8th Grade Language Arts Lesson Plans
Time4Learning is an online student-paced learning system covering preschool through middle school. It is popular as an eighth grade homeschool curriculum, for afterschool enrichment, for remediation, and for summer study. If you are just learning about Time4Learning, we’d suggest first looking at our interactive lesson demos.
The lesson plans below provide a detailed list of the language arts and language arts extensions, with brief activity descriptions and learning activity (LA) numbers. Additional resources related to eighth grade language arts are also provided.
Members often use this page as a resource for more detailed planning, to choose specific activities using the activity finder or to compare our curriculum with state standards.
Eighth grade language arts is organized into two large sections:
- Language Arts – 134 Activities
- Language Arts Extensions – 82 Activities
Language Arts Lesson Plan – 8th Grade Curriculum
Total Activities: 134
The student will demonstrate knowledge by determining the meaning of synonyms from grade level appropriate vocabulary, by correctly choosing a given word or phrase that means the same thing, in reading activities that incorporate explicit instruction and application.
The student will demonstrate knowledge by determining the meaning of antonyms from grade level appropriate vocabulary, by correctly choosing a given word or phrase that means the opposite, in reading activities that incorporate explicit instruction and application.
The student will be able to analyze and determine the correct meaning of a word, based on the prefix of the root word or how the prefix is used in the context of a passage.
The student will be able to analyze and determine the correct meaning of a word, based on the suffix of the root word or how the suffix is used in the context of a passage.
The student will be able to identify and select the appropriate homophone or word that sounds the same, based on the context of a passage which fits the best meaning of the given word or phrase.
The student will be able to identify and analyze the author’s use of idioms, based on the context of a passage and how these expressions are used in literal and interpretative information.
The student will be able to identify and determine the meaning of unknown words, based on the understanding of Latin and Greek roots.
Use the reading comprehension process skills of summarizing, predicting, visualizing, questioning, and clarifying with extensive scaffolding and support, through think aloud prompts.
Use the reading comprehension process skills of summarizing, predicting, visualizing, questioning, and clarifying with scaffolding and support, through think aloud prompts.
Use the reading comprehension process skills of summarizing, predicting, visualizing, questioning, and clarifying to independently read and comprehend texts with minimal think aloud support.
Make a summary, paraphrase, or synthesize information from two or more literary or expository texts.
Analyze and explain the impact of characters and settings within the plot of literary text(s), and how these relationships affect the central conflict leading to the climax and resolution.
Identify the ways major and minor conflicts affect character’s actions by comparing and contrasting actions, setting(s), symbolism, and plot from various literary texts.
Identify, summarize, or explain the main idea(s) using the supporting details in an expository text.
Identify, summarize, or explain the main idea(s) or theme(s) using the supporting details and symbolism in a literary text.
Read, interpret and make predictions using charts, graphs, diagrams, maps or other graphic representations.
Identify cause and effect relationships that involve characters and events, and distinguishing cause from effect in literary and expository texts.
Identify and use knowledge of the author’s purpose by analyzing how the literary techniques of mood and tone affects author’s perspective and contributes to the comprehension of a literary or expository text.
Use knowledge, information, and ideas from literary texts, expository texts, or from multiple sources to make inferences about the text(s) (e.g., make inferences, draw conclusions, make generalizations, infer sequence of events, and infer a character’s feelings.)
Compare and contrast information and ideas within a text or between two or more texts (literary or expository), including metaphors and point of view.
Students will demonstrate knowledge of comprehension skills on grade level appropriate literary and expository passages, with questions that simulate a high-stakes assessment.
Through an exploratory activity, the student will acquire background information that will set the stage for the anchor piece, an excerpt from the realistic fiction novel Surviving the Applewhites. The student will develop vocabulary through the use of a literature-based glossary and an interactive assessment activity that focuses on correctly identifying a vocabulary word with its definition. The student will also respond to a prewriting prompt.
The student will achieve comprehension by reading an excerpt from the realistic fiction novel Surviving the Applewhites with emphasis on vocabulary and fluency. The student will be assessed on their comprehension of the literature selection by answering questions about making inferences, drawing conclusions, sequence, characterization, recalling details, cause and effect, point of view, compare/contrast, summarizing, and the impact of setting on character.
