| Grade 8: Writing |
|
Overall Expectations |
| •communicate ideas and information for a variety of purposes
(to evaluate information, to compare points of view) and to specific audiences,
using forms appropriate for their purpose (e.g., a survey soliciting opinions
on an environmental issue) and features appropriate to the form (e.g.,
focused questions); |
| •use writing for various purposes and in a range of contexts,
including school work (e.g., to write technical instructions, to clarify
personal concerns, to explore social issues, to develop imaginative abilities); |
| •organize information and ideas creatively as well as
logically, using paragraph structures appropriate for their purpose (e.g.,
paragraphs structured to develop a comparison or establish a cause-and-effect
relationship); |
| •use a wide variety of sentence types and sentence structures,
with conscious attention to style; |
| •produce pieces of writing using a variety of specific
forms (e.g., a script for a play), techniques and resources appropriate
to the form and purpose, and materials from other media (e.g., lighting
effects); |
| •produce media texts using writing and materials from
other media (e.g., a video documentary on an environmental issue); |
| •revise and edit their work, focusing on content and on
more complex elements of style (e.g., imagery), independently or using
feedback from others; |
| •proofread and correct their final drafts, focusing on
grammar, spelling, punctuation, and conventions of style; |
| •use and spell correctly the vocabulary appropriate for
this grade level; |
| •use correctly the conventions (grammar, spelling, punctuation,
etc.) specified for this grade level (see below). |
|
Specific Expectations |
| The skills and knowledge inherent in the expectations
outlined below are essential for producing writing that communicates effectively.
They should be developed, as much as possible, in the context of writing
activities that are meaningful and creative and that allow students to
develop the thinking skills that underlie clear and effective writing. |
| Grammar |
| •use case for pronouns correctly (e.g., There is a deep
bond between him and me/He and I went to the museum); |
| •use more complex sentence structures correctly (e.g.,
sentences using connecting words such as if, as, when, though); |
| Punctuation |
| •use a period and commas accurately with quotation marks; |
| •use the comma to separate an introductory phrase or clause
from the main part of the sentence, and to separate phrases and clauses
in a series; |
| •use quotation marks to distinguish words being discussed
(e.g., Most people spell "receive" incorrectly) and to indicate titles
of songs, poems, essays, and articles; |
| •use the ellipsis (three periods) to show that words have
been omitted from a quotation or that a sentence is unfinished; |
| •use a dash to show a sentence break or interrupted speech; |
| Spelling |
| •use generalizations about spelling and their knowledge
of how words are formed to spell technical terms and unfamiliar words; |
| Word Use and Vocabulary Building |
| •use the vocabulary expected for this grade level accurately
and imaginatively in their writing; |
| •select and use their words with increasing sophistication
and effectiveness; |
| Visual Presentation |
| •use italics or underlining for titles of books, movies,
plays, and magazines; |
| •use different styles of type appropriately for specific
purposes (e.g., bold type for emphasis); |
| •use spreadsheets, computer-generated charts, and graphs
for specific purposes (e.g., to convey data) and in appropriate contexts
(e.g., research reports). |