Warwick School District

Curriculum❯Reading Intervention

Reading Intervention

Grade Levels: 07 | 08 |

Course Description

This year-long Reading Intervention course is designed to support 8th-grade students who require additional instruction to strengthen reading, writing, and critical thinking skills. Through explicit, structured, and research-based instruction, students develop foundational literacy skills necessary to successfully engage with grade-level texts across content areas.

The course focuses on close reading strategies, comprehension of literary and informational texts, vocabulary development, fluency, grammar, and evidence-based writing. Students participate in guided reading, independent reading, collaborative discussions, and structured writing tasks to build confidence and academic stamina. Instruction is differentiated and data-driven, allowing teachers to adjust lessons based on student progress and individual needs.

By emphasizing practical reading and communication skills, this course prepares students for the academic demands of high school while fostering growth, perseverance, and lifelong learning habits.

Core Curriculum Content Standards

PA Common Core: English Language Arts (2013)

  • Reading Informational Text: Students read, understand, and respond to informational text – with emphasis on comprehension, making connections among ideas and between texts with focus on textual evidence.

    • GRADE 8

      • 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 objectivesummary of the text.(1.2.8.A)
      • Analyze how a text makes connections among and distinctions between individuals, ideas, or events.(1.2.8.C)
      • Determine an author’s point of view or purpose in a text and analyze how the author acknowledges and responds to conflicting evidence or viewpoints.(1.2.8.D)
      • Analyze the structure of the text through evaluation of the author’s use of specific sentences and paragraphs to develop and refine a concept.(1.2.8.E)
      • Analyze two or more texts that provide conflicting information on the same topic and identify where the texts disagree on matters of fact or interpretation.(1.2.8.I)
      • Acquire and use accurately grade-appropriate general academic and domain-specific words and phrases; gather vocabulary knowledge when considering a word or phrase important to comprehension or expression.(1.2.8.J)
      • Determine or clarify the meaning of unknown and multiple-meaning words and phrases based on grade level reading and content, choosing flexibly from a range of strategies and tools.(1.2.8.K)
      • Read and comprehend literary non-fiction and informational text on grade level, reading independently and proficiently.(1.2.8.L)

  • Reading Literature: Students read and respond to works of literature - with emphasis on comprehension, making connections among ideas and between texts with focus on textual evidence.

    • GRADE 8

      • 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.(1.3.8.A)
      • Determine a theme or central idea of a text and analyze its development over the course of the text, including its relationship to the characters, setting, and plot; provide an objective summary of the text.(1.3.8.B)
      • Cite the textual evidence that most strongly supports an analysis of what the text says explicitly as well as inferences, conclusions, and/or generalizations drawn from the text.(1.3.8.C)
      • Determine an author’s point of view or purpose in a text and analyze how the author acknowledges and responds to conflicting evidence or viewpoints.(1.3.8.D)
      • Analyze the development of the meaning through the overall structure of multiple texts.(1.3.8.E)
      • Analyze the influence of the words and phrases in a text including figurative and connotative meanings; and how they shape meaning and tone.(1.3.8.F)
      • Acquire and use accurately grade-appropriate general academic and domain-specific words and phrases; gather vocabulary knowledge when considering a word or phrase important to comprehension or expression.(1.3.8.J)
      • Read and comprehend literary fiction on grade level, reading independently and proficiently.(1.3.8.K)

  • Writing: Students write for different purposes and audiences. Students write clear and focused text to convey a well-defined perspective and appropriate content.

    • GRADE 8

      • Write informative/ explanatory texts to examine a topic and convey ideas, concepts, and information clearly.(1.4.8.A)
      • Identify and introduce the topic clearly, including a preview of what is to follow.(1.4.8.B)
      • Develop and analyze the topic with relevant, well-chosen facts, definitions, concrete details, quotations, or other information and examples; include graphics and multimedia when useful to aiding comprehension.(1.4.8.C)
      • Organize ideas, concepts, and information into broader categories; use appropriate and varied transitions to create cohesion and clarify the relationships among ideas and concepts; provide a concluding statement or section; include formatting when useful to aiding comprehension.(1.4.8.D)
      • Demonstrate a grade appropriate command of the conventions of standard English grammar and spelling.(1.4.8.E)
      • Write arguments to support claims.(1.4.8.G)
      • Demonstrate a grade appropriate command of the conventions of standard English grammar and spelling.(1.4.8.L)

  • Speaking and Listening: Students present appropriately in formal speaking situations, listen critically, and respond intelligently as individuals or in group discussions.

