8th Grade English Language Arts - Language Standards

Links verified on 7/14/2014

To work on eighth grade language standards, click on the numbers below to visit pages of internet resources for each of the learning standards.

Checks for Understanding are at the top of this page. Scroll down to find internet resources related to the State Performance Indicators (SPIs).

Checks for Understanding (Formative/Summative Assessment)
0801.1.1	Parts of Speech - Know and use appropriately the meaning, forms, and functions of nouns (e.g., predicate nouns, appositives), pronouns (e.g., use of proper pronoun case: objective, nominative, and possessive; pronoun-antecedent agreement), verbs (e.g., agree with the subject in person and number, verbs that take objects, linking verbs with predicate nouns and adjectives, verb phrases, consistency in verb tense, regular and irregular verb forms, correct use of both simple and perfect tenses, proper use of active and passive voice, subjunctive mood), adjectives (e.g., correct comparative and superlative forms, predicate adjectives, adjective phrases and clauses), adverbs (e.g., correct comparative and superlative forms, adverb phrases and clauses, conjunctive adverbs), conjunctions (e.g., coordinating, correlative, and subordinating conjunctions to combine sentences and sentence elements), interjections, and prepositions (e.g., recognize them as adjective or adverb modifiers and place properly within the sentence).
0801.1.2	Usage Errors - Recognize and correct usage errors (e.g., subject-verb agreement, pronoun case {with emphasis on who/whom}, double negatives, comparative and superlative forms, troublesome word pairs {to/too/two, their/there/they’re, its/it’s, sit/set, lie/lay, affect/effect, may/can, leave/let, teach/learn, accept/except, capitol/capital, principle/principal, between/among, rise/raise, stationary/stationery, where/were, which/that/who}).
0801.1.3	Capitalization - Use capitalization correctly (e.g., titles, business letters, quotations, proper nouns and adjectives).
0801.1.4	Punctuation Marks - Demonstrate the correct use of commas (e.g., after introductory words, phrases or clauses; setting off appositives and interrupters; before coordinating conjunction joining independent clauses to form compound sentences), colons (e.g., in business letters, before a list of items in a series, before a long or formal quotation), semicolons (e.g., combining sentences, between items in a series when the items already contain commas, before conjunctive adverbs), underlining and italicizing (e.g., titles; certain words, letters, figures; foreign words), quotation marks (e.g., with direct quotations, to set off dialogue, in titles, correct use with end marks), apostrophes (e.g., to form both singular and plural possessives), hyphens, and end marks.
0801.1.5	Spell - Spell correctly high-frequency, misspelled words (appropriate to grade level), and words commonly used in content specific vocabulary.
0801.1.6	Sentence Structure - Demonstrate knowledge of correct sentence structure by correcting run-on sentences (e.g., using correct punctuation, forming separate sentences, using coordinating or subordinating clauses) and sentence fragments (e.g., supplying the missing sentence elements).
0801.1.7	Clauses and Phrases - Distinguish between clauses (adjective, adverb, noun) and phrases (adjective, adverb, appositive, prepositional, verb, verbal {including gerunds and participles).
0801.1.8	Clauses - Differentiate between independent and subordinate clauses.
0801.1.9	Sentence Structure - Recognize and differentiate among simple, compound, and complex sentences.
0801.1.10	Use Reference Sources - Use printed and electronic dictionaries, thesauruses, and glossaries to determine the pronunciation, spelling, and part of speech of words; to clarify meaning and improve understanding of words (including connotation and denotation); and to distinguish among contextually appropriate synonyms and definitions.
0801.1.11	Synonyms, Antonyms, and Homonyms - Define and recognize word synonyms, antonyms, and homonyms.
0801.1.12	Latin and Greek Roots - Identify and define English words derived from Latin and Greek words that form common roots (e.g., audio, auto, malus) and recognize English words that are based on them (e.g., audible, autobiography, malice).
0801.1.13	Roots and Affixes - Use roots and affixes to determine the meaning of unfamiliar words, to clarify the meaning of familiar words, and to make connections with word families (e.g., suffixes such as -phobia and -ology).
