EIGHTH GRADE

 

STANDARD 1: LITERARY GENRE

 

   Students read a wide range of print and nonprint texts to build an understanding of texts, of themselves, and of the cultures of the United States and the world; to acquire new information; to respond to the needs and demands of society and the workplace; and for personal fulfillment.  Among these texts are fiction and nonfiction, classic and contemporary works.

 

   Reading is a rich and complex human activity. It allows students to create and explore new ideas. They gain the capability to learn about different subjects, find information, participate effectively in the workplace, and have a better understanding of the world. Students need to read for a range of purposes within a variety of contexts.

 

· Read, respond to, and study a variety of texts

· Discuss texts for several purposes

· Study and create nonprint (oral and picture) texts

· Develop as an independent reader

· Read primary texts from many regions

· Discover information, connections, and themes to form new insights

 

 

EIGHTH GRADE

1.      Analyze text which uses proposition-and-support patterns

2.      Analyze a work of literature showing how it reflects the heritage, traditions, attitudes and beliefs of its author (biographical approach)

3.      Find similarities and differences among texts in the treatment, scope or organization of ideas

4.      Determine and articulate the relationship between the purpose and characteristics of different forms of poetry (e.g., ballad, lyric, couplet, epic, elegy, ode, sonnet)

5.      Read, discuss and respond to books, essays, stories, or articles about one issue or subject

6.      Read 18 books/2700 pages from a variety of fiction and nonfiction

7.      Read daily in school

 

 

 

 

STANDARD 2: LITERATURE AND CRITICAL THINKING

 

   Students read a wide range of literature from many periods in many genres to build an understanding of the many dimensions (e.g., philosophical, ethical, aesthetic) of human experience.

 

   Literature plays a vital role in developing critical thinking. As students learn to read and respond to literary texts, they utilize terms and concepts of literary analysis necessary to and explore worlds (actual and imagined) from perspectives other than their own.

 

· Read and study characteristics of various genres

· Reflect critically on classic and contemporary works

· Learn and use specialized terms and concepts of literary analysis

· Explore the complexities of the human experience through literature

 

 

EIGHTH GRADE

1.      Analyze relevance of setting (place, time, customs) to the mood, tone, and meaning of text

2.      Analyze idioms, analogies, metaphors, and similes to infer the literal and figurative meanings of phrases

3.      Identify significant literary devices (e.g.,  metaphor, symbolism, dialect,  irony) that define a writer’s style and use those elements to interpret the work

4.      Identify and analyze recurring themes (e.g., good versus evil)  across traditional and contemporary works

5.      Compare and contrast motivations and reactions of literary characters from different historical eras confronting similar situations or conflicts

6.      Evaluate the structural elements of the plot (e.g., subplots, parallel episodes, climax), the plot’s development and the way in which conflicts are (or are not) addressed and resolved

7.      Evaluate the unity, coherence, logic, internal consistency, and structural patterns of text

 

STANDARD 3: READING COMPREHENSION

 

   Students apply a wide range of strategies to comprehend, interpret, evaluate, and appreciate texts. They draw on their prior experience, their interactions with other readers and writers, their knowledge of word meaning and of other texts, their word identification strategies, and their understanding of textual features (e.g., sound-letter correspondence, sentence structure, context, graphics).

 

   Interpreting and evaluating texts is a key element in helping readers explore their own responses, feelings, and values. This takes time and experience with a variety of texts. Students draw on prior knowledge and recognize strategies and conventions that guide them toward comprehension.

 

· Use graphic, phonological, syntactic, and semantic cues

· Form expectations and make predictions about a text

· Build on previous reading and life experiences

· Create meaning from the text

· Change strategies when moving from one genre or context to another

· Question, summarize, and restate the text

· Reflect on textual meaning from personal perspective

· Evaluate text elements such as purpose or emotional appeal

· Explore personal responses, feelings, and values to ideas presented

 

 

EIGHTH GRADE

1.      Understand the most important points in the history of English language and use common word origins to determine the historical influences on English word meanings

2.      Use word meanings within appropriate context and show ability to verify those meanings by definition, restatement, example, comparison, or contrast

3.      Compare original text to a summary to determine whether the summary accurately captures the main ideas, includes critical details, and conveys the underlying meaning

4.      Read for content information

5.      Understand plot, characters, setting, and theme of a story

6.      Answer literal questions accurately

7.      Evaluate unity, logic, and consistency of text

8.      Retell the main events of a text in sequence

9.      Draw conclusions about the feelings and attitudes of a character

10. Differentiate between fact and opinion

 

STANDARD 4: LANGUAGE AND COMMUNICATION

 

   Students adjust their use of spoken, written, and visual language (e.g., conventions, style, and vocabulary) to communicate effectively with a variety of audiences and for different purposes.

