Updated June 2014
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StudySync: Texts -- Grades 6-8

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Fab resource for differentiated texts, both contemporary and classic

Subjects & skills
Subjects
  • English Language Arts
Skills
  • Critical Thinking
Grades This grade range is a recommendation by Common Sense Education and not the developer/publisher.
6–8
Common Sense says
Not yet reviewed
Teachers say (1 Review)
Price:  Free to Try A one-year subscription is $16.47 per student. The student reading and writing companion bundles cost $111.24 and are available per grade level as a 6-year subscription.
Platforms:  Website

Take a look inside

4 images
From the homepage, click the Library tab.
Here's a sample of a grade level text with the adjoining activities and support.
Many texts come with an accompanying lesson plan.
The Blasts are a timely, interactive, and accessible way to engage students.

How Can I Teach with This Tool?

StudySync's Grade 6-8 module offers students and teachers both classic and contemporary texts accompanied by multimedia materials and Common Core-aligned activities. Assignments can be given to individual students, specific groups, or a whole class, and can incorporate many of StudySync's offerings -- from reading and writing lessons to SyncTV clips and interactive Blasts.

Save yourself some time and select texts that come with a lesson plan -- just two quick clicks on the library tab's search option. This way, you'll have the same number of supplementary activities and assessments to choose from. Note that not all of the lower-level texts in the sixth through eighth grade band come with a lesson plan and SyncTV. To give your class a great shared experience, opt for a Blast -- a collection of topical questions that encourage discussion and debate. Students enter their responses and rate their peers’ answers (anonymously).

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Standards:

Key Standards Supported

Reading Informational Text

  • RI.6.1

    Cite textual evidence to support analysis of what the text says explicitly as well as inferences drawn from the text.

  • RI.6.10

    By the end of the year, read and comprehend literary nonfiction in the grades 6–8 text complexity band proficiently, with scaffolding as needed at the high end of the range.

  • RI.8.1

    Cite the textual evidence that most strongly supports an analysis of what the text says explicitly as well as inferences drawn from the text.

  • RI.8.10

    By the end of the year, read and comprehend literary nonfiction at the high end of the grades 6–8 text complexity band independently and proficiently.

Reading Literature

  • RL.6.2

    Determine a theme or central idea of a text and how it is conveyed through particular details; provide a summary of the text distinct from personal opinions or judgments.

  • RL.6.10

    By the end of the year, read and comprehend literature, including stories, dramas, and poems, in the grades 6–8 text complexity band proficiently, with scaffolding as needed at the high end of the range.

  • RL.8.2

    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.

  • RL.8.10

    By the end of the year, read and comprehend literature, including stories, dramas, and poems, at the high end of grades 6–8 text complexity band independently and proficiently.

Writing

  • W.6.1

    Write arguments to support claims with clear reasons and relevant evidence.

  • W.8.1

    Write arguments to support claims with clear reasons and relevant evidence.

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Teacher Reviews

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Featured review by
B L. , Classroom teacher
Classroom teacher
Not a Complete Curriculum
In my opinion the product should be used as an extra piece that allows practice for a particular skill. As the core teaching resource for language arts it falls short in both the texts used and the access and depth of the skills taught. They have videos for the texts and skills which can be useful (although they often aren't able to load in a timely manner). These videos are engaging to students who are on grade level, but can leave our below grade level and English learners confused because of the vocabulary used and rapid nature of the conversations portrayed. If you are a student reading at grade-level or above this resource could offer some learning, however with more than half of our students coming to us reading below to far below grade level, and over a third as English learners, I only see this product as widening that gap. In addition, the materials do not feel high quality. There is little color and a lot of the print and online materials are in gray-scale that is hard to read. The paper is very thin and notes written in ink bleed through to the other side of text. This is my take in a lower-middle school grade level trying to make this product work to teach foundational skills to young students. It may work differently at high school where students are more self-directed and resourceful. I think it is important for real teachers in the classroom who are using this product as their core resource to weigh in.
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