English Language Arts-8th Grade

Catholic Standards for Writing

Writing Standards

Catholic Standards for Language

Language Standards

Catholic Standards for Speaking and Listening

Speaking and Listening Standards

Create written works that glorify the Creator, reflect the heart of the Redeemer and are inspired by the Spirit. 

Share well-crafted works, especially those with elements of unity, harmony, and radiance of form. CSDS4 

Write in ways to naturally order our thoughts to the truth with an accurate expression of intent, knowledge, and feelings. CSWS2 

Text Types and Purposes 

Production and Distribution of Writing

Research to Build and Present Knowledge

Range of Writing

Exhibit an understanding that words are important to the Word.

Use language as a bridge for communication for the betterment of all involved. CSWS1 

Use language to order our thoughts and to accurately express knowledge and feelings. CSWS2 

Conventions of Standard English

Knowledge of Language

Vocabulary Acquisition and Use

Interact with people, recognizing diversity, using discussion techniques and language that reflects Catholic teaching and values. 

Use language as a bridge for communication for the betterment of all involved. CSWS1 

Share beautifully told and well-crafted works, especially those with elements of unity, harmony, and radiance of form. CSDS4 

Delight and wonder through reading aloud or listening to creative, sound, and healthy stories, and poems and plays. CSDS7 

Comprehension and Collaboration

Presentation of Knowledge and Ideas

CSWS2: Write in a variety of ways to naturally order thoughts to the truth with an accurate expression of intent, knowledge, and feelings. 

CSIS4: From a Catholic perspective, write to explain how to address critical issues, such as: What is the relationship between man and God? What is the nature of human dignity? What is love? What is a good life? 

Write arguments to support claims with clear reasons and relevant evidence while maintaining Catholic values and identity.

Write informative/explanatory texts to examine a topic and 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. Examples may include prayers, Catholic moral teachings, and reflective essays. 

With some guidance and support from peers and adults, develop, strengthen, and defend writing according to Catholic teaching as needed 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 produce and publish writing (including multi-media works reflecting a Catholic theme) and present the relationships between information and ideas efficiently as well as to interact and collaborate with others. 

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

Gather relevant information from multiple print and digital sources including an understanding and use of primary and secondary sources, using search terms effectively; assess the credibility and accuracy of each source; and quote or paraphrase the data and conclusions of others while exercising the virtue of honesty and following a standard format for citation of images, sources, and ideas thus eliminating plagiarism. 

Draw evidence from literary or informational texts to support analysis, reflection, and research. 

Write routinely over extended time frames (time for research, reflection, and revision) and shorter time frames (a single sitting or a day or two) for a range of discipline-specific tasks, purposes, and audiences.

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

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

Use knowledge of language and its conventions when writing, speaking, reading, or listening.

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. 

Acquire and use accurately grade-appropriate general academic and domain-specific words and phrases (including faith literacy); gather vocabulary knowledge when considering a word or phrase important to comprehension or expression.

Engage effectively in a range of collaborative discussions (one-on-one, in groups, and teacher-led), building on others’ ideas and expressing their own clearly.

Analyze the purpose of information presented in diverse media and formats including but not limited to Catholic texts and sources (e.g., visually, quantitatively, orally) and evaluate the motives (e.g., social, commercial, political) behind its presentation.

Delineate a speaker’s argument and specific claims, evaluating the soundness of the reasoning and relevance and sufficiency of the evidence and identifying when irrelevant evidence is introduced. 

Present claims and findings, emphasizing salient points in a focused, coherent manner with relevant evidence, sound valid reasoning, and well-chosen details; use appropriate eye contact, adequate volume, and clear pronunciation. 

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

Adapt speech to a variety of contexts and tasks, demonstrating command of formal English when indicated or appropriate. 

Capitalize on opportunities to practice these skills within a liturgical context modeling Christ.

Introduce claim(s), acknowledge and distinguish the claim(s) from alternate or opposing claims, and organize the reasons and evidence logically.

Support claim(s) with logical reasoning and relevant evidence, using accurate, credible sources (including but not limited to Catholic texts) and demonstrating an understanding of the topic or text.

Use words, phrases, and clauses to create cohesion and clarify the relationships among claim(s), counterclaims, reasons, and evidence. 

Establish and maintain a formal style.

Provide a concluding statement or section that follows from and supports the argument presented.

Introduce a topic clearly, previewing what is to follow; organize ideas, concepts, and information into broader categories; include formatting (e.g., headings), graphics (e.g., charts, tables), and multimedia when useful to aiding comprehension.

Develop the topic (including but not limited to a Catholic topic) with relevant, well-chosen facts, definitions, concrete details, quotations, or other information and examples.

Use appropriate and varied transitions to create cohesion and clarify the relationships among ideas and concepts. 

Use precise language and domain-specific vocabulary to inform about or explain the topic. 

Establish and maintain a formal style.

Provide a concluding statement or section that follows from and supports the information or explanation presented.

Engage and orient the reader by establishing a context and point of view and introducing a narrator and/or characters; organize an event sequence that unfolds naturally and logically.

Use narrative techniques, such as dialogue, pacing, description, and reflection, to develop experiences, events, and/or characters (character study may detail the implicit and/or explicit Catholic virtues and values).  

Use a variety of transition words, phrases, and clauses to convey sequence, signal shifts from one time frame or setting to another, and show the relationships among experiences and events.

Use precise words and phrases, relevant descriptive details, and sensory language to capture the action and convey experiences and events.

Provide a conclusion that follows from and reflects on the narrated experiences or events. 

Explain the function of verbals (gerunds, participles, infinitives) in general and their function in particular sentences.

Form and use verbs in the indicative, imperative, interrogative, conditional, and subjunctive mood.

Form and use verbs in the active and passive voice.

Recognize and correct inappropriate shifts in verb voice and mood.

Use punctuation (comma, ellipsis, dash) to indicate a pause or break.

Use an ellipsis to indicate an omission. 

Spell correctly. 

Use verbs in the active and passive voice and in the conditional and subjunctive mood to achieve particular effects (e.g., emphasizing the actor or the action; expressing uncertainty or describing a state contrary to fact). 

Use context (e.g., the overall meaning of a sentence or paragraph; a word’s position or function in a sentence) as a clue to the meaning of a word or phrase.

Consult general and specialized reference materials (e.g., dictionaries, glossaries, thesauruses), both print and digital, to find the pronunciation of a word or determine or clarify its precise meaning or its part of speech.

Use common, grade-appropriate Greek or Latin affixes and roots as clues to the meaning of a word (e.g., precede, recede, secede)

Verify the preliminary determination of the meaning of a word or phrase (e.g., by checking the inferred meaning in context or in a dictionary). 

Interpret figures of speech (e.g. verbal irony, puns) in context.

Use the relationship between particular words to better understand each of the words.

Distinguish among the connotations (associations) of words with similar denotations (definitions) (e.g., bullheaded, willful, firm, persistent, resolute).  

Come to discussions prepared, having read or researched material under study (including but not limited to Catholic texts and sources); explicitly draw on that preparation by referring to evidence on the topic, text, or issue to probe and reflect on ideas under discussion.

Follow rules for collegial discussions and decision-making, track progress toward specific goals and deadlines, and define individual roles as needed.

Pose questions that connect the ideas of several speakers and respond to others’ questions and comments with relevant evidence, observations, and ideas.

Acknowledge new information expressed by others, and, when warranted, have the humility to qualify or justify their own views in light of the evidence presented.