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How to learn Grade 8: English language arts

Wisconsin academic standards: English language arts, Grade 8

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1. Language

  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. 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. Academic Vocabulary: Acquire and use accurately a broad range of general academic vocabulary and domain-specific words — drawing new vocabulary from reading and listening and deploying it consciously in writing and speech to achieve particular effects
  4. 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
  5. Purpose, audience, and context: Identify the purpose, audience, and context of a text and use this knowledge to support comprehension — recognising how writing aimed at different audiences (academic, popular, persuasive) uses different conventions, register, and tone
  6. Literary and Language Terminology: Discuss reading, writing, and spoken language with precise and confident use of linguistic and literary terminology — including terms for word classes, sentence types, clause types, literary devices, and text-level features

2. Speaking and Listening

  1. Multimedia Presentations: Include multimedia components and visual displays in presentations when appropriate to enhance the development of main ideas or themes
  2. Speaking Formally and Giving Presentations: Use Standard English confidently in formal and informal spoken contexts — give short speeches and presentations expressing own ideas clearly, keeping to the point, and adapting register and vocabulary to the audience
  3. Evaluating a Speaker's Argument: Summarise the points a speaker makes and explain how each claim is supported by reasons and evidence, evaluating the logic and relevance of the support
  4. Group discussions: Participate actively in collaborative conversations staying on topic; continue a conversation through multiple exchanges; maintain attention in discussions
  5. 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. Summarising Spoken and Media Presentations: Summarise a written text read aloud or information presented in diverse media and formats including visually, quantitatively, and orally

3. Writing

  1. Literary Evidence in Writing: Draw evidence from literary texts to support analysis, reflection, and research in writing, applying grade-level reading standards to literature
  2. Using and Evaluating Textual Evidence: Cite specific textual evidence to support analysis of what a text says explicitly and what can be inferred, distinguishing between strong and weak evidence and explaining how the evidence supports a point
  3. 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
  4. 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
  5. Sharing and Publishing Your Writing: Read own writing aloud clearly enough to be heard by peers and the teacher; use digital tools to produce and publish writing
  6. Planning, Revising and Editing Writing: Plan, revise, and edit writing to improve coherence and effectiveness — considering how the writing reflects its intended audience and purpose, amending vocabulary, grammar, and structure, and proofreading for accurate spelling, punctuation, and grammar
  7. Writing for an audience: Produce clear and coherent writing in which the development and organisation are appropriate to the task, purpose, and audience, maintaining a consistent style and structure throughout
  8. Writing Across Genres: Write for a range of purposes and audiences beyond narrative — including scripts, poetry, personal and formal letters, notes for talks, and other forms — selecting the appropriate form, register, and conventions for each
  9. 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

4. Reading

  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
  2. Critical comparison across texts: Make critical comparisons across texts — comparing themes, characters, settings, styles, or arguments in two or more works, including texts from different periods, genres, or cultures
  3. Evaluating Arguments in Non-Fiction: Evaluate arguments and claims in non-fiction texts — assess whether reasoning is sound, evidence is relevant and sufficient, distinguish between fact and opinion, and recognise bias, propaganda, and rhetorical techniques
  4. Understanding drama and performance: Understand how dramatists communicate meaning through performance — including staging, direction, set design, lighting, and actors' choices — and how different productions can interpret the same script differently
  5. Comparing Structure in Information Texts: Compare and contrast the overall structure of events, ideas, concepts, or information in two or more informational texts, identifying patterns such as chronology, comparison, cause/effect, or problem/solution
  6. Figurative Language and Literary Devices: Determine the meaning of figurative and connotative language in context, analyse the impact of specific word choices on meaning and tone, and identify literary devices such as metaphor, simile, personification, allusion, and irony
  7. Analysing Text Structure: Analyse how a text's structure — including its overall organisation, use of chapters, stanzas, scenes, paragraphs, or sections — contributes to its meaning, style, and development of ideas
  8. Narrative Perspective and Unreliable Narrators: Analyse point of view and narrative perspective — including first person, third person limited and omniscient, and unreliable narrator — and how the author's or narrator's perspective shapes the reader's understanding and creates effects such as suspense, irony, or humour