0801.1.14	Multi-Meaning Words - Continue to use previously learned strategies to distinguish among multi-meaning words and to determine the meaning of unfamiliar words.
0801.1.15	Textual Structure - Use textual structure (e.g., examples of cause-effect and compare-contrast relationships) to determine the meaning of unfamiliar words or distinguish multi-meaning words in more challenging texts about concrete and abstract topics (e.g., After the harvest, we had an abundance of apples, and so we made apple pie, apple sauce, and apple juice).
0801.1.16	Cultural and Regional - Recognize and appreciate cultural and regional differences signaled by word usage and vocabulary.
0801.1.17	Understand Foreign Phrases - Demonstrate understanding of common phrases and terms from other languages commonly used in English (e.g., RSVP, déjà vu, faux pas, du jour, bon voyage, alma mater, cum laude, femme fatale, esprit de corps, verbatim).
State Performance Indicators
SPI 0801.1.1	Nouns and Pronouns - Identify the correct use of nouns (i.e., common/proper, singular/plural, possessives, direct/indirect objects, predicate nouns) and pronouns (i.e., reflexive, interrogative, demonstrative) within context.
SPI 0801.1.2	Verbs - Identify the correct use of verbs (i.e., action/linking, regular/irregular, agreement, perfect tenses, verb phrases) within context.
SPI 0801.1.3	Adjectives and Adverbs - Identify the correct use of adjectives (i.e., common/proper, comparative/superlative, adjective clauses) and adverbs (i.e., comparative/superlative) within context.
SPI 0801.1.4	Conjunctions and Interjections - Identify the correct use of conjunctions (i.e., coordinating, correlative, subordinating) and interjections within context.
SPI 0801.1.5	Prepositions - Identify the correct placement of prepositions and prepositional phrases within context.
SPI 0801.1.6	Commas - Identify the correct use of commas (i.e., compound sentences, coordinating conjunctions, introductory words, appositives, interrupters) within context.
SPI 0801.1.7	Sentence Combining - Identify within context a variety of appropriate sentence-combining techniques (i.e., comma + coordinating conjunction, use of semicolon, introductory phrases or clauses).
SPI 0801.1.8	Run-On Sentences - Select the most appropriate method to correct a run-on sentence (i.e., conjunctions, semicolons, periods to join or separate elements).
SPI 0801.1.9	Gerund and Participial Phrases - Identify the appropriate use of gerund and participial phrases.
SPI 0801.1.10	Appositives and Infinitives - Identify the correct use of appositives/appositive phrases and infinitive/infinitive phrases within context.
SPI 0801.1.11	Personal Pronouns - Select the correct pronoun-antecedent agreement for personal pronouns within context.
SPI 0801.1.12	Spelling - Identify correctly or incorrectly spelled words in context
SPI 0801.1.13	Apostrophes - Form singular and plural possessive using apostrophes correctly.
SPI 0801.1.14	Recognize Usage Errors - Recognize usage errors occurring within context (i.e., subject-verb agreement, pronoun case, double negatives, comparative/superlative forms, troublesome word pairs: {to/too/two, their/there/they’re, its/it’s, sit/set, lie/lay, affect/effect, may/can, leave/let, teach/learn, accept/except, capitol/capital, principle/principal, between/among, rise/raise, stationary/stationery, where/were, which/that/who})within context.
SPI 0801.1.15	Underlining or Italicizing - Select the appropriate use of underlining/italicizing with titles, specific words, numbers, letters, and figures.
SPI 0801.1.16	Unfamiliar Words - Use context clues and/or knowledge of roots and affixes to determine the meaning of unfamiliar words.
SPI 0801.1.17	Synonym or Antonym - Choose the correct meaning/usage of a multi-meaning word by replacing the word in context with an appropriate synonym or antonym.
SPI 0801.1.18	Stressed or Unstressed Syllable - Recognize the effect of stressed or unstressed syllable to aid in identifying the meaning of multiple meaning words.
SPI 0801.1.19	Vocabulary - Recognize and use grade appropriate and/or content specific vocabulary.
SPI 0801.1.20	Foreign Phrases - Identify commonly used foreign words and phrases (i.e., RSVP, déjà vu, faux pas, du jour, bon voyage, alma mater, cum laude, femme fatale, esprit de corps, verbatim).
Review Help	Resources to help review Eighth Grade English Language Arts standards