English Language Arts

for 8th Grade Students

See what skills your child will learn in English Language Arts, examples of student work and how you can help at home. 

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8th

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Expectations for Students

In 8th grade, students read different detailed texts on the same topic & look at what the writers are saying & how they are saying it. Students ask themselves where the writers agree & disagree. 8th graders check if what the writers say is true. They’ll quote parts of the text & summarize proof from the texts to support their ideas. They’ll read to learn new words & to learn more about the world. Students should read about half fiction & half nonfiction. Books should have a range of text complexity & teach them about new people, places, & ideas, including the voices of past & present Dakota & Anishinaabe people.

See all 8th grade state standards for English Language Arts

8th graders should write often. They will write short assignments & longer assignments that take many days. Students should know most spelling, grammar, & punctuation rules, & how to use them. They should type easily. They will practice researching, thinking, & rewriting based on feedback from their teacher & classmates. They will write about many topics for different reasons.

By the end of the year, 8th graders should be able to:

Applying Literacy Skills

Read texts at a 8th grade level, which is a Lexile level 925-1185.

Read 8th grade texts smoothly, which is 180 words per minute.

Read with expression which shows they understand the text as they read it.

Write & rewrite complete essays with correct spelling, grammar, & punctuation. They will avoid using too many words to express their ideas & check for unneeded repetition.

Use technology to write & work with others & research a topic using trusted sources with different viewpoints.

Paraphrase information in addition to quoting & summarizing.

Never copy work that is not theirs, which is called plagiarism .

Understand their digital footprint , which is the trail of data we each leave on the internet.

Type about 40 words in one minute. Type at least three pages in one hour.

Learning About the World Through Text

Ask & answer questions about texts they have read. Compare multiple texts & re-read closely to find specific information to support their understanding. Be able to do the following:

  • Summarize texts without inserting their own opinion
  • Find themes, key points, & main ideas
  • Study how a key person, event, or concept is
    introduced & how they change
  • Explain how different parts of texts affect the meaning
  • Describe how stories move & how characters respond
  • Study how authors & their viewpoints affect texts
  • Compare fictional stories with historical accounts
  • Question what an author assumes & if there is enough
    proof that their ideas are true

Find the meaning of new words & figurative language , using clues in the text, context, dictionaries, or the root word.

Figure out where texts on the same topic disagree in terms of facts, opinions, or points of view.

Make & justify a claim or an argument in writing or discussion. Support claims with precise & relevant proof from trusted sources. Show that they understand the topic or the text.

Write about a text after reading it. Include an introduction with a simple thesis statement , examples in order, & a conclusion.

Explain something using their writing. Organize their writing clearly & use specific words that relate to the topic. Use facts & examples from texts to show understanding.

Write convincing ideas. Use different ways to convince the reader. Be able to respond to disagreement.

Write to create & express themselves (poetry, stories, biographies, myths, & plays). Include conversations that match character viewpoint & context. Use the right structure (e.g., chapters, stanzas, scenes), complex plots, pacing, rhythm, & rhyme to develop mood.

Reading Comprehension Examples

Here is an example of an 8th grade level text.1 This text is at a Lexile level of 1100. 8th graders should be able to read this text smoothly & with expression. Afterward, they should be able to tell you what happened in the text & answer the questions below.

Reading Comprehension Questions:

  1. Why can’t scientists find dinosaur DNA?
  2. Why is a real-life Jurassic Park not realistic?
  3. How do scientists think they can bring back the woolly mammoth?
  4. The author explains how technology could be used to de-extinct animals. What are the benefits & concerns of bringing back animals like dinosaurs or the woolly mammoth?

1 “Is Jurassic Park Possible?” by T.J. Resler. Copyright © 2022 by CommonLit, Inc. This text is licensed under CC BY-NC-SA 4.

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Is Jurassic Park Possible?

