Eighth Grade - ELA
1: Semester 1
Unit 1: Abigail Adams
Lesson 1
Getting to Know Abigail Adams
Students are asked to examine the book's front and back matter, including the bibliography, acknowledgments, foreword, and chronology, and to judge whether the bibliography reflects thorough research. The lesson provides a ‘Further Reading' list of multiple books about Abigail Adams and a web link to the publisher page, which students can consult. The materials prompt students to use an electronic book's Search function to find words and page references quickly, and Activity pages ask students to list other works by the author and note what kinds of books she writes.
Lesson 2
John and Abigail Adams
Students are asked to locate the sources for quoted material using endnote reference numbers (Questions 1 and 3) and to report bibliographic entries from the book's bibliography. The Parent Plan lists skills in which students "record bibliographic information (e.g., author, title, page number) for all notes and sources according to a standard format" and "differentiate between paraphrasing and plagiarism and identify the importance of using valid and reliable sources." The reading explains why citations matter and asks students to judge whether the sources in Chapters 3 and 4 are valid and reliable (Question 4).
Lesson 3
Unrest and War
Students are instructed to read Chapters 5 and 6 of Abigail Adams: Witness to a Revolution and to visit two external digital sources (a Library of Congress engraving page and the Diary of John Adams link) as part of Activity 2. Students must examine those primary sources and then write a first-person paragraph based on their research, and Option 2 explicitly directs students to use the Adams diary and the Abigail Adams reading as sources for their paragraph.
Lesson 5
Remember the Ladies
Students read a secondary source (Chapters 9–10 of a biography) and multiple primary-source letters via the provided web links. In Activity 1 students read full letters and compare their own notes to how the biographer used quotations from those letters, including a question about how much of the letter the author quoted. In Option 2 students answer explicit source-analysis questions (who created this source, type, content, context, point of view/bias, and how it connects to other information), which asks them to evaluate perspective and relevance.
Lesson 7
Education
Students are asked to work with a parent to identify and read a news article about girls' education, with explicit instruction to use the search term "girls' education" and to select the NEWS filter in Google. The lesson provides three external web links (UNGEI, World Bank, UNICEF) that students can use as sources. After reading, students must choose one 4–6 sentence paragraph from the article and complete a Paragraph Analysis page to determine the role of each sentence and the connections between sentences.
Lesson 8
Genre
Students read Chapters 15 and 16 of a nonfiction biography and are given the opportunity to read correspondence between Abigail Adams and Thomas Jefferson firsthand. Students are explicitly instructed to "summarize an event...in her own words" and to "summarize the events based on the nonfiction biography that you read," which requires paraphrasing source material. The activities ask students to choose scenes from the readings and rewrite or retell them in other genres, demonstrating use of source content as the basis for new writing.
Lesson 9
The Vice Presidency
Students are directed to read Chapters 17 and 18 of Abigail Adams: Witness to a Revolution (a print source) and to read at least two original letters between Abigail Adams and Thomas Jefferson on the National Archives Founders Online website (a digital source). The lesson provides a direct web link to the Founders Online page and asks students to use those letters as the basis for a diary-entry activity, requiring them to draw information from both print and digital materials.
Lesson 11
Later Life
Students are instructed to read Chapters 21 and 22 of Abigail Adams: Witness to a Revolution and to use the book's index to look up descriptions and images. Students are also directed to multiple web resources (Adams National Historical Park, WhiteHouseHistory.org, and Google Arts & Culture) and to view virtual tours and photo galleries to gather information and visual details. Students must use details from these print and digital sources when creating artwork or completing a Venn diagram comparing Peacefield and the President's House.
Lesson 12
Remembering Abigail Adams
Students are asked to read chapters of a printed biography (Abigail Adams: Witness to a Revolution) and to find examples of obituaries in their local newspaper, which requires consulting a print source. For the memorial-design option, students are explicitly directed to "search the Internet to view pictures of memorials for other notable colonial women and men," prompting use of digital sources to gather ideas. Students are also asked to draw on important themes in her life when creating a written memorial or design, which requires extracting relevant information from those sources.