The student will use a variety of strategies to comprehend reading selections and be assessed on vocabulary contained in the literature selection. The student will analyze and evaluate the literature piece by responding to literary response and analysis prompts. Through a comprehension activity that incorporates direct instruction, a practice, and an assessment component, the student will focus on how dialogue is used to develop characters and mood in the selection. A reteach component provides a different instructional modality for students who need additional direct instruction on the characterization and mood objective.
Through a series of writing activities that incorporate direct instruction, a practice, and an assessment component, the student will focus on writing a persuasive composition that states a clear position in support of a proposal as it relates to a college application essay. The student will respond to prompts to write a college application essay of his or her own.
Through an exploratory activity, the student will acquire background information that will set the stage for the anchor piece, the short story Ruthie’s Journal. The student will develop vocabulary through the use of a literature-based glossary and an interactive assessment activity that focuses on correctly identifying a vocabulary word with its definition. The student will also respond to a prewriting prompt.
The student will achieve comprehension by reading the short story Ruthie’s Journal with emphasis on vocabulary and fluency. The student will be assessed on their comprehension of the literature selection by answering questions about author’s purpose, mood, summarizing, recognizing main idea, recalling details, supporting details, theme, characterization, point of view, and cause and effect.
The student will use a variety of strategies to comprehend reading selections and be assessed on vocabulary contained in the literature selection. The student will analyze and evaluate the literature piece by responding to literary response and analysis prompts. Through a comprehension activity that incorporates direct instruction, a practice, and an assessment component, the student will focus on identifying text that uses sequencing or other types of logical order in the selection. A reteach component provides a different instructional modality for students who need additional direct instruction on the sequence of events objective.
Through a series of writing activities that incorporate direct instruction, a practice, and an assessment component, the student will focus on writing an informational report that develops a topic with simple facts, details, examples and explanations as it relates to a travel article. The student will respond to a prompt to write a travel article of his or her own.
Through an exploratory activity, the student will acquire background information that will set the stage for the anchor piece, an excerpt from Shipwreck at the Bottom of the World. The student will develop vocabulary through the use of a literature-based glossary and an interactive assessment activity that focuses on correctly identifying a vocabulary word with its definition. The student will also respond to a prewriting prompt.
The student will achieve comprehension by reading an excerpt from the true story Shipwreck at the Bottom of the World: The Extraordinary True Story of Shackleton and the Endurance with emphasis on vocabulary and fluency. The student will be assessed on their comprehension of the literature selection by answering questions about making inferences, personification, sequence, impact of plot on characters, cause and effect, theme, mood, supporting details, drawing conclusions, and utilizing analogy.
The student will use a variety of strategies to comprehend reading selections and be assessed on vocabulary contained in the literature selection. The student will analyze and evaluate the literature piece by responding to literary response and analysis prompts. Through a comprehension activity that incorporates direct instruction, a practice, and an assessment component, the student will focus on identifying and summarizing main and supporting ideas in the selection. A reteach component provides a different instructional modality for students who need additional direct instruction on the summarization objective.
Through a series of writing activities that incorporate direct instruction, a practice, and an assessment component, the student will focus on writing a cover letter and will respond to a prompt where they will write his or her own.
Through an exploratory activity, the student will acquire background information that will set the stage for the anchor piece, a series of poems from the book 19 Varieties of Gazelle: Poems of the Middle East. The student will develop vocabulary through the use of a literature-based glossary and an interactive assessment activity that focuses on correctly identifying a vocabulary word with its definition. The student will also respond to a prewriting prompt.
The student will achieve comprehension by reading poems from 19 Varieties of Gazelle: Poems of the Middle East with emphasis on vocabulary and fluency. The student will be assessed on their comprehension of the literature selection by answering questions about main idea, cause and effect, symbolism, making inferences, mood, tone, point of view, and literary technique.
The student will use a variety of strategies to comprehend reading selections and be assessed on vocabulary contained in the literature selection. The student will analyze and evaluate the literature piece by responding to literary response and analysis prompts. Through a comprehension activity that incorporates direct instruction, a practice, and an assessment component, the student will focus on identifying and analyzing themes in the selection. A reteach component provides a different instructional modality for students who need additional direct instruction on theme.
Through a series of writing activities that incorporate direct instruction, a practice, and an assessment component, the student will focus on free verse poetry. The student will respond to prompts to write a free verse poem of his or her own.