 

   Language is used as expression in differing social arenas. Students need to study how language conventions vary from one context to another. Students acknowledge the audience as they compose different types of literary texts.

 

• Use various speaking and writing styles to fit different purposes and audiences

• Use standard English for speaking and writing

• Experience dialects and other forms of English

• Develop confidence and versatility in the use of language by exploring connections between voice and audience, purpose and form   

 

 

EIGHTH GRADE

1.  Prepare a speech outline based upon a chosen pattern of organization, which generally includes an introduction; transitions, previews, and summaries; logically developed body; and an effective conclusion

2.  Organize information to achieve particular purposes by matching the message,

vocabulary, voice modulation, expression, and tone to audience and purpose

3.  Use appropriate grammar, word choice, enunciation, and pace during formal

presentations

4.  Analyze oral interpretations of literature, including language choice and delivery, and the effect of the interpretations on the listener

5.  Paraphrase a speaker’s purpose and point of view and ask relevant questions

concerning the speaker’s content, delivery, and purpose

6.  Use audience feedback (verbal and non-verbal cues):

            a. Reconsider and modify the organizational structure of plan.

            b. Rearrange words and sentences to clarify the meaning.

7.  Evaluate the credibility of a speaker (e.g., hidden agendas, slanted or biased

material)

8.  Interpret and evaluate the various ways in which visual image-makers (e.g., graphic artists, illustrators, and news photographers) communicate information and affect impressions and opinions

9.  Use precise language, action verbs, sensory details, appropriate and colorful modifiers, and the active rather than the passive voice in ways that enliven oral presentations

10. Recite poems  (four to six stanzas), sections of speeches, or dramatic soliloquies using voice modulation, tone, and gestures expressively to enhance the meaning

11. Deliver narrative presentations (e.g., biographical, autobiographical):

            a. Relate a clear, coherent incident, event, or situation by using well-     

                chosen details.

            b. Reveal the significance of, and the subject’s attitude about, the

                incident, event, or situation.

            c. Employ narrative and descriptive strategies (e.g., relevant dialogue,

                specific action, physical description, background description,

                comparison or contrast of characters).

12. Deliver oral responses to literature:

            a. Interpret a reading and provide insight.

            b. Connect the students’ own responses to the writer’s techniques and to specific textual references.

            c. Draw supported inferences about the effects of a literary work on its audience.

            d. Support judgments through references to the text, other works, other authors, or personal knowledge.

13. Deliver persuasive presentations:

            a. Include a well-defined thesis (i.e., one that makes a clear and knowledgeable judgment).

            b. Differentiate fact from opinion and support arguments with detailed evidence, examples, and reasoning.

            c. Anticipate and answer listener concerns and counter arguments effectively through the inclusion and arrangement of details, reasons, examples, and other elements.

            d. Maintain a reasonable tone.

 

STANDARD 5: WRITING STRATEGIES

 

  Interpret and evaluate the various ways that visual image-makers (e.g., graphic artists, documentary filmmakers, illustrators, and news photographers) present events and communicate information.

 

   Students adjust their use of spoken, written, and visual language (e.g., conventions, style, and vocabulary) to communicate effectively with a variety of audiences and for different purposes.

 

• Reading and writing are not separate but intertwined. Just as students use a variety of strategies for reading, they also use a variety of strategies for writing. Students need frequent opportunities to write about an array of topics for different audiences and purposes. Students develop these skills with guidance through reading and writing activities

• Write frequently about different topics for a variety of audiences and purposes

• Use the stages of the writing process to plan, draft, edit, revise and publish for real audiences

• Utilize standard English as appropriate

• Demonstrate the ability to be flexible and adapt to different writing situations

• Read a variety of authors to learn the craft of writing

 

 

 

EIGHTH GRADE

1.  Create compositions that establish a controlling impression, have a coherent thesis, and end with a clear and well-supported conclusion

2.  Establish coherence within and among paragraphs through effective transitions, parallel structures, and similar writing techniques

3.  Support theses or conclusions with analogies, paraphrases, quotations, opinions from authorities, comparisons, and similar devices

4.  Revise writing for word choice; appropriate organization; consistent point of view; and transitions between paragraphs, passages, and ideas

5.  Write biographies, autobiographies, short stories, or narratives of 500 to 700 words:

            a. Relate a clear, coherent incident, event, or situation by using well-

               chosen details.

            b. Reveal the significance of, or the writer’s attitude about, the subject.

            c. Employ narrative and description, background description, comparison

               or contrast of characters).

