Franklin County Community School Corporation - Brookville, Indiana
Curriculum Map
Course Title: ELA8
Quarter: 1
Academic Year: 2011-2012
Essential Questions for this Quarter:
1.
2.
3.
4.
How can using context clues to understand unfamiliar words improve my reading comprehension?
Why is it important for me to make connections between structural elements of literature and the mood and tone the author is trying to convey?
How do my reading strategies differ when the purpose of my reading changes?
How can mastery of standard English conventions contribute to future academic and career opportunities?
Unit/Time Frame
Reading
Informational Text
Standards
CC.8.RI.1
(8.2.9)
Textbook: McDougal
Littell Literature 2008
edition
CC.8.RI.2
CC.8.RI.2.a
Unit 8:
“The Spider Man
behind Spider-Man”
CC.8.RI.2.b
CC.8.RI.2.c
“Over the Top: The
True Adventures of a
Tornado Chaser”
CC.8.RI.2.d
CC.8.RI.3
“Robo-Legs/Eureka:
Scientific Twists of
Fate”
CC.8.RI.3.a
CC.8.RI.3.b
“An American Plague:
The True and Terrifying
Story of the Yellow
Fever Epidemic of
1793”
CC.8.RI.4
CC.8.RI.4.a
CC.8.RI.4.b
CC.8.RI.5
Content
Vocabulary:
Context: literal meaning
figurative meaning
idiom
analogy
inference
ballad
lyric
couplet
epic
elegy
ode
sonnet
subplots
parallel episode
theme
dialect
symbolism
irony
third person limited pt. of
view
third person omniscient pt.
of
view
subjective point of view
objective point of view
transitions
paraphrase
Skills








Cite the textual evidence that
most strongly supports an
analysis of what the text says
explicitly as well as inferences
drawn from the text.
Determine a central idea of a text
and analyze its development over
the course of the text, including its
relationship to supporting ideas;
provide an objective summary of
the text.
Identify ideas that support the
central idea.
Recognize the relationship of
ideas that support the central
idea.
Analyze the development of the
central idea over the course of the
text.
Provide an objective summary
that includes the relationship of
supporting ideas to the
development of the central idea.
Analyze how a text makes
connections among and
distinctions between individuals,
ideas, or events (e.g., through
comparisons, analogies, or
categories).
Compare how individuals, ideas,
Assessment
Textbook
Assignments
Worksheet
Assignments
Tests
Quizzes
Oral Responses
Resources
Textbook:
McDougal Littell
Literature 2008
Edition
Language Network
2001 Edition
Vocabulary
Workshop: First,
Second, and Third
Courses
Observations
End of the Year
Exam
Placement Tests
Acuity
Star Reader
Accelerated
Reader
Skills Tudor
Wordly Wise: Book
One and Two
Franklin County Community School Corporation - Brookville, Indiana
Curriculum Map
Course Title: ELA8
Quarter: 1
Academic Year: 2011-2012
Essential Questions for this Quarter:
1.
2.
3.
4.
How can using context clues to understand unfamiliar words improve my reading comprehension?
Why is it important for me to make connections between structural elements of literature and the mood and tone the author is trying to convey?
How do my reading strategies differ when the purpose of my reading changes?
How can mastery of standard English conventions contribute to future academic and career opportunities?
Unit/Time Frame
Unit 9:
“Zoos: Myth and
Reality/Zoos Connect
us to the Natural
World”
Standards
CC.8.RI.6
CC.8.RI.6.a
(8.2.2)
CC.8.RI6.b
“Position on Dodgeball
in Physical
Education/The Weak
Shall Inherit the Gym”
(8.2.2)
“The Sanctuary of
School”
CC.8.RI.6.d
CC.8.RI.6.c
CC.8.RI.6.e
“Educating Sons/The
First Americans”
Content
inferences
parallelism
juxtaposition
subordination
coordination
noun phrases
infinitives
participles
active voice
passive voice
compound-complex
sentences
Skills



CC.8.RI.7
CC.8.RI.8

(8.2.6)
CC.8.RI.8.a
CC.8.RI.8.b
CC.8.RI.8.c

and/or events are connected
(including classification and
analogies).
Contrast the distinctions between
individuals, ideas, and/or events
within a text (including
classification and analogies).
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.
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.
Analyze in detail the structure of a
specific paragraph in a text,
including the role of particular
sentences in developing and
refining a key concept.
Assessment
Writing Prompts
Writing Rubrics
Oral
Presentations
Research
Papers
Essays
Book Reports
ISTEP+
Checklists
TeacherGenerated
Worksheets
Read Alouds
TextbookGenerated
Quizzes and
Tests
Resources
Franklin County Community School Corporation - Brookville, Indiana
Curriculum Map
Course Title: ELA8
Quarter: 1
Academic Year: 2011-2012
Essential Questions for this Quarter:
1.
2.
3.
4.
How can using context clues to understand unfamiliar words improve my reading comprehension?
Why is it important for me to make connections between structural elements of literature and the mood and tone the author is trying to convey?
How do my reading strategies differ when the purpose of my reading changes?
How can mastery of standard English conventions contribute to future academic and career opportunities?
Unit/Time Frame
Standards
CC.8.RI.8.d
Content
Skills

CC.8.RI.8.e
CC.8.RI.9

(8.2.3)
CC.8.RI.10





Determine an author's point of
view or purpose in a text and
analyze how the author
acknowledges and responds to
conflicting evidence or viewpoints.
Identify evidence the author uses
to support his or her
viewpoints/position.
Identify conflicting evidence or
viewpoints presented by the
author in a given text.
Compare and contrast the
author’s evidence and/or
viewpoints to the conflicting
evidence and/or viewpoints.
Analyze the techniques the author
uses to respond to conflicting
evidence.
Support your analysis with
examples from the text.
Evaluate the advantages and
disadvantages of using different
mediums (e.g., print or digital text,
video, multimedia) to present a
particular topic or idea.
Assessment
Resources
Franklin County Community School Corporation - Brookville, Indiana
Curriculum Map
Course Title: ELA8
Quarter: 1
Academic Year: 2011-2012
Essential Questions for this Quarter:
1.
2.
3.
4.
How can using context clues to understand unfamiliar words improve my reading comprehension?
Why is it important for me to make connections between structural elements of literature and the mood and tone the author is trying to convey?
How do my reading strategies differ when the purpose of my reading changes?
How can mastery of standard English conventions contribute to future academic and career opportunities?
Unit/Time Frame
Standards
Content
Skills








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.
Define and identify examples of
relevant and irrelevant evidence,
sufficient evidence, and sound
reasoning in informational text.
Classify arguments and claims in
informational text as either
relevant or irrelevant.
Classify reasoning in
informational text as sound or
unsound.
Classify evidence as sufficient or
insufficient.
Evaluate an argument in a text
based on sound reasoning, and
relevant and sufficient evidence.
Analyze a case in which two or
more texts provide conflicting
information on the same topic and
identify where the texts disagree
on matters of fact or
interpretation.
By the end of the year, read and
Assessment
Resources
Franklin County Community School Corporation - Brookville, Indiana
Curriculum Map
Course Title: ELA8
Quarter: 1
Academic Year: 2011-2012
Essential Questions for this Quarter:
1.
2.
3.
4.
How can using context clues to understand unfamiliar words improve my reading comprehension?
Why is it important for me to make connections between structural elements of literature and the mood and tone the author is trying to convey?
How do my reading strategies differ when the purpose of my reading changes?
How can mastery of standard English conventions contribute to future academic and career opportunities?
Unit/Time Frame
Standards
Content
Skills
comprehend literary nonfiction at
the high end of the grades 6-8
text complexity band
independently and proficiently.
Reading Literature
8.3.1a
Textbook: McDougal
Littell Literature 2008
edition
8.3.1b
Unit 1
“Raymond’s Run”
8.3.2a
Vocabulary
Context: literal meaning,
figurative meaning,
inference
8.3.1c


