Georgia Grade 8 English

Preserve a source’s meaning and give readers a way to check it

A paraphrase changes the wording and sentence structure while preserving the source’s meaning. It still uses someone else’s information, so it needs source credit. Work with one short, verifiable statement before trying to integrate several sources into an argument.

Curriculum source: Georgia’s K-12 English Language Arts Standards, approved May 2023 and fully implemented in 2025–26, from the GaDOE English standards directory.

Georgia Grade 8 references for this activity

Georgia’s current Grade 8 English document contains grade-level expectations alongside broader standards and practices. The expectations selected here support this activity; use the whole document and the school’s sequence for wider coverage.

These are selected grade-level expectations from Georgia’s current English standards. Activity labels describe a teaching focus rather than reproduce complete requirements. Read the linked grade-level document, including its broader standards and practices, alongside the school’s curriculum sequence.

A worked Grade 8 reading and writing activity

This original classroom example is separate from official assessment questions.

NASA’s “Moon Facts” states: “The Moon has a very thin and tenuous atmosphere called an exosphere.” The page also explains that the atmosphere is not breathable. Read the source through the link below before writing.

Check the works-cited entry

“Moon Facts.” NASA Science, NASA, 12 Feb. 2026, science.nasa.gov/moon/facts/. Accessed 5 Oct. 2026.

This example uses the page’s displayed update date. The MLA guide explains the online-work entry’s elements. Confirm which details apply to a new source rather than copying this entry for a different page.

Try the activity

Write a paraphrase that accurately conveys these two points. Identify the source in the response and match it with a works-cited entry. Explain why neither a few synonym changes nor a source link alone settles every attribution requirement.

Follow the reasoning

One paraphrase is: The Moon has extremely little surrounding gas, and its natural atmosphere cannot provide breathable air (“Moon Facts”). This changes the sentence’s structure while retaining the two selected ideas and crediting the page by title. A direct quotation would instead reproduce the source’s exact words inside quotation marks and also cite it. The page labels Caela Barry as an editor; that label does not automatically establish that person as the passage’s author. With no individual author identified for this page, the example entry begins with its title.

Notice what needs more practice

Adding a citation does not turn nearly unchanged wording into a paraphrase. Exact borrowed wording needs quotation marks. Conversely, rewriting the wording does not make the information the student’s own discovery. Do not expand the source into a claim that the Moon has absolutely no atmosphere; its description identifies a very sparse one. Do not invent a page number for an unpaginated web page. Check that the in-text title leads the reader to the matching works-cited entry.

Grade 8 English worksheets

Choose printable practice that matches the skill being taught. Check the task, reading difficulty, and directions before assigning it; the collection is independently published.

Browse Grade 8 English worksheets

Use the next session to build independence

1. Read the source and note its meaning and the identifying details displayed on the page.
2. Draft without copying the source sentence, then compare both wording and meaning with the original.
3. Add the in-text citation and works-cited entry, checking the current MLA guidance and the teacher’s assignment directions.

Choose another short passage from a credible source and record its author if supplied, title, container, date, and location. Decide whether a quotation or paraphrase better serves the explanation. Integrate the evidence with a sentence that explains its relevance instead of dropping it into a paragraph without comment. A later research task should compare multiple sources; this one-source exercise practices documentation and accurate integration first.

For more general reading and writing resources, visit the Grade 8 English Online Center.

Georgia Grade 8 English: useful planning questions

Does a paraphrase still need a citation?

Yes. A paraphrase uses information from a source even though its wording changes. Credit the source and supply the matching works-cited entry.

Where are the complete state requirements?

Georgia’s current Grade 8 English document contains grade-level expectations alongside broader standards and practices. The expectations selected here support this activity; use the whole document and the school’s sequence for wider coverage. The school’s sequence also includes reading, writing, speaking, listening, and language work beyond this example.