- English Language Arts and Reading
- Grade 8
- Developing and sustaining foundational language skills
The student is expected to self-select text and read independently for a sustained period of time.
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.
self-select text and interact independently with text for increasing periods of time.
self-select text and interact independently with text for increasing periods of time.
self-select text and read independently for a sustained period of time.
self-select text and read independently for a sustained period of time.
self-select text and read independently for a sustained period of time.
self-select text and read independently for a sustained period of time.
self-select text and read independently for a sustained period of time.
self-select text and read independently for a sustained period of time.
self-select text and read independently for a sustained period of time.
self-select text and read independently for a sustained period of time.
self-select text and read independently for a sustained period of time.
self-select text and read independently for a sustained period of time.
self-select text and read independently for a sustained period of time.
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 comprehension skills while listening and reading. Students use metacognitive skills to determine author’s purpose, analyze craft, and recognize genre characteristics and structures in increasingly complex texts.
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;
use context within or beyond a paragraph to clarify the meaning of unfamiliar or ambiguous words; and
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.
establish purpose for reading assigned and self-selected texts;
generate questions about text before, during, and after reading to deepen understanding and gain information;
make and correct or confirm predictions using text features, characteristics of genre, and structures;
create mental images to deepen understanding;
make connections to personal experiences, ideas in other texts, and society;
make inferences and use evidence to support understanding;
evaluate details read to determine key ideas;
synthesize information to create new understanding; and
monitor comprehension and make adjustments such as re-reading, using background knowledge, asking questions, and annotating when understanding breaks down.
defend or challenge the authors' claims using relevant text evidence.
analyze how themes are developed through the interaction of characters and events;
analyze how characters' motivations and behaviors influence events and resolution of the conflict;
analyze non-linear plot development such as flashbacks, foreshadowing, subplots, and parallel plot structures and compare it to linear plot development; and
explain how the setting influences the values and beliefs of characters.
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.
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;
reliability, credibility, and bias, including omission; and
faulty reasoning such as bandwagon appeals, repetition, and loaded language;