Idiom
Analogy
8.3.2b
“The Ransom of Red
Chief”
8.3.2c
“Clean Sweep”
8.3.2d
Poetry: ballad, lyric,
couplet, epic, elegy, ode,
sonnet,


“The Tell-Tale Heart”
8.3.4
Plot: subplots, parallel
episode
“The Hitchhiker”
8.3.5
Theme
“My First Free
Summer”
8.3.6a
Dialect

8.3.6a
Symbolism

“The Great Rat Hunt”

Define ballad, lyric, couplet,
epic, elegy, ode, haiku, and
sonnet.
Explain the characteristics and
features of ballads, lyrics,
couplets, epics, elegies, odes,
Describe the relationship
between the purposes and
characteristics of each form of
poetry.
Define subplots and parallel
episodes.
Identify the elements of the
plot of a text, including any
subplots and parallel episodes.
Evaluate the development of
the plot of a text.
Evaluate the ways in which
Assessment
Resources
Franklin County Community School Corporation - Brookville, Indiana
Curriculum Map
Course Title: ELA8
Quarter: 1
Academic Year: 2011-2012
Essential Questions for this Quarter:
1.
2.
3.
4.
How can using context clues to understand unfamiliar words improve my reading comprehension?
Why is it important for me to make connections between structural elements of literature and the mood and tone the author is trying to convey?
How do my reading strategies differ when the purpose of my reading changes?
How can mastery of standard English conventions contribute to future academic and career opportunities?
Unit/Time Frame
Standards
Content
8.3.6b
Irony
8.3.6c
Point of View: third person
limited point of view, third
person omniscient point of
view, subjective point of
view, objective point of
view,
Skills
“Paul Revere’s Ride”
“The Other Riders”
8.3.7a
8.3.7b


8.3.8a
8.3.8b
8.3.8c
CC.8.RL.1
CC.8.RL.2
(8.5.5)
Writing: transitions,
Paraphrase, parallelism,
subordination,
coordination, noun
phrases, infinitives,
participles, active voice,
passive voice, compoundcomplex sentences



CC.8.RL.3
(8.3.2)
CC.8.RL.4
CC.8.RL.5

conflicts are or are not
resolved.
Analyze how the setting
impacts the mood, tone, and
meaning of the text and its
importance.
Identify and analyze recurring
themes (such as good versus
evil) that appear in traditional
and contemporary literature.
Define dialect and irony.
Identify important literary
devices such as metaphor,
symbolism, dialect, quotations,
and irony.
Explain how these devices
define a writer's style and
affect interpretations of the
work.
Locate examples of an
author's heritage, traditions,
attitudes, and beliefs in a work
of literature.
Assessment
Resources
Franklin County Community School Corporation - Brookville, Indiana
Curriculum Map
Course Title: ELA8
Quarter: 1
Academic Year: 2011-2012
Essential Questions for this Quarter:
1.
2.
3.
4.
How can using context clues to understand unfamiliar words improve my reading comprehension?
Why is it important for me to make connections between structural elements of literature and the mood and tone the author is trying to convey?
How do my reading strategies differ when the purpose of my reading changes?
How can mastery of standard English conventions contribute to future academic and career opportunities?
Unit/Time Frame
Standards
CC.8.RL.6
Content
Skills

CC.8.RL.7
CC.8.RL.9
CC.8.RL.10

Critique how an author’s
heritage, traditions, attitudes,
and beliefs influence a work of
literature.
Identify points of view in
various narrative texts (first
person, third person, third
person limited and third person
omniscient, and subjective and
objective). Description: - First
person: the narrator tells the
story from the "I" perspective.
- Third person: the narrator
tells the story from an outside
perspective.
- Limited narration: the narrator
does not know all thoughts of
all characters.
- Omniscient narration: the
narrator knows all thoughts of
all characters.
- Subjective: the point of view
involves a personal
perspective.
Assessment
Resources
Franklin County Community School Corporation - Brookville, Indiana
Curriculum Map
Course Title: ELA8
Quarter: 1
Academic Year: 2011-2012
Essential Questions for this Quarter:
1.
2.
3.
4.
How can using context clues to understand unfamiliar words improve my reading comprehension?
Why is it important for me to make connections between structural elements of literature and the mood and tone the author is trying to convey?
How do my reading strategies differ when the purpose of my reading changes?
How can mastery of standard English conventions contribute to future academic and career opportunities?
Unit/Time Frame
Standards
Content
Skills





- Objective: the point of view is
from a distanced, informational
perspective, as in a news
report.
Contrast points of view in
various texts.
Explain how the point of view
in a narrative text impacts the
theme.
Cite the textual evidence that
most strongly supports an
analysis of what the text says
explicitly as well as inferences
drawn from the text.
Determine a theme or central
idea of a text and analyze its
development over the course
of the text, including its
relationship to the characters,
setting, and plot; provide an
objective summary of the text
Analyze how particular lines of
dialogue or incidents in a story
or drama propel the action,
Assessment
Resources
Franklin County Community School Corporation - Brookville, Indiana
Curriculum Map
Course Title: ELA8
Quarter: 1
Academic Year: 2011-2012
Essential Questions for this Quarter:
1.
2.
3.
4.
How can using context clues to understand unfamiliar words improve my reading comprehension?
Why is it important for me to make connections between structural elements of literature and the mood and tone the author is trying to convey?
How do my reading strategies differ when the purpose of my reading changes?
How can mastery of standard English conventions contribute to future academic and career opportunities?
Unit/Time Frame
Standards
Content
Skills




reveal aspects of a character,
or provoke a decision.
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.
Compare and contrast the
structure of two or more texts
and analyze how the differing
structure of each text
contributes to its meaning and
style.
Analyze how differences in the
points of view of the characters
and the audience or reader
(e.g., created through the use
of dramatic irony) create such
effects as suspense or humor.
Analyze the extent to which a
Assessment
Resources
Franklin County Community School Corporation - Brookville, Indiana
Curriculum Map
Course Title: ELA8
Quarter: 1
Academic Year: 2011-2012
Essential Questions for this Quarter:
1.
2.
3.
4.
How can using context clues to understand unfamiliar words improve my reading comprehension?
Why is it important for me to make connections between structural elements of literature and the mood and tone the author is trying to convey?
How do my reading strategies differ when the purpose of my reading changes?
How can mastery of standard English conventions contribute to future academic and career opportunities?
Unit/Time Frame
Standards
Content
Skills


Writing
8.4.1a
Textbook: McDougal
Littell Literature 2008
8.4.1b


filmed or live production of a
story or drama stays faithful to
or departs from the text or
script, evaluating the choices
made by the director or actors.
Analyze how a modern work of
fiction draws on themes,
patterns of events, or
character types from myths,
traditional stories, or religious
works such as the Bible,
including describing how the
material is rendered new.
By the end of the year, read
and comprehend literature,
including stories, dramas, and
poems, at the high end of
grades 6-8 text complexity
band independently and
proficiently.
Share ideas for writing.
Create and maintain a list or
notebook of ideas for writing.
Assessment
Resources
Franklin County Community School Corporation - Brookville, Indiana
Curriculum Map
Course Title: ELA8
Quarter: 1
Academic Year: 2011-2012
Essential Questions for this Quarter:
1.
2.
3.
4.
How can using context clues to understand unfamiliar words improve my reading comprehension?
Why is it important for me to make connections between structural elements of literature and the mood and tone the author is trying to convey?
How do my reading strategies differ when the purpose of my reading changes?
How can mastery of standard English conventions contribute to future academic and career opportunities?
Unit/Time Frame
Standards
Content
Skills
edition
8.4.1c

Unit 8:
Problem-Solution
Essay
8.4.2

Expository Essay
8.4.3a
8.4.3b
8.4.4
Unit 9:
Persuasive Essay
Unit 1:
Personal Narrative
Compare/Contrast
Essay
8.4.6a