Final Project
A One-Person Play
Students are asked to quote directly from at least one primary source for a scene and to list "Relevant primary sources cited" on the planning pages, so students will locate and incorporate original documents. The lesson provides a specific web link to the Digital Adams archive and suggests consulting the book Abigail Adams: Witness to a Revolution or online letters, so students will gather material from print and digital sources. The rubric explicitly rates inclusion of reading from at least one primary source and requires accurate dates and historical information, prompting students to use source material to support their scenes.
Unit 2: Animal Farm
Lesson 1
What Is a Theme?
Students are asked to read multiple print elements that surround the novel (front and back cover, table of contents, author biography, preface/foreword) and answer guided questions about those materials. The Parent Plan explicitly tells students they may use online research to learn about Orwell if their edition lacks introductory material, indicating use of digital sources. Activity 1 directs students to gather descriptive and contextual information from these various sources and record answers on the Pre-Reading activity page.
Lesson 6
Comrade Napoleon
Students are asked to conduct historical research "in an encyclopedia, at your local library, or (with a parent's permission) online" and to identify roles of key figures and create a timeline linking the Russian Revolution to Animal Farm. Students complete Student Activity Pages that require birth/death dates, roles, connections to the novel, and "specific evidence" supporting those connections. The lesson also provides two BBC web links as suggested digital sources for research.
Lesson 9
The Battle of the Windmill
Students read Chapter 8 of Animal Farm and respond to Question #2, which explicitly asks how often claims (numbers, stories about Frederick, Snowball's role) are backed up with credible evidence and asks students to consider reasons behind misinformation. The question answer guidance tells students they should recognize that there is seldom actual evidence presented and instead find reassurances, explanations, and intimidation tactics that encourage belief. The activities ask students to explain character actions (e.g., how Frederick tricked Napoleon) which requires evaluating the trustworthiness of narrated events.
Lesson 10
Boxer's Fate
The lesson repeatedly asks students to point to specific parts of Animal Farm as support (e.g., "cite the textual evidence that most strongly supports an analysis" and prompts to list incidents that illustrate themes). Activities require students to identify and record specific incidents from the novel as evidence for themes and to write 1–2 sentences describing the theme based on textual examples. The Parent Plan and activity pages guide students to "show" and "tell" by providing specific examples from the text to support claims.
Unit 3: Einstein Adds a New Dimension
Lesson 1
Expository Writing
Students practice selecting search terms and using an index to locate information (Activity 1, Part II asks them to identify index words, conduct a search, and evaluate term effectiveness). Students examine front and back matter of a nonfiction book, including the copyright page and bibliography, and are told the copyright page can be used to give proper credit and the bibliography lists sources. Students also use organizational features (table of contents, sidebars, index) to find relevant information in the print book.
Lesson 3
The Curies' Discoveries
Students are instructed to take notes in their own words and to include page numbers for complex or detailed information, which supports paraphrasing and tracking sources. The lesson tells students to look up unclear terms in the index or other chapters and provides one external web link about moscovium, which offers a print-to-digital lookup action. The highlighting/annotating option asks students to mark definitions, people, and facts and to write margin notes, which practices extracting and recording information from text.
Lesson 4
Process Writing
Students are directed to specific textbook pages for background information, so they practice gathering relevant information from a print source. Students are told that for Option 1 they may refer to a book or website to confirm key details, and for Option 2 they are instructed to refer to the book to confirm names and dates. Students are explicitly told that "all wording should be your own," which instructs them to paraphrase and avoid copying others' words.
Lesson 5
Envisioning Fission
The lesson gives explicit search-strategy instruction (TIP #1–TIP #5) that asks students to choose specific search terms, use synonyms, and refine queries (for example, changing "fusion" to "nuclear fusion" or adding "Sun"). Students are asked to evaluate websites for currency, credibility, understandability, and accuracy with guided questions on three specific web links and an activity page that asks whether each site would be appropriate for a formal research paper. The parent plan and activities direct students to use online research databases and to identify publication clues (author credentials, .edu/.gov, publication date) to assess credibility and accuracy.