By T.J. Resler

In the Jurassic Park/Jurassic World movies, scientists bring back dinosaurs that have been extinct for at least 65 million years. (Spoiler alert: Bad idea.) Is this purely fiction, or could we actually see a Brachiosaurus, Triceratops or T. rex stomping around a theme park someday? To clone, which means to recreate, an extinct dino, you need some of its DNA. DNA is a special material inside every living thing that carries all the instructions for what it’ll be like, including how it will look and what it can do (DNA is shaped kind of like a teeny-tiny spiral staircase, but it takes a very powerful, very specialized microscope to see it.)


In the movies, scientists find fragments of dinosaur DNA in the blood of an ancient mosquito. The mosquito had gotten stuck in gooey tree resin, which fossilized into hard amber. The scientists extract the DNA fragments, fill in gaps with other animals’ DNA to get a full strand of DNA, and tinker a bit along the way. Then they clone lots of darling baby dinos…which grow up to be not-so-darling adult dinos. The main challenge in creating a real-life Jurassic Park is finding dinosaur DNA. Is it locked away in amber, Jurassic Park-style? Amber does a great job of preserving all kinds of cool things, like fossilized flowers, insects and even tiny lizards. But DNA? Nope. A team of researchers tried to extract DNA from a couple of bees caught in tree resin that wasn’t even
hardened into amber yet — and they couldn’t do it. It turns out that amber (and resins in general) aren’t great at preserving DNA.


But that isn’t the biggest problem. As soon as something dies, its DNA begins to decay. Water, sunlight, microbes in soil, even other gunk in the creature’s own body, all cause chemical reactions that mess up the DNA. “All of these things will break down the DNA into smaller and more degraded pieces until, eventually, there is nothing left,” biologist Beth Shapiro, an expert on ancient DNA, told Live Science. It takes a long time for DNA to degrade completely. Scientists think DNA can last 1.2 million years, maybe even 3 million (some say 6 million) under certain conditions. They’ve identified DNA from a 70,000-year-old Neanderthal fossil, a 700,000-year-old ancient horse bone, and even a one million-year-old woolly mammoth tooth. But a dinosaur from 65 million to 245 million years ago?


Researchers recently discovered something that looks kind
of like DNA in a really well-preserved 125 million year-old fossil of a peacock-sized dinosaur called Caudipteryx and in a 76 million-year-old duck-billed dinosaur called Hypacrosaurus. But they have no idea if it’s really from the dinosaurs; it could be from a microbe or something like a worm that crawled by more recently. And even if it really is dinosaur DNA, it may be seriously messed up. So a real-life Jurassic Park may not be possible (sorry, dino fans). But Woolly Mammoth Park? Maybe! Woolly mammoths — the shaggy, long-tusked relatives of today’s elephants and the best-known of all the mammoths — first appeared about 300,000 years ago during the Pleistocene epoch, which included the Ice Age. That means their DNA is not anywhere near as old as dino DNA. And, yes, scientists have successfully extracted DNA fragments from the teeth of multiple mammoths, which lived in a frigid area that is now Siberia. Some of the DNA, from an ancestor of the woolly mammoth, was 1.1 million to 1.2 million years old! The cold environment of northern Siberia, where there are large areas of permafrost (permanently frozen ground), helped preserve the mammoth DNA. The mammoth DNA survived because it was more deep-frozen than fossilized, the science and tech website Gizmodo reported. Teams of scientists from nine countries pieced together the mammoth DNA fragments to learn about mammoths and how they evolved. Now a group of scientists wants to see herds of woolly mammoths wandering across the Arctic tundra again.