8.4.6c
8.4.6d
8.4.7

8.4.7c
8.4.8a

8.4.8b

8.4.9a

8.4.9c
8.4.9d

Plan writing by use of graphic
organizers.
Create compositions that have a
clear message, a coherent thesis
(a statement of position on the
topic), and end with a clear and
well-supported conclusion.
Define paraphrase.
Include various devices such as
analogies, paraphrases,
quotations, and opinions from
experts to support main ideas in
theses and conclusions.
Plan and conduct multiple-step
information searches using
computer networks.
Use a computer to word-process
documents.
Use publishing programs to
create documents.
Create simple databases to
manage information and prepare
reports.
Create simple spreadsheets to
manage information and prepare
Assessment
Resources
Franklin County Community School Corporation - Brookville, Indiana
Curriculum Map
Course Title: ELA8
Quarter: 1
Academic Year: 2011-2012
Essential Questions for this Quarter:
1.
2.
3.
4.
How can using context clues to understand unfamiliar words improve my reading comprehension?
Why is it important for me to make connections between structural elements of literature and the mood and tone the author is trying to convey?
How do my reading strategies differ when the purpose of my reading changes?
How can mastery of standard English conventions contribute to future academic and career opportunities?
Unit/Time Frame
Standards
Content
Skills
8.4.10a
8.4.10b

8.4.10c
8.4.11a
8.4.11b
8.4.11c
8.5.1a

8.5.1b
8.5.1c
8.5.2a


8.5.2b
8.5.2c
8.5.2d

8.5.6
8.5.7a

reports.
Review and revise writing for
meaning and clarity using a
variety of strategies.
Description: Examples of review
strategies include, but are not
limited to, peer review, editing
checklist, teacher conference,
consulting reference resources,
and oral readings.
Evaluate writing for meaning and
clarity using a variety of
strategies.
Revise writing for meaning and
clarity using a variety of
strategies.
Use an editing checklist with
specific examples of corrections
of frequent errors to edit and
proofread the writing of others.
Use an editing checklist with
specific examples of corrections
of frequent errors to edit and
proofread one’s own writing
Revise writing for word choice
using a variety of strategies.
Assessment
Resources
Franklin County Community School Corporation - Brookville, Indiana
Curriculum Map
Course Title: ELA8
Quarter: 1
Academic Year: 2011-2012
Essential Questions for this Quarter:
1.
2.
3.
4.
How can using context clues to understand unfamiliar words improve my reading comprehension?
Why is it important for me to make connections between structural elements of literature and the mood and tone the author is trying to convey?
How do my reading strategies differ when the purpose of my reading changes?
How can mastery of standard English conventions contribute to future academic and career opportunities?
Unit/Time Frame
Standards
8.5.7b
Content
Skills

CC.8.W.1
CC.8.W.2 (8.4.2)

CC.8.W.3
CC.8.W.4 (8.4.9,

8.5.7)
CC.8.W.5 (8.4.1,

8.4.7, 8.4.8,
8.4.9, 8.4.10)

CC.8.W.6

(8.4.6a, b)

CC.8.W.7

(8.4.11, 8.5.3)
CC.8.W.8 (8.4.4,
8.4.5, 8.5.3)


Revise writing for appropriate
organization using a variety of
strategies.
Revise writing for consistent point
of view using a variety of
strategies.
Revise writing for transitions
among paragraphs, passages,
and ideas using a variety of
strategies.
Use organizational tools such as
outlines and graphic organizers to
structure ideas for writing.
Use effective transitions between
sentences to connect ideas.
Organize ideas and transitions to
create a unified composition.
Identify topics leading to inquiry,
investigation, and research.
Ask and evaluate questions
leading to inquiry, investigation,
and research.
Develop ideas leading to inquiry,
investigation, and research.
Assemble well-chosen details to
Assessment
Resources
Franklin County Community School Corporation - Brookville, Indiana
Curriculum Map
Course Title: ELA8
Quarter: 1
Academic Year: 2011-2012
Essential Questions for this Quarter:
1.
2.
3.
4.
How can using context clues to understand unfamiliar words improve my reading comprehension?
Why is it important for me to make connections between structural elements of literature and the mood and tone the author is trying to convey?
How do my reading strategies differ when the purpose of my reading changes?
How can mastery of standard English conventions contribute to future academic and career opportunities?
Unit/Time Frame
Standards
Content
Skills
CC.8.W.9 (8.5.3
CC.8.W.10





describe an incident, event, or
situation when writing
biographies, autobiographies, and
short stories.
Explain the significance of, or the
writer’s attitude about, the subject
when writing biographies,
autobiographies, and short
stories.
Apply narrative and descriptive
strategies (including relevant
dialogue, specific action, physical
description, background
description, and comparison or
contrast of characters) when
writing biographies,
autobiographies, and short
stories.
Demonstrate careful reading and
insight into interpretations in
written response to literature.
Make connections to the writer’s
techniques and to specific textual
references when writing
responses to literature.
Support inferences about the
Assessment
Resources
Franklin County Community School Corporation - Brookville, Indiana
Curriculum Map
Course Title: ELA8
Quarter: 1
Academic Year: 2011-2012
Essential Questions for this Quarter:
1.
2.
3.
4.
How can using context clues to understand unfamiliar words improve my reading comprehension?
Why is it important for me to make connections between structural elements of literature and the mood and tone the author is trying to convey?
How do my reading strategies differ when the purpose of my reading changes?
How can mastery of standard English conventions contribute to future academic and career opportunities?
Unit/Time Frame
Standards
Content
Skills





effects of a literary work on its
audience when writing responses
to literature.
Support statements with evidence
from the text when writing
responses to literature.
Write using precise word choices
to make writing interesting and
exact.
Write for different purposes,
adjusting tone and style as
necessary.
Write to a specific audience or
person, adjusting tone and style
as necessary.
Write arguments to support claims
with clear reasons and relevant
evidence.
Description: a. Introduce
claim(s), acknowledge and
distinguish the claim(s) from
alternate or opposing claims, and
organize the reasons and
evidence logically.
b. Support claim(s) with logical
reasoning and relevant evidence,
Assessment
Resources
Franklin County Community School Corporation - Brookville, Indiana
Curriculum Map
Course Title: ELA8
Quarter: 1
Academic Year: 2011-2012
Essential Questions for this Quarter:
1.
2.
3.
4.
How can using context clues to understand unfamiliar words improve my reading comprehension?
Why is it important for me to make connections between structural elements of literature and the mood and tone the author is trying to convey?
How do my reading strategies differ when the purpose of my reading changes?
How can mastery of standard English conventions contribute to future academic and career opportunities?
Unit/Time Frame
Standards
Content
Skills

using accurate, credible sources
and demonstrating an
understanding of the topic or text.
c. Use words, phrases, and
clauses to create cohesion and
clarify the relationships among
claim(s), counterclaims, reasons,
and evidence.
d. Establish and maintain a formal
style.
e. Provide a concluding statement
or section that follows from and
supports the argument presented.
Write informative/explanatory
texts to examine a topic and
convey ideas, concepts, and
information through the selection,
organization, and analysis of
relevant content.
Description: a. 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
Assessment
Resources
Franklin County Community School Corporation - Brookville, Indiana
Curriculum Map
Course Title: ELA8
Quarter: 1
Academic Year: 2011-2012
Essential Questions for this Quarter:
1.
2.
3.
4.
How can using context clues to understand unfamiliar words improve my reading comprehension?
Why is it important for me to make connections between structural elements of literature and the mood and tone the author is trying to convey?
How do my reading strategies differ when the purpose of my reading changes?
How can mastery of standard English conventions contribute to future academic and career opportunities?
Unit/Time Frame
Standards
Content
Skills

