Alberta

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Skills available for Alberta grade 8 English language arts curriculum

Objectives are in black and IXL English language arts skills are in dark green. Hold your mouse over the name of a skill to view a sample question. Click on the name of a skill to practise that skill.

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Alberta Program of Studies Alberta Program of Studies
WNCP Common Curriculum Frameworks WNCP Common Curriculum Frameworks

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Print curriculum

2 Comprehend and respond personally and critically to oral, print and other media texts

2.1 Use Strategies and Cues
- Use prior knowledge
  - use strategies to supplement and extend prior knowledge and experiences when interpreting new ideas and information
  - use knowledge of authors, forms and genres, developed during previous reading, to direct and extend reading experiences
- Use comprehension strategies
  - enhance understanding by paraphrasing main ideas and supporting details, and by rereading and discussing relevant passages
  - monitor understanding; skim, scan or read slowly and carefully, as appropriate, to enhance comprehension
  - take notes, make outlines and use such strategies as read, recite, review to comprehend and remember ideas and information
- Use textual cues
  - identify and use visual and textual cues in reference materials, such as catalogues, databases, web sites, thesauri and writers' handbooks, to access information effectively and efficiently
  - identify and use structural features of a variety of oral, print and other media texts, such as newspapers, magazines, instruction booklets, advertisements and schedules, encountered in everyday life to access ideas and information and to read with purpose
    - Identify text structures (8-D.4)
- Use phonics and structural analysis
  - choose and use strategies for word identification, vocabulary development and spelling that either build on specific strengths or address areas for improvement
- Use references
  - use a thesaurus to extend vocabulary and locate appropriate words that express particular aspects of meaning
    - Use thesaurus entries (8-X.5)
2.2 Respond to Texts
- Experience various texts
  - experience oral, print and other media texts from a variety of cultural traditions and genres, such as magazine articles, diaries, drama, poetry, Internet passages, fantasy, nonfiction, advertisements and photographs
  - write and represent narratives from other points of view
  - expect that there is more than one interpretation for oral, print and other media texts, and discuss other points of view
  - explain connections between own interpretation and information in texts, and infer how texts will influence others
    - Compare two texts with different genres (8-H.1)
  - make connections between biographical information about authors, illustrators, storytellers and filmmakers and their texts
- Construct meaning from texts
  - interpret the choices and motives of characters portrayed in oral, print and other media texts, and examine how they relate to self and others
  - identify and describe characters' attributes and motivations, using evidence from the text and personal experiences
    - Analyze short stories (8-F.1)
    - Identify supporting details in literary texts (8-K.4)
  - discuss various ways characters are developed and the reasons for and plausibility of character change
  - compare two similar oral, print or other media texts by considering the characters, plot, conflicts and main ideas
- Appreciate the artistry of texts
  - discuss how techniques, such as word choice, balance, camera angles, line and framing, communicate meaning and enhance effects in oral, print and other media texts
    - Compare passages for tone (8-C.3)
    - Analyze the effects of figures of speech on meaning and tone (8-E.5)
  - identify ways that characters can be developed, and discuss how character, plot and setting are interconnected and mutually supportive
  - identify and discuss how word choice and order, figurative language, plot, setting and character work together to create mood and tone
2.3 Understand, Forms, Elements, and Techniques
- Understand forms and genres
  - discuss how the choice of form or genre of oral, print and other media texts is appropriate to purpose and audience
    - Identify the author's purpose (8-C.1)
  - compare the usefulness of different types of media texts
- Understand techniques and elements
  - distinguish theme from topic or main idea in oral, print and other media texts
  - identify and explain characters' qualities and motivations, by considering their words and actions, their interactions with other characters and the author's or narrator's perspective
    - Analyze short stories (8-F.1)
  - compare and contrast the different perspectives provided by first and third person narration
  - summarize the content of media texts, and discuss the choices made in planning and producing them
- Experiment with language
  - identify creative uses of language and visuals in popular culture, such as commercials, rock videos and magazines; explain how imagery and figurative language, such as hyperbole, create tone and mood
2.4 Create Original Text
- Generate ideas
  - create oral, print and other media texts related to issues encountered in texts and in own life
- Elaborate on the expression of ideas
  - retell oral, print and other media texts from different points of view
- Structure texts
  - create oral, print and other media texts with both main and minor characters
  - choose forms or genres of oral, print or other media texts for the particular affects they will have on audiences and purposes
    - Identify the author's purpose (8-C.1)