They are working on bringing them back — a process they call “de-extinction.” They plan to insert traits from a woolly mammoth into the DNA of an Asian elephant, the mammoth’s closest living relative. They’d pick the most mammoth-like traits, like its shaggy coat and ability to withstand the cold. Then they would clone the animals. To be honest, it wouldn’t create a true woolly mammoth, but more of a hybrid woolly mammoth-Asian elephant or a “mammophant.” But, if everything goes according to plan, the animal will look and act like a woolly mammoth. Just like in the Jurassic Park movies, not everyone is enthusiastic about the idea of bringing extinct animals back to life. Even if scientists can bring back woolly mammoths, should they? The idea raises a lot of questions about right and wrong. What if the environment has changed too much for woolly mammoths to thrive now? What if the plants they used to eat no longer exist? Or what if the elephants who would raise the first mammophants don’t accept them? And then there’s the question of people. Many more people live in the Arctic now than when woolly mammoths roamed the earth. Other scientists think it would be better to use the process to keep currently endangered animals from going extinct. Scientists could insert traits into animals to make them healthier or to help them adapt faster to climate change, which threatens the habitats of many animals. The scientists working to de-extinct woolly mammoths point out that the animals could help restore aspects of the tundra ecosystem that have suffered since the animals went extinct. Eventually, the scientists would like to see herds of woolly mammophants wandering freely through the tundra. But the first few would be safeguarded in a nature reserve in Siberia. And what would they call this reserve? Pleistocene Park!

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Here is an example of writing at an 8th grade level.2 The student was asked “How is a cell like a familiar building or city?” The student answered by comparing a cell to Mount Olympus & wrote as if they were a Greek god.

2Writing sample obtained with permission from Student Partners. “Student Writing Samples.”
Achieve the Core, https://achievethecore.org/category/330/student-writing-samples

Shares the main idea of the essay clearly, showing the reader what comes next

Organizes ideas in a clear structure – a tour through Mount Olympus
– to show how parts of a cell are like the different parts of Mount Olympus

Uses specific & relevant words to explain the topic

Uses correct & different transition words to create flow & show how ideas connect to one another

Provides a conclusion that retells the main point of the essay

How Mount Olympus is Like a Cell

Have you ever looked at your own cells? No, of course not. You’re a mortal and you don’t have the power or technology to do that. Maybe some day in the future we shall grant humans the power of microscopic vision. Who knows? That’s up to Zeus. Cells are amazing things. Each one is individually different. When I first looked at my own cells I thought, “WOW there is nothing like this in the whole world.” I was wrong. Recently, I came to the realization that my own dear Mount Olympus is very much like a cell itself. There are many components in a cells that can also, in a way, be found on Mount Olympus. The structure of a cell and the components within are very like Mount Olympus .

What? You don’t believe me? Well fine! Come on. I’ll show you .

Oh, and by the way my name is Eos and I’m the Greek goddess of dawn . I’m responsible for the rising of the sun. Be careful and
follow me. Don’t let anyone else see you. Mortals aren’t allowed up her. Let’s go.

In an animal cell, the cell membrane controls what enters and leaves the cell. There are small pores that allow things of different sizes through. Up her, on Olympus what keeps the mortals from entering. or leaving (if they are to be kept here) is
an instilled fear of us. Mortals dare not enter unless told to by one of the gods or goddesses. They dare not leave either.

Now, all of you stand still. No, it’s okay. This is just a powder that will make you invisible. Nobody move or make a sound. Got it? If you do, it will be your life wasted. I just have to check to make sure that neither Zeus or Hera are in their throne room…Okay, we can go in. Just go silently and quickly! This is Zeus and Hera’s throne room, which is very similar to the nucleus of a cell . In a cell, the nucleus is the control center of activity on a cellular level. It’s from here that Zeus and Hera control the happenings of immortals and mortals alike. It’s like the control center for the world.

Holy Zeus! Someone’s coming in. It’s Zeus himself! Quick into here. No noise, no movement, no nothing! Those of you who can
peer through the window, do so. You’ll be able to see the head god himself! Zeus and his wife, Hera, control the gods, goddesses, and mortals. They are like the chromosomes in a cell. In a cell, the chromosomes determine what kind of cell it will be and how it acts. That is what Zeus and Hera do in the world.

