Grade 8

Reading Literature and Informational Text (range of reading and text complexity)  

Writing (range of writing)  

Speaking and Listening  

Language

Foundational Skills  

Students inquire about and comprehend key ideas and details in a variety of texts.

Students investigate the craft and structure of a variety of texts.

Students integrate knowledge to make meaningful connections between ideas in diverse texts.

Students apply their knowledge of text types and purposes.

Students use various processes to produce and distribute a wide range of their writing.

Students research to build and present knowledge in writing.

Students present their knowledge and ideas orally and comprehensibly

Students apply strategies for listening and collaborate with others to comprehend what is heard and spoken.

Students apply strategies to comprehend and utilize vocabulary appropriately in a variety of contexts: social, instructional, and academic.

Students recognize and apply conventions of English in order to produce oral and written texts.

Students read a range of texts with fluency.

Construct, ask, and respond to questions as a way to extend learning

Analyze how an expository text is structured, and recognize where to locate main ideas

Analyze how particular elements affect the characters of a story or drama

Analyze the development of a theme or central idea of a text, and examine its relevance

Use word parts to decode unfamiliar grade-level academic words, and recognize families of words

Analyze the structures of two or more texts, and determine how the structure of each text affects meanings and styles

Analyze point of view in an expository text to discover how the author acknowledges and responds to conflicting evidence or viewpoints, and analyze how point of view in literary texts creates particular effects

Analyze the role and significance of selected words and phrases used in a text to create particular effects, including analogies and allusions

Analyze the relationship between a filmed or live production of a story, and the original text or script, and evaluate the choices made by the director or actors

Trace and evaluate the argument and specific claims in a text

Analyze a case in which two or more texts provide conflicting information on the same topic

Write arguments with clear reasons and relevant evidence that uses cause and effect: develop arguments by writing claim statements, acknowledge alternate or opposing claims, and organize the reasons and evidence logically

Examine a topic, and write informative/explanatory texts to convey ideas, concepts, and information through the selection, organization, and analysis of relevant content

Write narratives to develop real or imagined experiences or events using effective technique, relevant descriptive details, and well-structured event sequences

Produce clear and coherent writing in which the development, organization, and style are appropriate to task, purpose, and audience (e.g., creating a convincing speech)

Develop and strengthen writing as needed, and with guidance and support from peers and adults, by planning, revising, editing, rewriting, or trying a new approach, focusing on how well purpose and audience have been addressed

Use technology, including the Internet, to interact and collaborate with others and to produce and publish writing that presents relationships between information and ideas efficiently

Draw evidence from literary or informational texts to support analysis and reflection, and gather relevant information from credible print and digital sources, using search terms effectively, and quote or paraphrase the data and conclusions of others while avoiding plagiarism and using a given format for in-text citation

Conduct short research projects to answer a question, including a self-generated question, drawing on several sources and creating additional related, focused questions that allow for multiple avenues of exploration

Present claims and findings from research done with a partner set as an interview, and include effective dramatic techniques

Integrate multimedia and visual displays into presentations to clarify information, strengthen claims and evidence, and add interest

Listen to a debate, follow the steps of the argument, and judge which side wins

Confirm understanding when listening to a presentation, and develop strategies for clearing up any misunderstandings

Engage effectively in a range of collaborative discussions with diverse partners—one-on-one, in groups, and teacher led—on grade 8 topics, texts, and issues, building on others’ ideas and expressing own ideas clearly

Determine or clarify the meaning of unknown and multiple-meaning words or phrases based on grade 8 reading and content, choosing flexibly from a range of strategies

Demonstrate understanding of figurative language, word relationships, and nuances in word meanings

Apply word knowledge when producing oral and written texts

Demonstrate a developing command of the conventions of standard English grammar and usage when writing or speaking

Demonstrate a developing command of the conventions of standard English capitalization, punctuation, and spelling when writing

Read grade appropriate narrative and expository text aloud with developing accuracy, tone, expression, and fluency