8th Grade Homeschool Language Arts Curriculum
Finding an eighth grade language arts curriculum that covers all the necessary concepts is essential. For instance, your child should be focused on boosting their writing, grammar, vocabulary, comprehension, and reading skills during the year.
The following information will give you a better idea of what your child should be learning in 8th grade language arts as well as what Time4Learning’s 8th grade curriculum offers you and your children for language arts.
What Language Arts Concepts Should an 8th Grader Know?
In 8th grade, students should be able to perform numerous language arts activities such as:
- Vocabulary skills including identifying and determining the meaning of synonyms, antonyms, idioms, homophones and Latin and Greek roots.
- Comprehension skills including summarizing, paraphrasing, or synthesizing information from two or more literary or expository texts.
- Identifying vocabulary words in a text and giving its meaning.
- Understanding main ideas, comparing and contrasting ideas and information, cause and effect, symbolism, making inferences, mood, tone, and point of view, in a story.
- Applying their writing skills on activities such as composing their own cover letters, poems, biography, position papers, and more.
The ideal eighth grade language arts curriculum should ensure mastery of these concepts and skills as your student progresses eighth grade language arts.
Learn more about Time4Learning’s eighth grade language arts curriculum by checking out the 8th grade language arts lesson plans below.
8th Grade Reading Goals/Objectives
The ideal language arts curriculum for eighth grade will improve your child’s reading comprehension by exposing them to more complicated stories, poems, vocabulary words, concepts and activities.
Reading goals and objectives for 8th graders should include:
- Mastering complex reading passages
- Comprehending and using figurative language
- Offering an objective summary of more complicated texts
- Interpret text from different formats.
- Using critical thinking skills to separate truth from error
8th Grade Writing Goals/Objectives
Eighth graders will be expected to create original works, including poems, autobiography/biography, cover letters, informational reports, short stories, and more. Writing goals and objectives for eighth grade include:
- Using the writing process to take compositions from prewriting and planning through revision.
- Using technology-aided tools such as graphic organizers to help them with prewriting and planning.
- Developing a topic with simple facts, details, examples and explanations.
- Relating a clear, coherent incident, event or situation by using well-chosen details through various writing activities.
- Showing a command of English grammar during all writing activities.
8th Grade Grammar Goals/Objectives
An eighth grade language arts curriculum should focus on combining grammar skills with writing skills. For example, when students are writing various assignments they will be expected to use proper grammar, such as maintaining consistent verb tense, throughout the writing process.
Additional grammar goals and objectives for eighth grade language arts include:
- Maintaining subject-verb agreement
- Using quotation marks correctly in dialogue
- Using punctuation (comma, ellipsis, dash) to indicate a pause or break.
- Forming and using verbs in the indicative, imperative, interrogative, conditional, and subjunctive mood.
- Correctly use capitalization, punctuation, and spelling when writing.
8th Grade Language Arts Scope & Sequence
The student will demonstrate knowledge by determining the meaning of synonyms from grade level appropriate vocabulary, by correctly choosing a given word or phrase that means the same thing, in reading activities that incorporate explicit instruction and application.
The student will demonstrate knowledge by determining the meaning of antonyms from grade level appropriate vocabulary, by correctly choosing a given word or phrase that means the opposite, in reading activities that incorporate explicit instruction and application.
The student will be able to analyze and determine the correct meaning of a word, based on the prefix of the root word or how the prefix is used in the context of a passage.
The student will be able to analyze and determine the correct meaning of a word, based on the suffix of the root word or how the suffix is used in the context of a passage.
The student will be able to identify and select the appropriate homophone or word that sounds the same, based on the context of a passage which fits the best meaning of the given word or phrase.
The student will be able to identify and analyze the author’s use of idioms, based on the context of a passage and how these expressions are used in literal and interpretative information.
The student will be able to identify and determine the meaning of unknown words, based on the understanding of Latin and Greek roots.
Use the reading comprehension process skills of summarizing, predicting, visualizing, questioning, and clarifying with extensive scaffolding and support, through think aloud prompts.
Use the reading comprehension process skills of summarizing, predicting, visualizing, questioning, and clarifying with scaffolding and support, through think aloud prompts.
