Standard 3: Language Arts Literacy

Language Arts Literacy Cumulative Progress Indicators (CPIs) for the end of the designated grade span

Place a "+" for an expectation that represents a strength & a "-" for a weakness

+ or -

A.     Concepts About Print

B.     Phonological Awareness (oral language activities)

C.     Decoding and Word Recognition 

D.    Fluency

Building upon knowledge and skills gained in preceding grades, by the end of Grade 8, students will:

E.     Reading Strategies (before, during, and after reading)

F.      Vocabulary and Concept Development

G.    Comprehension Skills and Response to Text

Building upon knowledge and skills gained in preceding grades, by the end of Grade 8, students will:

1.         Differentiate between fact/opinion and bias and propaganda in newspapers, periodicals, and electronic texts.

2.         Compare and analyze several authors’ perspectives of a character, personality, topic, setting, or event.

3.         Analyze ideas and recurring themes found in texts, such as good versus evil, across traditional and contemporary works.

4.         Locate and analyze the elements of setting, characterization, and plot to construct understanding of how characters influence the progression and resolution of the plot.

5.         Read critically by identifying, analyzing, and applying knowledge of the purpose, structure, and elements of nonfiction and providing support from the text as evidence of understanding.

6.         Read critically by identifying, analyzing, and applying knowledge of the theme, structure, style, and literary elements of fiction and providing support from the text as evidence of understanding.

7.         Respond critically to text ideas and the author’s craft by using textual evidence to support interpretations.

8.         Identify and analyze literary techniques and elements, such as figurative language, meter, rhetorical, and stylistic features of text.

9.         Identify and analyze recurring themes across literary works.

10.     Read critically and analyze poetic forms (e.g., ballad, sonnet, couplet).

11.     Identify and understand the author’s use of idioms, analogies, metaphors, and similes in prose and poetry.

12.     Understand perspectives of authors in a variety of interdisciplinary works.

13.     Interpret text ideas through journal writing, discussion, and enactment.

14.     Demonstrate the use of everyday texts (e.g., train schedules, directions, brochures) and make judgments about the importance of such documents.

15.     Compare and analyze the various works of writers through an author’s study.

H.    Inquiry and Research

Building upon knowledge and skills gained in preceding grades, by the end of Grade 8, students will:

1.         Produce written and oral work that demonstrates comprehension of informational materials.

2.         Analyze a work of literature, showing how it reflects the heritage, traditions, attitudes, and beliefs of its authors.

3.         Collect materials for a portfolio that reflect personal career choices.

4.         Self-select materials appropriately related to a research project.

5.         Read and compare at least two works, including books, related to the same genre, topic, or subject and produce evidence of reading (e.g., compare central ideas, characters, themes, plots, settings).

+ or -

STANDARD 3.2 (WRITING) ALL STUDENTS WILL WRITE IN CLEAR, CONCISE, ORGANIZED LANGUAGE THAT VARIES IN CONTENT AND FORM FOR DIFFERENT AUDIENCES AND PURPOSES.

A.     Writing as a Process (prewriting, drafting, revising, editing, postwriting)

Building upon knowledge and skills gained in preceding grades, by the end of Grade 8, students will:

1.         Write stories or scripts with well-developed characters, setting, dialogue, clear conflict and resolution, and sufficient descriptive detail.

2.         Write multi-paragraph compositions that have clear topic development, logical organization, effective use of detail, and variety in sentence structure.

3.         Generate and narrow topics by considering purpose, audience, and form with a variety of strategies (e.g., graphic organizers, brainstorming,  technology-assisted processes).

4.         Revise and edit drafts by rereading for content and organization, usage, sentence construction, mechanics, and word choice.

5.         Utilize the New Jersey Registered Holistic scoring rubric to improve and evaluate their writing and the writing of peers.

6.         Compose, revise, edit, and publish writing using appropriate word processing software.

7.         Reflect on own writing, noting strengths and setting goals for improvement.

B.     Writing as a Product (resulting in work samples)

Building upon knowledge and skills gained in preceding grades, by the end of Grade 8, students will:

1.         Extend knowledge of specific characteristics, structures, and appropriate voice and tone of selected genres and use this knowledge in creating written work, considering the purpose, audience, and context of the writing.

2.         Write various types of prose, such as short stories, biographies, autobiographies, or memoirs that contain narrative elements.