when useful to aiding
comprehension.
b. Develop the topic with relevant,
well-chosen facts, definitions,
concrete details, quotations, or
other information and examples.
c. Use appropriate and varied
transitions to create cohesion and
clarify the relationships among
ideas and concepts.
d. Use precise language and
domain-specific vocabulary to
inform about or explain the topic.
e. Establish and maintain a formal
style.
f. Provide a concluding statement
or section that follows from and
supports the information or
explanation presented.
-- Write narratives to develop real
or imagined experiences or
events using effective technique,
relevant descriptive details, and
well-structured event sequences.
Description: a. Engage and
orient the reader by establishing a
Assessment
Resources
Franklin County Community School Corporation - Brookville, Indiana
Curriculum Map
Course Title: ELA8
Quarter: 1
Academic Year: 2011-2012
Essential Questions for this Quarter:
1.
2.
3.
4.
How can using context clues to understand unfamiliar words improve my reading comprehension?
Why is it important for me to make connections between structural elements of literature and the mood and tone the author is trying to convey?
How do my reading strategies differ when the purpose of my reading changes?
How can mastery of standard English conventions contribute to future academic and career opportunities?
Unit/Time Frame
Standards
Content
Skills
context and point of view and
introducing a narrator and/or
characters; organize an event
sequence that unfolds naturally
and logically.
b. Use narrative techniques, such
as dialogue, pacing, description,
and reflection, to develop
experiences, events, and/or
characters.
c. 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.
d. Use precise words and
phrases, relevant descriptive
details, and sensory language to
capture the action and convey
experiences and events.
e. Provide a conclusion that
follows from and reflects on the
narrated experiences or events.
Assessment
Resources
Franklin County Community School Corporation - Brookville, Indiana
Curriculum Map
Course Title: ELA8
Quarter: 1
Academic Year: 2011-2012
Essential Questions for this Quarter:
1.
2.
3.
4.
How can using context clues to understand unfamiliar words improve my reading comprehension?
Why is it important for me to make connections between structural elements of literature and the mood and tone the author is trying to convey?
How do my reading strategies differ when the purpose of my reading changes?
How can mastery of standard English conventions contribute to future academic and career opportunities?
Unit/Time Frame
Standards
Content
Skills

Produce clear and coherent
writing in which the development,
organization, and style are
appropriate to task, purpose, and
audience.

With some guidance and support
from peers and adults, develop
and strengthen writing 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 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


Assessment
Resources
Franklin County Community School Corporation - Brookville, Indiana
Curriculum Map
Course Title: ELA8
Quarter: 1
Academic Year: 2011-2012
Essential Questions for this Quarter:
1.
2.
3.
4.
How can using context clues to understand unfamiliar words improve my reading comprehension?
Why is it important for me to make connections between structural elements of literature and the mood and tone the author is trying to convey?
How do my reading strategies differ when the purpose of my reading changes?
How can mastery of standard English conventions contribute to future academic and career opportunities?
Unit/Time Frame
Standards
Content
Skills


multiple avenues of exploration.
Gather relevant information from
multiple print and digital sources,
using search terms effectively;
assess the credibility and
accuracy of each source; and
quote or paraphrase the data and
conclusions of others while
avoiding plagiarism and following
a standard format for citation.
Draw evidence from literary or
informational texts to support
analysis, reflection, and research.
Description: a. Apply grade 8
Reading standards to literature
(e.g., "Analyze how a modern
work of fiction draws on
themes, patterns of events, or
character types from myths,
traditional stories, or religious
works such as the Bible,
including describing how the
material is rendered new").
b. Apply grade 8 Reading
standards to literary nonfiction
Assessment
Resources
Franklin County Community School Corporation - Brookville, Indiana
Curriculum Map
Course Title: ELA8
Quarter: 1
Academic Year: 2011-2012
Essential Questions for this Quarter:
1.
2.
3.
4.
How can using context clues to understand unfamiliar words improve my reading comprehension?
Why is it important for me to make connections between structural elements of literature and the mood and tone the author is trying to convey?
How do my reading strategies differ when the purpose of my reading changes?
How can mastery of standard English conventions contribute to future academic and career opportunities?
Unit/Time Frame
Standards
Content
Skills
(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").
Speaking, Listening,
and Media
CC.8.SL.1
CC.8.SL.2
Textbook: McDougal
Littell Literature 2008
edition
CC.8.SL.3
CC.8.SL.6
“I Have A Dream”
Speech

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.

Engage effectively in a range
of collaborative discussions
(one-on-one, in groups, and
teacher-led) with diverse
partners on grade 8 topics,
texts, and issues, building on
others' ideas and expressing
their own clearly. Description:
a. Come to discussions
Assessment
Resources
Franklin County Community School Corporation - Brookville, Indiana
Curriculum Map
Course Title: ELA8
Quarter: 1
Academic Year: 2011-2012
Essential Questions for this Quarter:
1.
2.
3.
4.
How can using context clues to understand unfamiliar words improve my reading comprehension?
Why is it important for me to make connections between structural elements of literature and the mood and tone the author is trying to convey?
How do my reading strategies differ when the purpose of my reading changes?
How can mastery of standard English conventions contribute to future academic and career opportunities?
Unit/Time Frame
“Gettysburg Address”
Unit: 8
“Interview with a
Songcatcher”
Standards
Content
Skills
prepared, having read or
researched material under
study; explicitly draw on that
preparation by referring to
evidence on the topic, text, or
issue to probe and reflect on
ideas under discussion.
b. Follow rules for collegial
discussions and decisionmaking, track progress toward
specific goals and deadlines,
and define individual roles as
needed.
c. Pose questions that connect
the ideas of several speakers
and respond to others'
questions and comments with
relevant evidence,
observations, and ideas.
d. Acknowledge new
information expressed by
others, and, when warranted,
qualify or justify their own
views in light of the evidence
Assessment
Resources
Franklin County Community School Corporation - Brookville, Indiana
Curriculum Map
Course Title: ELA8
Quarter: 1
Academic Year: 2011-2012
Essential Questions for this Quarter:
1.
2.
3.
4.
How can using context clues to understand unfamiliar words improve my reading comprehension?
Why is it important for me to make connections between structural elements of literature and the mood and tone the author is trying to convey?
How do my reading strategies differ when the purpose of my reading changes?
How can mastery of standard English conventions contribute to future academic and career opportunities?
Unit/Time Frame
Standards
Content
Skills



Language
8.1.1a

presented
Analyze the purpose of
information presented in
diverse media and formats
(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.
Adapt speech to a variety of
contexts and tasks,
demonstrating command of
formal English when indicated
or appropriate.
Define literal meaning,
figurative meaning, and
Assessment
Resources
Franklin County Community School Corporation - Brookville, Indiana
Curriculum Map
Course Title: ELA8
Quarter: 1
Academic Year: 2011-2012
Essential Questions for this Quarter:
1.
2.
3.
4.
How can using context clues to understand unfamiliar words improve my reading comprehension?
Why is it important for me to make connections between structural elements of literature and the mood and tone the author is trying to convey?
How do my reading strategies differ when the purpose of my reading changes?
How can mastery of standard English conventions contribute to future academic and career opportunities?
Unit/Time Frame
Standards
Textbook: McDougal
Littell Literature 2008
edition
8.1.1b
Textbook: McDougal
Littell Language
Network 2001 edition
8.1.1d
8.1.1c
Content
Skills


8.1.1e
8.6.1a
8.6.1b

8.6.1c
8.6.2a

8.6.2b
8.6.2c
8.6.3a


8.6.3b
8.6.3c
8.6.5

connotative meaning.
Identify idiom, analogy,
allusion, comparison, simile
and metaphor.
Describe the features of
idioms, analogies, allusions,
comparisons, similes, and
metaphors.
Distinguish between the
features of idioms, analogies,
allusions, comparisons,
similes, and metaphors.
Interpret the figurative or literal
meaning of a phrase based on
the use of idioms and
comparisons.
Define compound-complex
sentences.
Distinguish between correct
and incorrect compoundcomplex sentence structure.
Compose correct and varied
sentence types (simple,
compound, complex, and
Assessment
Resources
Franklin County Community School Corporation - Brookville, Indiana
Curriculum Map
Course Title: ELA8
Quarter: 1
Academic Year: 2011-2012
Essential Questions for this Quarter:
1.
2.
3.
4.
How can using context clues to understand unfamiliar words improve my reading comprehension?
Why is it important for me to make connections between structural elements of literature and the mood and tone the author is trying to convey?
How do my reading strategies differ when the purpose of my reading changes?
How can mastery of standard English conventions contribute to future academic and career opportunities?
Unit/Time Frame
Standards
Content
Skills
8.6.6
8.6.7
8.6.8a
8.6.8b


