How to learn Grade 8: English language arts

Hawaii academic standards: English language arts, Grade 8

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1. Language · Demonstrate understanding of figurative language, word relationships, and nuances in word meanings:

1. Advanced Figurative Language: Understand and interpret figurative language, word relationships, and nuances in word meaning — including allusion, irony, pun, oxymoron, and extended metaphor — and distinguish between connotation and denotation when analysing or choosing words

2. Language · Determine or clarify the meaning of unknown and multiple-meaning words or phrases based on grade 8 reading and content, choosing flexibly from a range of strategies:

1. Vocabulary Strategies: Determine the meaning of unknown and multiple-meaning words and phrases using a flexible range of strategies — including context clues, Greek and Latin affixes and roots, reference materials, and verification of inferred meaning

3. Language · Demonstrate command of the conventions of English capitalization, punctuation, and spelling when writing:

1. Standard English: Know and understand the differences between spoken and written language — including differences in formality, register, grammar, and vocabulary — and between Standard English and other varieties of English, using Standard English confidently in writing and speech
2. Advanced Punctuation for Clarity: Use punctuation confidently and accurately for effect and clarity — including semicolons to link related clauses, colons to introduce lists or explanations, dashes and parentheses for parenthetical information, ellipsis for omission or suspense, and commas for coordinate adjectives and nonrestrictive elements

4. Language · Demonstrate command of the conventions of English grammar and usage when reading, writing, or speaking:

1. Verb Voice and Mood: Understand and use active and passive voice deliberately, and recognise verb moods (indicative, imperative, subjunctive, conditional) and their effects — choosing the appropriate voice and mood for purpose and audience
2. Phrases & Clauses: Understand and analyse the function of phrases (noun, verb, adjectival, adverbial, prepositional) and clauses (main, subordinate, relative) in general and in specific sentences, including recognising and correcting misplaced and dangling modifiers

5. Speaking and Listening · Engage effectively in a range of collaborative discussions (one-on-one, in groups, and teacherled) with diverse partners on grade 8 topics, texts, and issues, building on othe

1. Group discussions: Participate actively in collaborative conversations staying on topic; continue a conversation through multiple exchanges; maintain attention in discussions
2. Formal Debates: Participate in formal debates and structured discussions — presenting a position with supporting evidence, responding to others’ points, summarising and building on what has been said, and following rules of discussion

6. Writing · Conduct short research projects to answer a question (including a self-generated question), drawing on several sources and generating additional related, focused questions that allow for mul

1. Short Research Projects: Conduct short research projects that build knowledge about a topic, gather information from print and digital sources, and take brief organised notes
2. Research & Source Evaluation: Summarise and organise material from reading and research — gathering relevant information from multiple sources, assessing credibility, integrating evidence without plagiarising, and supporting ideas with factual detail

7. Writing · Write narratives to develop real or imagined experiences or events using effective technique, relevant descriptive details, and well-structured event sequences:

1. Narrative Writing: Write narratives with developed settings, characters and plot, using dialogue and description to develop experiences and show character responses to situations
2. Writing Character & Dialogue: Write narratives that develop real or imagined experiences using effective technique — including establishing context and point of view, developing characters through dialogue, pacing, and description, using varied transitions, and providing a reflective conclusion

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

1. Developed Informational and Explanatory Writing: Write informative and explanatory texts that examine a topic and convey ideas clearly — organising information logically with headings and formatting, developing the topic with relevant facts, definitions, details, and quotations, and using precise vocabulary

9. Writing · Write arguments to support claims with clear reasons and relevant evidence:

1. Persuasive Writing: Write arguments to support claims with clear reasons and relevant evidence — including introducing claims, acknowledging counterclaims, organising reasons logically, maintaining a formal style, and providing a concluding statement

10. Reading Literature · Analyze literary elements:

1. Plot Structure and Character Development: Analyse how plot structure unfolds through episodes or key events, and how characters develop, respond to challenges, and change over the course of a narrative — including the relationship between character, setting, and plot

11. Reading Literature · Analyze literary text development:

1. Tracing Theme Across a Text: Determine and analyse the theme or central idea of a text, trace how it develops across the text through key details and events, and provide an objective summary distinct from personal opinion