3.         Write reports and subject-appropriate nonfiction pieces across the curriculum based on research and including citations, quotations, and a works cited page.

4.         Write a range of essays, including persuasive, speculative (picture prompt), descriptive, personal, or issue-based.

C.     Mechanics, Spelling, and Handwriting

Building upon knowledge and skills gained in preceding grades, by the end of Grade 8, students will:

1.         Use Standard English conventions in all writing, such as sentence structure, grammar and usage, punctuation, capitalization, spelling.

2.         Use a variety of sentence types correctly, including combinations of independent and dependent clauses, prepositional and adverbial phrases, and varied sentence openings to develop a lively and effective personal style.

3.         Understand and use parallelism, including similar grammatical forms, to present items in a series or to organize ideas for emphasis.

4.         Refine the use of subordination, coordination, apposition, and other devices to indicate relationships between ideas.

5.         Use transition words to reinforce a logical progression of ideas.

6.         Edit writing for correct grammar, usage, capitalization, punctuation, and spelling.

7.         Use a variety of reference materials, such as a dictionary, thesaurus, grammar reference, and/or internet/software resources to edit written work.

8.         Write legibly in manuscript or cursive to meet district standards.

D.    Writing Forms, Audiences, and Purposes (exploring a variety of writing)

Building upon knowledge and skills gained in preceding grades, by the end of Grade 8, students will:

1.         Gather, select, and organize the most effective information appropriate to a topic, task, and audience.

2.         Apply knowledge and strategies for composing pieces in a variety of genres (e.g., narrative, expository, persuasive, poetic, and everyday/ workplace or technical writing).

3.         Write responses to literature and develop insights into interpretations by connecting to personal experiences and referring to textual information.  

4.         Write personal narratives, short stories, memoirs, poetry, and persuasive and expository text that relate clear, coherent events, or situations through the use of specific details.

5.         Use narrative and descriptive writing techniques that show compositional risks (e.g., dialogue, literary devices sensory words and phrases, background information, thoughts and feelings of characters, comparison and contrast of characters.)

6.         Use a variety of primary and secondary sources to understand the value of each when writing a research report.

7.         Write reports based on research and include citations, quotations, and works cited page.

8.         Explore the central idea or theme of an informational reading and support analysis with details from the article and personal experiences.

9.         Demonstrate writing clarity and supportive evidence when answering open-ended and essay questions across the curriculum.

10.     State a position clearly and convincingly in a persuasive essay by stating the issue, giving facts, examples, and details to support the position, and citing sources when appropriate.

11.     Present evidence when writing persuasive essays, examples, and justification to support arguments.

12.     Choose an appropriate organizing strategy such as cause/effect, pro and con, parody, to effectively present a topic, point of view, or argument.

13.     Use of a personal style and voice effectively to support the purpose and engage the audience of a piece of writing.

14.     Maintain a collection of writing (e.g., a literacy folder, or a literacy portfolio).

15.  Review scoring criteria of relevant rubrics.

STANDARD 3.3 (SPEAKING) ALL STUDENTS WILL SPEAK IN CLEAR, CONCISE, ORGANIZED LANGUAGE THAT VARIES IN CONTENT AND FORM FOR DIFFERENT AUDIENCES AND PURPOSES.

A.     Discussion

Building upon knowledge and skills gained in preceding grades, by the end of Grade 8, students will:

 1.         Support a position, acknowledging opposing views.

2.         Present ideas and opinions spontaneously in response to a topic or other speakers.

 3.         Apply rules for cooperative or whole class debate on a controversial issue.

 4.         Define group roles using consensus to ensure task is understood and completed.

 5.         Participate in a formal debate (e.g., panel discussion).

 6.         Respond orally to literature.

 7.         Participate in class discussion appropriately.

B.  Questioning (Inquiry) and Contributing

Building upon knowledge and skills gained in preceding grades, by the end of Grade 8, students will:

1.        Paraphrase others' comments to clarify viewpoints.

2.        Question to clarify others' opinions.

 3.        Integrate relevant information regarding issues and problems from group discussions and interviews for reports, issues, projects, debates, and oral presentations.