6.  Write responses to literature of 500 to 700 words:

            a. Exhibit careful reading and insight in their interpretations.

            b. Connect the student’s own responses to the writer’s techniques and to

               specific textual references.

            c. Draw supported inferences about the effects of a literary work on its

               audience.

            d. Support judgments through references to the text, other works, other

               authors, or to personal knowledge

7.  Write persuasive compositions:

            a. Include a well-defined thesis (i.e., one that makes a clear and

               knowledgeable judgment).

            b. Present detailed evidence, examples, and reasoning to support

               arguments, differentiating between facts and opinion.

            c. Provide details, reasons and examples, arranging them effectively by                                      anticipating and answering reader concerns and counter arguments.

8.  Write documents related to career development, including simple business letters and job applications:

            a. Present information purposefully and succinctly and meet the needs of

               the intended audience.

            b. Follow the conventional format for the type of document (e.g., letter of

                inquiry, memorandum).

9.  Write daily for fluency and clarity

10. Write frequently on self-selected topics

11. Participate in writing response groups

12  Write a well-formulated paragraph presenting a personal point of view with

substantiation

 

STANDARD 6: LANGUAGE CONVENTIONS AND STRUCTURES

 

Students apply knowledge of language structure, language conventions (e.g., spelling and punctuation), media techniques, figurative language, and genre to create, critique, and discuss print and nonprint texts.

 

Through the reading-writing process students learn grammar, language patterns, and conventions and apply it to the broader purposes of communication. Knowledge of the systems, structures of language and the conventions of writing, ensure that students write effectively.

 

• Spell frequently used words correctly

• Use spelling resources such as dictionaries, peer editing, word lists, temporary spelling, spell

check, etc.

• Write with command of standard English: capitalization, punctuation, sentence structure, and

grammar

• Evaluate and discuss the structure of language in a variety of print and graphics

Evaluate and discuss a variety of print and graphics

 

 

EIGHTH GRADE

1. Practice and write the four types of sentences: simple, compound, complex,

compound/complex

2. Edit written manuscripts to demonstrate control of grammar

3.  Use correct and varied types of sentence openings to reinforce the presentation of a lively and effective personal style

4.  Identify and use parallel structures in writing to present items in a series,    

complements, and items juxtaposed for emphasis

5. Use correct punctuation and capitalization

6. Apply spelling rules (See Appendix)

7.  Use subordination, coordination, and apposition to indicate the relationship between ideas

 

 

STANDARD 7: RESEARCH AND COMMUNICATION

 

      Students conduct research on issues and interests by generating ideas and questions, and by posing problems. They gather, evaluate, and synthesize data from a variety of sources (e.g., print and nonprint texts, artifacts, and people) to communicate their discoveries in ways that suit their purpose and audience.

 

     Investigation, discussion, and reflection help students to look at and make sense of the world to develop questions, identify issues, address problems, and seek answers. Students acquire a range of tools to accomplish these tasks.

 

· Formulate engaging questions from life and classroom experiences

· Discuss, hypothesize and plan steps to find answers

· Gather data from a variety of sources

· Analyze and synthesize data in a way that clearly shows new knowledge

· Communicate what has been learned to suit purposes and audience

     

 

EIGHTH GRADE

1. Write research reports that define a thesis; plan and conduct multi-stepped information searches; use a variety of primary and secondary sources; record important ideas, concepts, direct quotes paraphrasing and summarizing as appropriate; achieve balance between researched information and own ideas; organize and record information on charts, maps, and graphs as needed; credit reference sources

 

STANDARD 8: TECHNOLOGY AND RESOURCES

 

    Students use a variety of technological and informational resources (e.g., libraries, databases, computer networks, and video) to gather and synthesize information and to create and communicate knowledge.

 

    Technology has opened new worlds to students. To utilize these valuable resources, they use computers and other interactive media. This knowledge equips them to attain their goals and career choices. Access to a wealth of information, ideas, and visual images enhances academic success and empowers students as lifelong learners.

 

· Students will demonstrate competence in using technology as a production tool in many disciplines to solve problems and communicate ideas.

· Students will demonstrate ability to access and synthesize information with available

    technologies.

