Reading Standards for Literature – Grade 8
RL 1 Cite the textual evidence that most strongly supports an analysis of what the text says explicitly as well as inferences drawn from the text.
·  What textual evidence supports your inference that______?
·  What can you infer from ______(#) paragraph? Explain your thinking.
·  What can you infer about _____? Cite evidence from the text to support your inference(s).
·  Which evidence shows ______? Explain.
*Please note that any reading comprehension question, either literal or inferential, falls under this “umbrella standard.” The key is students must cite textual evidence to support answer.
RL 2 Determine a theme or central idea of a text and analyze its development over the course of the text, including its relationship to the characters, setting, and plot; provide an objective summary of the text.
·  What is the theme of ______? Cite evidence from to support your identification of the theme. Explain how events develop the
theme over the course of the text.
·  Give an example of how the theme is developed in the text. Which events support the development of that theme? Cite specific textual evidence.
·  How does the development of ______(character/setting// plot) contribute to the theme or central idea? Cite specific textual evidence.
·  How does the author use the main character to develop the theme of the drama? Use information from the drama to support your analysis.
·  How does the author use the plot to develop the theme of the story? Use information from the story to support your analysis.
·  How does the author use the setting to develop the theme of the poem? Use information from the poem to support your analysis.
·  Write an objective summary of the poem/drama/scene/story/novel/etc.
RL 3 Analyze how particular lines of dialogue or incidents in a story or drama propel the action, reveal aspects of a character, or provoke a decision.
·  What statement(s) or action(s) advance the events of the story? Cite specific textual evidence.
·  What statement(s) or action(s) help the reader better understand a character? Cite specific textual evidence.
·  What is revealed about the character through______(events/dialogue)? Cite specific textual evidence.
·  How did ______incident provoke ______(character) decision? Cite specific textual evidence.
·  How do lines ___ - ____reveal ______. Cite specific textual evidence.
RL 4 Determine the meaning of words and phrases as they are used in a text, including figurative and connotative meanings; analyze the impact of specific word choices on meaning and tone, including analogies or allusions to other texts. (See grade 8 Language standards 4-6 on page 50 for additional expectations.)
·  What does the word/phrase ______mean in this selection? What clues did you use to determine the meaning? Cite specific textual evidence.
·  Without changing the meaning of the sentence, what word can best be used to replace the underlined part?
·  When the author uses _____, what connotation is s/he intending? Explain how you know. Cite specific textual evidence.
·  What is the meaning of the analogy ______? Cite specific textual evidence.
·  To what does ______(word/phrase) allude? Cite specific textual evidence.
·  Which words help the reader understand the meaning of ______in paragraph ______?
·  Find an example of figurative language and explain its meaning. Discuss its impact on the tone of the poem/story citing specific textual evidence.
·  What tone does the author evoke when s/he uses ______? Cite specific textual evidence.
RL 5 Compare and contrast the structure of two or more texts and analyze how the differing structure of each text contributes to its meaning and style.
·  How does the structure of ______text contribute to its meaning? Cite specific textual evidence.
·  After reading two or more texts, compare and contrast their structure. What is the most likely reason each author selected the text structure he/she did? Use examples from the texts in your analysis.
·  After reading two or more texts, compare and contrast their structure. Which structure is more effective? Why? Use examples from the texts in your analysis.
·  After reading two or more texts, how does the structure of each contribute to its style? Use examples from the texts in your analysis.
·  After reading two or more texts, how does the structure of each contribute to its meaning? Use examples from the texts in your analysis.
RL 6 Analyze how differences in the points of view of the characters and the audience or reader (e.g., created through the use of dramatic irony) create such effects as suspense or humor.
·  What point of view does the author use? What effect does the author create with this point of view? Cite specific textual evidence.
·  How does the author use point of view to create suspense? Cite specific textual evidence.
·  How does the author use point of view to create humor? Cite specific textual evidence.
·  How does telling the story from ______(character’s) point of view create humorous situations? Use examples from the play in your analysis.
·  How would the story be different if it were told from ______(character’s) point of view? What information from the story supports your analysis?
·  What is the most likely reason the author told the story from ______(character’s) point of view? What information from the story supports your analysis?
·  How does the author use dramatic irony to keep the reader engaged? Use examples from the story to support your analysis.
RL 7 Analyze the extent to which a filmed or live production of a story or drama stays faithful to or departs from the text or script, evaluating the choices made by the director or actors.
·  How does the production differ from the text? Cite specific textual evidence from both mediums.
o  Why would the director choose to depart from the text? Cite specific textual evidence from both mediums.
·  Compare and contrast _____ (text title) with the filmed version of the story. Use specific examples in your comparison.
·  Is the filmed version of ______(text title) effective? Why or why not? Use specific examples in your analysis.
·  To what extent does _____ (filmed production) stay faithful to the text/script? Were the choices the director made effective? Why or why not? Use examples in your analysis.
·  To what extent does _____ (live production) depart from the text/script? Were the choices the actors made effective? Why or why not? Use examples in you analysis.
RL 9 Analyze how a modern work of fiction draws on themes, patterns of events, or character types from myths, traditional stories, or religious works such as the Bible, including describing how the material is rendered new.
·  How is the theme of ______(modern text) similar to the theme of ______(traditional work/myth/story/religious or Biblical)? Cite specific textual evidence.
·  How is the pattern of events of ______(modern text) similar to the pattern of events of ______(traditional work/myth/story/religious or Biblical)? Cite specific textual evidence.
·  How are the characters of ______(modern text) similar to the characters of ______(traditional work/myth/story/religious or Biblical)? Cite specific textual evidence.
·  What changes are made to ______to modernize the theme/plot/characters? Cite specific textual evidence.
