Grade 8 ELA Idaho standards Standards

Mechanics

Grammar and Usage

Grammar and Conventions

Digital Communications

Oral Communications

Oral and Digital Communications Strand

Handwriting and Keyboarding

Range of Writing

Writing Strand

Deep Reading on Topics to Build Knowledge

Inquiry Process to Build, Present, and Use Knowledge

Research Strand

Academic Vocabulary

Word Building

Vocabulary Development

Nonfiction Text

Literature

Reading Fluency

Textual Evidence

Volume of Reading to Build Knowledge

Text Complexity

Reading Comprehension

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

Recognize and correct inappropriate shifts in verb voice and mood.

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

Form and use verbs in the active and passive voice to achieve particular effects.

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

Expand, combine, or reduce sentences (e.g., adding or deleting modifiers, combining, or breaking up sentences) for meaning, reader/listener interest, and style.

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

Demonstrate command of the conventions of English punctuation and capitalization when writing and reading aloud to create meaning.

Use commas, ellipsis, and dashes when writing and reading aloud to indicate a pause, break, or omission.

Spell derivatives correctly by applying knowledge of bases and affixes.

Engage in collaborative discussions about grade-level topics and texts with peers by following rules for collegial discussions and decision-making, defining individual roles, and tracking progress on specific goals; propelling conversations forward by posing and responding to questions, relating the current discussion to broader themes, and connecting the ideas of several speakers; and when warranted, qualifying or justifying one's views considering new evidence heard.

Analyze the purpose of information presented in diverse media and formats (e.g., visually, quantitatively, orally) and evaluate the intent (e.g., social, political, commercial) behind its presentation.

Analyze 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.

Report orally on a topic or text or present an argument, emphasizing salient points in a focused, coherent manner with relevant evidence, and well-chosen details; use appropriate vocabulary, volume, and clear pronunciation.

Demonstrate an understanding of and respect for the rights and obligations of using and sharing intellectual property.

Consider the evidence websites or blog posts use to support their position (e.g., Are they transparent about their sources? Do they link to peer-reviewed articles?).

Evaluate the advantages and disadvantages of using different mediums—print or digital text—to present a particular topic or idea.

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

Independently and proficiently read and comprehend texts representing a balance of genres, cultures, and perspectives that exhibit complexity at the higher end of the grades 6–8 band.

Regularly engage in a volume of reading, independently, with peers, or with modest support related to the topics and themes being studied to build knowledge and vocabulary.

Draw several pieces of evidence from grade-level texts that strongly supports both what is said explicitly and what is implied, including quoting, and paraphrasing from relevant sections and accurately and citing textual references.

Read grade-level text with accuracy, automaticity appropriate rate, and expression in successive readings to support comprehension.

Use evidence from literature to demonstrate understanding of grade-level texts.

Explain stated or implied themes, analyzing their development over the course of texts, and the relationship of characters, setting, and plot to those themes.

Analyze how characters are revealed through particular lines of dialogue or events in literary texts.

Analyze how authors structure texts to advance a plot, explaining how each event gives rise to the next or foreshadows a future event.

Analyze how differences in the points of view of the characters and the audience or reader created with dramatic irony result in such effects as suspense or humor.

Relate themes, patterns of events, or character types from myths, traditional stories, or religious works to contemporary stories, poems, or drama.

Use evidence from nonfiction works to demonstrate understanding of grade-level texts.

Explain stated or implied central ideas of texts, analyzing their development over the course of the texts, including the relationship of individuals, ideas, or events to the central ideas; provide objective summaries of texts.

Analyze how texts make connections among and distinctions between individuals, ideas, or events (e.g., through comparisons, analogies, or categories).

Analyze the structural elements of a text, including the role of specific sentences, paragraphs, and text features in developing and refining key concepts.

Trace the argument and specific claims in texts and assess whether all the evidence presented is relevant and whether irrelevant evidence was introduced.

Analyze cases 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.

Conduct brief as well as multi-day research tasks to take some action or share findings orally or in writing by formulating research questions and generating additional questions that allow for multiple avenues of exploration; gathering and assessing the relevance and credibility of information from multiple sources; and summarizing, paraphrasing, or quoting the data and conclusions of others while avoiding plagiarism and following a standard format for citations.

Read a series of texts organized around a variety of conceptually related topics to build knowledge about the world. (These texts should be at a range of complexity levels so students can read the texts independently, with peers, or with modest support.)

Determine or clarify the meaning of unknown and multiple-meaning words and phrases based on grade-level content, choosing flexibly from a range of strategies.

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.

Use common Greek or Latin affixes and roots as clues to the meaning of a word (e.g., in readings about mathematics, determine the meanings of the words percentile and perimeter).

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

Verify the preliminary determination of the meaning of a word or phrase by checking the inferred meaning in context or in a dictionary.

Determine how words and phrases provide meaning and nuance to texts.

Interpret figurative language (e.g., verbal irony, puns) in context.

Use the relationship between particular words (e.g., homonyms, person to location, object to use) to better understand each of the words.

Distinguish among the connotations (associations) of words with similar denotations (definitions) (e.g., crowd versus mob, fired versus laid off).

Analyze the impact of specific word choices on meaning and tone, including analogies or allusions to other texts.

Acquire and use accurately general academic and content-specific words and phrases occurring in grade-level reading and content; gather vocabulary knowledge when considering a word or phrase important to comprehension or expression. Use these words in discussions and writing.

Develop flexibility in writing by routinely engaging in the production of shorter and longer pieces for a range of tasks, purposes, and audiences. This could include, among others, summaries, reflections, descriptions, critiques, letters, and poetry, etc.

Write arguments or make claims that support well-defined points of view effectively with relevant evidence and clear reasoning in ways that logically advance the claim(s) made; demonstrate a nuanced understanding of the topic; and provide a concluding section that follows from and supports the argument presented.

Write informational texts that introduce the topic clearly; preview what is to follow by establishing and maintaining a clear focus with relevant, well-chosen facts, definitions, concrete details, quotations, and examples from multiple sources using appropriate strategies, such as description, enumeration, classification, comparison, problem-solution, and/or cause-effect; and provide a concluding section that follows from the information presented.

Write personal or fictional narratives that establish a situation and narrator; engage and orient the reader to the context and one or multiple points of view; use a variety of techniques such as description, dialogue, pacing, and precise words and phrases, sensory language and transition words to develop the characters, capture the action and convey sequence, and signal shifts from one timeframe or setting to another; and provide a conclusion that follows from the narrated event(s).

Produce clear and coherent organizational structures in which ideas and other information are logically grouped; headings, other formatting, and graphics (e.g., charts and tables) support the purpose; and precise language, content-specific vocabulary, and varied transitions create cohesion and clarify the relationships between and among ideas and concepts.

With support from adults and peers, 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. (Editing should demonstrate command of grade-level Grammar and Conventions.)

Write by hand or with technology to produce and publish writing, link to and cite sources, present the relationships between information and ideas efficiently, and interact and collaborate with others.