The Fight for Freedom
What is freedom worth? This quarter we read the words of people who risked everything to be free, and of the writers who remembered them, then research one part of the abolition movement and teach it to others.
- Essential Question IWhat will people risk to be free?
- Essential Question IIWhat kinds of freedom do people fight for?
By the end of this quarter, you will be able to…
These goals come from our curriculum guide. Every lesson in this quarter moves you toward at least one of them.
Your path through the quarter.
Each lesson is one 45-minute class period. Find each text in your literature textbook on the pages shown. Tap a lesson number to open that lesson. Numbers with dashed borders are coming soon.
Performance Task: Argument (carried over from Quarter 02)
Finish Quarter 02’s capstone essay for the school blog, “Speak Up for Teens” (pp. 422-433). Mentor text: It’s Complicated. Grammar focus: using gerunds correctly. The full prompt is on the Quarter 02 page.
from Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass, an American Slave
Frederick Douglass
“The Drummer Boy of Shiloh”
Ray Bradbury
“O Captain! My Captain!”
Walt Whitman
Midterm Checkpoint
Assessment Practice (pp. 295-296) and Writing a Poem (p. 297): a tribute to someone you admire, real or imagined, as an elegy, sonnet, limerick, or form of your choice. Also the i-Ready diagnostic. Everyone completes this checkpoint.
from Harriet Tubman: Conductor on the Underground Railroad
Ann Petry
“Not My Bones”
Marilyn Nelson, paired with Fortune’s Bones by Pamela Espeland
The Fight for Freedom: Research Report
Your capstone informative report on the abolition movement (pp. 346-347). Mentor text: Fortune’s Bones. Grammar focus: verb moods.
Where the quarter is headed.
Read this now. Every lesson before it gives you a piece of what you will need.
Voices of Abolition
Using information and examples from multiple credible sources, research and write an informative report on a specific aspect of the abolition movement in the United States. Your report should provide a clear explanation of the chosen topic, supported by factual evidence, and demonstrate a comprehensive understanding of the subject.
- Focus: choose one specific aspect of the abolition movement.
- Research: gather facts and examples from multiple credible sources.
- Explain: give a clear explanation of your topic, supported by factual evidence.
- Model: study how Fortune’s Bones makes history informative, clear, and engaging.
Optional cross-curricular DBQ on abolition, if your teacher assigns it. The quarter closes with the Unit Test on HMH Ed.
Choose your own read.
Alongside our class texts, pick one Reader’s Choice title to read on your own this quarter. Summaries are in your textbook on pp. 334-335.
- I Saw Old General at BayWalt Whitman
- from Bloody TimesJames L. Swanson
- A Mystery of HeroismStephen Crane
- My Friend DouglassRussell Freedman
- Civil War JournalLouisa May Alcott
- The Not-So-Boring Letters of Private NobodyMatthew Landis
- March Toward the ThunderJoseph Bruchac
- March Forward, GirlMelba Pattillo Beals
- Roll of Thunder, Hear My CryMildred D. Taylor
- Pick one of the texts and annotate the Notice and Note signposts you find.
- Use the Notice and Note Writing Frames to write about why the signposts matter.
- Compare your findings with classmates who read the same text.
Go further.
Optional enrichment from our curriculum guide. Your teacher may assign one, or you may choose one to go deeper.
Write a Short Story
Try your hand at historical fiction: a short story about characters who lived during the Civil War.
Create a Memorial
With your group, decide whom to honor and what form the memorial takes: a monument, a song, a multimedia presentation. Explain the person’s impact on history and on life today.
Create an Infographic
For a “Know Your History” project, design an infographic about one aspect of the Civil War. What message will it send, and how will images and layout hook your audience?
Standards this quarter.
South Carolina College and Career Ready ELA Standards (2023), Grade 8, as listed in the Quarter 3 curriculum guide.
View all 20 standards
- SC.ELA.8.AOR.1.2
- Analyze how figurative language impacts mood, tone, and meaning in a text(s); explain an author’s use of symbolism.
- SC.ELA.8.AOR.2.1
- Analyze how key details contribute to the development of two or more themes within and across literary texts.
- SC.ELA.8.AOR.4.1
- Analyze an author’s perspective or purpose in a text and analyze how an author uses rhetoric to advance that perspective or purpose.
- SC.ELA.8.AOR.5.2
- Analyze how the structure of individual text sections and/or text features convey an author’s purpose in an informational text.
- SC.ELA.8.AOR.8.1
- Interpret an author’s use of figurative, connotative, and technical language in literary, informational, and multimedia texts.
- SC.ELA.8.AOR.8.1.a
- Interpret figures of speech (e.g., oxymoron) in context and analyze how they function within a text.
- SC.ELA.8.AOR.8.1.c
- Distinguish between the connotations of words with similar denotations (e.g., willful, resolute).
- SC.ELA.8.AOR.9.1
- Apply knowledge of affixes and Greek and Latin roots to determine or clarify precise meanings of words and phrases.
- SC.ELA.8.AOR.10.1
- Evaluate a text or subject presented through multimedia formats, and analyze how each media’s portrayal impacts the audience.
- SC.ELA.8.C.1.1
- Write arguments to support a claim(s) with clear reasons and relevant evidence.
- SC.ELA.8.C.1.1.d
- Establish and maintain a tone appropriate to the task and audience.
- SC.ELA.8.C.2.1
- Write informative texts to examine a topic and analyze information from multiple sources.
- SC.ELA.8.C.3.1.a
- Produce clear and coherent writing in which the development, organization, and style are appropriate to the task, purpose, and audience.
- SC.ELA.8.C.4.1.c
- Use different types of verbals in sentences (gerunds, participles, infinitives).
- SC.ELA.8.C.4.1.d
- Distinguish between and use active and passive voice and types of grammatical mood (indicative, subjunctive, conditional, imperative).
- SC.ELA.8.C.7.1
- Present claims and findings, emphasizing key ideas in a focused manner with relevant descriptions, facts, details, and examples.
- SC.ELA.8.C.7.1.a
- Demonstrate and adjust speaking techniques (eye contact, nonverbal cues, adequate volume, clear pronunciation, pacing).
- SC.ELA.8.C.7.1.b
- Convey a clear perspective with clear reasoning and valid evidence.
- SC.ELA.8.C.8.1
- Initiate and participate in structured discussions and collaborations about grade-appropriate topics and texts.
- SC.ELA.8.C.9.1.c
- Using digital media or a presentation, analyze the purpose of the information being presented.
Overarching expectations practiced all year: read and write for many purposes, learn through multimedia, make inferences, collaborate and listen, cite evidence, and create quality work in an accepted format.