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Indiana Standards

Indiana 8th Grade ELA Standards

All 26 Indiana English language arts standards for 8th grade, each explained in plain English. The official wording is in Indiana Department of Education's document, linked at the end of this page.

26 standards

Reading Comprehension

11 standards
8.RC.1
Explain what a text says outright and what it suggests, supporting each idea with the strongest, most convincing evidence from the text.
8.RC.2
Analyze how a theme develops across a literary work, including its ties to the characters, setting and plot, and write a detailed summary supporting your analysis.
8.RC.3
Compare the structures of two or more related stories or poems, like two works on the same theme, and judge how each structure shapes meaning and style.
8.RC.4
Analyze how a central idea develops through a text and connects to the supporting ideas, then write a detailed, unbiased summary.
8.RC.5
Identify an author's viewpoint or purpose and analyze how the author recognizes and answers evidence or views that conflict with it.
8.RC.6
Lay out a text's argument and its claims, judge whether the reasoning holds and the evidence is enough, and spot evidence that is off topic.
Common Core RI.8.8
8.RC.7
Compare two or more texts that disagree about the same topic and pinpoint where they differ on facts or on how to read the facts.
Common Core RI.8.9
8.RC.8
Pin down the meaning of a tricky word or phrase from how it is used, like reading on to see the effect a term describes.
8.RC.9
Sort out the shades of feeling in words with matching dictionary meanings, like confident, proud and arrogant.
8.RC.10
Unlock word meanings with Greek and Latin roots and affixes, like the root cede, meaning go or yield, in precede, recede and secede.
8.RC.11
Interpret figures of speech in context, like verbal irony when someone calls a downpour lovely weather, or a pun.

Writing

7 standards
8.W.1
Write arguments that separate your claim from opposing claims, order reasons and evidence logically, use credible sources and clear transitions, and conclude firmly.
8.W.2
Write informative pieces that preview the topic, group ideas into broader categories, use well-chosen facts and quotes, varied transitions and a solid conclusion.
8.W.3
Write narratives with a clear context and point of view, a logical flow of events, techniques like dialogue, pacing and reflection, and an ending that looks back.
8.W.4
Plan, draft, revise, rewrite and edit formal writing with feedback from peers and adults, using technology to collaborate, publish and present ideas efficiently.
8.W.5
Investigate a research question, like how social media affects sleep, by searching smartly, annotating sources, checking accuracy, citing properly and presenting results.
8.W.6
Explain how gerunds, participles and infinitives work in sentences, use active and passive voice, and fix needless shifts between them.
8.W.7
Use punctuation like commas, ellipses and dashes to signal a pause, a sudden break in thought or missing words.

Communication and Collaboration

8 standards
8.CC.1
Take part in eighth-grade discussions with a partner, a group or the teacher, extending others' ideas and voicing your own clearly.
8.CC.2
Ask questions that tie together several speakers' ideas and answer others with relevant evidence, observations and thoughts.
8.CC.3
Take in new information from others and, when the evidence calls for it, adjust or defend your own views.
8.CC.4
Analyze why information is presented in a chart, video or speech, and judge the social, commercial or political motive behind it.
Common Core SL.8.2
8.CC.5
Break down a speaker's argument, judge whether the reasoning holds and the evidence is enough, and catch evidence that is beside the point.
Common Core SL.8.3
8.CC.6
Present a claim and findings in a focused order with evidence, sound reasoning and well-chosen details, speaking clearly, loudly enough and with eye contact.
Common Core SL.8.4
8.CC.7
Create presentations that blend multimedia and visuals to clarify information, strengthen claims and evidence, and keep the audience interested.
8.CC.8
Identify and analyze persuasion and propaganda techniques in ads, news and online media, like bandwagon appeals, and spot false or misleading information.

The official Indiana documents

The plain-English lines on this page are EMStudio's own explanations of Indiana's standards, not the official wording, which Indiana Department of Education publishes in the documents above. Codes and strand names identify each standard.