English Curriculum - 8th grade - French American School of Silicon Valley

Read closely to determine what the text says explicitly and to make logical inferences from it; cite specific textual evidence when writing or speaking to support conclusions drawn from the text
Cite the textual evidence that most strongly supports an analysis of what the text says explicitly as well as inferences drawn from the text
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
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
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

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
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
Analyze in detail the structure of a specific paragraph in a text, including the role of sentences in developing and refining a key concept
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
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

Write arguments to support claims in analysis of substantive topics or texts, using valid reasoning and relevant sufficient evidence
Write informative and explanatory texts, including business letters and school applications, to convey ideas, concepts, and clear information
Use appropriate and varied transitions to create cohesion and clarify the relationships among ideas and concepts
Establish and maintain a formal style
Write narratives to develop real or imagined experiences or events using effective techniques, relevant descriptive details, and well-structured event sequences
Produce clear and coherent writing in which the development, organization, and style are appropriate to task, purpose, and audience.
Use technology, including the internet, to produce and publish writing and present the relationships between information and ideas efficiently as well as to interact and collaborate with others
Write routinely over extended time frames

Presents claims and findings, emphasizing salient points in a focused, coherent manner with relevant evidence, sound reasoning, and well-chosen details
Integrate multimedia and visual displays into presentations to clarify information, strengthen claims, and add interest
Demonstrate command of the conventions of standard English grammar and usage when writing or speaking
Demonstrate command of the conventions of standard English capitalization, punctuation, and spelling when writing
Demonstrate understanding of figurative language, word relationships, and nuances in word meanings
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

Know position is defined in relation to some choice of a standard reference point and a set of reference directions
Know that average speed is a total distance traveled divided by the total time elapsed and the speed of an object along the path traveled can vary
Solve problems involving distance, time, and average speed
Know how to interpret graphs of position versus time and graphs of speed versus time for motion in a single direction
Know the structure of the atom and how it is composed of protons, neutrons, and electrons
Know that compounds are formed by combining two or more different elements and that compounds have properties that are different from their constituent elements
Know how to identify separately the two or more forces that are acting on a single static object, including gravity, elastic forces due to tension or compression in matter, and friction
Know the states of matter depend on molecular motion
Plans and conducts a scientific investigation to test a hypothesis
Distinguish between variable and controlled parameters in a test
Construct appropriate graphs from data and develop quantitative statements about the relationships between variables

Build a function that models a relationship between two quantities
Use function notation, evaluate functions for inputs in their domains, and interpret statements that use function notation in terms of context
Summarize, represent, and interpret data on a single count or measurable variable
Solve systems of equations
Perform arithmetic operations on polynomials

Know precise definitions of angle, circle, perpendicular line, parallel line, and line segment, based on the undefined notions of point
Given a rectangle, parallelogram, trapezoid, or regular polygon, describe the notations and reflections that carry it onto itself
Given a geometric figure and a rotation, reflection, or translation, draw the transformed figure using graph paper, tracing paper, or geometry program online

Use geometric descriptions of rigid motions to transform figures and to predict the effect of a given rigid motion on a give figure; given two figures, us the definition f congruence in terms of rigid motions to decide if they are congruent
Use the definition of congruence in terms of rigid motions to show that two triangles are congruent if and only if corresponding pairs of angles are congruent
Explain how the criteria for triangle congruence (ASA, SAS, and SSS) follow from the definition of congruence in terms of rigid motions

Prove theorems about lines and angles
Prove theorems about triangles
Prove theorems about parallelograms
Make geometric constructions with a variety of tools and methods
Construct an equilateral triangle, a square, and a regular hexagon inscribed in a circle

Use congruence and similarity criteria for triangles to solve problems and to prove relationships in geometric figures
Given two figures, use the definition of similarity in terms of similarity transformations to decide if they are similar
Explain and use the relationship between the sine and cosine of complementary angles
Use trigonometric ratios and the Pythagorean Theorem to solve triangles in applied problems

Find the conditional probability of A given B as the fraction of B’s outcomes that also belong to A and interpret the answer in terms of the model.
Understand that two events A and B are independent if the probability of A and B occurring together is the product of their probabilities and use this characterization to determine if they are independent.