In a cell, the ribosomes turn amino acids into proteins. On Mount Olympus we make many things like laws, rules, and the weather. However , the most material thing that we make are lightning bolts. Of course, only Zeus can actually make them. Although others can use them if they have his permission. See how Zeus only uses his left hand for tasks? That is because his right hand is used to make lightening. Like the ribosomes, his hand takes raw materials (the abundant plasma and energy up here) and creates a whole new product (lightning.) His hand is like a the ribosomes in a cell.

Good, Zeus is leaving. This closet is starting to get stuffy. We should go quickly out into the hall. Now take a right, then a left into here. This is the courtyard. Immortals don’t have to eat, but we do it for the pleasure of it. Also, eating helps keep us healthy and happy. The fountains flow with sweet juices and wines. The
trees have the best fruits possible. That table over there is always supplied with the most delectable food imaginable. Those chests that are spread around are filled with gold and jewels for our taking. Wearing these helps enhance our godly image. This courtyard represents the vacuoles in a cell. In the vacuoles, large amounts of what the cell needs are stored. Here large amounts
of what immortals thrive on is stored.

Don’t be alarmed. Those are our mortal slaves. They won’t tell on us because I have ordered them not to. In an animal cell, mitochondria store energy and release it when necessary. They power the cell. Here on Mount Olympus, we could not get by with out thee slaves. They perform almost every task that can
even slight be considered laborious. The energy they get from food is stored in their bodies and released in order to do tasks.

In a cell, the ER, or endoplasmic reticulum, help to move substances around the cell. The halls and paths we’ve been following are very similar to the ER, they are like the roads that contain all movement.

Quick, into this room here. That was Hermes the messenger god. Now that I think of it, he is very much like the golgi bodies in a cell. The golgi bodies package and ship substances from place to place in a cell. Hermes, similarly wraps items up in goat skin and takes them from one person, immortal, or Titan to another.

Now, let’s go back to the entrance. You should go. Soon every god, goddess, demi-god, and demi-goddess will be coming. There is a big meeting tonight. So they were all summoned here. By now, I’m sure you can see how Mount Olympus is structured like a cell. Just follow that path down there until you get home. Wait, the day is almost over and it’ll get dark. Each of you swallow some of this powder. There, this enables you to fly, which is much faster than walking. If you promise not to tell anyone about this and you can go. You swear? Okay, good bye .

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Everyday Activities

Know When to Get Help

If your 8th grader gets stuck on words often, or if they sound choppy when reading, talk to their teacher about their fluency. Also, have your child practice reading short texts to get better, such as poems or short stories.

Go to the Library

Get a free library card & visit the library together often. Anyone can get a free library card, regardless of immigration status. Use the technology available at the library to practice typing about & researching a favorite topic from a book.

Practice Writing

Ask your child to practice their writing. They can keep a journal, write letters or emails, or take notes about what they are learning.

Talk about why school matters for life
  • Ask friends & family to show your 8th grader how they can use the things they are learning at school
  • Attend a writing class at the community center
  • Ask your child to volunteer at community events and activities
Make a Homework Schedule

Make a homework schedule & stick to it. Check that your child has finished their homework every day.

Let Your Child Lead the Way

Ask your 8th grader to choose a book they want to read on their own each day. Reading many books over time is important. Let your child pick so they will be excited to read.

Learn Together

Pick something to learn about together. Read books, look online, & do things together to learn more about the chosen topic. Ask what they learned in their reading. Have them share with you, with friends, or with other family members.

Listen to Podcasts

Listen to podcasts together & talk or write about what you learned.

Start Talking About College

Talk about college with your 8th grader. Look at what you need to apply to go to college. Show your middle schooler how the classes
they are taking now will prepare them for high school & college.

Have Your Child Help at Home

Give your child weekly chores that make them read like cooking, shopping, & sorting mail

8th Grade Mathematics

Mathematics for 8th Graders

Tips for Talking to Teachers

A strong relationship between families and teachers is key to ensuring students have what they need to succeed. Parent involvement not only leads to higher grades and test scores, but also helps students develop self-confidence, motivation, and social skills. Knowing what questions to ask at school visits and parent-teacher conferences can help you feel confident when it comes to addressing your child’s’ academic needs.

