Grade 8 ELA New York standards Standards

Core Punctuation and Spelling

Core Conventions

Conventions of Academic English/Language for Learning

Vocabulary Acquisition and Use

Knowledge of Language

Language Standards

Presentation of Knowledge and Ideas

Comprehension and Collaboration

Speaking and Listening

Research to Build and Present Knowledge

Text Types and Purposes

Writing Standards

Integration of Knowledge and Ideas

Craft and Structure

Key Ideas and Details

Literary and Informational Text

Reading Standards

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 and phrases, 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, grade-appropriate Greek or Latin affixes and roots as clues to the meaning of a word (e.g., precede, recede, secede).

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

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).

Demonstrate understanding of figurative language, word relationships, and nuances in word meanings.

Interpret figures of speech including irony and puns in context.

Use the relationship between particular words to better understand each of the words.

Distinguish among the connotations of words with similar denotations (e.g., bullheaded, willful, firm, persistent, resolute).

Acquire and accurately use general academic and content-specific words and phrases; apply vocabulary knowledge when considering a word or phrase important to comprehension or expression.

Come to discussions prepared, having read or researched material under study; draw on that preparation by referring to evidence on the topic, text, or issue to probe and reflect on ideas under discussion.

Cite textual evidence to strongly support an analysis of what the text says explicitly/implicitly and make logical inferences.

Determine one or more themes or central ideas of a text and analyze their development over the course of the text; summarize a text.

In literary texts, analyze how particular lines of dialogue or events propel the action, reveal aspects of a character, or provoke a decision. In informational texts, analyze how individuals, events, and ideas are introduced, relate to each other, and are developed.

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, tone, and mood, including words with multiple meanings.

In literary texts, and informational texts, compare and contrast the structures of two or more texts in order to analyze how the differing structure of each text contributes to overall meaning, style, theme or central idea.

In literary texts, analyze how the differences between the point of view, perspectives of the characters, the audience, or reader create effects such as mood and tone. In informational texts, analyze how the author addresses conflicting evidence or viewpoints.

Evaluate the advantages and disadvantages of using different media-- text, audio, video, stage, or digital-- to present a particular subject or idea and analyze the extent to which a production remains faithful to or departs from the written text.

Trace and evaluate an argument and specific claims in a text, assessing whether the reasoning is valid and the evidence is relevant and sufficient and recognizing when irrelevant evidence is introduced.

Choose and develop criteria in order to evaluate the quality of texts. Make connections to other texts, ideas, cultural perspectives, eras, and personal experiences.

Engage effectively in a range of collaborative discussions with diverse partners; express ideas clearly and persuasively, and build on those of others.

Follow norms for collegial discussions and decision-making, track progress toward specific goals and deadlines, and define individual roles as needed.

Pose questions that connect the ideas of several speakers and respond to others' questions and comments with relevant evidence, observations, and ideas.

Acknowledge new information expressed by others, and, when warranted, qualify or justify personal views in light of the evidence presented.

Analyze the purpose of information presented in diverse formats (e.g., including visual, quantitative, and oral) and evaluate the motives (e.g., social, commercial, political) behind its presentation.

Delineate a speaker's argument and specific claims, evaluating for sound reasoning, and the relevance and sufficiency of the evidence; identify when irrelevant evidence is introduced.

Present claims and findings, emphasizing salient points in a focused, coherent manner with relevant evidence, valid reasoning, and well-chosen details; use appropriate eye contact, adequate volume, and clear enunciation.

Integrate digital media and/or visual displays in presentations to clarify information, strengthen claims and evidence, and add elements of interest to engage the audience.

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

Write arguments to support claims with clear reasons and relevant evidence.

Introduce a precise claim, acknowledge and distinguish the claim(s) from a counterclaim, and organize the reasons and evidence logically.

Support claim(s) with logical reasoning and relevant evidence, using credible sources while demonstrating an understanding of the topic or text.

Use precise language and content-specific vocabulary to argue a claim.

Use appropriate and varied transitions to create cohesion and clarify the relationships among ideas and concepts.

Provide a concluding statement or section that explains the significance of the argument presented.

Maintain a style and tone appropriate to the writing task.

Write informative/explanatory texts to examine a topic and convey ideas, concepts, and information through the selection, organization, and analysis of relevant content.

Introduce a topic clearly, previewing what is to follow; organize ideas, concepts, and information, using strategies such as definition, classification, comparison/contrast, and cause/effect.

Develop a topic with relevant facts, definitions, concrete details, quotations, or other information and examples; include formatting, graphics, and multimedia when useful to aid comprehension.

Use precise language and content-specific vocabulary to explain a topic.

Use appropriate and varied transitions to create cohesion and clarify the relationships among ideas and concepts.

Provide a concluding statement or section that explains the significance of the information presented.

Establish and maintain a style appropriate to the writing task.

Write narratives to develop real or imagined experiences or events using effective techniques, relevant descriptive details and clear sequencing.

Engage the reader by establishing a point of view and introducing a narrator and/or characters.

Use narrative techniques, such as dialogue, pacing, description, and reflection to develop experiences, events, and/or characters.

Use a variety of transitional 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.

Use precise words and phrases, relevant descriptive details, and sensory language to capture the action and convey experiences and events.

Provide a conclusion that follows from and reflects on what is experienced, observed, or resolved over the course of the narrative.

Create a poem, story, play, art work, or other response to a text, author, theme or personal experience; explain divergences from the original text when appropriate.

Draw evidence from literary or informational texts to support analysis, reflection, and research. Apply grade 8 Reading standards to both literary and informational text, where applicable.

Conduct research to answer questions, including self-generated questions, drawing on multiple sources, refocusing the inquiry when appropriate. Generate additional related questions that allow for multiple avenues of exploration.

Gather relevant information from multiple sources; assess the credibility and accuracy of each source; quote or paraphrase the data and conclusions of others; avoid plagiarism and follow a standard format for citation.

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

Ensure that pronouns are in the proper case (subjective, objective, and possessive).

Recognize and correct inappropriate shifts in pronoun number and person.

Recognize and correct pronouns that have unclear or ambiguous antecedents.

Explain the function of phrases and clauses in general, as well as in specific sentences.

Place phrases and clauses within a sentence, recognizing and correcting misplaced and dangling modifiers.

Use simple, compound, complex, and compound-complex sentences to signal differing relationships among ideas.

Explain the function of verbals (gerunds, participles, infinitives).

Form and use verbs in the active and passive voice.

Recognize and correct inappropriate verb shifts.

Demonstrate command of the conventions of academic English capitalization, punctuation, and spelling when writing.

Use punctuation (commas, parentheses, dashes, hyphens) to clarify and enhance writing.

Use punctuation (comma, ellipsis, dash) to indicate a pause or break.

Use an ellipsis to indicate an omission.