- English Language Arts and Reading
- Grade 8
- Composition
edit drafts using standard English conventions, including:
A student expectation is directly related to the knowledge and skills statement, is more specific about how students demonstrate their learning, and always begins with a verb. Student expectations are further broken down into their component parts, often referred to as “breakouts.”
Vertical alignment shows student expectations in the same subject area at different grade levels that are related to or build upon one another.
edit drafts with adult assistance using standard English conventions, including:
capitalization of the first letter in a sentence and name;
edit drafts using standard English conventions, including:
capitalization for the beginning of sentences and the pronoun "I";
edit drafts using standard English conventions, including:
capitalization of months, days of the week, and the salutation and conclusion of a letter;
edit drafts using standard English conventions, including:
capitalization of official titles of people, holidays, and geographical names and places;
edit drafts using standard English conventions, including:
capitalization of historical periods, events, and documents; titles of books; stories and essays; and languages, races, and nationalities;
edit drafts using standard English conventions, including:
capitalization of abbreviations, initials, acronyms, and organizations;
edit drafts using standard English conventions, including:
capitalization of proper nouns, including abbreviations, initials, acronyms, and organizations;
edit drafts using standard English conventions, including:
correct capitalization;
edit drafts using standard English conventions, including:
correct capitalization;
Breakouts are the component parts that make up a student expectation. A breakout shows a distinct concept a student should know or a distinct skill that a student should be able to demonstrate.
Students develop and sustain basic skills related to the four domains of language. Students apply foundational knowledge to improve listening, speaking (oral language), reading (beginning reading, self-sustained reading, vocabulary, and fluency), and writing (beginning writing) skills.
listen actively to interpret a message by summarizing, asking questions, and making comments;
follow and give complex oral instructions to perform specific tasks, answer questions, or solve problems;
use print or digital resources to determine the meaning, syllabication, pronunciation, word origin, and part of speech;
determine the meaning and usage of grade-level academic English words derived from Greek and Latin roots such as ast, qui, path, mand/mend, and duc.
Developing and sustaining foundational language skills: listening, speaking, reading, writing, and thinking--fluency. The student reads grade-level text with fluency and comprehension. The student is expected to adjust fluency when reading grade-level text based on the reading purpose.
Developing and sustaining foundational language skills: listening, speaking, reading, writing, and thinking--self-sustained reading. The student reads grade-appropriate texts independently. The student is expected to self-select text and read independently for a sustained period of time.
monitor comprehension and make adjustments such as re-reading, using background knowledge, asking questions, and annotating when understanding breaks down.
respond using newly acquired vocabulary as appropriate;
complete complex sentences with subject-verb agreement and avoidance of splices, run-ons, and fragments;
consistent, appropriate use of verb tenses and active and passive voice;
prepositions and prepositional phrases and their influence on subject-verb agreement;
pronoun-antecedent agreement;
correct capitalization;
punctuation, including commas in nonrestrictive phrases and clauses, semicolons, colons, and parentheses; and
correct spelling, including commonly confused terms such as its/it's, affect/effect, there/their/they're, and to/two/too; and
Students develop and sustain oral and written language skills to communicate their ideas effectively using appropriate language conventions. Students consider audience and purpose while applying appropriate genre characteristics and craft and determining the appropriate mode of delivery.
listen actively to interpret a message by summarizing, asking questions, and making comments;
follow and give complex oral instructions to perform specific tasks, answer questions, or solve problems;
advocate a position using anecdotes, analogies, and/or illustrations employing eye contact, speaking rate, volume, enunciation, a variety of natural gestures, and conventions of language to communicate ideas effectively; and
participate collaboratively in discussions, plan agendas with clear goals and deadlines, set time limits for speakers, take notes, and vote on key issues.
determine the meaning and usage of grade-level academic English words derived from Greek and Latin roots such as ast, qui, path, mand/mend, and duc.
describe personal connections to a variety of sources, including self-selected texts;
write responses that demonstrate understanding of texts, including comparing sources within and across genres;
use text evidence to support an appropriate response;
paraphrase and summarize texts in ways that maintain meaning and logical order;
interact with sources in meaningful ways such as notetaking, annotating, freewriting, or illustrating;
respond using newly acquired vocabulary as appropriate;
discuss and write about the explicit or implicit meanings of text;
respond orally or in writing with appropriate register, vocabulary, tone, and voice;
reflect on and adjust responses as new evidence is presented; and
demonstrate knowledge of literary genres such as realistic fiction, adventure stories, historical fiction, mysteries, humor, fantasy, science fiction, and short stories;
analyze the effect of graphical elements such as punctuation and line length in poems across a variety of poetic forms such as epic, lyric, and humorous poetry;
analyze how playwrights develop dramatic action through the use of acts and scenes;
the controlling idea or thesis with supporting evidence;
features such as footnotes, endnotes, and citations; and
multiple organizational patterns within a text to develop the thesis;
identifying the claim and analyzing the argument;
identifying and explaining the counter argument; and
identifying the intended audience or reader; and
analyze characteristics of multimodal and digital texts.
explain the author's purpose and message within a text;
analyze how the use of text structure contributes to the author's purpose;
analyze the author's use of print and graphic features to achieve specific purposes;
describe how the author's use of figurative language such as extended metaphor achieves specific purposes;
identify and analyze the use of literary devices, including multiple points of view and irony;
analyze how the author's use of language contributes to the mood, voice, and tone; and
explain the purpose of rhetorical devices such as analogy and juxtaposition and of logical fallacies such as bandwagon appeals and circular reasoning.
plan a first draft by selecting a genre appropriate for a particular topic, purpose, and audience using a range of strategies such as discussion, background reading, and personal interests;
organizing with purposeful structure, including an introduction, transitions, coherence within and across paragraphs, and a conclusion; and
developing an engaging idea reflecting depth of thought with specific facts, details, and examples;
revise drafts for clarity, development, organization, style, word choice, and sentence variety;
complete complex sentences with subject-verb agreement and avoidance of splices, run-ons, and fragments;
consistent, appropriate use of verb tenses and active and passive voice;
prepositions and prepositional phrases and their influence on subject-verb agreement;
pronoun-antecedent agreement;
correct capitalization;
punctuation, including commas in nonrestrictive phrases and clauses, semicolons, colons, and parentheses; and
correct spelling, including commonly confused terms such as its/it's, affect/effect, there/their/they're, and to/two/too; and
publish written work for appropriate audiences.
compose literary texts such as personal narratives, fiction, and poetry using genre characteristics and craft;
compose informational texts, including multi-paragraph essays that convey information about a topic, using a clear controlling idea or thesis statement and genre characteristics and craft;
compose multi-paragraph argumentative texts using genre characteristics and craft; and
compose correspondence that reflects an opinion, registers a complaint, or requests information in a business or friendly structure.
generate student-selected and teacher-guided questions for formal and informal inquiry;
develop and revise a plan;
identify and gather relevant information from a variety of sources;
differentiate between primary and secondary sources;
synthesize information from a variety of sources;
differentiate between paraphrasing and plagiarism when using source materials;
display academic citations and use source materials ethically; and
use an appropriate mode of delivery, whether written, oral, or multimodal, to present results.