Lesson 6
Cause and Effect Writing
Students are told to use only the assigned book for information and to include page numbers in parentheses for specific information they obtain from the book. Students are instructed to put any copied phrase or sentence in quotation marks and include a page number, practicing how to avoid plagiarism. Students are prompted to paraphrase in their own words when possible and to record supporting details with page-number references on the planning/organization pages.
Lesson 7
Relativity
Students are directed to read specific chapters in a printed book and are given two web video links, so they gather information from both print and digital sources. Students are asked to look up and write definitions for domain-specific vocabulary (using page references) and to include examples or pictures, which requires consulting sources or references. Students are told not to photocopy the author's graphics and parents are encouraged to challenge children to describe definitions in their own words, which implicitly addresses avoiding direct copying.
Lesson 8
Comparison and Contrast Writing
The lesson tells students to use their own words where possible and to put quotation marks around and include page numbers for any brief phrases or sentences copied from the book. It directs students to include page numbers if they use specific information from the book and reminds them to keep their writing for later use. The lesson includes a specific web link to a short video about general relativity and a concluding note that students will later "learn about the importance of giving proper credit to your sources when you write a research paper."
Lesson 9
Avoiding Plagiarism
Students are taught when to give credit, including that they should record page numbers or URLs and that paraphrasing still requires acknowledgment (Activity 1 and parent plan). Students practice distinguishing common knowledge, quoted material, and paraphrased material through the "Understanding Plagiarism" classification activity (CK, GCQ, GC). Students receive explicit paraphrasing and summarizing instruction and practice (Activity 2) with tips on rewriting, avoiding original wording, and example paraphrases and summaries.
Lesson 10
Problem and Solution Writing
Students are assigned specific pages and chapters in a print book (The Story of Science) to read and use for their writing, which provides an explicit print source for gathering information. The assignment instructs students not to consult Internet sources and tells them to "use your own words," which directly addresses paraphrasing and avoiding plagiarism. The student activity page and planning organizer guide students to collect pros and cons from sources and organize information for their problem/solution writing.
Lesson 11
Citing Sources
Students learn and practice MLA parenthetical citations (author and page or author/title for web sources) with examples showing placement of the citation and punctuation. Students complete Part I exercises that require identifying correct/incorrect parenthetical citations and paraphrasing from a web source. Students create Works Cited entries in Part II, using an online citation builder and producing properly formatted bibliographic entries for print and web sources.
Final Project
Research Paper
Students are required to use at least three sources (one being the textbook) and to record page numbers or URLs on note cards or Research Notes as they gather information. Students are instructed to put direct quotes in quotation marks, to paraphrase with credit, and to use an online citation builder and produce a Works Cited page in correct alphabetical order. The rubric and unit test explicitly address plagiarism, parenthetical citation format, and proper crediting, and the notecard/source-card templates prompt students to record bibliographic details (author, title, publisher).
Unit 4: Adventures of Huckleberry Finn
Lesson 1
Introduction to Mark Twain and the Novel
Students are directed to visit multiple specified websites (biography site about Mark Twain, PBS dialect site, USHistory articles, a map site, and a YouTube video) and to record information and quotes in a journal. Students complete activities that require summarizing online articles, listing rules from slave codes, answering guided questions about media and dialect, and tracing places on online maps. The Parent Plan skills list explicitly asks students to "Analyze the purpose of information presented in diverse media and formats...and evaluate the motives...behind its presentation," and students are asked to quote and record an Ernest Hemingway quotation in their journals.
Lesson 2
Point of View
Students are asked to collect and read texts from multiple sources (books, magazines, online articles, newspapers) for the "What's the Point" activity and to record the title and identify the point of view used. Students read assigned chapters of Adventures of Huckleberry Finn and practice identifying narrative pronouns and points of view in multiple short passages. The parent plan explicitly directs collecting a combination of print and online materials to analyze point of view.
Lesson 4
What is Narrative Writing II
Students read multiple print and digital texts: Chapters 12-15 of the novel (print excerpts and activity pages) and a linked web article titled "Propelling Action through Dialogue." Students examine passages from the novel and the web article to analyze dialogue and extract information about characters and plot. The activities require students to answer questions based on those different sources and to use a chart/organizer to record character feelings and dialogue, indicating they gather information from more than one source.
