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New York ELA Curriculum
Eighth Grade

In order to assist educators with the implementation of the Common Core, the New York State Education Department and Expeditionary Learning provides curricular modules in P-12 English Language Arts that schools and districts can adopt or adapt for local purposes. The full year of Grade 8 English Language Arts curriculum is available below.  

Module Structure
Each module provides eight weeks of instruction, broken into three shorter units. Each module includes seven assessments:

• Six unit-level assessments that almost always are on-demand: students’ independent work on a reading, writing, speaking, or listening task.
• One final performance task that is a more supported project, often involving research. 

Structure of a Year of Instruction
There are six modules per grade level.

• Of these six modules, teachers would teach four: Module 1, followed by either Module 2A or 2B, then either 3A or 3B, then Module 4.
• Teachers should begin the year with Module 1, which lays the foundation for both teachers and students regarding instructional routines.
• For Modules 2 and 3, option B formally assesses all standards formally assessed in Option A (and possibly some additional standards as well). 

To access the Grade 8 English Language Arts curriculum, click on the links below. To access the year long curriculum map and the explanation of assessments, click here. 

Grade 8 ELA Module 1
Finding Homes: Refugees
(Reading Closely and Writing to Learn)
    Unit 1
    Unit 2
    Unit 3

Grade 8 ELA Module 2A
Taking a Stand
(Working with Evidence)
    Unit 1
    Unit 2
    Unit 3

Grade 8 ELA Module 2B
'A Midsummer Night’s Dream' and the Comedy of Control
(Working with Evidence: Drama)
    Unit 1
    Unit 2
    Unit 3

Grade 8 ELA Module 3A
Japanese-American Relations in WWII
(Understanding Perspectives)
    Unit 1
    Unit 2
    Unit 3

Grade 8 ELA Module 3B
The Civil Rights Movement and the Little Rock Nine
(Understanding Perspectives)

Grade 8 ELA Module 4
Sustainability of World’s Food Supply
(Research, Decision-Making, and Forming         Positions)
    Unit 1
    Unit 2
    Unit 3