Use the reading comprehension process skills of summarizing, predicting, visualizing, questioning, and clarifying to independently read and comprehend texts with minimal think aloud support.
Make a summary, paraphrase, or synthesize information from two or more literary or expository texts.
Analyze and explain the impact of characters and settings within the plot of literary text(s), and how these relationships affect the central conflict leading to the climax and resolution.
Identify the ways major and minor conflicts affect character’s actions by comparing and contrasting actions, setting(s), symbolism, and plot from various literary texts.
Identify, summarize, or explain the main idea(s) using the supporting details in an expository text.
Identify, summarize, or explain the main idea(s) or theme(s) using the supporting details and symbolism in a literary text.
Read, interpret and make predictions using charts, graphs, diagrams, maps or other graphic representations.
Identify cause and effect relationships that involve characters and events, and distinguishing cause from effect in literary and expository texts.
Identify and use knowledge of the author’s purpose by analyzing how the literary techniques of mood and tone affects author’s perspective and contributes to the comprehension of a literary or expository text.
Use knowledge, information, and ideas from literary texts, expository texts, or from multiple sources to make inferences about the text(s) (e.g., make inferences, draw conclusions, make generalizations, infer sequence of events, and infer a character’s feelings.)
Compare and contrast information and ideas within a text or between two or more texts (literary or expository), including metaphors and point of view.
Students will demonstrate knowledge of comprehension skills on grade level appropriate literary and expository passages, with questions that simulate a high-stakes assessment.
Through an exploratory activity, the student will acquire background information that will set the stage for the anchor piece, an excerpt from the realistic fiction novel Surviving the Applewhites. The student will develop vocabulary through the use of a literature-based glossary and an interactive assessment activity that focuses on correctly identifying a vocabulary word with its definition. The student will also respond to a prewriting prompt.
The student will achieve comprehension by reading an excerpt from the realistic fiction novel Surviving the Applewhites with emphasis on vocabulary and fluency. The student will be assessed on their comprehension of the literature selection by answering questions about making inferences, drawing conclusions, sequence, characterization, recalling details, cause and effect, point of view, compare/contrast, summarizing, and the impact of setting on character.
The student will use a variety of strategies to comprehend reading selections and be assessed on vocabulary contained in the literature selection. The student will analyze and evaluate the literature piece by responding to literary response and analysis prompts. Through a comprehension activity that incorporates direct instruction, a practice, and an assessment component, the student will focus on how dialogue is used to develop characters and mood in the selection. A reteach component provides a different instructional modality for students who need additional direct instruction on the characterization and mood objective.
Through a series of writing activities that incorporate direct instruction, a practice, and an assessment component, the student will focus on writing a persuasive composition that states a clear position in support of a proposal as it relates to a college application essay. The student will respond to prompts to write a college application essay of his or her own.
Through an exploratory activity, the student will acquire background information that will set the stage for the anchor piece, the short story Ruthie’s Journal. The student will develop vocabulary through the use of a literature-based glossary and an interactive assessment activity that focuses on correctly identifying a vocabulary word with its definition. The student will also respond to a prewriting prompt.
The student will achieve comprehension by reading the short story Ruthie’s Journal with emphasis on vocabulary and fluency. The student will be assessed on their comprehension of the literature selection by answering questions about author’s purpose, mood, summarizing, recognizing main idea, recalling details, supporting details, theme, characterization, point of view, and cause and effect.
The student will use a variety of strategies to comprehend reading selections and be assessed on vocabulary contained in the literature selection. The student will analyze and evaluate the literature piece by responding to literary response and analysis prompts. Through a comprehension activity that incorporates direct instruction, a practice, and an assessment component, the student will focus on identifying text that uses sequencing or other types of logical order in the selection. A reteach component provides a different instructional modality for students who need additional direct instruction on the sequence of events objective.
Through a series of writing activities that incorporate direct instruction, a practice, and an assessment component, the student will focus on writing an informational report that develops a topic with simple facts, details, examples and explanations as it relates to a travel article. The student will respond to a prompt to write a travel article of his or her own.
Through an exploratory activity, the student will acquire background information that will set the stage for the anchor piece, an excerpt from Shipwreck at the Bottom of the World. The student will develop vocabulary through the use of a literature-based glossary and an interactive assessment activity that focuses on correctly identifying a vocabulary word with its definition. The student will also respond to a prewriting prompt.
