During second/third quarter, eighth graders have been working on writing about literature.  This has been tough for many of them. The first essay they wrote dealt with analyzing a theme in a short story or novel.  These new essays are called author’s craft essays. In these essays, they had to focus on HOW the author wrote instead of what the author wrote about. They had to pick out what they considered to be the author’s best craft moves (symbolism, use of figurative language, dialogue use, etc) and argue how those craft moves helped readers to better understand the stories they chose to write about.  

All of the eighth grade’s completed author’s craft essays are posted here. You will just need to scroll down if you are looking for one in particular.  Read one, read a few, or read them all. For any amount that you read, feel free to email any comments to swineto@monticello.k12.wi.us.  Mrs. Swinehart will share any feedback you have with the eighth graders.

CLICK HERE TO READ 8th GRADE WORK

During second quarter, the seventh graders worked on analyzing a book they read.  They needed to analyze parts of the book’s plot triangle as well as how the author chose to write the book. When writing, students needed to use text evidence from the book to back up their analysis.  When finished, they used their writing to craft a companion book, which is a book written to accompany a book. If you pick up a companion book to read, you’ll be reading about someone’s in depth analysis of  a book.  

If you’d like to read our books, go to the following links:

CLICK HERE TO READ CLASS 7A WORK

CLICK HERE TO READ CLASS 7B WORK

If you’d like to look at a student’s book, just click on the image of his/her book.

Parents: If you’d like to order your child’s book, click on the “Buy” button that pops up when you look at your child’s book. Books don’t have to be ordered to view them online.