Reading Standards for Informational Text – Grade 8
RIT 1 Cite the textual evidence that most strongly supports an analysis of what the text says explicitly as well as inferences drawn from the text.
·  What textual evidence supports your inference that______?
·  What can you infer from ______(#) paragraph? Explain your thinking.
·  What can you infer about _____? Cite evidence from the text to support your inference(s).
·  Which step is most important in _____? How do you know? What is the textual evidence that most strongly supports your answer?
*Please note that any reading comprehension question, either literal or inferential, falls under this “umbrella standard.” The key is students must cite textual evidence to support answer.
RIT 2 Determine a central idea of a text and analyze its development over the course of the text, including its relationship to supporting ideas; provide an objective summary of the text.
·  What is the central idea and how is it developed? Cite specific textual evidence.
·  Explain the relationship between the supporting ideas and the central idea. Cite specific textual evidence.
·  Write an objective summary of the text.
RIT 3 Analyze how a text makes connections among and distinctions between individuals, ideas, or events (e.g., through comparisons, analogies, or categories).
·  How does the author develop his/her analysis of __(a concept)__ in order to help the reader understand the material being presented? Use examples from the text in your explanation.
·  How does the author help the reader understand the connections between ideas presented in the text? Use examples from the text in your analysis.
·  What is the most likely reason the author presents the series of ideas in the order s/he does? Use examples from the text in your analysis.
·  How does the author introduce, develop, and draw connections between ideas and events? Use examples from the text in your analysis.
RIT 4 Determine the meaning of words and phrases as they are used in a text, including figurative, connotative, and technical meanings; analyze the impact of specific word choices on meaning and tone, including analogies or allusions to other texts. (See grade 8 Language standards 4-6 for additional expectations.)
·  What does the word/phrase ______mean in this selection? Cite specific textual evidence.
·  What tone does the author evoke when s/he uses ______? Cite specific textual evidence.
·  Which words help the reader understand the meaning of _____ in paragraph 5?
·  What is the impact of the word ____ in paragraph 5?
·  What is the most likely reason the author used the word ____ in paragraph 3?
·  What is the tone of the article? What words and phrases does the author use to create that tone?
·  How does the author’s allusion to ______help the reader grasp the concept of _____?
·  How does the analogy the author provides help the reader understand _____?
·  What does the phrase _____ (figurative language) mean? How does the use of that phrase enhance the reader’s understanding of the text? Use examples from the text to support your answer.
RIT 5 Analyze in detail the structure of a specific paragraph in a text, including the role of particular sentences in developing and refining a key concept. a. Analyze the use of text features (e.g., graphics, headers, captions) in consumer documents.
·  How do sentences ______and ______develop or refine the key concept of ______?
·  What text feature(s) does/do the author use to develop his/her ideas?
·  What affect do the text features have on the reader, and why? Cite specific textual evidence.
·  How does the compare/contrast structure of paragraph _____contribute to the development and refinement of _____ (a key concept)? Use examples from the article in your analysis.
·  What is the most likely reason the author decided to organize the paragraph/section the way he/she did? Use examples from the article in your analysis.
·  Is the structure of the paragraph effective? Why or why not? Use examples from the article to support your analysis.
RIT 6 Determine an author’s point of view or purpose in a text and analyze how the author acknowledges and responds to conflicting evidence or viewpoints.
·  How does the author treat conflicting evidence? Explain how the author’s examination of the conflicting evidence is either effective or ineffective. Cite specific textual evidence.
·  What is the author’s viewpoint on ______(topic)? How does the author acknowledge and respond to conflicting evidence and viewpoints? Use examples from the text to support your analysis.
·  What is the author’s viewpoint on ______(topic)? Is the author effective in responding to conflicting evidence or viewpoints? Why or why not? Use examples from the text in your analysis.
·  What is the author’s purpose? Analyze how the author acknowledges and responds to conflicting evidence or viewpoints. Use examples from the text in your analysis.
RIT 7 Evaluate the advantages and disadvantages of using different mediums (e.g., print or digital text, video, multimedia) to present a particular topic or idea.
·  How does reading the text compare to viewing the power point or video version? Cite specific textual evidence from both mediums.
·  How is a topic similar and different when presented in the various mediums? Cite specific textual evidence from each mediums.
·  Which medium is most effective in presenting the topic of ______? Why? Cite specific textual evidence from both mediums.
·  What limitations are evident when using ______(medium) to present the topic? Cite specific textual evidence.
·  After reviewing print, digital, video, and/or multimedia presentations on the same topic, what are the advantages and disadvantages of each? Which is the most effective in conveying an understanding of the topic? Why? Use examples from the different mediums to support your evaluation.
RIT 8 Delineate and evaluate the argument and specific claims in a text, assessing whether the reasoning is sound and the evidence is relevant and sufficient; recognize when irrelevant evidence is introduced.
·  Describe in detail the argument and specific claims from the text. Is the argument effective? Explain why or why not using textual evidence.
·  Is the argument the author presents effective? Using examples from the text, explain why or why not.
·  Is the reasoning behind the author’s specific claims sound and the evidence relevant and sufficient to support the claim? Use examples from the text to support your answer.
·  What irrelevant evidence has the author introduced? Explain why this evidence is irrelevant. Use information from the text in your answer.
RIT 9 Analyze a case in which two or more texts provide conflicting information on the same topic and identify where the texts disagree on matters of fact or interpretation.
·  How does one author advance a different interpretation of the facts as compared to the other author? Explain using textual evidence.
·  After reading and analyzing two or more articles with conflicting information on the same topic, identify where the texts disagree on matters of fact or interpretation. Use examples from the articles to support your analysis.