CC.8.L.1 (8.6.4)
CC.8.L.2 (8.6.5,

8.6.6, 8.6.7)
CC.8.L.3

CC.8.L.4 (8.1.3)
CC.8.L.5 (8.1.1)

CC.8.L.6

compound-complex) and
sentence openings to present
a lively and effective personal
style.
Define parallelism and
juxtaposition.
Identify examples of
parallelism in writing.
Produce writing that uses
parallelism to present items in
a series and items juxtaposed
for emphasis.
Define subordination,
coordination, and noun
phrases that function as
adjectives.
Locate examples of
subordination, coordination,
and noun phrases that function
as adjectives in writing
Create sentences that
correctly use subordination,
coordination, and noun
phrases that function as
Assessment
Resources
Franklin County Community School Corporation - Brookville, Indiana
Curriculum Map
Course Title: ELA8
Quarter: 1
Academic Year: 2011-2012
Essential Questions for this Quarter:
1.
2.
3.
4.
How can using context clues to understand unfamiliar words improve my reading comprehension?
Why is it important for me to make connections between structural elements of literature and the mood and tone the author is trying to convey?
How do my reading strategies differ when the purpose of my reading changes?
How can mastery of standard English conventions contribute to future academic and career opportunities?
Unit/Time Frame
Standards
Content
Skills







adjectives, and other devices
to indicate clearly the
relationship between ideas.
Produce increasingly complex
writing with correct punctuation
(including colons and
semicolons).
Produce increasingly complex
writing with correct
capitalization.
Produce increasingly complex
writing with correct spelling
conventions.
Identify infinitives and
participles in writing.
Compose sentences that use
infinitives and participles
correctly.
Demonstrate command of the
conventions of standard
English grammar and usage
when writing or speaking.
Demonstrate command of the
conventions of standard
Assessment
Resources
Franklin County Community School Corporation - Brookville, Indiana
Curriculum Map
Course Title: ELA8
Quarter: 1
Academic Year: 2011-2012
Essential Questions for this Quarter:
1.
2.
3.
4.
How can using context clues to understand unfamiliar words improve my reading comprehension?
Why is it important for me to make connections between structural elements of literature and the mood and tone the author is trying to convey?
How do my reading strategies differ when the purpose of my reading changes?
How can mastery of standard English conventions contribute to future academic and career opportunities?
Unit/Time Frame
Standards
Content
Skills


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.
Use knowledge of language
and its conventions when
writing, speaking, reading, or
listening. 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).
Determine or clarify the
meaning of unknown and
multiple-meaning words or
phrases based on grade 8
reading and content, choosing
Assessment
Resources
Franklin County Community School Corporation - Brookville, Indiana
Curriculum Map
Course Title: ELA8
Quarter: 1
Academic Year: 2011-2012
Essential Questions for this Quarter:
1.
2.
3.
4.
How can using context clues to understand unfamiliar words improve my reading comprehension?
Why is it important for me to make connections between structural elements of literature and the mood and tone the author is trying to convey?
How do my reading strategies differ when the purpose of my reading changes?
How can mastery of standard English conventions contribute to future academic and career opportunities?
Unit/Time Frame
Standards
Content
Skills


