Haleyville Middle School

It’s been an exciting time in 8th Grade English. With Halloween nearing, we have focused on the genre of horror. The students have enjoyed writing their own creative stories while listening to “Lux Aeterna” and reading suspenseful short stories such as “The Monkey’s Paw” and “Tell-Tale Heart.” They particularly liked reading “The Monkey’s Paw” and acting out parts of it as a play complete with sound effects such as knocking that built suspense up to a surprise ending. A dramatic recitation of “Tell-Tale Heart’ by Vincent Price kept them on the edge of their seats as well. Students have determined the mood of these stories and have written color-coded AEC paragraphs in which they state an assertion and prove it with evidence, commentary, and citations. They have done an amazing job. I am seeing their writing improving daily! We also loved participating in the art show and want to thank everyone who came to support these budding young artists. Students got to write their concrete poems on anything they felt was important or represented them and then draw, color, or paint them any way they liked. We hope you saw their individuality shine through as you looked at the different pieces.