Hawaii State Standards for Language Arts: Grade 8
HI.LA.8.1. Reading: CONVENTIONS AND SKILLS: Use knowledge of the conventions of language and texts to construct meaning for a range of literary and informational texts for a variety of purposes
LA.8.1.1. Vocabulary and Concept Development: Use new grade-appropriate vocabulary, including content area vocabulary, learned through reading and word study
LA.8.1.2. Locating Sources/ Gathering Information: Select appropriate information after evaluating the usefulness of print and online resources to investigate a theme, answer a question, or test a hypothesis
HI.LA.8.2. Reading: READING COMPREHENSION: Use reading strategies to construct meaning from a variety of texts
LA.8.2.1. Understanding Text Structures: Use the organizational patterns and text structures of grade-appropriate texts to construct meaning
LA.8.2.2. Constructing Meaning: Use annotation methods to identify main ideas and important details while reading
LA.8.2.3. Constructing Meaning: Draw conclusions about the reliability of information in a text after considering author's credentials
LA.8.2.4. Constructing Meaning: Make inferences based on explicit and implied information
HI.LA.8.3. Reading: LITERARY RESPONSE AND ANALYSIS: Respond to literary texts from a range of stances: personal, interpretive, critical
LA.8.3.1. Interpretive Stance: Explain similarities and differences between themes from two or more texts
LA.8.3.2. Critical Stance: Analyze a text to draw inferences about history, culture, or gender
LA.8.3.3. Critical Stance: Recognize the similarities and differences between the styles of two or more writers
LA.8.3.4. Literary Elements: Explain literary devices (e.g., satire, allusion, irony)
LA.8.3.5. Personal Connection: Explain an opinion about an author's ideas or message by analyzing conventions of fiction (e.g., plot, character, imagery, motifs, tone, subplots, stock characters)
LA.8.3.6. Personal Connection: Explain how previous experience can influence one's reading of a text and one's opinion of that text
HI.LA.8.4. Writing: CONVENTIONS AND SKILLS: Use the writing process and conventions of language and research to construct meaning and communicate effectively for a variety of purposes and audiences using a range of forms
LA.8.4.1. Range of Writing: Write in a variety of grade-appropriate formats for a variety of purposes and audiences, such as:
LA.8.4.1.a. Narratives that reveal the significance of the subject or situation
LA.8.4.1.b. Poems that use a range of poetic devices and forms
LA.8.4.1.c. Reports that incorporate research and distinguish the relative value of research sources
LA.8.4.1.d. Persuasive statements that anticipate and address reader's questions
LA.8.4.1.e. Responses to literature
LA.8.4.1.f. Functional pieces that complete a task or fulfill a civic responsibility
LA.8.4.1.g. Pieces to reflect on learning and to solve problems
LA.8.4.2. Sentence Structure and Grammar: Form and use the following grammatical constructions correctly when editing writing:
LA.8.4.2.a. Present perfect, past perfect, and future perfect tenses
LA.8.4.2.b. Subject-verb agreement with compound subjects
LA.8.4.3. Punctuation, Capitalization, and Spelling: Edit writing to correct punctuation:
LA.8.4.3.a. Dash to interrupt thought
LA.8.4.3.b. Brackets to enclose information
LA.8.4.3.c. Semicolon to separate items in a series that contain internal commas
LA.8.4.4. Punctuation, Capitalization, and Spelling: Use a variety of strategies and resources to spell grade-appropriate words
LA.8.4.5. Citing Sources: Cite various grade-appropriate sources using a consistent format when reporting information
HI.LA.8.5. Writing: RHETORIC: Use rhetorical devices to craft writing appropriate to audience and purpose
LA.8.5.1. Meaning: Use relevant ideas and details in writing to show insight into people, events, new knowledge, and personal background
LA.8.5.2. Design: Use an organizational structure that maintains proportion among the parts of a piece of writing and gives it coherence.
LA.8.5.3. Clarity: Use action verbs, less obvious modifiers, and active rather than passive voice
LA.8.5.4. Clarity: Vary sentence types (e.g., simple, compound, compound-complex) and word order within a sentence to improve clarity
LA.8.5.5. Voice: Use words, phrases, and sentence construction to create a consistent voice throughout a piece of writing
HI.LA.8.6. Oral Communication: CONVENTIONS AND SKILLS: Apply knowledge of verbal and nonverbal language to communicate effectively in various situations: interpersonal, group, and public: for a variety of purposes
LA.8.6.1. Discussion and Presentation: Monitor the roles in a small group and adjust communication as needed to make the group effort more productive
LA.8.6.2. Discussion and Presentation: Give oral presentations to inform, persuade, and/or entertain
LA.8.6.3. Discussion and Presentation: Conduct interviews using effective questioning, listening, and note-taking skills
LA.8.6.4. Critical Listening: Use appropriate attentive, responsive, and reflective listening behaviors according to situation
LA.8.6.5. Delivery: Use nonverbal language to engage an audience (e.g., moving focus of eye contact, extending a hand) and emphasize content (e.g., using hand to focus attention on particular object, nodding in response to show of hands)
LA.8.6.6. Delivery: Vary volume, pacing, pitch, and tone to create a distinct voice, to engage audience, and to relate the speaker's feelings
LA.8.6.7. Delivery: Adjust dialect (e.g., standard English, Hawaiian Creole, colloquialisms) to grade-appropriate audience, purpose, and situation
LA.8.6.8. Media Comprehension and Interpretation: Describe how techniques used in visual media influence audiences
HI.LA.8.7. Oral Communication: RHETORIC: Adapt messages appropriately to address audience, purpose, and situation
LA.8.7.1. Meaning: Select most appropriate information from research, own experience, and knowledge of audience to support ideas when speaking
LA.8.7.2. Design: Use an organizational pattern that creates a clear message and guides the listener
LA.8.7.3. Clarity: Use words that convey a viewpoint and fit audience and purpose