Standards

 Grade Eight California Content Standards

2.0 Reading Comprehension (Focus on Informational Materials)

Students read and understand grade-level-appropriate material. They describe and connect the essential ideas, arguments, and perspectives of the text by using their knowledge of text structure, organization, and purpose. The selections in Recommended Literature, Kindergarten Through Grade Twelve illustrate the quality and complexity of the materials to be read by students. In addition, students read one million words annually on their own, including a good representation of narrative and expository text (e.g., classic and contemporary literature, magazines, newspapers, online information).

Structural Features of Informational Materials
2.1          Compare and contrast the features and elements of consumer materials

                to  gain meaning from    documents (e.g., warranties, contracts, product

                information, instruction manuals).

2.2          Analyze text that uses proposition and support patterns.

Comprehension and Analysis of Grade-Level-Appropriate Text

2.3          Find similarities and differences between texts in the treatment, scope, or    

                organization of ideas.

2.4          Compare the original text to a summary to determine whether the summary

                accurately captures the main ideas, includes critical details, and conveys

                the underlying meaning.

2.5          Understand and explain the use of a complex mechanical device by       

                following technical directions.

2.6          Use information from a variety of consumer, workplace, and public

                documents to explain a situation or decision and to solve a problem.

 

2.0 Writing Applications (Genres and Their Characteristics)

Students write narrative, expository, persuasive, and descriptive essays of at least 500 to 700 words in each genre. Student writing demonstrates a command of standard American English and the research, organizational, and drafting strategies outlined in Writing Standard 1.0.

Using the writing strategies of grade eight outlined in Writing Standard 1.0, students:

2.1          Write biographies, autobiographies, short stories, or narratives:

               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 descriptive strategies (e.g., relevant     

                     dialogue, specific action, physical description, background description,

                     comparison or contrast of characters).