Unit Materials for 8th Grade English
Explore the texts and supporting materials used in each unit of 8th Grade English.
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Download the text list for the 2026–27 school year, which includes ISBNs and guidance on ordering quantities.
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Facing Prejudice: 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
Encountering Evil: 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
Abusing Power: Animal Farm and Wicked History
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
Surviving Repression: 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
Facing Calamity: 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