3 Manage ideas and information

3.1 Plan and Focus
- Focus attention
  - experiment with several ways to focus a topic, and select a form appropriate to audience and purpose
  - identify and trace the development of arguments, opinions or points of view in oral, print and other media texts
- Determine information needs
  - select the most appropriate information sources for topic, audience, purpose and form
- Plan to gather information
  - choose a plan to access, gather and record information, according to self-selected parameters
3.2 Select and Process
- Use a variety of sources
  - obtain information from a variety of sources, such as artifacts, debates, forums, biographies, autobiographies, surveys, documentaries, films, CDROMs, charts and tables, when conducting research
    - Read and understand informational passages (8-G.1)
- Access information
  - expand and use a variety of tools and text features, such as subtitles, margin notes, key words, electronic searches, previews, reviews, visual effects and sound effects, to access information
  - record key ideas and information from oral, print and other media texts, avoiding overuse of direct quotations
  - adjust rate of reading or viewing to suit purpose and density of information in print or other media texts
- Evaluate sources
  - develop and use criteria for evaluating the usefulness, currency and reliability of information for a particular research project
3.3 Organize, Record and Evaluate
- Organize information
  - organize ideas and information creatively, as well as logically, to develop a comparison or chronology, or to show a cause-effect relationship
    - Order topics from broadest to narrowest (8-J.1)
    - Organize information by main idea (8-J.2)
  - organize ideas and information to establish an overall impression or point of view in oral, print and other media texts
- Record information
  - make notes in point form, summarizing major ideas and supporting details; reference sources
  - discard information that is irrelevant for audience, purpose, form or point of view
    - Identify the author's purpose (8-C.1)
  - use a consistent and approved format to give credit for quoted and paraphrased ideas and information
    - Identify plagiarism (8-O.1)
- Evaluate information
  - evaluate the relevance and importance of gathered information; address information gaps
    - Choose evidence to support a claim (8-K.2)
  - incorporate new information with prior knowledge and experiences to develop new understanding
3.4 Share and Review
- Share ideas and information
  - communicate ideas and information in a variety of oral, print and other media texts, such as interviews, minilessons and documentaries
  - integrate appropriate visual, print and/or other media to inform and engage the audience
- Review research process
  - assess the research process, and consider alternative ways of achieving research goals

4 Enhance the clarity and artistry of communication

4.1 Enhance and improve
- Appraise own and others' work
  - share draft oral, print and other media texts in a way that will elicit useful feedback
  - evaluate how particular content features contribute to, or detract from, the overall effectiveness of own and others' oral, print and other media texts; make and suggest revisions
    - Suggest appropriate revisions (8-N.6)
- Revise and edit
  - revise by adding words and phrases that emphasize important ideas or create dominant impressions
  - revise to enhance sentence variety, word choice and appropriate tone
  - enhance the coherence and impact of documents, using electronic editing functions
  - use paragraph structures to demonstrate unity and coherence
- Enhance legibility
  - vary handwriting style and pace, depending on the context, audience and purpose
  - choose an effective format for documents, depending on the content, audience and purpose
- Expand knowledge of language
  - explore and explain ways that new words, phrases and manners of expression enter the language as a result of factors, such as popular culture, technology, other languages
  - infer the literal and figurative meaning of words in context, using idioms, analogies, metaphors and similes
- Enhance artistry
  - experiment with figurative language, voice, sentence patterns, camera angle and music to create an impression or mood
4.2 Attend to conventions
- Attend to grammar and usage
  - use words and phrases to modify, clarify and enhance ideas and descriptions in own writing
  - use a variety of simple, compound and complex sentence structures to communicate effectively, and to make writing interesting
  - use correct pronoun– antecedent agreement in own writing
  - use verb tenses consistently throughout a piece of writing
- Attend to spelling
  - develop a systematic and effective approach to studying and remembering the correct spelling of key words encountered in a variety of print and other media texts
    - Use dictionary entries (8-X.3)
    - Use dictionary definitions (8-X.4)
  - use knowledge of spelling generalizations and how words are formed to spell technical terms and unfamiliar words in own writing
  - identify the use of spelling variants in print and other media texts, and discuss the effectiveness depending on audience and purpose
- Attend to capitalization and punctuation
  - use hyphens to break words at the end of lines, and to make a new word from two related words in own writing
    - Use hyphens in compound adjectives (8-OO.2)
  - identify semicolons, dashes and hyphens when reading, and use them to assist comprehension
  - use parentheses appropriately in own writing
  - use appropriate capitalization and punctuation for referencing oral, print and other media texts
4.3 Present and share
- Present information
  - plan and facilitate small group and short, whole class presentations to share information
- Enhance presentation
  - present information to achieve a particular purpose and to appeal to interest and background knowledge of reader or audience
- Use effective oral and visual communication
  - plan and shape presentations to achieve particular purposes or effects, and use feedback from rehearsals to make modifications
- Demonstrate attentive listening and viewing
  - anticipate the organizational pattern of presentations, and identify important ideas and supporting details
  - use appropriate verbal and nonverbal feedback to respond respectfully