The student will achieve comprehension by reading an excerpt from the true story Shipwreck at the Bottom of the World: The Extraordinary True Story of Shackleton and the Endurance with emphasis on vocabulary and fluency. The student will be assessed on their comprehension of the literature selection by answering questions about making inferences, personification, sequence, impact of plot on characters, cause and effect, theme, mood, supporting details, drawing conclusions, and utilizing analogy.
The student will use a variety of strategies to comprehend reading selections and be assessed on vocabulary contained in the literature selection. The student will analyze and evaluate the literature piece by responding to literary response and analysis prompts. Through a comprehension activity that incorporates direct instruction, a practice, and an assessment component, the student will focus on identifying and summarizing main and supporting ideas in the selection. A reteach component provides a different instructional modality for students who need additional direct instruction on the summarization objective.
Through a series of writing activities that incorporate direct instruction, a practice, and an assessment component, the student will focus on writing a cover letter and will respond to a prompt where they will write his or her own.
Through an exploratory activity, the student will acquire background information that will set the stage for the anchor piece, a series of poems from the book 19 Varieties of Gazelle: Poems of the Middle East. The student will develop vocabulary through the use of a literature-based glossary and an interactive assessment activity that focuses on correctly identifying a vocabulary word with its definition. The student will also respond to a prewriting prompt.
The student will achieve comprehension by reading poems from 19 Varieties of Gazelle: Poems of the Middle East with emphasis on vocabulary and fluency. The student will be assessed on their comprehension of the literature selection by answering questions about main idea, cause and effect, symbolism, making inferences, mood, tone, point of view, and literary technique.
The student will use a variety of strategies to comprehend reading selections and be assessed on vocabulary contained in the literature selection. The student will analyze and evaluate the literature piece by responding to literary response and analysis prompts. Through a comprehension activity that incorporates direct instruction, a practice, and an assessment component, the student will focus on identifying and analyzing themes in the selection. A reteach component provides a different instructional modality for students who need additional direct instruction on theme.
Through a series of writing activities that incorporate direct instruction, a practice, and an assessment component, the student will focus on free verse poetry. The student will respond to prompts to write a free verse poem of his or her own.
Through an exploratory activity, the student will acquire background information that will set the stage for the anchor piece, an excerpt from the historical fiction novel True North. The student will develop vocabulary through the use of a literature-based glossary and an interactive assessment activity that focuses on correctly identifying a vocabulary word with its definition. The student will also respond to a prewriting prompt.
The student will achieve comprehension by reading an excerpt from the historical fiction novel True North: A Novel of the Underground Railroad with emphasis on vocabulary and fluency. The student will be assessed on their comprehension of the literature selection by answering questions about the impact of setting, drawing conclusions, characterization, making inferences, cause and effect, supporting details, author’s purpose, recognizing main idea, point of view, and impact of setting on character.
The student will use a variety of strategies to comprehend reading selections and be assessed on vocabulary contained in the literature selection. The student will analyze and evaluate the literature piece by responding to literary response and analysis prompts. Through a comprehension activity that incorporates direct instruction, a practice, and an assessment component, the student will focus on identifying and analyzing text that uses compare and contrast in the selection. A reteach component provides a different instructional modality for students who need additional direct instruction on the compare and contrast objective.
Through a series of writing activities that incorporate direct instruction, a practice, and an assessment component, the student will focus on writing a biographical or autobiographical narrative or short story that relates a clear, coherent incident, event or situation by using well-chosen details. The student will respond to a prompt to write a biography of his or her own.
Why Choose Time4Learning Eighth Grade Language Arts Homeschool Curriculum
Our curriculum constitutes a solid eighth grade language arts program correlated to state standards, which many homeschool parents use as their entire curriculum. Non-homeschoolers utilize the lessons for extra practice, as an after school and even summer enrichment program. It’s versatility and flexibility make it a perfect choice for stay-at-home parents, working parents, or anything in between.
Students love the computer-based learning style, while parents love that the administrative part is taken care for them.
Learn more about our online eighth grade curriculum, designed to help your child learn and master their fundamental concepts.
