Integration of knowledge and ideas
•
Evaluate the advantages and disadvantages of
using different mediums to present a particular
topic or idea
•
Delineate and evaluate argument and specific
claims in text, assessing whether reasoning is
sound and evidence is relevant and sufficient;
recognize when irrelevant evidence is introduced
•
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
•
Read and comprehend literary nonfiction at
the high end of text the complexity band
independently and proficiently
Writing
Text types and purposes
•
Write arguments to support claims with clear
reasons and relevant evidence
•
Introduce claim(s), acknowledge and distinguish
the claim(s) from alternate or opposing claims,
and organize the reasons and evidence logically
•
Support claim(s) with logical reasoning and
relevant evidence, using accurate, credible
sources and demonstrating an understanding of
the topic or text
•
Use words, phrases, and clauses to create
cohesion and clarify the relationships among
claim(s), counterclaims, reasons, and evidence
•
Establish and maintain a formal style
•
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
•
Introduce a topic clearly, previewing what
is to follow; organize ideas, concepts, and
information into broader categories; include
formatting graphics and multimedia when useful
to aiding comprehension
•
Develop the topic with relevant, well-chosen
facts, definitions, concrete details, quotations,
or other information and examples
•
Use appropriate and varied transitions to create
cohesion and clarify the relationships among
ideas and concepts
•
Use precise language and domain-specific
vocabulary to inform about or explain the topic
•
Establish and maintain a formal style
•
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
•
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
•
Use narrative techniques, such as dialogue,
pacing, description, and reflection to develop
experiences, events, and/or characters
•
Use a variety of transition words, phrases, and
clauses to convey sequence, signal shifts from
one time frame or setting to another, and show
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 the narrated experiences or events
•
Reveal uniqueness and personality through
words
•
Communicate own perspective and personal
preferences
•
Write in variety of informative forms including
newspaper articles, persuasive papers,
research, brochures, observations, biographies,
mathematical explanations, lab reports, and
procedures
•
Identify different forms used to cite sources
when writing report
•
Create a bibliography
Production and distribution of writing
•
Produce clear and coherent writing in which
the development, organization, and style are
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Eighth Grade
appropriate to task, purpose, and audience
•
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 to produce and publish
writing and present the relationships between
information and ideas efficiently as well as to
interact and collaborate with others
•
Offer specific constructive feedback to others
based on the seven traits model of writing
•
Articulate the qualities that make a piece of
writing effective
•
Use the seven-traits models as criteria to assess
writing
Research to build and present knowledge
•
Conduct short research projects to answer
a question drawing on several sources and
generating additional related, focused
questions that allow for 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
•
Apply grade 8 reading standards to literature
•
Apply grade 8 reading standards to literary
nonfiction
Range of writing
•
Write routinely over extended time frames for
a range of discipline-specific tasks, purposes,
and audiences
Speaking and Listening
Comprehension and collaboration
•
Engage effectively in a range of collaborative
discussions with diverse partners on grade 8
topics, texts, and issues, building on others’
ideas and expressing their own clearly
•
Come to discussions prepared having read or
researched material under study; explicitly draw
on preparation by referring to evidence or issue
to probe and reflect on ideas under discussion
•
Follow rules 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, when warranted
•
Analyze the purpose of information presented
in diverse media and formats and evaluate the
motives behind its presentation
•
Delineate a speaker’s argument and specific
claims, evaluating soundness of reasoning
and relevance and sufficiency of evidence
and identifying when irrelevant evidence is
introduced
Presentation of knowledge and ideas
•
Present claims and findings, emphasizing
salient points in focused, coherent manner
with evidence, sound valid reasoning, and
details; use eye contact, volume, and clear
pronunciation
•
Integrate multimedia and visual displays into
presentations to clarify information, strengthen
claims and evidence, and add interest
•
Adapt speech to a variety of contexts and tasks,
demonstrating command of formal English
when indicated or appropriate
•
Recite poems (four to six stanzas), dramatic
soliloquies, sections of speeches, etc.
Language
Conventions of standard English
•
Demonstrate command of the conventions of
standard English grammar and usage when
writing or speaking
•
Explain the function of verbals in general and
their function in particular sentences
•
Form and use verbs in the active and
passive voice
•
Form and use verbs in the indicative,
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Nobel Learning Curriculum Reference Guide