Alberta

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Actions

2 Comprehend and respond personally and critically to oral, print and other media texts

2.1 Use Strategies and Cues

Use prior knowledge

use strategies to supplement and extend prior knowledge and experiences when interpreting new ideas and information

use knowledge of authors, forms and genres, developed during previous reading, to direct and extend reading experiences

Use comprehension strategies

enhance understanding by paraphrasing main ideas and supporting details, and by rereading and discussing relevant passages

monitor understanding; skim, scan or read slowly and carefully, as appropriate, to enhance comprehension

take notes, make outlines and use such strategies as read, recite, review to comprehend and remember ideas and information

Use textual cues

identify and use visual and textual cues in reference materials, such as catalogues, databases, web sites, thesauri and writers' handbooks, to access information effectively and efficiently

identify and use structural features of a variety of oral, print and other media texts, such as newspapers, magazines, instruction booklets, advertisements and schedules, encountered in everyday life to access ideas and information and to read with purpose

Use phonics and structural analysis

choose and use strategies for word identification, vocabulary development and spelling that either build on specific strengths or address areas for improvement

Use references

use a thesaurus to extend vocabulary and locate appropriate words that express particular aspects of meaning

2.2 Respond to Texts

Experience various texts

experience oral, print and other media texts from a variety of cultural traditions and genres, such as magazine articles, diaries, drama, poetry, Internet passages, fantasy, nonfiction, advertisements and photographs

write and represent narratives from other points of view

expect that there is more than one interpretation for oral, print and other media texts, and discuss other points of view

explain connections between own interpretation and information in texts, and infer how texts will influence others

make connections between biographical information about authors, illustrators, storytellers and filmmakers and their texts

Construct meaning from texts

interpret the choices and motives of characters portrayed in oral, print and other media texts, and examine how they relate to self and others

identify and describe characters' attributes and motivations, using evidence from the text and personal experiences

discuss various ways characters are developed and the reasons for and plausibility of character change

compare two similar oral, print or other media texts by considering the characters, plot, conflicts and main ideas

Appreciate the artistry of texts

discuss how techniques, such as word choice, balance, camera angles, line and framing, communicate meaning and enhance effects in oral, print and other media texts

identify ways that characters can be developed, and discuss how character, plot and setting are interconnected and mutually supportive

identify and discuss how word choice and order, figurative language, plot, setting and character work together to create mood and tone

2.3 Understand, Forms, Elements, and Techniques

Understand forms and genres

discuss how the choice of form or genre of oral, print and other media texts is appropriate to purpose and audience

compare the usefulness of different types of media texts

Understand techniques and elements

distinguish theme from topic or main idea in oral, print and other media texts

identify and explain characters' qualities and motivations, by considering their words and actions, their interactions with other characters and the author's or narrator's perspective

compare and contrast the different perspectives provided by first and third person narration

summarize the content of media texts, and discuss the choices made in planning and producing them

Experiment with language

identify creative uses of language and visuals in popular culture, such as commercials, rock videos and magazines; explain how imagery and figurative language, such as hyperbole, create tone and mood

2.4 Create Original Text

Generate ideas

create oral, print and other media texts related to issues encountered in texts and in own life

Elaborate on the expression of ideas

retell oral, print and other media texts from different points of view

Structure texts

create oral, print and other media texts with both main and minor characters

choose forms or genres of oral, print or other media texts for the particular affects they will have on audiences and purposes

3 Manage ideas and information

3.1 Plan and Focus

Focus attention

experiment with several ways to focus a topic, and select a form appropriate to audience and purpose

identify and trace the development of arguments, opinions or points of view in oral, print and other media texts

Determine information needs

select the most appropriate information sources for topic, audience, purpose and form

Plan to gather information

choose a plan to access, gather and record information, according to self-selected parameters

3.2 Select and Process

Use a variety of sources

obtain information from a variety of sources, such as artifacts, debates, forums, biographies, autobiographies, surveys, documentaries, films, CDROMs, charts and tables, when conducting research

Access information

expand and use a variety of tools and text features, such as subtitles, margin notes, key words, electronic searches, previews, reviews, visual effects and sound effects, to access information

record key ideas and information from oral, print and other media texts, avoiding overuse of direct quotations

adjust rate of reading or viewing to suit purpose and density of information in print or other media texts

Evaluate sources

develop and use criteria for evaluating the usefulness, currency and reliability of information for a particular research project

3.3 Organize, Record and Evaluate

Organize information

organize ideas and information creatively, as well as logically, to develop a comparison or chronology, or to show a cause-effect relationship

organize ideas and information to establish an overall impression or point of view in oral, print and other media texts

Record information

make notes in point form, summarizing major ideas and supporting details; reference sources

discard information that is irrelevant for audience, purpose, form or point of view

use a consistent and approved format to give credit for quoted and paraphrased ideas and information