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The numeric value of a digit in a number. The value of the digit is based on its position in the number. See the chart below for the number 4,367.082.

A group of words that means something different than its literal meaning. For example: “raining cats & dogs” means “to rain heavily” & “piece of cake,” means “something that is easy to do.”

The skills needed to read, write, & speak.

How sentences are put together, & how the order of words can change what it means. It’s like building with blocks – knowing a lot of words is like having a lot of different blocks, but understanding sentence structure is like knowing how to put the blocks together to build something bigger and more meaningful.

When we already know something about a topic before we read about it. When we know more about the topic, we can understand the text better.

When we know a word without having to sound it out. Good readers do this with words that are very common or with words that do not follow the “rules” of phonics.

The ability to read & write. Students get better at literacy with clear & specific instruction & with practice.

Synonyms are words that mean the same thing. “Big” & “enormous” are synonyms.

Words that mean the opposite of each other. “Big” and “small” are antonyms.

Addition is when we find the total amount by combining two or more values. Adding 2 & 3 gives us a total of 5. Adding 4, 1, & 3 gives us a total of 8. When we add, the total becomes more.

Counting numbers in order (1,2,3,4,5…)

Knowing that words are made up of many individual sounds (or phonemes). Students should be able to identify, produce & play with these individual sounds. You can find a video with all 44 English phonemes at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wBuA589kfMg.

Books with sound & spelling patterns that teachers have already taught in class. Students can decode or sound out most words in the text.

When students can read with speed, accuracy, & proper expressions that shows they understand what they read.

A number consisting of both a whole number & a fraction, such as 1 3/8.

A fraction in which the top is bigger than the bottom, such as 7/5.

After ordering the data set from lowest to highest, the median is the value in the middle of the data set.

The mean is sometimes also referred to as the average. The mean is found by adding together all of the values in a data set & then dividing by the total number of values.

The relationship between two sets of numbers that are not equal. Inequalities typically include an unknown number. For example, 7x < 28.

Factors are numbers we can multiply together to get another number. For example, 2 & 3 are factors of 6 because 2 times 3 equals 6.

The author’s point of view describes from what perspective the story is being told. For example, it may be a character in the story that is narrating, or the author may be an outside observer.

The amount of 3-dimensional (3D) space that an object takes up. Volume tells us the amount we need to fill the object. For example, the amount of water needed to fill a bottle. We measure the volume of an object in cubic units such as cubic centimeters, cubic inches, cubic feet, etc.

The chance of something happening. Probability is expressed as a decimal or fraction from 0-1 or as a percent from 0-100%. For example, the probability of flipping a coin & it being “tails” is .5, 1/2, or 50%.

Properties of algebra describe the different ways that numbers can be combined. In 6th grade students use the associative, commutative & distributive properties of algebra.

The order of operations is the rule that tells us the order we should use to solve an expression with many steps. The order we follow can be remembered with the acronym PEMDAS:
1) Parentheses
2) Exponents
3) Multiplication & Division from left to right
4) Addition & Subtraction from left to right

Equivalent expressions are expressions that work the same even though they look different. If two expressions are equivalent, then the two expressions have the same value when we put in the same value for the variable. For example, 2x + x + x is equivalent to 4x.

A coordinate plane is a flat plane formed by the intersection of a vertical number line called y-axis & a horizontal number line called x-axis. These are perpendicular lines that intersect each other at zero, & this point is called the origin.

Circumference is the distance around a shape. It is found by adding the length of all of the sides. For a circle, the circumference is proportional to the diameter by a factor of pi

The distance a number is from zero. The symbol “|” is placed on both sides of a number to mean absolute value, so we the absolute value of x is written as |x|. |4|=4 |-5|=5

A variable is an unknown numerical value in an equation or a math expression. Variables are shown with a symbol (usually a letter).

A thesis statement is one or two sentences that summarize the essay’s main idea.