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; gather
vocabulary knowledge when
considering a word or phrase
important to comprehension or
expression.
Assessment
Resources
Franklin County Community School Corporation - Brookville, Indiana
COMMON CORE AND INDIANA ACADEMIC STANDARDS
Standard 1
READING: Word Recognition, Fluency, and Vocabulary Development
Students use their knowledge of word parts and word relationships, as well as context (the meaning of the text around a word), to determine the meaning of
specialized vocabulary and to understand the precise meaning of grade-level-appropriate words.
Vocabulary and Concept Development
8.1.1
8.1.2
8.1.3
Analyze idioms and comparisons — such as analogies, metaphors, and similes — to infer the literal and figurative meanings of phrases.
 Idioms: expressions that cannot be understood just by knowing the meanings of the words in the expression, such as to be an old hand at
something or to get one’s feet wet
 Analogies: comparisons of the similar aspects of two different things
 Metaphors: implied comparisons, such as The stars were brilliant diamonds in the night sky.
 Similes: comparisons that use like or as, such as The stars were like a million diamonds in the sky.
Understand the influence of historical events on English word meaning and vocabulary expansion.
Example: Recognize how the early influences of Spanish explorers in North America expanded American English vocabulary, adding words such
as tornado, tomato, and patio.
Verify the meaning of a word in its context, even when its meaning is not directly stated, through the use of definition, restatement, example,
comparison, or contrast.
Example: Understand the meaning of pickle in a sentence, such as The pickle was an important part of metal working. Use a dictionary to help
clarify the use of the word pickle in this context.
Standard 2
READING: Comprehension and Analysis of Nonfiction and Informational Text
Students read and understand grade-level-appropriate material. The selections in the Indiana Reading List
(www.doe.state.in.us/standards/readinglist.html) illustrate the quality and complexity of the materials to be read by students. At Grade 8, in addition to
regular classroom reading, students read a variety of nonfiction, such as biographies, autobiographies, books in many different subject areas, magazines,
newspapers, reference and technical materials, and online information.
Structural Features of Informational and Technical Materials
Franklin County Community School Corporation - Brookville, Indiana
COMMON CORE AND INDIANA ACADEMIC STANDARDS
8.2.1
8.2.2
8.2.7
Compare and contrast the features and elements of consumer materials to gain meaning from documents.
Example: Compare examples of a variety of instructional or technical manuals, such as those for a computer, hair appliance, camera, or electronic
game, brought to class by different students. Describe what features make certain instructions easier than others to understand and follow.
Analyze text that uses proposition (statement of argument) and support patterns.
Example: Read and analyze the organization of the “pro” and the “con” editorials on a topic of interest in USA Today. In each, decide if the
argument is simply and clearly stated. Decide if there are at least three major points in support of the argument, with the strongest argument given
first.
Analyze the structure, format, and purpose of informational materials (such as textbooks, newspapers, instructional or technical manuals, and
public documents).
Analysis of Grade-Level-Appropriate Nonfiction and Informational Text
8.2.3
8.2.4
8.2.5
8.2.8
8.2.9
Find similarities and differences between texts in the treatment, amount of coverage, or organization of ideas.
Example: Read articles or biographies about cultural or historical figures with Indiana connections such as Supreme Court Justice Sherman
Minton or leaders in the Underground Railroad movement Levi and Catharine Coffin. Compare the amount of or types of coverage such figures
received.
Compare the original text to a summary to determine whether the summary accurately describes the main ideas, includes important details, and
conveys the underlying meaning.
Example: After writing summaries or creating graphic organizers on an informational text read for class, exchange the summary or organizer with
another student. Evaluate this classmate’s summary, based on how well the student describes the most important elements of the text.
Use information from a variety of consumer and public documents to explain a situation or decision and to solve a problem.
Example: Decide which is the most practical and economical wireless telephone to purchase by reading articles, brochures, Web pages, and other
consumer sources, such as Consumer Reports.
Understand and explain the use of simple equipment by following directions in a technical manual.
Make reasonable statements and draw conclusions about a text, supporting them with accurate examples.
Expository (Informational) Critique
8.2.6
Evaluate the logic (inductive or deductive argument), internal consistency, and structural patterns of text.
Example: Read The Brooklyn Bridge: They Said It Couldn’t Be Built by Judith St. George and evaluate the techniques and the effectiveness of the
development of the main idea of the book.
Standard 3
READING: Comprehension and Analysis of Literary Text
Students read and respond to grade-level-appropriate historically or culturally significant works of literature, such as the selections in the Indiana Reading
List (www.doe.state.in.us/standards/readinglist.html), which illustrate the quality and complexity of the materials to be read by students. At Grade 8,
Franklin County Community School Corporation - Brookville, Indiana
COMMON CORE AND INDIANA ACADEMIC STANDARDS
students read a wide variety of fiction, such as classic and contemporary literature, historical fiction, fantasy, science fiction, mysteries, adventures, folklore,
mythology, poetry, short stories, dramas, and other genres.
Structural Features of Literature
8.3.1
Determine and articulate the relationship between the purposes and characteristics of different forms of poetry (including ballads, lyrics, couplets,
epics, elegies, odes, and sonnets).
 Ballad: a poem that tells a story
 Lyric: words set to music
 Couplet: two successive lines of verse that rhyme
 Epic: a long poem that describes heroic deeds or adventures
 Elegy: a mournful poem for the dead
 Ode: a poem of praise
 Sonnet: a rhymed poem of 14 lines
Example: Describe the different forms of poetry. Compare poems such as John Ciardi’s “Elegy for Jog,” Pablo Neruda’s “Odes to Common Things,” and
Edgar Allan Poe’s sonnet “To Science.”
Analysis of Grade-Level-Appropriate Literary Text
8.3.2
8.3.3
8.3.4
8.3.5
Evaluate the structural elements of the plot, such as subplots, parallel episodes, and climax; the plot’s development; and the way in which
conflicts are (or are not) addressed and resolved.
Example: Read a book, such as Holes by Louis Sachar, and discuss how the plot is developed, including the climax and its resolution and how
different subplots are incorporated into the story.
Compare and contrast the motivations and reactions of literary characters from different historical eras confronting either similar situations and
conflicts or similar hypothetical situations.
Example: Compare literary works that deal with the theme of the impact of war, both on those who fight in the battles and those who remain at
home. Works could include Walt Whitman’s poem “Drum-Taps” from the Civil War period, John Hersey’s novel A Bell for Adano from World
War II, or Graham Greene’s novel The Quiet American, set in Vietnam at the beginning of the Vietnam conflict.
Analyze the importance of the setting to the mood, tone, or meaning of the text.
Example: Discuss the importance of the setting, including the place, the time period, and the customs, to books, such as Friendly Persuasion by
Jessamyn West or Stranded by Ben Mikaelsen.
Identify and analyze recurring themes (such as good versus evil) that appear frequently across traditional and contemporary works.
Example: Explore the theme that heroism demands unusual courage and risk-taking. Read classic myths found in Alice Low’s The MacMillan
Book of Greek Gods and Myths or dramatic literature such as Rod Serling’s television play Requiem for a Heavyweight to identify what both real
and imaginary heroes have done.
Franklin County Community School Corporation - Brookville, Indiana
COMMON CORE AND INDIANA ACADEMIC STANDARDS
Identify significant literary devices, such as metaphor, symbolism, dialect or quotations, and irony, which define a writer’s style and use those
elements to interpret the work.
 Metaphor: an implied comparison in which a word or phrase is used in place of another, such as He was drowning in money.
 Symbolism: the use of an object to represent something else; for example, a dove might symbolize peace.
 Dialect: the vocabulary, grammar, and pronunciation used by people in different regions.
 Irony: the use of words to express the opposite of the literal meaning of the words, often to be humorous.
Example: Read several short stories by Mark Twain and discuss his use of dialect in his stories. Watch Alan Jay Lerner and Frederick Loewe’s musical My
Fair Lady, an adaptation of Bernard Shaw’s Pygmalion, and discuss how the musical presents dialect and how this dialect is important to the
conflict in the story.
8.3.8
Contrast points of view — such as first person, third person, third person limited and third person omniscient, and subjective and objective — in
narrative text and explain how they affect the overall theme of the work.
 First person: the narrator tells the story from the “I” perspective.
 Third person: the narrator tells the story from an outside perspective.
 Limited narration: the narrator does not know all thoughts of all characters.
 Omniscient narration: the narrator knows all thoughts of all characters.
 Subjective: the point of view involves a personal perspective.
 Objective: the point of view is from a distanced, informational perspective, as in a news report.
8.3.9
Analyze the relevance of setting (places, times, customs) to mood, tone, and meaning of text.
8.3.6
Literary Criticism
8.3.7
Analyze a work of literature, showing how it reflects the heritage, traditions, attitudes, and beliefs of its author.
Example: Read books by Charles Major such as The Bears of Blue River or Uncle Tom Andy Bill to analyze how he incorporates his
understanding of frontier Indiana attitudes.
Standard 4
WRITING: Processes and Features
Students discuss, list, and graphically organize writing ideas. They write clear, coherent, and focused essays. Students progress through the stages of the
writing process and proofread, edit, and revise writing.
Organization and Focus
8.4.1
Discuss ideas for writing, keep a list or notebook of ideas, and use graphic organizers to plan writing.
Franklin County Community School Corporation - Brookville, Indiana
COMMON CORE AND INDIANA ACADEMIC STANDARDS
8.4.2
8.4.3
8.4.10
Create compositions that have a clear message, a coherent thesis (a statement of position on the topic), and end with a clear and well-supported
conclusion.
Support theses or conclusions with analogies (comparisons), paraphrases, quotations, opinions from experts, and similar devices.
Create an organizational structure that balances all aspects of the composition and uses effective transitions between sentences to unify important
ideas.
Research Process and Technology
8.4.4
8.4.5
8.4.6
Plan and conduct multiple-step information searches using computer networks.
Achieve an effective balance between researched information and original ideas.
Use a computer to create documents by using word-processing skills and publishing programs; develop simple databases and spreadsheets to
manage information and prepare reports.
Evaluation and Revision
8.4.7
8.4.11
8.4.8
8.4.9
Review, evaluate, and revise writing for meaning and clarity.
Identify topics; ask and evaluate questions; and develop ideas leading to inquiry, investigation, and research.
Edit and proofread one’s own writing, as well as that of others, using an editing checklist or set of rules, with specific examples of corrections of
frequent errors.
Revise writing for word choice; appropriate organization; consistent point of view; and transitions among paragraphs, passages, and ideas.
Standard 5
WRITING: Applications (Different Types of Writing and Their Characteristics)
At Grade 8, students continue to write narrative, expository (informational), persuasive, and descriptive essays (research reports of 700 to 1,000 words or
more). Students are introduced to writing technical documents. Student writing demonstrates a command of Standard English and the research,
organizational, and drafting strategies outlined in Standard 4 — Writing Processes and Features. Writing demonstrates an awareness of the audience
(intended reader) and purpose for writing.
In addition to producing the different writing forms introduced in earlier grades, such as letters, Grade 8 students use the writing strategies outlined in
Standard 4 — Writing Processes and Features to:
8.5.1
Write biographies, autobiographies, and short stories that:
 tell about an incident, event, or situation, using well-chosen details.
 reveal the significance of, or the writer’s attitude about, the subject.
Franklin County Community School Corporation - Brookville, Indiana
COMMON CORE AND INDIANA ACADEMIC STANDARDS

