GRADE 8 ELA INSTRUCTIONAL FOCUS
The following grade-level designed follows the GCR2 ELA Resource Graphic:
- Priority & Supporting Standards - Tells us what essential knowledge, skills and strategies must be acquired at each grade- PS helps teachers prioritize.
- Literacy Blueprint - Describes a Balanced Literacy Model for designing your block of ELA instruction and explains the district philosophy.
- ELA Modules - Clusters the standards in a way that makes sense across the year.
- Mentor Texts and Close Reading Passages - Supports all teachers in designing ELA lessons using identified high quality texts aligned to MLS and our students needs.
- Module Lesson Maps - Provides teachers with a sequenced description of lessons aligned to our modules, using our Mentor Texts, and suggesting standards and ideas for instruction.
- Assessments - Provides us with information as to whether our students are acquiring the knowledge skills and strategies we are teaching and informs our instructional decisions.
- Standards-Based Education - Individual standards (highlights denote power standards) with rubrics and KUDs (Documents that describe what students need to know, understand, and be able to do to meet each standard.
CCSS PRIORITY & SUPPORT STANDARDS
The following resources have been developed and/or gathered to support Eighth Grade teachers as they implement the Missouri Learning Standards in 2013-2014. Just click on the links below to access these documents.
The following "I Can Statements" were designed for teachers to post daily classroom objectives one at a time. We have kept the design simple so that you can print them on colored paper or back them with construction paper. Another idea to help with the organization of all of these posters is to put them on a binder ring so that they can easily be flipped through and displayed each day.
- 8th Grade "I Can Statements"
- 8th Grade Individual “I Can” Statement Posters
- 8th Grade “I Can” Standards Posters
LITERACY BLUEPRINT
The following document was designed for classroom teachers, instructional coaches, and school administrators to provide a vision and structure for literacy instruction.
- Guiding Principles
- Creating a Supportive Literacy Environment
- Common Core and The Blueprint
- Elements of a Balanced Literacy Program
- Elements Described in Detail
- Assessments- District and Formative Assessment Practices
- Supporting Specific Groups of Learners: EL/ELL/SPED/Title 1 & SEEK
- Implementation Guide
- Frequently Asked Questions
- Glossary
- Bibliography
- Grade Level Word Study Chart
Each grade level has a proposed curriculum map of the ELA standards divided into 4 Modules (or chunks) of instruction spanning the school year. These modules are detailed in the chart below. You might consider shortening each module into 4-5 weeks and cycling through 2 rounds, the first as an introduction and the second taking it deeper. This will ensure that all standards are covered prior to state testing.
Mentor Texts and Toolkit for 2015-2016
- Eighth Grade Mentor Text List
- Ideas for Eighth Grade Mentor Texts
- Eighth Grade Science Mentor Texts
- Eighth Grade DOK by Standard
The “Toolkit” that follows is a collection of resources filtered from various web sites. Word documents were maintained whenever possible. While these do not directly relate to our Mentor Texts and Close Reading passages they are strong examples for you to use or modify with your grade level text selections in order to support CCSS and the inherent rigor.
- Tools - Organizing EBC 1pt; Organizing EBC 2pt; Organizing EBC 3pt; Evidence-Based Perspective; Potential Sources G6; Potential Sources Annotated G6; Potential Sources; Potential Sources Annotated; Synthesizing EBC; Exploring a Topic; Exploring a Topic Annotated; Research Frame; Delineating Arguments Tool- 3C; Delineating Arguments Tool- 4C; Forming EBC 1; Forming EBC 2; Forming EBC Research; Questioning Texts; Analyzing Details; Making EBC; Written EBC; Taking Notes; Taking Notes Annotated
- Handouts - EBA Terms; Forming EBC Handout; Forming EBC Lit Handout; Guiding Questions Handout; Connecting Ideas Handout; Assessing Sources Handout; Evidence-Based Writing Rubric; Writing EBC Handout – Jobs; Posing Inquiry Questions; Research Critera Matrix G6-12
- Checklists - TCD Checklist; EBA Criteria Checklist; EBC Criteria Checklist; Area Evaluation Checklist; Reading Closely Checklist; Research Evaluation Checklist; EBC Criteria Checklist I – G6-8; EBC Criteria Checklist II – G6-8; EBC Criteria Checklist I – G9-10; EBC Criteria Checklist II – G9-10; EBC Criteria Checklist I – G11-12; EBC Criteria Checklist II – G11-12
MODULE LESSON MAPS
STANDARDS-BASED EDUCATION
Individual standards (highlights denote power standards) with rubrics and KUDs (Documents that describe what students need to know, understand, and be able to do to meet each standard.