Lesson 5
Expository Writing
Students view a digital "Types of Writing" slide show (YouTube link) and take notes in a journal, and parents are asked to collect multiple samples (fiction, nonfiction, magazine articles, newspaper articles, speeches) for a blindfolded identification activity. Students read chapters of the novel and are explicitly asked to provide support for their compare-and-contrast claims using evidence from the text, including quoted dialogue or events, and to record ideas on a Venn diagram before writing a paragraph.
Lesson 7
Persuasive Writing
Students are directed to read a specific online article (the CBS News link) and to "gathered your evidence" and record it in the Persuasion Map's "Facts or Examples" section. The lesson tells students to "use a combination of types of evidence to support your reasons" and the Parent Plan lists the skill of supporting claims with "accurate, credible sources." The lesson also prompts students to analyze which reason has the most convincing evidence during the "Wrapping Up" stage.
Lesson 8
Hiding the Money
Students are asked to research a variety of writing by examining newspapers, magazines, online articles, instructional manuals, encyclopedias, picture books and chapter books and to use those items to create three collages labeled Persuasive, Narrative, and Expository. The Parent Plan explicitly states students will "conduct short research projects to answer a question about the type of writing examined" and to show knowledge of different types by examining and researching styles of writing. Activity 1 includes collecting print and digital sources and provides a web link (a YouTube slideshow) as a digital source to review.
Lesson 9
Irony
Students are asked to view three online videos (with YouTube URLs) and to read Chapters 29–32 of Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, recording examples of irony from those digital and print sources. Option 2 explicitly asks students to find one example of each type of irony from the novel and from other books or movies, and to list examples on provided charts. The activities require students to collect and organize examples from multiple sources into charts and worksheets.
Lesson 11
Mark Twain's Influence
Students are directed to gather information from multiple sources: they read chapters of Adventures of Huckleberry Finn (print) and are given two online slave-narrative videos to listen to and take notes on (digital). Students are asked to compare and contrast conclusions about slave life and dialect between the narratives and the character Jim, and to note figurative language, which requires extracting relevant information from those sources. The Parent Plan skills explicitly list analyzing the purpose of information presented in diverse media and evaluating motives behind presentation, indicating an expectation that students analyze media content.
Lesson 12
The Movie Adaptation
Students finish reading the print novel and are instructed to watch a digital film adaptation (1993 Adventures of Huck Finn) and take notes as they view, noting changes to character, plot, language, setting, or dialect. Students are prompted to compare and contrast the novel and film, to decide whether directors and actors made good choices, and to discuss similarities and differences in parent-student discussion questions. The activity requires students to gather information from at least two sources (the book and the movie) to support their comparisons.
Unit 5: Elijah of Buxton
Lesson 1
Introduction to the Novel
Students are directed to consult multiple digital sources (PBS: The Underground Railroad; Pathways to Freedom pages; the Pennington excerpt) to learn about the Underground Railroad and to read linked biographies and watch videos about the author. Students use online maps (Google Maps, MapQuest) to locate Ontario and North Buxton and complete the "Getting to Know Christopher Paul Curtis" activity page by researching the author's background. Students then synthesize information from those sources to write a poem or journal entry, answer comprehension questions, and draft a persuasive speech about Buxton.
Lesson 2
The Preacher
Students read and analyze two printed passages side-by-side (George Fitzhugh and Frederick Douglass) and answer questions that ask them to compare the two views and judge which voice seems more authentic. Students re-read the Douglass passage to identify vivid adjectives and repeated verbs, and they are asked whether Douglass's account is persuasive and what features make it so. The activity therefore has students evaluate the credibility and persuasiveness of at least two provided print sources.
Lesson 3
Creating a Character
Students are instructed to skim back through the first six chapters and "Record textual evidence from the novel for each category," directing them to locate and note supporting passages. The "Getting to Know Elijah" activity page explicitly includes a "Quotes from Elijah" section where students write direct quotes. The Parent Plan also provides sample character quotes that students might record as textual evidence.
