GLE-RW8
COLORADO MODEL CONTENT
STANDARDS FOR READING AND
WRITING
8th Grade Level Expectations
Standard 1:
Students read and understand a variety of materials.
Eighth grade students will:
1.1 use a full range of strategies to comprehend technical writing, newspapers, magazines,
poetry, short stories, plays, and novels;
1.2 paraphrase, summarize, synthesize, and evaluate information from a variety of text and
genres;
1.3 identify main idea and supporting details in a variety of text and genres;
1.4 infer and predict using information in a variety of text and genres;
1.5 monitor own comprehension and make modifications when understanding breaks down
by reading a portion, using reference aids, and searching for clues;
1.6 confirm meaning of figurative, idiomatic, and technological language using context
clues;
1.7 use background knowledge of subject and text structure to make complex predictions
of content and purpose of text;
1.8 use text structure, such as cause and effect, to locate and recall information;
1.9 establish and adjust purposes for reading, such as reading to find out, to understand, to
interpret, to enjoy, and to solve problems;
1.10 apply knowledge of letter-sound correspondence, language structures, and context to
recognize words;
1.11 locate meanings, pronunciations, and derivations of unfamiliar words using
dictionaries, glossaries, and other sources.
Standard 2:
Students write and speak for a variety of purposes and audiences
Eighth grade students will:
2.1 write stories, letters, and reports with greater detail and supporting material;
2.2 choose vocabulary and figures of speech that communicate clearly;
2.3 draft, revise, edit, and proofread for a legible final copy;
2.4 apply skills in analysis, synthesis, evaluation, and explanation to their writing and
speaking;
2.5 incorporate source materials intro their speaking and writing (for example,
interviews, news articles, encyclopedia information);
2.6 write and speak in the content areas (for example, science, geography, history,
literature), using the technical vocabulary of the subject accurately;
2.7 recognize stylistic elements such as voice, tone, and style.
Standard 3:
Students write and speak using conventional grammar, usage, sentence
structure, punctuation, capitalization, and spelling.
Eighth grade students will:
3.1 identify the parts of speech such as nouns, pronouns, verbs, adverbs, adjectives,
conjunctions, prepositions, and interjections;
3.2 use correct pronoun case, regular and irregular noun and verb forms, and
subject-verb agreement involving comparisons in writing and speaking;
3.3 use modifiers, homonyms, and homophones in writing and speaking;
3.4 use simple, compound, complex, and compound/complex sentences in writing and
speaking;
3.5 punctuate and capitalize titles and direct quotation;
3.6 use possessives and correct paragraphing in writing;
3.7 use prefixes, root words, and suffixes correctly in writing and speaking;
3.8 expand spelling skills to include more complex words;
3.9 demonstrate use of conventional spelling in their published works;
3.10 use resources such as spell checkers, dictionaries, and charts to monitor their
spelling and accuracy.
Standard 4:
Students apply thinking skills to their reading, writing, speaking, listening, and viewing.
Eighth grade students will:
4.1 recognize an author's or speaker's point of view and purpose, separating fact from
opinion;
4.2 use reading, writing, speaking, listening, and viewing skills to solve problems and
answer questions;
4.3 make predictions, draw conclusions, and analyze what they read, hear, and view;
4.4 recognize, express, and defend a point of view orally in an articulate manner and in
writing;
4.5 determine literary quality based on elements such as the author's use of vocabulary,
character development, plot development, description of setting, and realism or
dialogue.
Standard 5:
Students read to locate, select, and make use of relevant information from a variety of media, reference, and technological sources.
Eighth grade students will:
5.1 use organizational features of printed text such as prefaces, afterwards, and appendices;
5.2 use organizational features of electronic information (for example, microfiche headings
and numbering, headings for accessing nested information in hypertext media), and
library and interlibrary catalog databases;
5.3 locate and select relevant information;
5.4 use available technology to research and produce an end-product that is accurately
documented;
5.5 give credit for borrowed information in a bibliography.
Standard 6:
Students read and recognize literature as a record of human experience.
Eighth grade students will:
6.1 read, respond to, and discuss a variety of novels, poetry, short stories, non-fiction,
content-area and technical material, and plays;
6.2 read, respond to, and discuss literature that represents points of view from places,
people, and events that are familiar and unfamiliar;
6.3 use literature terminology accurately, including setting, character, conflict, plot,
resolution, dialect, and point of view;
6.4 apply knowledge of literary techniques, including foreshadowing, metaphor, simile
personification, onomatopoeia, alliteration, and flashback, to understand text;
6.5 use new vocabulary from literature in other context.