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.

The difference between an eighth grader and a seventh grader in terms of reading proficiency is that an eighth grader can do everything on his or her own, whereas a seventh grader might need a little bit of nudging and support before he or she can fully understand a work. That nudging and support comes in the form of scaffolding, which might take the form of reading questions or other activities that guide students toward certain analyses of a work's themes. For example, at this grade level, students may not need scaffolding for Charlie and the Chocolate Factory but definitely should have some for The Giver.