Through an exploratory activity, the student will acquire background information that will set the stage for the anchor piece, an excerpt from the historical fiction novel True North. The student will develop vocabulary through the use of a literature-based glossary and an interactive assessment activity that focuses on correctly identifying a vocabulary word with its definition. The student will also respond to a prewriting prompt.
The student will achieve comprehension by reading an excerpt from the historical fiction novel True North: A Novel of the Underground Railroad with emphasis on vocabulary and fluency. The student will be assessed on their comprehension of the literature selection by answering questions about the impact of setting, drawing conclusions, characterization, making inferences, cause and effect, supporting details, author’s purpose, recognizing main idea, point of view, and impact of setting on character.
The student will use a variety of strategies to comprehend reading selections and be assessed on vocabulary contained in the literature selection. The student will analyze and evaluate the literature piece by responding to literary response and analysis prompts. Through a comprehension activity that incorporates direct instruction, a practice, and an assessment component, the student will focus on identifying and analyzing text that uses compare and contrast in the selection. A reteach component provides a different instructional modality for students who need additional direct instruction on the compare and contrast objective.
Through a series of writing activities that incorporate direct instruction, a practice, and an assessment component, the student will focus on writing a biographical or autobiographical narrative or short story that relates a clear, coherent incident, event or situation by using well-chosen details. The student will respond to a prompt to write a biography of his or her own.
Language Arts Extensions Lesson Plan – 8th Grade Curriculum
Total Activities: 82Students will understand the fundamentals of cartooning, examine various types of cartoon illustrations, learn drawing techniques for created animated figures, and finally, create a cartoon drawing of their own.
Students will learn about artificial offshore island and floating island, build a model of an artificial offshore island, and write a plan for an artificial offshore island design.
Student will learn about masks throughout history, study the uses of masks, and review mask materials and designs to construct and decorate a mask.
Students will learn about the different components of the eye and how it works, and explore the importance of our physical senses.
Students will read about 19th century games, parties, celebrations, and holidays. They will also describe their own family celebrations and traditions or write about traveling in a 19th century wagon train.
Students will learn how we taste and smell flavors, study the elements of flavor, and describe an appealing food or conduct a food survey.
Students will identify the author’s purpose or viewpoint expressed in a passage, make predictions and judgments about the effects of Hurricane Andrew, and use imagination and writing skills to develop a story line.
Students will study political pioneers, learn about the political struggles of women and minorities, and learn about the importance of wise voting in a democracy. They will then write about the qualities of a good national leader.
Students will learn about the Vietnam Veterans Memorial and it’s architect, Maya Lin. They will then design a monument for their school or write about the Lincoln Memorial.
Students will recall and interpret details of the story to make predictions and inferences, identify similes, and make judgments and assessments based on the information in the story. They will then write a persuasive paragraph about the pros and cons.
Students will identify setting and mood of a ghost story, make judgments and assessments based on the story content, and develop a ghost story using specific characters and details.
Students will read the 19th century Louisa May Alcott story, Dr. Dorn’s Revenge, and study character traits and motives and the inability to buy happiness. Students will then write the story’s conclusion or about decision making and character building.
Students will determine purpose and main idea of 1915 poem, The Road Not Taken, by Robert Frost; study lyrical elements of a poem; and study the purpose and main ideas of poems. They will then evaluate their decisions and explain their choices.
Students will analyze a Langston Hughes poem, Mother to Son. They will make judgments and draw conclusions based on interpretation of detail. Students will then write a poem using elements of free verse.
Students will read and analyze the 1819 Percy Bysshe Shelley poem, Ode to the West Wind. They will then study the literary devices: simile, metaphor, and personification. Finally, students will study colorful color words and write a nature “ode”.
Students will analyze the poem, The Old Man’s Lazy, by Mohawk Indian writer Peter Blue Cloud. The students will learn about implication and inference, and study literary devices. The students will then write about an inanimate object or write a story.
Students will analyze President John F. Kennedy’s January 1961 inaugural address, make inferences, draw conclusions, and predict outcomes based on the wording. They students will then compose a letter to the President of the United States.
Students will learn about the health risks associated with steroid use in our society, make inferences and conclusions about the main points in the article, and write a speech about the dangers of taking steroids or create a bumper sticker.
Students will read an article on the tobacco industry’s manipulation and marketing ploys, identify the use of supportive evidence in persuasive writing and then write a persuasive product advertisement or a campaign against tobacco.
Students will learn the rules for forming and using possessive nouns, choose possessive nouns to complete sentences, and differentiate between nouns with shared and separate ownership.
