Grade 8 ELA Challenge Classes– The duration of each course is one trimester. Course # 1: Film as Literature Course Description: Everybody goes to the movies, but do you know movies are another form of literature? In fact, some people call movies, “the great American art form.” In this elective, we will read a novel and compare the text version of the story to the film version. You already know about figurative language in stories and poetry— things like similes and onomatopoeia—but do you know that movies have their own, “figurative language” tools? These tools include everything from camera movement, to the music, and a lot more in between. In this course we will explore these tools and discover how filmmakers use them to tell the story in the most effective way possible. Students will complete a research project following the career of a director. Students will also complete dialectical journal entries as a response to feature films and documentary films. Students visiting the MVMMS TV station will plan and create a PSA and a feature production. Course # 2: The Writing of Lois Duncan Course Description: Duncan is best known for her novels of suspense written for teenagers. Some of her works have been adapted for the screen, the most famous example being the 1997 film I Know What You Did Last Summer, adapted from her novel of the same title. The ALA Margaret A. Edwards Award recognizes one writer and a particular body of work for "significant and lasting contribution to young adult literature." Duncan won the annual award in 1992, and young adult librarians now name six books Duncan published from 1966 to 1987 as worthy of the Edwards Award, the autobiographical Chapters and five novels: Ransom, I Know What You Did Last Summer, Summer of Fear, Killing Mr. Griffin, and The Twisted Window. The citation observes, "Whether accepting responsibility for the death of an English teacher or admitting to their responsibility for a hit and run accident, Duncan's characters face a universal truth – your actions are important and you are responsible for them." Students will complete research about the author’s life and career, complete dialectical journals to record their impressions about the books, and complete two analytic essays about their reading. Students will also create original short stories employing the elements of writing suspense stories in the manner of Duncan and other contemporary fiction writers. Course # 3: Mysteries Course Description: Dame Agatha Christie is a mystery and crime novel author who has sold more than four billion copies of her work. Her stories have been translated into more than one hundred different languages, and she holds the Guinness Book of World Records for bestselling novelist of all time. Her writing has entertained people around the world in the form of books, TV shows, movies and plays. At a young age, Christie was able to travel to foreign lands with her mother - trips that would help nurture the amazing imagination she would later show in her writing. During World War II, Christie spent many hours working as a nurse, and her subsequent travel and rich and varied experiences helped to inform her writing. Almost forty years after her death, Agatha Christie’s writing still captivates audiences today. She remains one of the most read authors in the world, an amazing woman who has made prolific contributions to good books. Students will examine the classic And Then There Were None as well as other compelling mystery tales. Students will complete research about the author’s life and career, complete dialectical journals to record their impressions about the books, and complete two analytic essays about their reading. Students will also create original short stories employing the elements of writing suspense stories in the manner of Christie and other contemporary fiction writers. .