Lesson 4
Tone and Mood
Students are asked to consult multiple digital sources in Activity 2: Accounts of Slavery, which lists several web links (excerpts from slave narratives, a photograph, an engraving, and a sketch) and directs students to read each and write what they learned from the texts and images. In the tone/mood activities and charts, students locate and cite specific sentences from Elijah of Buxton as examples of tone and mood, implying practice in quoting or paraphrasing textual evidence. The optional poem/art and the student activity pages prompt students to incorporate ideas and information from the novel and the supplementary readings into their own work.
Lesson 6
Symbolism
Students are directed to consult general and specialized reference materials (e.g., dictionaries, glossaries, thesauruses), both print and digital, to find pronunciation or clarify precise meaning or part of speech as listed in the Parent Plan skills. Students are also explicitly told to use a thesaurus in Option 1 and Option 2 to choose precise descriptive words for their writing and song-revision activities.
Lesson 7
The Importance of Education
Students read Chapters 13–14 of Elijah of Buxton (a print source) and, in Option 2, are directed to read a specified web page about Matilda Taylor (a digital source) before writing the remainder of a play scene. Students are asked to use information from the web page to explain why characters risked punishment to receive an education, which requires gathering relevant details from that digital source and the novel.
Lesson 10
Allusions and Authors
Students are directed to "turn to the Internet to learn enough to grasp the allusion" and to "ask an adult to help you research any of the allusions with which you are not familiar," which prompts them to gather information from external sources. The Student Activity Page requires students to write 2–3 sentences explaining an allusion's origin and connection to the book, and it provides printed biblical and literary passages for students to consult. Students are also asked to use the "Allusions" pages to examine examples found in Elijah of Buxton, which involves consulting multiple textual excerpts related to the allusions.
2: Semester 2
Unit 1: The House of the Scorpion
Lesson 1
Cloning
Students are assigned six specific online articles and instructed to create numbered source cards in MLA format (author/title/website/URL/access date) and to bookmark or record URLs. Students take research notes on index cards, labeling each card with the source number and writing either paraphrases in their own words or exact quotations placed in quotation marks. Students are given explicit instruction and examples for parenthetical (in-text) citations and for creating a Works Cited page, with a link to the Purdue OWL for citing electronic sources.
Lesson 2
Revising and Editing
Students revise and edit persuasive essays, reading for overall argument structure, topic sentences, and clear supporting details and then focus on mechanics such as punctuation, grammar, and spelling. The Parent Plan skill list explicitly states students should "Support claim(s) with logical reasoning and relevant evidence, using accurate, credible sources," and to develop writing by planning, revising, and editing with guidance. The activity prompts students to check that each paragraph has supporting details, which requires students to identify and use evidence in their writing.
Lesson 3
Cast of Characters
Students are instructed to create and type a Works Cited page and to refer to the "Citing Sources" page from Lesson 1. The lesson provides a direct web link to the Purdue OWL MLA Works Cited page for setting up citations. The Parent Plan reiterates that students should type their Works Cited in alphabetical order and follow the same format as the source cards, and the Skills list encourages using accurate, credible sources and technology to produce and publish writing.
Lesson 5
Arguing the Issue
Students read two digital essays on human cloning (links provided) and complete the "Arguing the Issue" activity page that asks them to record each author's main arguments and identify logical and rhetorical fallacies. Students practice analyzing how authors reached different conclusions by summarizing arguments and noting strengths and weaknesses. Students also play a game that requires them to generate and identify fallacies, reinforcing critical analysis of arguments from provided sources.
Lesson 8
Family Crest
Students are directed to consult general and specialized reference materials (dictionaries, glossaries, thesauruses), both print and digital, to find pronunciations and precise meanings. Students are asked to find each vocabulary word in the dictionary and record its part of speech and definition on index cards. Students are given a web link to view examples of family crests, providing a digital source in addition to the assigned print novel chapters.
Unit 2: Watership Down
Lesson 1
Preparing to Read
The Parent Plan Skills section explicitly directs students to "consult general and specialized reference materials (e.g., dictionaries, glossaries, thesauruses), both print and digital, to find the pronunciation of a word or determine or clarify its precise meaning or its part of speech." In Activity 2, students fill out vocabulary cubes with the word, definition, alternate definition, part of speech, synonym, and a sentence, using context sentences from the novel to choose the appropriate definition and part of speech. The activities require students to look up and record vocabulary information from reference sources and to practice using those definitions in sentences and games.
