8th Grade Core Writing Standards Guide- Unit 1
Instructional Period 1
Sentence Construction
Rationale: To express themselves in a more creative way in preparation for real world.
Big Idea: Writing is a way to communicate.
Unit Outcome: TSW compose a variety of sentences focusing on fluency, word choice, and voice
in order to enhance his/her writing.
Learner Evidence: 1. TSW write a variety of simple, compound, and complex sentences focusing
on fluency, word choice, and voice to enhance his/her writing. 2. TSW write sentences to include
varying beginnings and lengths 3. TSW incorporate the sentence structures into descriptive
chunks, short stories, and essays.
Performance Based Assessment: Incorporate a variety of sentence structures into chunks and
short stories and be able to revise and edit independently.
Approximate Length of Unit: 10-15 days Simultaneous with dissecting writing prompts
Continue to spiral for mastery through-out year.
.
Year-Long Components:
Dissect writing prompts
6-Traits
Sentence Structure- simple, compound, complex
Organizational structures
Unit Specific Components:
-Sentence Construction (Spivey)
-Descriptive Language (adjectives, adverbs, expanders, specific nouns, and strong verbs)
-Figurative Language
-6-Traits
See Appendix B page 77 for recommended and exemplar text
Academic Vocabulary: specific nouns, strong verbs, Main Sentence Trunk, descriptive word
(adjectives and adverbs), figurative language (simile, metaphor, hyperbole, alliteration, idioms),
expander phrases (prepositions, subordinating conjunctions, coordinating conjunctions), simple,
compound and complex sentences, Surround the Noun sentences, 3 Action sentence, Several
Action Expander sentences, -ing participle, Describer sentence, Noun Part + -ing sentence,
Renamer/Appositive Sentence.
Integrated Text Usage Component: The students will incorporate a variety of sentences types
into their writing within all subject areas.
GESD Common Core Guide
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August 2012
8th Grade Core Writing Standards Guide- Unit 1
Instructional Period 1
Common Core Standards:
8.L.6. Acquire and use accurately grade-appropriate general academic and domain-specific
words and phrases; gather vocabulary knowledge when considering a word or phrase important
to comprehension or expression.
8.L.5. Demonstrate understanding of figurative language, word relationships, and nuances in
word meanings.
a. Interpret figures of speech (e.g., verbal irony, puns) in context.
b. Use the relationship between particular words to better understand each of the words.
c. Distinguish among the connotations (associations) of words with similar denotation
(definitions)(e.g., bullheaded, willful, firm, persistent, resolute).
8.RL.4. Determine the meaning of words and phrases as they are used in a text, including
figurative and connotative meanings; analyze the impact of specific word choices on meaning
and tone, including analogies or allusions to other texts.
8.RI.4. Determine the meaning of words and phrases as they are used in a text, including
figurative, connotative, and technical meanings; analyze the impact of specific word choices on
meaning and tone, including analogies or allusions to other texts.
a. Apply grade 8 Reading standards to literature (e.g., “Analyze how a modern word of fiction
draws on themes, patterns of events, or character types from myths, traditional stories, or
religious words such as the Bible, including describing how the material is rendered new”).
b. Apply grade 8 Reading standards to literary nonfiction (e.g., “Delineate and evaluate the
argument and specific claims in a text, assessing whether the reasoning is sound and the
evidence is relevant and sufficient; recognize when irrelevant evidence is introduced”).
8.L.3. Use knowledge of language and its conventions when writing, speaking, reading, or
listening.
a. 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).
(Optional: Use expository text to build background prior to reading narrative text. Select topics
that relate to plot, conflict, and characters).
8.W.6. Use technology, including the Internet, to produce and publish writing and present the
relationships between information and ideas efficiently as well as to interact and collaborate with
others.
GESD Common Core Guide
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August 2012
8th Grade Core Writing Standards Guide- Unit 1
Instructional Period 1
8.RL.10. By the end of the year, read and comprehend literature, including stories, dramas, and
poems, at the high end of grade 6-8 text complexity band independently and proficiently.
8.RI.10. By the end of the year, read and comprehend literary nonfiction at the high end of the
grades 6-8 text complexity band independently and proficiently.
8.L.1. Demonstrate command of the conventions of standard English grammar and usage when
writing or speaking.
a. Form and use verbs in the active and passive voice.
b. Form and use verbs in the indicative, imperative, interrogative, conditional, and subjunctive
mood.
c. Recognize and correct inappropriate shifts in verb voice and mood.
8.W.10. 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. Interact and collaborate with others.
8.W.4. Produce clear and coherent writing in which the development, organization, and style are
appropriate to task, purpose, and audience.
8.L.2. Demonstrate command of the conventions of standard English capitalization, punctuation,
and spelling when writing.
a. Use punctuation (comma, ellipsis, dash) to indicate a pause or break.
b. Use an ellipsis to indicate an omission.
c. Spell correctly.
Arizona State Standards:
S1C3PO4 Rearrange words, sentences, and paragraphs to clarify meaning or to enhance writing
style.
S1C3PO6 Use a variety of sentence structures to improve sentence fluency in the draft.
S1C4PO1 Identify punctuation, spelling, and grammar and usage errors in the draft.
S3C4PO1 Use accurate powerful words that effectively convey the intended message
S3C4PO2 Use words that consistently support style and type of writing
S3C4PO3 Use vocabulary that is original, varied, and natural.
S3C4PO4 Use literal and figurative language where appropriate to purpose.
S3C5PO1 Write simple, compound, and complex sentences
S3C5PO2 Create sentences that flow together and sound natural when read aloud
S3C5PO3 Vary sentence beginnings, lengths, and patterns to enhance the flow of the writing.
S3C6- Conventions -- all Po’s
GESD Common Core Guide
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August 2012