English Language Arts and Literacy | Grade : 8
Strand - Reading Literature
Cluster - Craft and Structure
[RL.8.4] - 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, tone, or mood, including allusions and irony. (See grade 8 Language standards 4-6 on applying knowledge of vocabulary to reading.)
- Allusion
Reference to a person, place, thing, or event presumed to be familiar to the audience. Allusions to biblical figures (e.g., the patience of Job) and figures from classical mythology (e.g., a Herculean task) are common in Western literature. - Analysis (Analyze)
In general, a careful examination of the parts of a whole and their relationships to one another; in language arts, a study of how words, sentences, paragraphs, stanzas, or sections of a text affect its meaning. - Connotation
Attitudes and feelings associated with a word. Connotations may be negative (as with tight-fisted) or positive (as with frugal), and they affect style and meaning. See Denotation. - Figurative language
Language enriched by imagery and figures of speech such as simile, metaphor, or personification. - Grade 8 Annotated Literary Interpretation Essay
- Grade 8 Annotated Narrative Poem
- Grade 8 Unmarked Literary Interpretation Essay
- Grade 8 Unmarked Narrative Poem
- Irony
In a literary text, usually takes one of three forms: (a) verbal irony, or language used to convey something different from and often opposite of its literal meaning (e.g., sarcasm); (b) situational irony, or incongruity between expectation and reality that causes surprise (e.g., a plot twist); or (c) dramatic irony, when the audience understands more than a character does (e.g., in a Greek tragedy whose ending is known to the audience). - Massachusetts Anchor Standards for Reading
- Mood
Feeling or atmosphere that an author or speaker creates for an audience. Connotation, description, dialogue, imagery, figurative language, foreshadowing, setting, and rhythm can all help establish mood. See Style, Tone - Phrase
Broadly, any short series of related words; grammatically, a series of related words that lacks either a subject or a predicate or both: for example, by the door or opening the box. See Clause. - Reading Closely to Analyze Complex Texts in the Secondary Grades
- Tone
Expression of a writer’s or speaker’s attitude toward a subject. Unlike mood, which is intended to shape the audience’s emotional response, tone reflects the feelings of a text’s author. Tone can be serious, humorous, sarcastic, playful, ironic, bitter, or objective. See Style.
[L.8.4] -
Determine or clarify the meaning of unknown and multiple-meaning words or phrases based on grade 8 reading and content, choosing flexibly from a range of strategies.
[L.8.5] -
Demonstrate understanding of figurative language, word relationships, and nuances in word meanings.
[L.8.6] -
Acquire and use accurately grade-appropriate general academic and domain-specific words and phrases; independently research words and gather vocabulary knowledge. (See grade 8 Reading Literature Standard 4 and Reading Informational Text Standard 4 on applying knowledge of vocabulary to reading; see grade 1 Writing Standard 5 and Speaking and Listening Standard 4 on strengthening writing and presentations by applying knowledge of vocabulary.)