ICSE Class 8 English Syllabus – Listening and Speaking

1. Listen to a variety of texts from different genres and registers, such as:
   • Stories
   • Poems
   • Narratives
   • Lectures
2. Listen and comprehend issues/topics raised in spoken texts, e.g.:
   • Speech
   • Lecture
   • Discourse
   • Debate
   • Discussion
   • Group discussions
3. Use of graphics, images, music, sound, and visual displays in presentations.
4. Analyse and evaluate the use of language in different contexts:
   • Newspapers
   • Television
   • Billboards
   • Advertising campaigns
5. Adapt speech to a variety of contexts and tasks, e.g.:
   • Tone
   • Gestures
   • Stress
   • Facial expressions
   • Body language
   • Voice modulation
   • Choice of words
6. Collect and collate ideas and seek clarification to keep discussions relevant.
7. Use multimedia to make presentations on issues and social messages, e.g.:
   • Drug abuse
   • Values
   • Life skills

ICSE Class 8 English Syllabus – Reading

1. Read literary/non-literary texts on a wide range of themes, including:
   • Self, Family, Home, Friends
   • Neighbourhood and Community
   • The Nation – diversity, heritage
   • Myths, Legends, Folktales
   • The World – other countries, cultures, literature
   • Adventure and Imagination
   • Sports and Yoga
   • Issues relating to Adolescence
   • Science and Technology
   • Peace and Harmony
   • Travel and Tourism
   • Mass Media
   • Art and Culture
   • Health and Sanitation
   • Famous Personalities & Achievers
   • Environmental Concerns – water conservation, energy, sustainable development
   • Safety – personal safety & child abuse awareness
2. Extensive and intensive reading of texts for:
   • Comprehension
   • Inference
3. Focus on the choice of vocabulary, figurative language, and tone/mood used in the text.
4. Deconstruct the textual piece to understand:
   • Central theme
   • Point of view
   • Character
   • Plot
   • Dialogue/incident
   • Structure
   • Suspense
   • Humour
   • Points of view
5. Evaluate and analyse the text from the point of view of:
   • Production
   • Drama
   • Film content

ICSE Class 8 English Syllabus – Writing

1. Write a:
   • Paragraph (250-300 words)
   • Letter (formal, informal)
   • Advertisement
   • Diary
   • Journal
   • Notice
   • Poster
   • Articles
   • Report
   • Personal narrative
   • Anecdote
   • Story
   • Poem
   • Feature
   • Dialogues
2. Write across disciplines and use technology as a resource to enhance research work.
3. Process approach to writing:
   • Planning
   • Writing
   • Revising
   • Editing
   • Rewriting

ICSE Class 8 English Grammar and Vocabulary in Context

1. Phrases and clauses and their function in specific sentences.
2. Sentence Analysis.
3. Main clause and subordinate clause(s).
4. Sentence transformation from simple to complex/compound sentences.
5. Use phrases, idioms, and figures of speech in context.

ICSE Class 8 English Literature Syllabus – Suggested Reading List

1. Lord of the Flies – William Golding
2. A Wizard of Earth Sea – Ursula Le Guin
3. The Hobbit – J.R.R. Tolkien
4. Watership Down – Richard Adams
5. To Kill a Mockingbird – Harper Lee
6. The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas – John Boyne
7. A Tale of Two Cities – Charles Dickens
8. Les Misérables – Victor Hugo (Abridged)
9. Sherlock Holmes – Sir Arthur Conan Doyle
10. The Old Man and the Sea – Ernest Hemingway
11. The Pearl – John Steinbeck
12. P.G. Wodehouse (Jeeves/Blandings Castle, etc.)
13. The Ramayana / Mahabharata – C. Rajagopalachari
14. Graphic Novels (e.g., Maus – Art Spiegelman)
15. David Copperfield – Charles Dickens