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Wisconsin Standards

Wisconsin 8th Grade ELA Standards

All 29 Wisconsin English language arts standards for 8th grade, each explained in plain English. The official wording is in Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction's document, linked at the end of this page.

29 standards

Reading

9 standards
R.8.1
Choose the strongest text evidence to back an analysis of what a text states and implies, and draw logical inferences, like a narrator's hidden guilt.
R.8.2
Summarize texts across genres, name the themes or central ideas, which may be more than one, and trace how each develops through the whole text.
R.8.3
Analyze how key lines of dialogue or events drive the action, reveal a character, or prompt a decision, and how nonfiction connects people, events, and ideas.
R.8.4
Interpret figurative and connotative language and analyze how word choices, like a pun with two meanings, set a text's meaning, tone, and mood.
R.8.5
Compare how two or more texts are structured, like a poem and a news article, and analyze how each structure shapes meaning, style, and theme or central idea.
R.8.6
Analyze how differences in what characters and readers know create mood and tone, and how an author's background shapes their view and handling of opposing evidence.
R.8.7
Weigh the pros and cons of presenting a subject in print, audio, video, stage, or digital form, and analyze how closely a film or play follows the written text.
R.8.8
Follow an argument claim by claim, test whether the logic is valid and the evidence relevant and sufficient, and catch evidence that does not fit, like in an editorial.
R.8.9
Develop criteria for judging a text's quality, like a rubric for a strong memoir, and connect it to other texts, ideas, cultures, identities, eras, and their own life.

Writing

9 standards
W.8.1
Write reflective, formal, and creative pieces, alone or mixed, for low- and high-stakes purposes, from a quick response to a portfolio essay.
W.8.2
Write arguments that set their claim apart from opposing ones with credible sources, informative texts with facts and charts, and narratives with vivid detail.
W.8.3
Open with suspense, keep the structure clear throughout, close by tying up loose ends, vary transitions for flow, and use genre words that engage the reader.
W.8.4
Write clearly on their own and with peers, choosing an organization and style that fit the purpose and audience, like an op-ed, while honoring their own culture.
W.8.5
Plan, revise, edit and rewrite a history or science paper with some help from classmates and teachers, checking that it serves its purpose and readers.
Common Core WHST.6-8.5
W.8.6
Use print, online, and multimedia tools to publish writing, show how information and ideas relate, and collaborate with others, like on a shared slide deck.
W.8.7
Run short research projects on questions, including their own, using several sources and raising new focused questions that open more paths to explore.
W.8.8
Search print and digital sources efficiently, test each for credibility and accuracy, quote or paraphrase without plagiarism, and cite in a standard style like MLA.
W.8.9
Draw on evidence from fiction and nonfiction to support analysis, reflection, and research, like quoting a speech to explain its persuasive power.

Speaking and Listening

5 standards
SL.8.1
Come prepared with evidence, set and track discussion goals, ask questions that connect speakers' ideas, and adjust or defend their views when new evidence warrants.
SL.8.2
Analyze why information is presented in media like ads or news clips and evaluate the social, commercial, or political motives behind it.
SL.8.3
Judge a speaker's argument for sound reasoning and relevant, sufficient evidence, and point out when unrelated evidence creeps in, like in a campaign speech.
SL.8.4
Make a focused presentation of claims and findings that stresses key points with sound reasoning, evidence, and chosen details, and explain their language choices.
SL.8.5
Add slides, images or video to a presentation where they make the information clearer, strengthen the evidence or add interest.
Common Core SL.8.5

Language

6 standards
L.8.1
See standard English as one dialect tied to power, use active, passive, conditional, and subjunctive verbs for effect, and explain why they chose their words.
L.8.2
Check a guessed meaning against the context or a dictionary, and use Greek and Latin roots, like bene in benefit, to figure out unknown words.
L.8.3
Explain literal, connotative, and figurative meanings, how near-synonyms differ in tone, and how analogies or allusions to other texts shape meaning.
L.8.4
Expand vocabulary independently and with others as new cultural, academic, and subject terms come up, and choose words purposefully, like in a formal debate.
L.8.5
Use standard grammar where it fits and explain choices with active and passive voice and verb moods like conditional and subjunctive, fixing unwanted shifts.
L.8.6
Use punctuation to show a pause or break, ellipses to mark left-out words, and correct spelling in formal writing, explaining the purpose of each choice.

The official Wisconsin documents

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