Lesson 2
Foreshadowing
Students read print text (Chapters 1–8 of Watership Down) and record character information on character cards and activity pages. Students are directed to complete Rabbit Research by reading a specific online article (the provided animaldiversity.ummz.umich.edu link) and filling out a graphic organizer with facts about the European rabbit.
Lesson 5
Quotes and Creatures
Students are asked to "briefly research the work cited in each quote" (Activity 1) and to "record a couple of sentences explaining the nature of the work" and how the quote relates to Watership Down. In Activity 2 students are directed to "do some brief research" on each listed plant and animal, to determine producers/consumers and diets, and are given a specific web link (Food Web: Facts) to consult. Students must record findings on activity pages and then synthesize that information into a poster or computer-generated food web.
Lesson 6
Dramatic Irony
Students are instructed to use a dictionary to determine and record the actual definitions of words derived from Latin roots, requiring them to consult a print (or digital) reference. The lesson provides web links to online readings of children's books as optional digital sources for the dramatic irony activity, so students may use those sources. Students are asked to explain what the reader knows and what the characters believe for passages, which requires them to summarize or paraphrase text evidence from the reading.
Lesson 7
Rabbit Societies
Students are asked to consult general and specialized reference materials (e.g., dictionaries, glossaries, thesauruses), both print and digital, as stated in the Skills list. In Activity 1 students look up vocabulary words in a dictionary, record at least two definitions, and star the definition that matches the passage. The Passage Practitioner task requires students to locate two quotations in the text and record the page number and reason for choosing each passage in a journal.
Lesson 8
Folktales and Fantasy
Activity 2 directs students to "Research the animal you chose for your story," consult at least three sources, and record notes using the "Animal Research" page. The Animal Research page explicitly includes a "Sources" section and the directions: "consult three sources... Record what you learn... Don't forget to record your sources as well!" The Parent Plan and Skills list also state students will "conduct short research projects" and "cite at least three sources."
Unit 3: The Book Thief
Lesson 1
The Author and Narrator
Students are directed to use multiple digital sources (Encyclopaedia Britannica and CNN) or other resources to complete the "World War II Detective" activity, and to consult several webpages and a YouTube interview to learn about Markus Zusak for a poster or 90-second radio spot. Students may also find images online or in magazines to create a color collage that represents their emotions. These tasks require students to gather factual information from more than one print or digital source and to synthesize that information into a product.
Lesson 2
Similes and Metaphors
Students are asked to "use a dictionary to look up each word's definition" and to "try to write the definition in your own words," which requires consulting a print source and paraphrasing. The activities ask students to "read each vocabulary word in context from 'The Book Thief'" and copy words and definitions into a mini dictionary, showing use of source text and a reference dictionary for word meanings.
Lesson 3
Burning Books
Students are directed to gather information from multiple print and digital sources by using provided web links (Link A, Link B, Link D, the infographic, and the Propaganda Posters link) to complete the Historical References and Propaganda activity pages. Students complete research questions on the Historical References page that require information from those sites (e.g., about Communists, Aryan ideology, yellow stars). In the Propaganda activity, students select three posters from an online archive and analyze the target group, goal, and persuasive features of each poster.
Lesson 5
The Accordion Player
Students read multiple provided print excerpts (excerpts from the Nuremberg Laws and Hitler Youth law) and answer comprehension and application questions about those documents. Students are given two external web links (USHMM and PBS) as optional digital sources to learn more about Kristallnacht. Students record examples of propaganda on a Propaganda activity page, combining observations from the book with information from the provided documents and links.
Lesson 7
The Seven-Sided Die
Students are directed to consult specific digital sources (Link A: a print ad image and Link B: a television ad) and in Option 2 to read an online excerpt from the German National Catechism. Students complete activities that require them to identify logical fallacies in those print and digital materials and to explain why particular arguments might have been effective or appealed to certain emotions. Students are asked to analyze quotes, identify fallacies, and explain the emotional appeals and possible effectiveness of the propaganda they read.
