Grade 8 Curriculum
Literacy Essentials

"Literacy is the door to knowledge, essential to individual self-esteem and empowerment." — Irina Bokova

Provincial Curriculum Documents

EECD Literacy Website

EECD Curriculum Website

EECD Teacher Information Website

Inclusive Education Nova Scotia

Curriculum Documents

Curriculum Support Documents

Inclusive Education Policy (2020)
Atlantic Canada Essential Graduation Competencies (2015)
7&8 Options for Delivery and Resources (2020)
NS EECD Learning Support Website (2020)
Planning for Inquiry in Language Arts (2022)
Inquiry in ELA Supporting Documents (2021)

Assessment Documents

Assessment Policy (2022)
Assessment, Instruction, and Feedback for Learning (2020)
Professional Judgment and Evidence of Learning (2020)
NSA Analytic Writing Rubric (2022)

Classroom Resources

Developmental Continuums

7-9 Stages of Writing Continuum (2020)

Regionally Developed Resources

Reading Resources

Text Levels and Reading Behaviours to Teach (2023)

This document provides information about what text looks like at each level and the reading behaviours to teach at each level.

Writing Resources

Writing Traits P-12 (2023)

This document maps the expected writing traits across the grade levels based on the NS Curriculum.

Other Resources

UDL Tier 1 Checklist for Teachers (2022)

This checklist is designed to support teachers and instructional leaders as they enhance their Tier 1 practices.

Grade 8 Integrated ELA Curriculum Desk Blotter/Poster (vertical)

Grade 8 Integrated ELA Curriculum Desk Blotter/Poster (horizontal)

The purpose of this resource is to provide teachers with a visual tool to support teaching language arts within an integrated curriculum. Desk blotters are made of a series of 11x17 pages. Once printed, they can be assembled like a poster. Some teachers use the verticle blotter as a curriculum menu.

Classroom Resources provided by SSRCE

Click here to find additional literacy resources available in your school, provided by SSRCE.

Click here to learn more about the NS Book Bureau and ordering resources for your classroom.

A Teacher’s Guide to Mentor Texts Grades 6-12 (Distributed 2021-2022- one per school)

Project-Based Writing: Teaching Writers to Manage Time and Clarify Purpose (Distributed 2021-2022- one per school)

Provincial Reading and Writing Assessment

Nova Scotia Assessment: Reading and Writing in Grade 8: Lessons Learned
you will need to login using your GNSPES credentials to access this document

Provincial Assessment Details

In grade 8, The Nova Scotia Assessment: Reading, Writing, and Mathematics/Mathématiques is administered over 4-days between late May–early June. Students in Nova Scotia write a provincial assessment in reading and writing in grades 3, 6, and 8 and write a provincial English exam in grade 10. For more information about provincial assessments and exams go to https://plans.ednet.ns.ca/.

Lessons Learned: For Teachers

This document compiles the data from past RW8 assessments in easy-to-read language to help inform literacy instruction and is intended to support classroom teachers (6-8) and administrators at the school, regional, and provincial levels, in using the information gained from this assessment to inform next steps for literacy focus. We really think that this is a valuable document. We have used it regularly in unit and lesson planning.

What's included in this document?

3 Reading Lessons with well developed suggestions for teaching and assessment
4 Writing Lessons with well developed suggestions for teaching and assessment
Includes 28 pages of Appendices

Grade 8 CurriculumLiteracy Essentials