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Kentucky Standards

Kentucky 8th Grade ELA Standards

All 31 Kentucky English language arts standards for 8th grade, each explained in plain English. The official wording is in Kentucky Department of Education's document, linked at the end of this page.

31 standards

Reading Standards for Literature

9 standards
RL.8.1
Cite fitting evidence from a literary text to back up both what it states outright and the conclusions they infer from it.
RL.8.2
Identify a story's themes and analyze how character, setting and plot work together to build them, using quotes, paraphrases or summaries as support.
RL.8.3
Explain how one line of dialogue or one event moves the plot along, shows what a character is like, or pushes a decision.
Common Core RL.8.3
RL.8.4
Find the figurative and connotative meanings of words in a literary text and analyze how specific choices, like an analogy or an allusion to another work, affect meaning and tone.
RL.8.5
Compare how two or more poems or stories are built, like a sonnet beside free verse, and say what each shape adds to the meaning.
Common Core RL.8.5
RL.8.6
Analyze how gaps between what characters know and what readers know create effects like suspense, humor or empathy.
RL.8.7
Analyze how closely a filmed or live version of a story or play follows or changes the text or script, judging the choices of the director or actors.
RL.8.9
Analyze how a modern novel or story borrows themes, plot patterns or character types from myths, traditional tales or religious works, and describe how it makes them new.
RL.8.10
Read complex 8th grade literature independently and often, growing and using background knowledge and a flexible set of strategies to understand and analyze it.

Reading Standards for Informational Text

10 standards
RI.8.1
Back up an analysis of a nonfiction text with relevant quotes and details, both for what it says plainly and for inferences made from it.
RI.8.2
Identify central ideas in a nonfiction text and analyze how key details connect to develop them, supporting the analysis with quotes, paraphrase or summary.
RI.8.3
Analyze the way a writer connects and separates ideas across a nonfiction text through comparisons, analogies or groupings into categories.
RI.8.4
Work out figurative, connotative and technical word meanings in nonfiction, and analyze how specific word choices shape meaning and tone, like slaughter versus defeat.
RI.8.5
Take one paragraph apart and explain the job each sentence does in building and sharpening a key idea.
Common Core RI.8.5
RI.8.6
Figure out an author's point of view and purpose in a nonfiction text, and analyze how the author recognizes and answers conflicting evidence or opposing views.
RI.8.7
Weigh the pros and cons of presenting a topic or idea in print versus other formats, like video, podcasts or infographics.
RI.8.8
Identify and evaluate a text's argument and claims, judging whether its logic holds up and its evidence is relevant and enough, and notice when off-topic evidence slips in.
RI.8.9
Analyze two or more texts that disagree on the same topic, pointing out where they conflict on facts or on how to interpret them.
RI.8.10
Read complex 8th grade nonfiction independently and often, like speeches, essays and science articles, using background knowledge and flexible strategies to understand and analyze it.

Composition

7 standards
C.8.1
Write arguments that tell apart and rebut counterclaims, back the claim with sound logic and credible sources, tie it together with transitions, and revise with some guidance.
C.8.2
Write formal informative pieces that sort a topic into broader categories, develop it with well-chosen facts and quotes, use varied transitions and graphics, and revise with guidance.
C.8.3
Use storytelling inside other kinds of writing, like an anecdote opening an argument, with dialogue, pacing, reflection and vivid details, and tie the story to the writing's purpose.
C.8.4
Use digital platforms to produce and publish work and collaborate with peers, citing every source in MLA or APA style.
C.8.5
Carry out short research projects that answer a question, including one they pose themselves, using several sources and finding new questions to explore.
C.8.6
Gather information for short research and analysis using strong search terms, test each source's accuracy and credibility, and cite quotes and paraphrases in MLA or APA.
C.8.7
Write on a steady schedule, from long research pieces to short timed responses, for many different tasks, purposes and audiences.

Language

5 standards
L.8.1
In speech and writing, spot verbals like gerunds by their job, use active and passive voice, and use verb moods like the subjunctive while fixing unwanted mood shifts.
L.8.2
When writing, use punctuation like a dash to show a pause or break, use an ellipsis to mark left-out words, and fix spelling with print and online tools.
L.8.3
Notice the difference between formal and casual English, like Good morning, Mrs. Lee versus Hey, and choose which fits the moment.
Common Core L.2.3
L.8.4
Work out new and multiple-meaning words in 8th grade texts using context, Greek and Latin parts like chron, and print or online references, and use academic and subject words accurately.
L.8.5
Explain a nonliteral phrase like take steps, name someone who is friendly to link a word to real life, and rank knew, believed and suspected by how sure they are.
Common Core L.3.5

The official Kentucky documents

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