8th Grade ELA Review 2023

End-of-Year

English Language Arts Review

So far, the proposals are great! Here are some research ideas:

• a favorite album or artist

• best college majors or vocational trades

• favorite athlete or sports

• Google: "Genius Hour" or "passion project" ideas

​

Independent Project Proposals are Due Today <3

Classes (Periods 1-4) with the most impressive final project presentations will earn a whole cake to share.

​

Announcement:

Cake

Plot

&

THEME

​(theme first)

​Review

Theme

• is not a one- or two-word topic, but a complete thought that

communicates the author’s message

• A universal theme is an idea that applies to anyone, anywhere,

regardless of cultural differences.

​(a similar concept to archetypes)

• ​A story can have more than one theme (usually they have many)

​Remember

Dropdown

A universal theme is an idea that applies to anyone, ​

Select answer

, regardless of ​

Select answer

differences. This means that people around the world can draw meaning out of the theme of a novel, comic, movie, etc.

Examples of universal theme include but

are not limited to:

• an individual’s or a

community’s confrontation
with nature;

• an individual’s struggle toward

understanding, awareness,
and/or spiritual enlightenment;

• the tension between the ideal

and the real;

Fill in the Blanks

Stories such as Moby Dick, Hatchet, The Old Man and the Sea, The Call of the Wild, and Cast Away are all examples of an individual or community's confrontation with...

Multiple Choice

What is the most accurate overarching theme for The Giver?

• An individual's struggle toward understanding, awareness, and/or spiritual enlightenment

• Man vs self

• man versus his sworn nemesis

Match

Match the following stories whose themes include the tension between the ideal and the real:

• A young mermaid fantasizes about becoming human but loses her voice in the process of becoming human and then faces reality.

• A prideful young man asks for his inheritance money early and blows it all foolishly, then returns home humbled and begging for mercy (also an example of Biblical allusion).

• A young girl discovers that two worlds exist within her universe: the real world and the alternative world.

• A man who is in mourning is visited by a talking raven at midnight and it becomes hard to tell what is real.

The Little Mermaid by Hans Christian Andersen

The Prodigal Son

Coraline

The Raven by Edgar Allen Poe

• The Little Mermaid by Hans Christian Andersen

• The Prodigal Son

• Coraline

• The Raven by Edgar Allen Poe

• the conflict between

human beings and
advancements in
technology/science

• the impact of the past

on the present;

Dropdown

A few prime examples of the conflict between human beings and advancement in technology/science:

​

Select answer

by George Orwell

The ​

Select answer

​

Select answer

by Mary Shelley

Multiple Choice

What are the dominant themes of this story? Siddhartha is the story of a young man who leaves home to find meaning in life, tries different approaches, and meets many people on his journey who help him find inner peace and enlightenment. He starts by denying all pleasures for a while, then changes completely and becomes luxuriously rich. Still not feeling fulfilled, he abandons his riches and lives simply by a river when he discovers he has a previously unknown son. Siddhartha tries to be a good father, but the boy is spoiled and cynical and runs off with his money. Siddhartha eventually becomes enlightened.

• the impact of the past on the present

• an individual's struggle towards enlightenment and the impact of the past on the present

• a community's struggle with nature

• tension between fantasy and reality

• the inevitability of fate;

• the struggle for equality;

• and the loss of

innocence.

Open Ended

One of the most famous stories about the inevitability of fate (i.e., there's no way to stop destiny) is William Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet. Another example is "DUCKWORTH." by Kendrick Lamar, which is about a chance meeting. Can you think of another story, movie, song, etc. that has this theme?

Poll

Choose your favorite "struggle for equality":

• A brave group of women fights for their right to vote in the late 1800s

• The Outsiders:

  it is a story of two groups of teenagers whose bitter rivalry stems from socioeconomic differences

• Harriet Tubman & the Underground Railroad

• RuPaul (Drag Race and LGBTQ culture)

Multiple Select

Which of these stories has a "loss of innocence" theme?

• The Lord of the Flies

• The Hunger Games

• Anne Frank

What is Plot?

A plot can be
a secret plan made in by a group of
people to do something illegal or
harmful...

​But the type of plot we are discussing

here are the "steps" in a story.

Plot

• the main events of a play, novel, movie, or

similar work, devised and presented by the
writer as an interrelated sequence.

Ex: "the plot consists almost entirely of a man

and woman falling in love"

Also known as:

• storyline, story

• chain of events

• scenario

A story's PLOT

is like a mountain:

Plot is a sequence of events
in a story in which the main
character is put into a
challenging situation that
forces them to make
increasingly difficult
choices, driving the story
toward a climactic event
and resolution.

The six elements of
plot:

Exposition

Inciting Incident

Rising Action or Progressive Complications

Dilemma

Climax

Resolution/ Denouement

Plot Elements, graphed:

Drag and Drop

Six elements of Plot:

​

Placeholder

Inciting​

Placeholder

​

Placeholder

or Progressive Complications

​

Placeholder

Climax

​

Placeholder

/ Denouement

Drag these tiles and drop them in the correct blank above

Exposition

Incident

Rising Action

Dilemma

Resolution

Shortest story ever?

“Knock” by Frederic Brown
(17 words)

The last man on Earth sat alone in a
room.

There was a knock on the door. . .

​What is the plot?

Persuasive appeals​

Ethos, Pathos, Logos

Whenever you advertise something or argue for one side over another, the goal is to persuade people to do something. To help accomplish this purpose, we can use three types of persuasive strategies (or appeals) known as. . .

Ethos, Pathos, Logos

Think of Ethos as appealing to ethics, values, or morals,

Pathos comes directly from Greek páthos = “suffering, sensation, experience." It appeals to the emotions,

and

Logos is the root of logic, or reasoning. Usually has to do with math or numbers.

​the breakdown

Ethos

Ethos, Pathos, Logos

Appeals to ethos, or credibility & character, show that the writer or speaker is trustworthy or is an authority on a subject. Ads that appeal to ethos many include:

• mentioning that a brand has been trusted for many years

• noting that a brand is recommended by a respected organization or celebrity

• include a quote from a "real person" who shares the audience's values

​ethics

Multiple Choice

Which ad text appeals to ethos (credibility/character)?

• Our vacuum brand is approved by American House Cleaners International, LLC!

• Our vacuum brand has sold millions of units.

• Our vacuum brand has six colors to choose from.

Pathos

Ethos, Pathos, Logos

Appeals to pathos, or emotion, use feelings rather than facts to persuade the audience. An ad that appeals to pathos might do one of the following:

• trigger a fear, such as the fear of embarrassment

• appeal to a desire, such as the desire to appear attractive

• link the product to a positive feeling, such as adventure, love, or luxury

​You deserve it!

​Luxury Spa

​Relax & Renew

​Limited Time Offer!

You don't want to miss out

Multiple Choice

What persuasive appeal is being used in this mascara ad?

• logos (logic)

• pathos (emotion)

• ethos (character)

Logos

Ethos, Pathos, Logos

Appeals to logos, or reason, use logic and specific evidence. An ad that appeals to logos might do one of the following:

• use graphs or charts to display information, such as the results of scientific studies

• mention numbers or money

• explain the science behind a product or service

​example of logos:

Dropdown

This ad appeals to ​

Select answer

because it mentions numbers / ​

Select answer

End.