Scope & Sequence
Grade 8
Unit 1: Locating Supporting Facts
Identify supporting facts by
• distinguishing between facts and ideas
• recognizing key words in idea statements
• relating facts to the key words in ideas
• analyzing how facts support an idea
• identifying three types of facts: examples, details, and statistics
• deducing which facts adequately support ideas being expressed
Unit 2: Using Research Aids
Select and use appropriate reference materials by
• identifying the type of information available in the various reference tools
• identifying key words in a research problem or question
• relating key words to synonyms or related categories
• relating a research problem to a given reference tool
• determining which reference tools best supply needed information
• identifying and using the dictionary, thesaurus, encyclopedia, Current Biography, atlas, almanac, and Reader’s Guide
• using a search engine on the Internet to find a topic or on-line source
Unit 3: Notetaking in Outline Form
Take notes in outline form by
• defining the purpose of outlining and parallel structure
• completing a three-level outline
• writing a paragraph based on an outline
• using a chapter analysis strategy to see how ideas in one paragraph relate to ideas in other paragraphs
• outlining from notes
• outlining textbook passages
• outlining descriptive passages with introductions
• outlining sequential and explanatory passages
Unit 4: Summarizing
Summarize information within four types of text and graphs – narrative/descriptive, explanatory, sequential, and comparative – by
• paraphrasing information to eliminate all but the most essential of the author’s words, to substitute words for the author’s words, or to change the order in which the author stated the information
• analyzing and stating the author’s purpose as related to the type of text
• summarizing each type of text
• using diagrams to summarize comparative paragraphs
• interpreting information in charts and in line, bar, and circle graphs
• summarizing data from graphs and charts
• writing summary statements based on information from two or more sources
Unit 5: Making Analogies
Interpret analogies by
• analyzing synonymous, antonymous, and part-to-whole relationships
• visualizing to make comparisons
• understanding the structure of an analogy
• analyzing same-category and function word-pair relationships
• differentiating analogous relationships from word associations
• completing and writing analogies
• understanding how an analogy relates to an allegory in literature