Students will learn rules for apostrophes, identify words needing apostrophes, and place apostrophes correctly.
The student will use a variety of strategies to comprehend reading selections and be assessed on vocabulary contained in the literature selection. The student will analyze and evaluate the literature piece by responding to literary response and analysis prompts. Through a comprehension activity that incorporates direct instruction, a practice, and an assessment component, the student will focus on identifying and summarizing main and supporting ideas in the selection. A reteach component provides a different instructional modality for students who need additional direct instruction on the summarization objective.
Through a series of writing activities that incorporate direct instruction, a practice, and an assessment component, the student will focus on writing a cover letter and will respond to a prompt where they will write his or her own.
Students will learn rules for comparative and superlative adverbs, and determine adverb forms to complete sentences.
Students will learn commonly misspelled and misused words, choose homophones to complete sentences, and identify and correct spelling or usage errors in sentences.
Students will learn rules for comparative and superlative adjectives, determine comparative and superlative forms, choose adjectives to complete sentences, and find errors with adjectives of degree.
Students will learn spelling rules and combinations for vowels and consonants, and study exceptions to spelling rules and identify misspelled words.
Students will study spelling rules for plural words, prefixes, suffixes, and words ending in consonants. They will also learn about structural units in words and exceptions to spelling rules.
Students will learn rules for commas, place commas correctly, recognize correct use of commas, and identify sentence elements.
Students will learn the rules for using periods, question marks, and exclamation points. They will also identify and correct punctuation errors in sentences.
Students will learn the rules for capitalization. Students will also identify, correct, and use capitalization correctly in sentences.
Students will learn the rules for quotation marks, place quotation marks correctly, and identify errors with quotation marks and punctuation.
Students will learn rules for colons and semicolons, and determine whether sentences need colons or semicolons.
Students will learn the rules for using dashes, hyphens, and parenthesis. Students will also determine the correct hyphenation of words.
Students will recognize proofreading marks, learn grammar rules, and study punctuation rules for end punctuation, commas, and apostrophes.
Students will learn capitalization rules for salutation and complimentary closing letters; capitalization rules for titles and quotations; and proofread and correct capitalization errors.
Students will learn the rules for forming and using infinitives and infinitive phrases. Students will then differentiate between infinitive phrases and prepositional phrases, as well as identify the functions of infinitive phrases.
Students will learn rules for demonstrative adjectives and pronouns. Students will then differentiate between and choose demonstratives in sentences.
Students will learn rules for modifiers, differentiate between modifiers, and identify modified words.
Students will learn the rules for progressive verbs, choose progressive verbs to complete sentences, and differentiate between verb tenses. Students will then identify progressive verbs and recognize correct use of progressive verbs.
Students will learn the rules for using adverbs as intensifiers, identify intensifiers and the elements they modify, and identify questions answered by intensifiers.
Students will learn rules for perfect tense verbs, identify verb tenses, and choose perfect tense verbs to create agreement.
Students will learn to create parallel structure in sentences using grammatical repetition. Student will also identify correct use of parallel structure and correct errors in parallel structure.
Students will learn the rules for forming complex sentence, determine clauses needed to create complex sentences, differentiate between types of sentence, and identify subordinating conjunctions in sentences. Students will then apply their knowledge.
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Lesson Activity Finder Tool
The lesson activity finder is one of the many helpful tools that Time4Learning offers its members. The activity finder is a shortcut that makes it easy for parents to preview lessons or find extra practice for their child.
Every lesson in the curriculum has a unique activity number, referred to in the lesson plans as an “LA Number.” These numbers can be found on either the scope and sequence pages or the lesson plans in the Parent Dashboard.
The activity finder can be found in the lower left hand corner of the Student Dashboard. To use it, members simply log in to their child’s account, type the Learning Activity (LA) number of a lesson into the Activity Finder and click “Go” to open it.
For additional information, please visit our hints and help section, which gives more details about the activity finder.
Additional Resources Related to Eighth Grade Language Arts
If you’re interested in the eighth grade language arts lesson plans, you might also be interested in:
- Seventh grade language arts lesson plans
- Eighth grade math lesson plans
- Eighth grade social studies lesson plans
- Eighth grade spelling lists
- Eighth grade writing standards
Wondering how many lessons to have your child do each day? Our lesson planning worksheet can help you estimate.
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