Don't spend another minute poring over the standards. Jim Burke has already done the hard work for you with this roadmap of what each standard says, what each standard means, and how precisely to put that standard into practice across English Language Arts, Social Studies, Science, and Technical Subjects. Jim clearly lays out:

Grades 6-8 standards side by side with key distinctions

Different content-area versions of each standard

Explanations of each standard, with student prompts

Content to cover, lesson ideas, and instructional techniques

Glossary and adaptations for ELL students