 4.         Solve a problem or understand a task through group cooperation.

C.  Word Choice

Building upon knowledge and skills gained in preceding grades, by the end of Grade 8, students will:

1.         Paraphrase, illustrate, clarify, and/or expand on a topic or idea.

 2.         Develop and use advanced vocabulary related to a topic.

 3.         Use language that stimulates an audience's interest.

4.         Incorporate varied sentence structure and correct grammar.

D.  Oral Presentation

Building upon knowledge and skills gained in preceding grades, by the end of Grade 8, students will:

 1.         Use writing to prompt discussion and enhance planning of formal and informal presentations.

 2.         Use visual aids, media, and/or technology to support oral communication.

 3.         Give oral presentations to different audiences for various purposes, such as summaries of books and articles, narratives, and persuasive topics, research projects, and extemporaneous/impromptu, dramatic speeches.

 4.         Acknowledge the audience with eye contact and use appropriate verbal responses to clarify questions and inquiries.

 5.         Incorporate peer feedback and teacher suggestions for revisions in content, organization, and delivery.

 6.         Use speaking techniques, including voice modulation, inflection, tempo, enunciation, and eye contact, for effective presentations.

7.         Use a scoring rubric to prepare, evaluate, and improve the oral presentations of self and others.

 8.         Read aloud with fluency.

+ or -

STANDARD 3.4 (LISTENING) ALL STUDENTS WILL LISTEN ACTIVELY TO INFORMATION FROM A VARIETY OF SOURCES IN A VARIETY OF SITUATIONS.

A.     Active Listening

Building upon knowledge and skills gained in preceding grades, by the end of Grade 8, students will:

 1.         Demonstrate active listening behaviors in a variety of situations (e.g., one-on-one or small group).

2.         Demonstrate active listening by analyzing information, ideas, and opinions to determine relevancy.

 3.         Acknowledge the speaker through eye contact and use appropriate feedback and questions to clarify the speaker’s message.

4.         Recognize persuasive techniques and credibility in oral communication.

 5.         Listen to determine a speaker's purpose, attitude, and perspective.

 6.         Use, when appropriate, criteria/rubric to evaluate oral presentations, such as purpose, delivery techniques, content, visual aids, body language, and facial expressions.

B.     Listening Comprehension

Building upon knowledge and skills gained in preceding grades, by the end of Grade 8, students will:

 1.         Interpret a speaker's verbal and nonverbal messages, purposes, and perspectives.

 2.         Exhibit proficiency in integrating oral reading with listening, writing, and viewing.

 3.         Critique information heard or viewed.

 4.         Critique oral presentations using agreed-upon criteria for evaluation (e.g., rubric).

 5.         Ask probing questions to elicit information, including evidence to support the speaker’s claims and conclusions.

 6.         Paraphrase a speaker’s purpose and point of view.

7.         Make inferences based on an oral report or presentation.

+ or -

STANDARD 3.5 (VIEWING AND MEDIA LITERACY) ALL STUDENTS WILL ACCESS, VIEW, EVALUATE, AND RESPOND TO PRINT, NONPRINT, AND ELECTRONIC TEXTS AND RESOURCES.

A.     Constructing Meaning

Building upon knowledge and skills gained in preceding grades, by the end of Grade 8, students will:

1.         Analyze aspects of print and electronic texts that support the author's point of view, opinion, or attitude.

 2.         Analyze the use of elements (e.g., setting plot, theme, characters) to understand media presentations, such as film, video, television, and theatrical productions.

 3.         Analyze and respond to visual and print messages (e.g. humor, irony, metaphor) and recognize how words, sounds, and still or moving images are used in each medium to convey the intended messages.

 4.         Compare and contrast how the various forms of media (e.g. newspapers, radio, television, internet news outlets) cover the same topic.

B.     Visual and Verbal Messages

Building upon knowledge and skills gained in preceding grades, by the end of Grade 8, students will:

1.         Analyze and compare the pros and cons of visual and verbal advertising.

 2.         Evaluate various media messages for credibility.

 3.         Develop criteria/rubric to judge the effectiveness of visual and verbal presentations.

 4.         Make inferences based upon the content of still images

5.         Compare and contrast media sources, such as film and book versions of a story.

C.     Living with Media

Building upon knowledge and skills gained in preceding grades, by the end of Grade 8, students will:

 1.         Evaluate media forms, such as television, video, games, music, and film for content appropriateness (e.g., rating systems, rubric).

 2.         Analyze media content for emotional effect on audience.

 3.         Create media presentations and written reports, using multi-media resources such as an overhead projector, computer, and/or a tape recorder to communicate information.