Grade 8 ELA Arkansas standards Standards

Conventions

Structure

Language

Presentation

Speaking and Listening Comprehension

Collaborative Communication

Vocabulary

Research

Production

Style

Writing

Reading Information

Reading Literature

Reading Fundamentals

Reading Comprehension

Express ideas in a collaborative setting, using effective discussion strategies.

Adapt speech to a variety of contexts and tasks, using appropriate eye contact, tone, and pacing.

Demonstrate command of standard English when indicated or appropriate.

Recite a passage from a well-known poem, play, or speech.

Come to discussions prepared, citing researched evidence on the topic, text, or issue, and reflecting upon the discussion.

Follow rules for collegial discussions and decision-making, tracking progress towards specific goals and deadlines, and defining individual roles as needed.

Acknowledge new information expressed by others, qualifying or justifying one's own views after new evidence is presented.

Examine the reasons for using multimedia to present a topic, text, and/or issue.

Articulate a speaker's argument and specific claims, evaluating the accuracy and adequacy of the evidence.

Present claims and evidence, emphasizing important points in a focused, coherent manner.

Support claims, central ideas, and/or themes with valid reasoning, relevant evidence, and well-chosen details.

Include relevant multimedia to clarify claims and findings.

Use nouns effectively:<ul><li>Direct and indirect objects</li><li>Predicate nouns</li></ul>

Use commas to separate coordinate adjectives, set off series, phrases and clauses, and direct address.

Introduce a list, quotation, or clarification, using a colon.

Join elements of a series when individual items of the series already include commas, using a semicolon.

Indicate an omission, using an ellipsis.

Indicate a pause or break, using commas, ellipses, and dashes.

Use knowledge of reading foundational skills, spelling patterns, and generalizations such as syllable patterns, ending rules, and meaningful word parts (i.e., morphology) to spell correctly.

Ensure pronouns have a clear antecedent and are appropriate in number and person.

Use verbs effectively:<ul><li>Shifts in mood and voice</li><li>Active and passive voice</li><li>Subject/verb agreement</li><li>Linking verbs</li></ul>

Use verbals (gerunds, participles, infinitives) correctly.

Use modifiers effectively:<ul><li>Proper adjectives</li><li>Predicate adjectives</li></ul>

Correct misplaced and dangling modifiers.

Produce compound-complex sentences, using dependent clauses, subordinating conjunctions, conjunctive adverbs, correlative conjunctions, and coordinating conjunctions.

Use prepositional phrases effectively:<ul><li>Adjectival</li><li>Adverbial</li></ul>

Choose language that precisely expresses ideas, eliminating redundancy.

Provide an objective summary of a text.

Identify the theme in an original, adapted, and/or modernized drama, poem, folktale, or story from American literature (1850-1930), explaining its historical and/or contemporary significance.

Explain how an author connects and/or distinguishes individuals, ideas, or events through comparisons, analogies, and categories.

Examine the structure of a specific paragraph in a text, including how the sentences clarify the central idea.

Describe how the author acknowledges and responds to conflicting evidence or viewpoints.

Describe the efficacy of various multimedia used to present information.

Evaluate the argument and supporting claims in a text, assessing whether the reasoning is logical, if the evidence is relevant and sufficient to support the claims, and when irrelevant evidence is introduced.

Analyze two or more texts that present conflicting information on the same topic, identifying where the texts diverge on matters of fact or interpretation.

Identify the central idea in a non-fiction work from or about American literature (1850-1930), explaining its historical and/or contemporary significance.

Determine how a central idea and/or theme is developed over the course of a text, including its relationship to supporting details.

Cite text evidence that most strongly supports an analysis of what a text states, using background knowledge to justify inferences drawn from the text.

Demonstrate reading comprehension of age and grade-appropriate texts by speaking or writing.

Examine how specific lines of dialogue propel the plot, reveal aspects of a character, or inform a character's decision.

Distinguish how the structure of a text contributes to its overall meaning and style.

Describe how differing points of view (POV) and/or perspectives of the characters in a text affect the audience and/or readers, creating suspense, mystery, and/or humor.

Determine the extent to which a filmed or live production of a story or drama adheres to or departs from the text or script.

Describe how an author of a contemporary work of fiction adapts the themes, events, and/or character types from myths, traditional stories, and/or religious works.

Use general academic and content-specific words and phrases accurately.

Decode and encode words, using knowledge of Greek combining forms and Latin prefixes, bases, and suffixes and connectives as needed.

Determine or clarify the meaning of unknown and multiple-meaning words and phrases, choosing from a range of effective techniques:<ul><li>Use common Greek or Latin affixes and roots (i.e., morphology),</li><li>Trace the origins of words (i.e., etymology),</li><li>Use context,</li><li>Consult reference materials to clarify pronunciation and/or parts of speech, and/or</li><li>Use word relationships such as cause and effect, part to whole, and item into category to clarify the meaning of each word.</li></ul>

Examine words with similar denotations, considering how their connotations and nuances impact the words' meanings.

Determine how word and phrase choice, including analogies or allusions to other texts, contributes to the meaning, style, and/or tone of a text.

Demonstrate an understanding of figurative language in context, including verbal irony and puns.

Compose an argument, using clear reasons and supporting evidence.<ul><li>Introduce claims supported by credible sources.</li><li>Distinguish alternate or opposing claims.</li><li>Maintain a cohesive structure.</li></ul>

Increase independent writing with support and collaboration from peers and adults, employing the stages of the writing process (e.g., draft, revise, edit) with a focus on purpose and audience.

Include headings, graphics, and various multimedia to support ideas and information.

Maintain formal style when appropriate, editing writing to include grade-appropriate conventions for publishing.

Conduct research to explore a topic, describe an idea, and/or answer a question, refocusing the inquiry to generate further questions or to allow for multiple avenues of exploration.

Assess the credibility and accuracy of sources.

Avoid plagiarism when quoting or paraphrasing data and conclusions, crediting sources and/or authors.

Follow a standard format for citation, including a works cited/references.

Write to inform about a topic.<ul><li>Introduce a topic with a clear preview of what is to follow.</li><li>Organize ideas, concepts, and information, using broad categories.</li><li>Select well-chosen facts, definitions, concrete details, quotations, and examples.</li><li>Maintain a cohesive structure, clarifying the relationships among the ideas, concepts, and information.</li></ul>

Write to express real or imagined experiences and/or events.<ul><li>Develop a topic, context, narrative elements, and point of view and/or perspective.</li><li>Select well-chosen, descriptive details and use sensory language and precise language.</li><li>Develop well-structured event sequences to show the relationships among ideas and experiences.</li><li>Use narrative techniques effectively, utilizing dialogue, pacing, sensory language, and description.</li></ul>

Construct clear and coherent writing in which the development, organization, and style are appropriate to the task, purpose, and audience.

Organize writing logically, composing an introduction, body, conclusion, and/or reflection when appropriate.

Use a variety of sentence types effectively.

Choose precise words, phrases, and clauses to clarify relationships among ideas, claims, counterclaims, reasons, and/or evidence.

Choose a variety of transition words, phrases, and clauses effectively to connect ideas.

Develop writing stamina during single sessions and over extended periods of time.