Scientific notation is a way of showing numbers that are too
large or too small to be easily written. For example the number 0.0000000000073 can be written more easily as 7.3 x 10-12

The square root is a factor of a number that, when multiplied by itself, gives the original number. For example, both 5 and -5 are square roots of 25

The slope of the line describes the direction & steepness of the line. It is found by dividing the change in y over the change in x between any two points on the graph.

A rational number is any number that can be shown as a fraction of two integers. An irrational number cannot be shown as a fraction. A decimal is irrational if it never ends & it has no repeating pattern.

After ordering the data set from lowest to highest, the median is the value in the middle of the data set.

Claiming someone else’s work or ideas as your own.

Rewording a sentence or paragraph in your own words.

An equation between two variables that makes a straight line when plotted on a graph

An expression that defines a relationship between one variable (the independent variable) & another variable (the dependent variable). If the function is linear, then when it is graphed on a coordinate plane, it will create a straight line with a constant slope.

Numbers, symbols, & operations (such as + and ÷) grouped together that show the value of something. For example, y + 4 is an expression, & 3 − x/2 is also an expression.

An exponent refers to the number of times the base number is multiplied by itself.
73 = 7 x 7 x 7

A statement in which two things are equal. Equations often have unknown numbers (called variables) that are shown as a letter. For example: 3b + 5 = 14

The information about a person that exists on the internet as a result of their online activity. This includes posts on social media, photos, online purchases & reviews, passwords, subscriptions, & many other types.

The y-intercept is the point at which the graph of a line passes the y axis.

Recognizing the sounds of language. For example. rhyme, syllables, & the sounds in words.

Words are made up of individual sounds called phonemes. Children should practice identifying, producing, & rhyming with these individual sounds.

When students learn to write, they write the sounds they
hear. They may not spell the words correctly. Teachers
call this “inventive spelling”. Students use the letter &
sound connections taught in school to sound out words.

Any words that a child can read quickly & naturally. For example, “to”, “the,” “at.”

Subtraction is when we take away from the total
amount. If we start with 7 & we subtract 4, we have
3 left. When we subtract the total becomes less.

The answer we get by adding two or more numbers.

Figurative language uses figures of speech to be more
interesting, effective, & impactful. (“My dog’s coat is as
black as coal.” “He fought with the strength of a lion.”)

The numerator is the top number in a fraction. It shows how many parts we have. The denominator is the bottom number in a fraction. It shows how many parts there are in the whole item.

Teachers often measure a student’s reading level, usually
marked by a letter or number. This helps teachers know what
students need to learn. But sometimes, children are only
allowed to read texts at that level (typically a lexile number).
Be wary of this practice. Children should not be limited to
reading only texts that are at or below their grade level goal.

Text complexity is a measure of how difficult a text is. Text complexity is based on many factors, including the structure of the text, how difficult the language is, how much knowledge students need to understand what is read, & how difficult it is to understand what the text means. Students should be exposed to high-quality & complex texts. Complex texts provide opportunities for students to think deeply & to gain knowledge of the world, which will help them succeed in college, career, & life.

A suffix is a group of letters added to the end of a word. Suffixes
can change the meaning of a word. Adding “less” to the end
of the word “end” changes its meaning to “without end.” A
suffix can also change how the word is used. The noun “child”
becomes an adjective “childish” when you add the suffix “ish.”

A prefix is a group of letters added to the beginning of a
word that changes its meaning. Adding “un” in front of the
word “clean” makes the word mean “not clean.” Other
common prefixes are “re,” “dis,” “over,” “mis,” & “out.”

Using letter-sound relationships to correctly sound out & pronounce words. For example, children who have learned the English sounds /a/, /c/, & /t/ can decode “cat.”

A popular leveling system used by students, teachers, & parents to show two things:

  1. A student’s individual reading level
  2. The difficulty of the text

You can often find the Lexile number on the back of the book or by searching the title on lexile.com.

Grade-appropriate Lexile levels:

This is an example definition. It has some things in it like

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