2022-2023 School Theme:  Making Disciples for Life
School Verse: “Go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to observe all I have commanded you. And I will be with you always, to the very end of the age." Matthew 28:19-20 

8th Grade Teacher: Ms. Cicerale (e-mail: cicerale@stjohnsracine.org)

Middle School Language Arts

The language arts curriculum at St. John's is aligned with Common Core standards and strives to teach students the critical thinking and writing skills they will need in high school and beyond.  Students will be immersed in a variety of poetry, short stories, and novels, and they will learn to read, analyze, and respond to texts in written and oral forms.  The elements of grammar, the 8 parts of speech, mechanics, and sentence structure are a part of our grammar curriculum, and students will learn to apply these concepts to their own writing as they prepare for the next level of their education.

The daily assignments for 5th-8th grade Language Arts are posted on Renweb on a weekly basis. Please log in to your Renweb account and check it out! Any assignments found on Google Classroom will appear as "GC" on Renweb. E-mail me at cicerale@stjohnsracine.org with any questions you may have or if you need a copy of the latest book report or project description.  If you are looking for extra support or practice for your student, check out the language arts websites below.  

Throughout the school year, students will be participating in several independent reading assignments and invited to participate in optional reading challenges designed to encourage a love of books.  They will have access to the school library, as well as my personal classroom library.  I ask simply that the students treat the books as 'rented' property-- in other words, with respect and care-- and that the books borrowed are returned for others to enjoy.  Just like movies with G/PG/PG-13 ratings, books vary widely in content and maturity level.  I do my best to read books ahead of time and match students with books they will love, but I leave the ultimate decision about what is appropriate reading material up to the parents and students. If you want to research a specific book, try looking it up on commonsensemedia.org to see an overview of its content. Please contact me if you have any questions or concerns about a book on my shelf.

8th Grade Schedule

Washington DC

The dates for the 2022-2023 DC trip are Friday, May 5th through Tuesday, May 9th. Highlights from the trip include a stop at the site of the Flight 93 crash, Gettysburg, a tour of Congress, a memorial walk along the Tidal Basin, the WWII memorial, a tour of the National Cathedral, a stop at the Smithsonian museums, and much, much more.  It is an incredible experience for our students, full of lasting memories. The first DC meeting will take place in late October or early November, at a date to be determined.  If you might be interested in chaperoning, please let me know by that time.

Additional Language Arts Resources on the Web