Unit Materials for 8th Grade English
Explore the texts and supporting materials used in each unit of 8th Grade English.
Need to purchase texts for this course?
Download the text list for the 2026–27 school year, which includes ISBNs and guidance on ordering quantities.
Fishtank Learning partners with two text vendors who offer convenient ordering options for a school or district adoption: The Reading Warehouse and Mackin. You can request an introduction to the appropriate representative by emailing [email protected].
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All American Boys
Core Texts
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Book: All American Boys by Jason Reynolds and Brendan Kiely (Atheneum/Caitlyn Dlouhy Books) — HL770L
Supporting Texts
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Video: “President Obama Speaks on Trayvon Martin” by The Obama White House (YouTube)
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Transcript: “Remarks by the President on Trayvon Martin” by Barack Obama
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Video: “A Conversation About Growing Up Black” by The New York Times (YouTube)
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Video: “How to Raise a Black Son in America” by Clint Smith (TED)
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Transcript: “How to Raise a Black Son in America” by Clint Smith (TED)
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Article: “Selma: How the Selma-to-Montgomery marches 50 years ago helped end discrimination against black voters” by Bryan Brown (The New York Times Upfront)
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Article: “How Did Black Women Leaders Contribute to the Successes of the Civil Rights Movement?” by Quill.org
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Poem: “Poem Resisting Arrest” by Kyle Dargan
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Excerpt: “How to Resist” from Say Her Name by Zetta Elliott
- Resource: Recommended Texts for Independent Reading
The Diary of Anne Frank & Night
Core Texts
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Book: Night by Elie Wiesel (Hill and Wang)
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Play: The Diary of Anne Frank by Frances Goodrich and Albert Hackett (Snowball Publishing)
Supporting Texts
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Video: “Aftermath of World War I and the Rise of Nazism, 1918–1933” by the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum
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Video: “Building a National Community, 1933–1936” by the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum
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Video: “From Citizens to Outcasts, 1933–1938” by the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum
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Video: “World War II and the Holocaust, 1939–1945” by the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum
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Book: Terrible Things: An Allegory of the Holocaust by Eve Bunting (Jewish Publication Society)
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Transcript: “The Perils of Indifference” by Elie Wiesel
- Resource: Recommended Texts for Independent Reading
Animal Farm & Joseph Stalin
Core Texts
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Book: Joseph Stalin (A Wicked History) by Sean McCollum (Franklin Watts, 2010) — 970L
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Book: Animal Farm by George Orwell (Signet Classics, 1996) — 1170L
Supporting Texts
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Article: “Capitalism vs. Communism: Systems that Shape Our World (G8, U3)” by Caitlyn Meagher
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Excerpt: “Socialism in One Country” from The Stalin Era by Anna Louise Strong
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Article: “Propaganda” by Jennifer Fedor
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Short Story: “Selected Fables by Aesop”
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Film: Animal Farm
- Resource: Recommended Texts for Independent Reading
Persepolis
Core Texts
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Book: Persepolis: The Story of a Childhood by Marjane Satrapi (Pantheon, 1st edition, 2004)
Supporting Texts
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Article: “Iran Travel Journal” by Rick Steves
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Video: “Rick Steves' Iran” by Rick Steves' Europe
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Article: “The Stolen Revolution: Iranian Women of 1979” by CBC Radio
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Article: “Why do Muslim women wear a hijab?” by Caitlin Killian (The Conversation)
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Video: “Majede Najar: Why I wear a hijab” by TEDTalentSearch (YouTube)
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Article: “Under cover of darkness: Why World Hijab Day is an insult to girls like me” by Soutiam Goodarzi (The Spectator)
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Book: All American Boys by Jason Reynolds and Brendan Kiely (Atheneum/Caitlyn Dlouhy Books)
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Book: Animal Farm by George Orwell (Signet Classics, 1996)
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Book: Night by Elie Wiesel (Hill and Wang)
- Resource: Recommended Texts for Independent Reading
Climate Change Facts and Fictions
Core Texts
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Article: “Understanding Climate Change” by Fishtank Staff
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Speech: “Greta Thunberg's Speech At The U.N. Climate Action Summit” (NPR)
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Article: “Climate change sets people on the move” by Sarah Zielinski (Science News Explores)
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Short Story: “Field Notes” by Natasha Seymour
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Article: “The Marshall Islands Are Disappearing” by Coral Davenport (The New York Times)
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Poem: “Dear Matafele Peinem” by Kathy Jetñil-Kijiner
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Article: “Just 57 companies linked to 80% of greenhouse gas emissions since 2016” by Jonathan Watts (The Guardian)
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Article: “Survey finds that 60 firms are responsible for half of world's plastic pollution” by Sofia Quaglia (The Guardian)
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Article: “As Rising Heat Bakes U.S. Cities, The Poor Often Feel It Most” by Meg Anderson and Sean McMinn (NPR)
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Article: “It's Not Climate Change—It's Everything Change” by Margaret Atwood (Medium)
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Article: “Indigenous knowledge is crucial in the fight against climate change – here's why” by United Nations Development Programme
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Article: “Indigenous climate efforts vital to fight against environmental destruction” by Kiara Alfonseca (ABC News)
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Short Story: “Half-Eaten Cities” by Vajra Chandrasekera
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Short Story: “World After Water” by Abby Geni
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Article: “What the new report on climate change expects from you” by Eliza Mackintosh (CNN)
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Article: “Focusing on how individuals can stop climate change is very convenient for corporations” by Morten Fibieger Byskov (Fast Company)
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Article: “Gen Z on how to save the world: young climate activists speak out” (The Guardian)
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Article: “Do Plastic Bag Bans Help or Harm Local Communities?” by Quill.org
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Excerpt: “Excerpt from An Inconvenient Sequel: Truth to Power” by Al Gore
Supporting Texts
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Article: “The Significance of Water in Literature” by Fishtank Staff
- Resource: Recommended Texts for Independent Reading