    • GRADE 8

      • Engage effectively in a range of collaborative discussions, on grade level topics, texts, and issues, building on others’ ideas and expressing their own clearly.(1.5.8.A)
      • Adapt speech to a variety of contexts and tasks.(1.5.8.F)
      • Demonstrate command of the conventions of standard English when speaking based on grade 8 level and content.(1.5.8.G)

English Language Arts: Assessment Anchors and Eligible Content (2014/2017)

  • Grade 8

    • Literature Text

      • Key Ideas and Details

        • Demonstrate understanding of key ideas and details in literature.(E08.A-K.1.1)
          • Cite the textual evidence that most strongly supports an analysis of what the text says explicitly as well as inferences, conclusions, and/or generalizations drawn from the text.(E08.A-K.1.1.1)
          • Determine a theme or central idea of a text and analyze its development over the course of the text, including its relationship to the characters, setting, and plot; provide an objective summary of the text.(E08.A-K.1.1.2)
          • Analyze how particular lines of dialogue or incidents in a story, drama, or poem propel the action, reveal aspects of a character, or provoke a decision.(E08.A-K.1.1.3)

      • Integration of Knowledge and Ideas

        • Demonstrate understanding of connections within, between, and/or among texts.(E08.A-C.3.1)

      • Vocabulary Acquisition and Use

        • Demonstrate understanding of vocabulary and figurative language in literature.(E08.A-V.4.1)
          • 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.a. Use context (e.g., the overall meaning of a sentence or paragraph; a wordís position or function in a sentence) as a clue to the meaning of a word or phrase.b. Use common, grade-appropriate Greek or Latin affixes and roots as clues to the meaning of a word (e.g., precede, recede, secede).(E08.A-V.4.1.1)
          • Demonstrate understanding of figurative language, word relationships, and nuances in word meanings.a. Interpret figures of speech (e.g., verbal irony, puns) in context.b. Use the relationship between particular words to better understand each of the words.c. Distinguish among the connotations (associations) of words with similar denotations (definitions) (e.g., bullheaded, willful, firm, persistent, resolute).(E08.A-V.4.1.2)

    • Informational Text

      • Key Ideas and Details

        • Demonstrate understanding of key ideas and details in informational texts.(E08.B-K.1.1)

      • Craft and Structure

        • Demonstrate understanding of craft and structure in informational texts.(E08.B-C.2.1)
          • Determine an authorís point of view or purpose in a text and analyze how the author acknowledges and responds to conflicting evidence or viewpoints.(E08.B-C.2.1.1)
          • Analyze in detail the structure of a specific paragraph in a text, including the role of particular sentences in developing and refining a key concept.(E08.B-C.2.1.2)
          • Determine how the author uses the meaning of words or phrases, including figurative, connotative, or technical meanings, in a text; analyze the impact of specific word choices on meaning and tone, including analogies or allusions to other texts.(E08.B-C.2.1.3)

      • Integration of Knowledge and Ideas

        • Demonstrate understanding of connections within, between, and/or among informational texts.(E08.B-C.3.1)

      • Vocabulary Acquisition and Use

        • Demonstrate understanding of vocabulary and figurative language in informational texts.(E08.B-V.4.1)

    • Writing

      • Text Types and Purposes

        • Write arguments to support claims with clear reasons and relevant evidence.(E08.C.1.1)
        • Write informative/explanatory texts to examine a topic and convey ideas, concepts, and information through the selection, organization, and analysis of relevant content.(E08.C.1.2)

    • Language

      • Conventions of Standard English

        • Demonstrate command of the conventions of standard English grammar and usage.(E08.D.1.1)
        • Demonstrate command of the conventions of standard English capitalization, punctuation, and spelling.(E08.D.1.2)

      • Knowledge of Language

        • Use knowledge of language and its conventions.(E08.D.2.1)
          • Use verbs in the active and passive voice and in the conditional and subjunctive mood to achieve particular effects (e.g., emphasizing the actor or the action, expressing uncertainty, or describing a state contrary to fact).(E08.D.2.1.1)
          • Vary sentence patterns for meaning, reader/listener interest, and style.(E08.D.2.1.3)
          • Maintain consistency in style and tone.(E08.D.2.1.4)
          • Choose punctuation for effect.(E08.D.2.1.5)

    • Text-Dependent Analysis

      • Evidence-Based Analysis of Text

        • Draw evidence from literary or informational texts to support analysis, reflection, and research.(E08.E.1.1)

Units

Unit #1 - Foundations

Unit #2 - Close Reading Strategies in Literature & Informational Text

Unit #3 - Craft and Structure

Unit #4 - Main Idea and Theme

Unit #5 - Independent Reading Strategies

Unit #6 - Practical Grammar

Unit #7 - Text-Dependent Analysis

Unit #8 - Speaking and Listening

Course Resources