use narrative and descriptive strategies, including relevant dialogue, specific action, physical description, background description, and
comparison or contrast of characters.
Example: Write an autobiographical account of one of your most memorable first days of school. Describe the day and its importance clearly enough so the
reader can see and feel the day from your perspective.
8.5.2
Write responses to literature that:
 demonstrate careful reading and insight into interpretations.
 connect response to the writer’s techniques and to specific textual references.
 make supported inferences about the effects of a literary work on its audience.
 support statements with evidence from the text.
Example: After reading The Giver by Lois Lowry, write a final chapter to the book, describing what happens to the main character after the point where
Lowry ends the book. Then, plan a class presentation explaining the new ending and how it is supported by the rest of the book.
8.5.4
Write persuasive compositions that:
 include a well-defined thesis that makes a clear and knowledgeable appeal.
 present detailed evidence, examples, and reasoning to support effective arguments and emotional appeals.
 provide details, reasons, and examples, arranging them effectively by anticipating and answering reader concerns and counterarguments.
Example: Using the research completed on public transportation, write a persuasive letter to the mayor on why the community should or should not invest
more resources into public transportation.
8.5.5
Write technical documents that:
 identify the sequence of activities needed to design a system, operate a tool, or explain the bylaws of an organization’s constitution or
guidelines.
 include all the factors and variables that need to be considered.
 use formatting techniques, including headings and changing the fonts (typeface) to aid comprehension.
Example: Write a report of a science experiment that was conducted in class, describing both the process and the scientific conclusions. Describe the steps
clearly, using precise scientific vocabulary, so that another reader could follow exactly what the experiment involved and could understand the
reasoning behind the conclusion. Add graphics and text design to make the content clearer and easier to follow.
8.5.6
Write using precise word choices to make writing interesting and exact.
Example: Write stories, reports, articles, and letters using a variety of word choices. (Use adequately instead of enough. Use encyclopedia or
mystery novel instead of book.)
8.5.7
Write for different purposes and to a specific audience or person, adjusting tone and style as necessary.
Example: Write a letter to the editor in response to an opinion column in your school or community newspaper.
Research Application
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8.5.3
Write or deliver a research report that has been developed using a systematic research process (defines the topic, gathers information, determines
credibility, reports findings) and that:
 uses information from a variety of sources (books, technology, multimedia) and documents sources independently by using a consistent
format for citations.
 demonstrates that information that has been gathered has been summarized and that the topic has been refined through this process.
 demonstrates that sources have been evaluated for accuracy, bias, and credibility.
 organizes information by categorizing and sequencing, and demonstrates the distinction between one’s own ideas from the ideas of others,
and includes a bibliography (Works Cited).
Example: Research the topic of the benefits and drawbacks of public transportation. Conduct research to learn why some experts argue that we
should use more public transportation. Survey parents and friends to find out how often they use public transportation for school, business, or
pleasure travel. Summarize the findings and write a report on the pros and cons of public transportation.
Standard 6
WRITING: English Language Conventions
Students write using Standard English conventions appropriate to this grade level.
Sentence Structure
8.6.1
8.6.2
8.6.3
Use correct and varied sentence types (simple, compound, complex, and compound-complex) and sentence openings to present a lively and
effective personal style.
Identify and use parallelism (use consistent elements of grammar when compiling a list) in all writing to present items in a series and items
juxtaposed for emphasis.
 Correct: Students having difficulty and needing help should stay after class.
 Incorrect: Students having difficulty and who need help should stay after class.
Use subordination, coordination, noun phrases that function as adjectives (These gestures — acts of friendship — were noticed but not
appreciated.), and other devices to indicate clearly the relationship between ideas.
Grammar
8.6.4
8.6.8
Edit written manuscripts to ensure that correct grammar is used.
Identify and use infinitives (the word to followed by the base form of a verb, such as to understand or to learn) and participles (made by adding ing, -d, -ed, -n, -en, or -t to the base form of the verb, such as dreaming, chosen, built, and grown).
Punctuation
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8.6.5
Use correct punctuation.
Capitalization
8.6.6
Use correct capitalization.
Spelling
8.6.7
Use correct spelling conventions.
Standard 7
LISTENING AND SPEAKING: Skills, Strategies, and Applications
Students deliver focused, coherent presentations that convey ideas clearly and relate to the background and interests of the audience. They evaluate the
content of oral communication. Students deliver well-organized formal presentations using traditional speech strategies, including narration, exposition,
persuasion, and description. Students use the same Standard English conventions for oral speech that they use in their writing.
Comprehension
8.7.1
Paraphrase (restate) a speaker’s purpose and point of view and ask questions concerning the speaker’s content, delivery, and attitude toward the
subject.
Organization and Delivery of Oral Communication
8.7.2
8.7.3
8.7.4
8.7.5
8.7.6
Match the message, vocabulary, voice modulation (changes in tone), expression, and tone to the audience and purpose.
Outline the organization of a speech, including an introduction; transitions, previews, and summaries; a logically developed body; and an
effective conclusion.
Use precise language, action verbs, sensory details, appropriate and colorful modifiers (describing words, such as adverbs and adjectives), and the
active (I recommend that you write drafts.) rather than the passive voice (The writing of drafts is recommended.) in ways that enliven oral
presentations.
Use appropriate grammar, word choice, enunciation (clear speech), and pace (timing) during formal presentations.
Use audience feedback, including both verbal and nonverbal cues, to reconsider and modify the organizational structure and/or to rearrange
words and sentences for clarification of meaning.
Analysis and Evaluation of Oral and Media Communications
8.7.7
8.7.8
Analyze oral interpretations of literature, including language choice and delivery, and the effect of the interpretations on the listener.
Evaluate the credibility of a speaker, including whether the speaker has hidden agendas or presents slanted or biased material.
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8.7.9
Interpret and evaluate the various ways in which visual image makers (such as graphic artists, illustrators, and news photographers) communicate
information and affect impressions and opinions.
Speaking Applications
8.7.10
8.7.15
8.7.11
8.7.12
8.7.13
Deliver narrative presentations, such as biographical or autobiographical information that:
 relate a clear incident, event, or situation, using well-chosen details.
 reveal the significance of the incident, event, or situation.
 use narrative and descriptive strategies to support the presentation, including relevant dialogue, specific action, physical description,
background description, and comparison or contrast of characters.
Deliver descriptive presentations that:
 establish a clear point of view on the subject of the presentation.
 establish the presenter’s relationship with the subject of the presentation (whether the presentation is made as an uninvolved observer or by
someone who is personally involved).
 contain effective, factual descriptions of appearance, concrete images, shifting perspectives, and sensory details.
Deliver oral responses to literature that:
 interpret a reading and provide insight.
 connect personal responses to the writer’s techniques and to specific textual references.
 make supported inferences about the effects of a literary work on its audience.
 support judgments through references to the text, other works, other authors, or personal knowledge.
Deliver research presentations that:
 define a thesis (a position on the topic).
 research important ideas, concepts, and direct quotations from significant information sources and paraphrase and summarize important
perspectives on the topic.
 use a variety of research sources and distinguish the nature and value of each.
 present information on charts, maps, and graphs.
Deliver persuasive presentations that:
 include a well-defined thesis (position on the topic).
 differentiate fact from opinion and support arguments with detailed evidence, examples, reasoning, and persuasive language.
 anticipate and effectively answer listener concerns and counterarguments through the inclusion and arrangement of details, reasons, examples,
and other elements.
 maintain a reasonable tone.
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8.7.14
Recite poems (of four to six stanzas), sections of speeches, or dramatic soliloquies (sections of plays in which characters speak out loud to
themselves) using voice modulation, tone, and gestures expressively to enhance the meaning.
Reading Standards for Informational Text:
Literary Nonfiction and Historical, Scientific, and Technical Texts
RI
The following standards offer a focus for instruction each year and help ensure that students gain adequate exposure to a range of texts and tasks. Rigor is
also infused through the requirement that students read increasingly complex texts through the grades. Students advancing through the grades are expected
to meet each year’s grade-specific standards and retain or further develop skills and understandings mastered in preceding grades.
Key Ideas and Details
8.RI.1 Cite the textual evidence that most strongly supports an analysis of what the text says explicitly as
well as inferences drawn from the text.
8.RI.2 Determine a central idea of a text and analyze its development over the course of the text, including
its relationship to supporting ideas; provide an objective summary of the text.
8.RI.3 Analyze how a text makes connections among and distinctions between individuals, ideas, or events
(e.g., through comparisons, analogies, or categories).
Craft and Structure
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.
8.RI.5 Analyze in detail the structure of a specific paragraph in a text, including the role of particular
