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8th Grade- English 1

ELA 8 and English 1 Information

8th-grade students are to complete the Advanced English 8 Summer Reading project if they “have not” received a personal invitation via mail inviting them into the English 1 Cohort.  The criteria below was used to fill the 28 seats for the 22-23 school year.  Please keep in mind the following:

Advanced English 8 students are still able to pursue admission into Early College programs like at ECG.  I know a lot of families think not having English 1 would count against their children, but it will not.  We have only offered English 1 for 2 years and still have students who go on to competitive high schools who do not have English 1 in 8th grade. 

If you still want your child to take English 1 before high school, you do have the option of enrolling him or her into an English 1 summer course next summer. Please see the criteria for English 1 placement and the curriculum comparison below.  

 

What are the BSMS placement considerations for English 1 in 8th grade?

 

Students must meet the following criteria: 

A student must score at the 97th percentile or higher on the Grade 7 Reading EOG AND meet at least two of the following:

  • Maintained an "A" average in their Grade 7 Advanced ELA class
  • Score at the 90th percentile or above on the Winter NWEA MAP Reading Assessment
  • Score at the 90th percentile or above on the Spring NWEA MAP Reading Assessment

 

 

What are the key differences between ELA 8 and English 1?

ELA 8

English 1

· North Carolina English Language Arts Standard Course of Study-Grade 8 standards

· American Reading Company(ARC) balanced literacy curriculum, resources, and support

· Four (4) Thematic-based units [An American Drama; American Revolution; Science Fiction; Energy]

· Weekly unit supplement with companion text, including poetry and short stories

· Daily Sustained Silent Reading (SSR) and conferencing

· Summer reading assignment

· End-of-Grade (EOG) testing

· Literature Circles

· Interdisciplinary connections

· Focus on concepts, big ideas and generalizations

· Grades 3-8 curriculum articulation

 

 

· North Carolina English Language Arts Standard Course of Study-Grade band 9-10 standards

· myPerspectives ELA curriculum, resources, and support

· Six (6) Thematic-based units [American Voices; Survival; Civil Rights literature; Star-crossed Romances; Journeys of Transformation; World’s End]

· Exposure of over 30 texts, including Shakespeare, MLK, classic and contemporary text

· Summer reading assignment

· No NC Final Exam for English I, beginning 2020-21 (EOG requirement To Be Decided)

· Text focus on more complex, multi-dimensional characters (RL.9-10.3)

· Greater emphasis on global literature for varying cultural perspectives (RL.9-10.6)

· In-depth structural and rhetorical analysis (RI.9-10.5-6)

 

 

Advanced English language arts Course Sequencing Possibilities

Grade 8

Grade 9

Grade 10

Grade 11

Grade 12

Advanced ELA 8

Honors English I

Honors English II

Honors English III;

AP Language & Composition;

IB English III

Honors English IV;

AP Literature & Composition;

IB English IV

English I

PreAP English I

PreAP English II

AP Language & Composition;

IB English III

AP Literature & Composition;

IB English IV

 

English 1 Assignment

AP Suggested Reading

AP_Suggested_Reading (PDF)