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General Statement
Eighth Grade Reading Workshop focuses on the
question, "what does it mean to read well?" Group novels, a play,
memoirs, and poetry as well as short  fiction and nonfiction reading assignments allow students to examine this question. Eighth graders look closely at themselves as readers and at the ways in which readers get to see the world through an author's perspective. Independent reading assumes a secondary role during the eighth grade year. The class works regularly on individual reading comprehension skills, note-taking techniques, group discussion, and vocabulary. Reading Workshop meets for three 45-minute periods every week.
Nightly Reading and Reading Journals
Eighth graders are expected to read outside of class for thirty minutes every night. This reading can be independent reading of a student's own choosing, or it can be reading assigned for any class. Eighth graders write weekly entries in their reading journals, in which students sustain running dialogues with the teacher and with each other. Students make specific observations about the texts at hand and about themselves as readers, writing on both assigned and student-chosen topics. Through these journal entries, the teacher and the student assess the individual student's progress not only about the number of books he or she is reading but also about how the student is growing as a reader. With this information, the teacher may direct or require a student to read from specific genres and require the student to focus on certain elements that she or he may be missing. These weekly writing assignments often serve as the basis for more complex or formal analytical essay assignments.
Reading Skills
Eighth graders practice specific reading skills and strategies throughout the year. Students complete short assignments and exercises emphasizing note-taking techniques, reading for main idea, examination of different styles and genres, reading when a text is difficult to understand, and library research skills. Mortimer Adler's How to Read a Book provides material for many reading comprehension and note-taking techniques. Students in the eighth grade are expected to be able to read a variety of materials; students also practice deep, incisive reading for information in non-fiction. Students regularly prepare questions and observations for class discussions, consistently practicing supporting their ideas with specific evidence from the text at hand.
Group Reading
In addition to studying poetry and nonfiction works as a group, students learn formal elements of literature and examine them thoroughly as they read short fiction and novels. Group assignments in Reading Workshop connect with the eighth grade's study of US History. Students read short pieces twice and follow up their reading in group discussions. Students are always expected to back up their interpretations with evidence from the text. The teacher and student also analyze the student's development as a reader by assessing notes that the student has taken about reading assignments. Much of the essay writing assigned in Writing Workshop comes from group reading, which includes:
To Kill a Mockingbird, Harper Lee (assigned as summer reading for entering 8th graders)
The Pearl, John Steinbeck
Bless Me, Ultima, Rudolfo Anaya
Fahrenheit 451, Ray Bradbury
Antigone, Sophocles
Their Eyes Were Watching God, Zora Neale Hurston
In addition, students will individually choose to read one of the following memoirs:
Always Running, Luis J. Rodriguez
The Autobiography of Malcolm X, Malcomlm X with Alex Haley
Farewell to Manzanar, Jeanne Wakatsuki Houston
Persepolis, Marjane Satrapi
Warriors Don't Cry, Melba Pattillo Beals
Vocabulary
In order to build students' reading comprehension skills and to further their understanding of the structure and origins of English, Reading Workshop includes regular vocabulary lessons based around the Greek and Latin origins of many English words. With this foundation, students develop a base of knowledge that they can summon when confronting unfamiliar words in their reading. The class uses Vocabulary From Classical Roots by Norma Fifer and Nancy Flowers as the main text for this study. Students complete vocabulary exercises and quizzes on alternating weeks throughout the school year.
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