sentences in developing and refining a key concept.
8.RI.6 Determine an author's point of view or purpose in a text and analyze how the author acknowledges
and responds to conflicting evidence or viewpoints.
Integration of Knowledge and Ideas
8.RI.7 Evaluate the advantages and disadvantages of using different mediums (e.g., print or digital text,
video, multimedia) to present a particular topic or idea.
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8.RI.8 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.RI.9 Analyze a case in which two or more texts provide conflicting information on the same topic and
identify where the texts disagree on matters of fact or interpretation.
Range of Reading and Level of Text Complexity
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.
Reading Standards for Literature: Stories, Novels, Dramas, and Poetry
RL
The following standards offer a focus for instruction and help ensure that students gain adequate exposure to a range of texts and tasks. Rigor is also infused
through the requirement that students read increasingly complex texts through the grades. Students advancing through the grades are expected to meet each
year’s grade-specific standards and retain or further develop skills and understandings mastered in preceding grades.
Key Ideas and Details
8.RL.1 Cite the textual evidence that most strongly supports an analysis of what the text says explicitly as
well as inferences drawn from the text.
8.RL.2 Determine a theme or central idea of a text and analyze its development over the course of the text,
including its relationship to the characters, setting, and plot; provide an objective summary of the
text.
8.RL.3 Analyze how particular lines of dialogue or incidents in a story or drama propel the action, reveal
aspects of a character, or provoke a decision.
Craft and Structure
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.
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8.RL.5 Compare and contrast the structure of two or more texts and analyze how the differing structure of
each text contributes to its meaning and style.
8.RL.6 Analyze how differences in the points of view of the characters and the audience or reader (e.g.,
created through the use of dramatic irony) create such effects as suspense or humor.
Integration of Knowledge and Ideas
8.RL.7 Analyze the extent to which a filmed or live production of a story or drama stays faithful to or
departs from the text or script, evaluating the choices made by the director or actors.
8.RL.8 (This College and Career Readiness Standard does not have a literature component)
8.RL.9 Analyze how a modern work of fiction draws on themes, patterns of events, or character types from
myths, traditional stories, or religious works such as the Bible, including describing how the
material is rendered new.
Range of Reading and Level of Text Complexity
8.RL.10 By the end of the year, read and comprehend literature, including stories, dramas, and poems, at the
high end of grades 6-8 text complexity band independently and proficiently.
Writing Standards
W
The following standards offer a focus for instruction to help ensure that students gain adequate mastery of a range of skills and applications. Each year in
their writing, students should demonstrate increasing sophistication in all aspects of language use, from vocabulary and syntax to the development and
organization of ideas, and they should address increasingly demanding content and sources. Students advancing through the grades are expected to meet
each year’s grade-specific standards and retain or further develop skills and understandings mastered in preceding grades.
Text Types and Purposes
8.W.1 Write arguments to support claims with clear reasons and relevant evidence.
a. Introduce claim(s), acknowledge and distinguish the claim(s) from alternate or opposing claims,
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and organize the reasons and evidence logically.
b. Support claim(s) with logical reasoning and relevant evidence, using accurate, credible sources
and demonstrating an understanding of the topic or text.
c. Use words, phrases, and clauses to create cohesion and clarify the relationships among claim(s),
counterclaims, reasons, and evidence.
d. Establish and maintain a formal style.
e. Provide a concluding statement or section that follows from and supports the argument presented.
8.W.2 Write informative/explanatory texts to examine a topic and convey ideas, concepts, and information
through the selection, organization, and analysis of relevant content.
a. 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.
b. Develop the topic with relevant, well-chosen facts, definitions, concrete details, quotations, or
other information and examples.
c. Use appropriate and varied transitions to create cohesion and clarify the relationships among ideas
and concepts.
d. Use precise language and domain-specific vocabulary to inform about or explain the topic.
e. Establish and maintain a formal style.
f. Provide a concluding statement or section that follows from and supports the information or
explanation presented.
8.W.3 Write narratives to develop real or imagined experiences or events using effective technique,
relevant descriptive details, and well-structured event sequences.
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a. 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.
b. Use narrative techniques, such as dialogue, pacing, description, and reflection, to develop
experiences, events, and/or characters.
c. 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.
d. Use precise words and phrases, relevant descriptive details, and sensory language to capture the
action and convey experiences and events.
e. Provide a conclusion that follows from and reflects on the narrated experiences or events.
Production and Distribution of Writing
8.W.4 Produce clear and coherent writing in which the development, organization, and style are appropriate
to task, purpose, and audience.
8.W.5 With some guidance and support from peers and adults, develop and strengthen writing as needed by
planning, revising, editing, rewriting, or trying a new approach, focusing on how well purpose and
audience have been addressed.
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.
Research to Build and Present Knowledge
8.W.7 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.
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8.W.8 Gather relevant information from multiple print and digital sources, using search terms effectively;
assess the credibility and accuracy of each source; and quote or paraphrase the data and conclusions
of others while avoiding plagiarism and following a standard format for citation.
8.W.9 Draw evidence from literary or informational texts to support analysis, reflection, and research.
a. Apply grade 8 Reading standards to literature (e.g., "Analyze how a modern work of fiction draws
on themes, patterns of events, or character types from myths, traditional stories, or religious works
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.").
Range of Writing
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.
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Language Standards
L
The following standards offer a focus for instruction to help ensure that students gain adequate mastery of a range of skills and applications. Students
advancing through the grades are expected to meet each year’s grade-specific standards and retain or further develop skills and understandings mastered in
preceding grades.
Conventions of Standard English
8.L.1 Demonstrate command of the conventions of Standard English grammar and usage when writing or
speaking.
a. Explain the function of verbals (gerunds, participles, infinitives) in general and their function in
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particular sentences.
b. Form and use verbs in the active and passive voice.
c. Form and use verbs in the indicative, imperative, interrogative, conditional, and subjunctive
mood.
d. Recognize and correct inappropriate shifts in verb voice and mood.
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.
Knowledge of Language
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).
Vocabulary Acquisition and Use
8.L.4 Determine or clarify the meaning of unknown and multiple-meaning words or phrases based on grade
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8 reading and content, choosing flexibly from a range of strategies.
a. 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.
b. Use common, grade-appropriate Greek or Latin affixes and roots as clues to the meaning of a word (e.g., precede, recede, secede).
c. 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.
d. 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).
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 denotations (definitions) (e.g., bullheaded, willful, firm, persistent,
resolute).
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.
Speaking and Listening Standards
SL
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The following standards offer a focus for instruction to help ensure that students gain adequate mastery of a range of skills and applications. Students
advancing through the grades are expected to meet each year’s grade-specific standards and retain or further develop skills and understandings mastered in
preceding grades.
Comprehension and Collaboration
8.SL.1 Engage effectively in a range of collaborative discussions (one-on-one, in groups, and teacher-led)
with diverse partners on grade 8 topics, texts, and issues, building on others' ideas and expressing
their own clearly.
a. Come to discussions prepared, having read or researched material under study; explicitly draw on that preparation by referring to evidence on
the topic, text, or issue to probe and reflect on ideas under discussion.
b. Follow rules for collegial discussions and decision-making, track progress toward specific goals and deadlines, and define individual roles as
needed.
c. Pose questions that connect the ideas of several speakers and respond to others' questions and comments with relevant evidence, observations,
and ideas.
d. Acknowledge new information expressed by others, and, when warranted, qualify or justify their own views in light of the evidence
presented.
8.SL.2 Analyze the purpose of information presented in diverse media and formats (e.g., visually,
quantitatively, orally) and evaluate the motives (e.g., social, commercial, political) behind its
presentation.
8.SL.3 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.
Presentation of Knowledge and Ideas
8.SL.4 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
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volume, and clear pronunciation.
8.SL.5 Integrate multimedia and visual displays into presentations to clarify information, strengthen claims
and evidence, and add interest.
8.SL.6 Adapt speech to a variety of contexts and tasks, demonstrating command of formal English when
indicated or appropriate.
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