanings of words

2. Use words as clues to the meanings of Greek and Latin roots

3. Determine the meanings of Greek and Latin roots

4. Determine the meanings of words with Greek and Latin roots

R. Synonyms and antonyms

1. Choose the synonym

2. Choose the antonym

S. Homophones

1. Use the correct homophone

2. Which definition matches the sentence?

3. Which sentence matches the definition?

T. Shades of meaning

1. Describe the difference between related words

2. Positive and negative connotation

U. Analogies

1. Analogies

2. Analogies: challenge

V. Context clues

1. Find words using context

2. Determine the meaning of words using synonyms in context

3. Determine the meaning of words using antonyms in context

4. Use context to identify the meaning of a word

W. Domain-specific vocabulary

1. Determine the meaning of domain-specific words with pictures

X. Reference skills

1. Alphabetical order

2. Use guide words

3. Use dictionary entries

4. Use dictionary definitions

5. Use thesaurus entries

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Grammar and mechanics

Y. Sentences, fragments and run-ons

1. Is the sentence declarative, interrogative, imperative or exclamatory?

2. Identify the complete subject or complete predicate of a sentence

3. Identify the simple subject or simple predicate of a sentence

4. Identify the compound subject or compound predicate of a sentence

5. Is it a complete sentence or a fragment?

6. Is it a complete sentence or a run-on?

7. Is it a complete sentence, a fragment or a run-on?

Z. Phrases and clauses

1. Is it a phrase or a clause?

2. Identify appositives and appositive phrases

3. Identify dependent and independent clauses

4. Is the sentence simple, compound, complex or compound-complex?

5. Combine sentences using relative clauses

AA. Nouns

1. Form and use plurals: review

2. Form and use plurals of compound nouns

3. Identify plurals, singular possessives and plural possessives

4. Form the singular or plural possessive

5. Identify and correct errors with plural and possessive nouns

BB. Pronouns and antecedents

1. Identify pronouns and their antecedents

2. Use the pronoun that agrees with the antecedent

3. Identify vague pronoun references

4. Identify all of the possible antecedents

5. Correct inappropriate shifts in pronoun number and person

CC. Pronoun types

1. Choose between subject and object pronouns

2. Compound subjects and objects with ‘I’ and ‘me’

3. Compound subjects and objects with pronouns

4. Choose between personal and reflexive pronouns

5. Use reflexive pronouns

6. Is the pronoun reflexive or intensive?

7. Use relative pronouns: who and whom

8. Use relative pronouns: who, whom, whose, which and that

DD. Verb types

1. Identify transitive and intransitive verbs

2. Identify linking verbs, predicate adjectives and predicate nouns

EE. Subject-verb agreement

1. Correct errors with subject-verb agreement

2. Correct errors with indefinite pronoun-verb agreement

3. Use the correct verb – with compound subjects

FF. Verb tense

1. Irregular past tense: review

2. Simple past, present and future tense: review

3. Identify and correct inappropriate shifts in verb tense

4. Form the progressive verb tenses

5. Form the perfect verb tenses

GG. Adjectives and adverbs

1. Identify adjectives

2. Order adjectives

3. Identify adverbs

4. Choose between adjectives and adverbs

5. Is the word an adjective or adverb?

6. Form and use comparative and superlative adjectives

7. Good, better, best, bad, worse and worst

8. Form and use comparative and superlative adverbs

9. Well, better, best, badly, worse and worst

HH. Prepositions

1. Identify prepositional phrases

II. Direct and indirect objects

1. Is it a direct object or an indirect object?

JJ. Conjunctions

1. Use the correct pair of correlative conjunctions

KK. Misplaced modifiers

1. Misplaced modifiers with pictures

2. Select the misplaced or dangling modifier

3. Are the modifiers used correctly?

LL. Restrictive and non-restrictive elements

1. Commas with non-restrictive elements

MM. Commas

1. Commas with compound and complex sentences

2. Commas with direct addresses, introductory words, interjections and interrupters

3. Commas with coordinate adjectives

NN. Semicolons, colons and commas

1. Use semicolons and commas to separate clauses

2. Use semicolons, colons and commas with lists

OO. Dashes, hyphens and ellipses

1. Use dashes

2. Use hyphens in compound adjectives

3. Decide whether ellipses are used appropriately

PP. Capitalisation

1. Correct capitalisation errors

2. Capitalising titles

QQ. Formatting

1. Formatting titles

2. Formatting and capitalising titles: review