· Students will use technology responsibly, legally and ethically.

           

 

EIGHTH GRADE

1. Do multi-stepped information searches using local libraries, wide area networks, and modem-delivered information (as available)

 

STANDARD 9: DIVERSITY

 

   Students see, understand, and respect different perspectives and communicate effectively with those whose lives, languages, and cultures vary from their own.

 

    Students develop an understanding of and respect for diversity in language use, patterns, and dialects across cultures, ethnic groups, geographic regions and social roles.

 

    Language can foster understanding, both socially and culturally. Students bring a diverse heritage into the classroom. They build the groundwork for unity by understanding and respecting differences. Students deserve and need learning environments that encourage respect for culture, age, race, gender, religious and ethnic diversity.

 

· Investigate shared beliefs and traditions, and honor what is distinctive about individuals and groups

· Read and discuss stories and texts that explore diversity

· Recognize how linguistic diversity influences language and perceptions of the world

· Participate in creating a safe, accepting environment

· Develop an appreciation for the complexities of language and dialect

 

 

 

 

 

EIGHTH GRADE

1. Respond to diverse literature, art, music, and movement to create an awareness of values, ethics, and customs

2. Define roles and share responsibility for a team project; specify goals and constraints; generate alternatives;  consider risks; evaluate and choose solutions; monitor progress and make adjustments to meet stated objectives

3. Study, discuss, and respond to readings/films on racism and prejudice

 

STANDARD 10: ENGLISH LANGUAGE LEARNERS (pre-Proposition 227, awaiting California State Department of Education direction)

 

   Students whose first language is not English use their first language to develop competency in the English language arts and to develop understanding of content across the curriculum.  

 

   This standard provides access to the core curriculum for students who are not part of the Bilingual/Immersion Program. Please refer to the English Language Development (ELD) Bilingual Master Plan for more specific details on ELD learning strategies.

 

   Linguistic diversity is a factor in today’s classrooms as it is in the nation. Our focus is to enable students who are not proficient in English to become so. It is important that these students develop academic competency in both languages.

 

The following may be used throughout the grade levels:

1. Read appropriate leveled primary language content material when available

2.  Read, write, and speak using primary language when appropriate

3. Demonstrate understanding by using an agreed upon signal

4. Work with English speaking partner for difficult tasks

5. Participate actively and collaboratively in group work

6. Participate in discussions with partner or in small groups

7. Interact appropriately in social situations within the classroom

8. Display awareness of common cultural markers (e.g., historical, geographical sites, pastimes, foods, and schedules)

9. Pursue acquisition of English through available activities, resources, and personnel  (e.g., listening centers, computers, TV and libraries)

10. Listen and respond to diverse literature

11. Participate in language arts activities that incorporate different learning styles/modalities

12. Use oral language and models or pictures to explain thinking

13. Listen and respond to literature that reinforces thematic units

14. Write science and social studies reports with format provided

15. Understand written texts through discussion, illustrations and visuals

16. Make oral presentations in English

17. Practice oral language exercises and communicative language functions

18. Develop academic vocabulary

19. Participate in sheltered language activities in content areas

 

 

STANDARD 11: LITERACY COMMUNITIES

 

   Students participate as knowledgeable, reflective, creative, and critical members of a variety of literacy communities.

 

   Students are members of a variety of literacy communities including peers, teachers, friends, family members, as well as, communities within the technological world. Students develop awareness of their own roles within these communities and can see how language usage varies. This idea of community emphasizes the collaborative approach of language learning.

 

 

EIGHTH GRADE

1. Use friendly letter form to communicate with others

2. Write, revise, edit, rewrite, illustrate, and orally present cross-age literary text

3. Interact appropriately in peer response groups

4. Include/expand computer technology vocabulary to better participate in the

technological world (as available)

 

STANDARD 12: LIFELONG LEARNING

 

    Students use spoken, written, and visual language to accomplish their own purposes (e.g., for learning, enjoyment, persuasion, and the exchange of information).

 

    Students developing strong learning habits and positive attitudes towards language, will chose to read widely, discuss issues, and question others thoughtfully. Students need to be well motivated to become responsible for their own lifelong learning. We are all lifelong learners.

 

 

EIGHTH GRADE

1. Work independently as well as collaboratively for meaning and enjoyment

2. Read independently for meaning and enjoyment

3. Use consumer materials e.g., warranties, computer software manuals, bus schedules, cookbooks, instruction manuals to gain meaning

4. Practice appropriate social awareness