Lesson 10
The Trilogy of Happiness
Students are directed to gather information from multiple digital sources: a PBS article, a 1943 newsreel (YouTube), and an Ernie Pyle column, and then answer guided questions on the War Journalism activity page. The War Journalism questions ask students to identify how correspondents brought vivid descriptions, list the three main ways Americans received war news, and distinguish informational content from propaganda, prompting analysis of purpose and motives. The Parent Plan skills state students will "analyze the purpose of information presented in diverse media and formats" and "evaluate the motives...behind its presentation," which supports source evaluation practice.
Lesson 11
The Word Shaker
Students read multiple print and digital primary sources: an online excerpt of Anne Frank's diary (digital) and two written excerpts from Warsaw Ghetto residents (print). Students complete the "Primary Sources vs. Historical Fiction" activity in which they brainstorm advantages and disadvantages (including accuracy and emotional effect) and then provide three specific examples from the day's primary source reading or The Book Thief.
Lesson 12
The Teddy Bear
The lesson asks students to conduct an interview via phone, email, or in person and to "jot down the important parts of the person's answers," which requires gathering information from a primary (human) source. The lesson also tells students they may "use art materials, images from the Internet, or even computer design software to create [their] diagram," indicating use of digital sources and that students should collect material from nonprint media. The Student Activity Page provides guided interview questions and suggests email or recorded interviews so students can refer back to collected responses.
Final Project
Think-Tac-Toe
Students are directed to use multiple print and digital sources: the novel text, linked web pages (unit review sheet, war correspondent and censorship pages, propaganda poster galleries), and the movie trailer. Students are asked to select and copy/print three WWII propaganda posters from provided websites and attach them to analysis sheets with prompts about how each poster functions as propaganda. Students read essays (e.g., Walter Cronkite) and optional war reporting examples and use those texts as the basis for an argumentative essay or a radio-report mini-project.
Unit 4: To Kill a Mockingbird
Lesson 2
Home and School
Students read chapters of the print novel To Kill a Mockingbird and are asked to refer to specific examples from the book in their written responses. Students are directed to read a provided digital article about Harper Lee via the supplied web link. Students verify vocabulary meanings by comparing their context-based definitions with dictionary definitions, showing use of an additional print/digital reference.
Lesson 3
The Mystery of Boo
Students are asked to read chapters 1, 5 (and 5–7 elsewhere) and to record what they have learned about Boo Radley using those chapters as sources. The Student Activity Page instructs students to list five items based on hearsay and five items based on personal experience or "reliable sources," then to compare the two columns for overlap. Students are prompted to develop a hypothesis about Boo Radley based on their classified evidence.
Lesson 4
Snow and Fire
Students are asked to include at least one quotation from Chapters 8–9 in a literature response and to explain the meaning and importance of that quotation. The Character Line-Up chart includes a specific column for "Quotes or dialogue about or by the character," prompting students to locate and record direct quotes from the text.
Lesson 6
Separate
Students are directed to read a Purdue OWL web article on quoting, paraphrasing, and summarizing and then complete an activity that asks them to identify examples of quotations, paraphrases, and summaries. The activity (Part II) asks students to record a direct quotation (including page number) and to write a paraphrase of text from the novel. The text also states that quotations and paraphrases must be attributed to the original author and reminds students to properly credit the author.
Lesson 12
Wise Words
Students are asked to choose five quotes from To Kill a Mockingbird and "rewrite each, or explain it in your own words," which requires quoting and paraphrasing skills. Students must select one quote to memorize and display and are specifically instructed to "be sure to cite the source of the quote on your artistic display." The parent plan repeats that students will "analyze 10 quotes" and "put the quotes in their own words," reinforcing paraphrase and explanation practice.
Lesson 13
Text and Film
Students read chapters of the novel (print) and watch the 1964 film adaptation (digital/film) and use a Student Activity Page to keep a running list of similarities and differences between the two sources. Students answer guided comparison questions and choose projects (poster or script) that require them to draw on details from both the book and the film. The lesson provides a web link to the original 1962/1964 poster page, giving an additional digital source students might consult.
