8th Grade Review Sheet for the Reading Final Exam

Reading Final Exam is on Wednesday, June 15

Module 1:  Finding Home: Refugees

Module Focus: Becoming a close reader and writing to learn

Book (s) read for the Module: Inside Out & Back Again

Description: Students consider the challenges of fictional and real refugees. They read the novel Inside Out & Back Again, analyzing critical incidents that reveal the dynamic nature of Ha, a 10-year-old Vietnamese girl whose family flees during the fall of Saigon. They also read complex informational texts to learn more about the history of war in Vietnam, the historical context of Ha’s family’s struggle, and the universal themes of refugees’ experiences of fleeing and finding home. Students consider how Ha’s experience represents the universal refugee experience of being turned “inside out” and then coming “back again.”

Vocabulary: All definitions can be found in the Reading Vocabulary Notebook

gist, inference, panic, tone, incidents, lunar, foretells, fate, witness, vow, hasty, poignant, affidavit, consulate, free verse poetry, central idea, point of view, fiction, perspective, objective, wary, spurned, tend, misread, “the time is ripe”, tumult, assertive, kindle, appeal, “to no avail”, committed, contain, backed, symbol, symbolism, rations, stranded, communism, totalitarianism, regret, universal, inexorable, stringent, emigration, evacuees, persecuted, repatriation, refugees, sanctuary

**Please make sure that you have done the required reading and any articles in your reading folder. Bring your reading folder and books for this Module with you for the Exam. _____________________________________________________________________________

Module 2: A Midsummer Night’s Dream and the Comedy of Control

Module Focus: Working with Evidence (Drama)

Book(s) read for the Module: Midsummer’s Night Dream

Description: Students read and analyze Shakespeare’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream, focusing primarily on the theme of control. Students examine why the characters seek control, how they try to control others, and the results of attempting to control others. They build background knowledge as they explore the appeal and authorship of Shakespeare and read much of the play aloud in a Drama Circle. Students analyze differences between a film version of the play and Shakespeare’s original script. They also study how Shakespeare drew upon Greek mythology as he crafted the play within the play.

Vocabulary:  All definitions can be found in the Reading Vocabulary Notebook

universal appeal, images, lure, cite, claims, supporting details, central claim, anonymous, perspective, conflicting viewpoints, counter claims, courtier, patron, rudimentary, evaluate, surmise, incoherence, vulgar, reconciling, speculation

**Please make sure that you have done the required reading and any articles in your reading folder. Bring your reading folder and books for this Module with you for the Exam.
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Module 3: The Civil Rights Movement and The Little Rock Nine

Module Focus: Studying diverse sources about the same topic can build our understanding

Book (s) read for the Module: A Mighty Long Way and a photo essay titled Little Rock Girl 1957

Description: In this module, students studied the U.S. civil rights movement, focusing particularly on The Little Rock Nine. They considered the question “How can stories be powerful?” as they learn about segregation, the civil rights movement, The Little Rock Nine, and the role of the various mediums in shaping perceptions of events. Students read A Mighty Long Way by Carlotta Walls LaNier and a photo essay titled Little Rock Girl 1957 by Shelley Tougas, where they considered the different ways in which the story of The Little Rock Nine has been told. Students built background knowledge as they studied the history of segregation and Jim Crow laws in the United States. They also began by reading primary sources, such as the Plessy v. Ferguson Supreme Court decision and the dissenting opinion by Justice Harlan.

Vocabulary: All definitions can be found in the Reading Vocabulary Notebook

prologue, composure, desegregation, fortitude, memoir, sharecropper, carpetbagger, amendment, scalawag, due process, abridge, deprive, allegation, dissent, statute, inadequate, arbitrary, humble, naturalized

**Please make sure that you have done the required reading and any articles in your reading folder. Bring your reading folder and books for this Module with you for the Exam. ____________________________________________________________________________

Module 4: Sustainability of the US Food Supply Chain

Module Focus:
How an author or speaker uses sufficient relevant evidence and sound reasoning to support his or her claim

 Book(s) read for the Module: The Omnivore’s Dilemma

Description: In Module 4, students analyzed arguments and the evidence used to support arguments to determine whether sufficient evidence has been used and whether the evidence is relevant in support of the claim an author or speaker is making. They then researched to gather evidence to make their own spoken and written arguments. Students read Michael Pollan’s The Omnivore’s Dilemma, a literary non-fiction text about where food comes from and about making decisions about what food to buy and eat. They built background knowledge about what happens to food before it gets to the consumer, and the different choices the consumer can make when buying food while analyzing Michael Pollan’s arguments and the evidence he uses to support his claims.

Vocabulary:  All definitions can be found in the Reading Vocabulary Notebook

omnivore, dilemma, feedlot, bellying, hybrid, yields, organism, patent, DNA, reckless, affix, conflicting, purpose, author’s purpose, resident, prairie, synthetic, subsidize, dense, fossil fuels, pesticides, corrupt, immoral, motive, enslave, compromise


**Please make sure that you have done the required reading and any articles in your reading folder. Bring your reading folder and books for this Module with you for the Exam.