Final Project
Oral Book Presentation
The study guide defines 'Quotation' and 'Paraphrase' and states that quotations and paraphrases must be attributed to the original source. The unit test asks students to choose a direct quotation from a passage and to write a paraphrase of an underlined sentence, requiring students to practice quoting and paraphrasing. The skills and rubric language ask students to 'support judgments through references to the text, other works, other authors, or personal knowledge' and to 'use technology, including the Internet, to produce and publish writing,' which implies using sources and multimedia in presentations.
Unit 5: Great American Poets
Lesson 1
Poetry Basics
Students are instructed to look up words or references they don't understand (e.g., "you can look it up online and view pictures of it") and to record those definitions in the poem's margins or the provided "Definitions" section. Student activity pages ask students to circle unfamiliar words with a green pencil and to write their definitions, and the lesson explicitly tells students to put short descriptions in the margin after looking up references. These directions require students to consult external print or digital reference sources (dictionary/online) and incorporate the findings into their annotations.
Lesson 3
Figurative Language
Students are asked to use multiple sources: Activity 2 directs students to use the information in 101 Great American Poems and "information available online" to fill in poet cards and to look up poets' pictures online. Activity 3 provides two explicit web links and asks students to read those online examples. The Student Activity Pages repeatedly instruct students to "look up the poems" in the book and to use a dictionary, indicating use of both print and digital resources.
Lesson 5
Edgar Allan Poe
Students are directed to read print pages (pp. 13-19 in 101 Great American Poems) and to read a specified digital source (the Poetry Foundation Poe page), and they are given two additional digital readings (YouTube performances) to listen to. Students are asked to record at least one line from two different Poe poems on the activity page, which requires them to quote text directly. The activities therefore require gathering information from both print and digital sources and copying short textual excerpts.
Lesson 8
Robert Frost
Students are directed to read print pages (Read pages 41-52 in 101 Great American Poems) and to visit provided web links (the Guggenheim Cubism page and two art/poem pages) to view artworks. Students are asked to find a piece of artwork online or take a picture of one and then copy a poem into the activity frame, including the poem title and author. The activities require students to use both print (the anthology) and digital sources (web links) as part of their poetic and visual responses.
Lesson 9
Memorizing Poetry
Students are instructed to gather information from multiple sources: they read assigned pages in a printed anthology (pages 53-63) and are directed to look up the reference to "Euclid" online. The lesson supplies several web links (a memorization tips page and two poem pages) that students can visit for additional digital information. Activity 2 explicitly allows students to print headlines found online or copy words from online headlines for use in their headline-poem project.
Lesson 10
Poems about Poetry
Students read from multiple print and digital sources (pages 63-73 in 101 Great American Poems plus web links to poets.org and allpoetry). Students are asked to "look up key words you don't understand" and to read additional poems online, which requires gathering information from those sources. Students are given explicit instruction and examples on how to quote text with omissions using ellipses (e.g., "While round us bark the ... hungry dogs") and are asked to practice quoting excerpts in Activity 3.
Lesson 11
Editing Your Work
Students are asked to gather and read poems from both print (pages 74–80 in 101 Great American Poems) and digital sources (the provided Poetry Foundation web links). In Activity 1, students may find a poem online and are instructed they can copy and paste it into a document and to double-check that capitalization, punctuation, and line breaks match the book, which involves verifying the accuracy of the text. The Parent Plan skills also state that students will use technology and the Internet to produce and publish writing, indicating use of multiple print and digital sources.
Lesson 12
Reciting Poetry
Students are asked to do online research about a chosen poet (Activity 2, Option 1) and to fill in a "Poet Research" sheet with biographical details and influences. The lesson provides specific web links (Poetry Foundation, Academy of American Poets, and several poem URLs) and directs students to read at least one or two additional poems by the poet. Option 2 similarly requires students to find two additional poems and create a poet card, which requires gathering information from digital sources.
Final Project
Poetry Journal
The curriculum asks students to use technology and the Internet to produce and publish writing (Skills section) and explicitly allows students to use images they find online to enhance their journals. Students are directed to skim through 101 Great American Poems and poetry cards and given an online Review Sheet link as resources to study. A unit test question (Part IV, question 15) asks about a technique for quoting poetry (indicating omitted lines with ellipses), showing attention to one aspect of quoting text.