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Eighth Grade Curriculum Summary
ENGLISH:
The Eighth Grade English curriculum concentrates on classic literature from Shakespeare to more modern authors including Jean Paul Sartre and Harper Lee. The students read short stories, novels, plays, and poetry, and begin to practice advanced critical analysis - reading for implications and interpretation of ambiguity and irony, theme, and symbolic meaning. Much of their writing draws directly from their reading, both in literature and in American History, and includes extensive creative writing as well as formal essays. Vocabulary development is derived from reading selections, and students receive a thorough grounding in advanced grammar. Discussion, debate, and public speaking are all emphasized.
SOCIAL STUDIES:
In Eighth Grade, students explore American History from the Age of Discovery to the Space Age. Using both primary and secondary sources, students follow certain themes through the centuries that help define us as Americans. For example, how do we balance freedom and equality, and what is the government's obligation towards its citizens? Each unit in the course culminates in an activity that requires research, writing, speaking, and, often, a hands-on project. At one point the students play delegates to the Constitutional Convention, for instance, while later they debate the Vietnam War as Hawks and Doves. In the spring, Eighth Graders write a major research paper on a topic of their own choosing.
MATHEMATICS:
Most Eighth Graders study Algebra I using a CD-based textbook from Prentice Hall. Topics addressed include: tools of algebra; solving equations; solving inequalities; solving and applying proportions; graphs and functions; linear equations and their graphs; systems of equations and inequalities; exponents and exponential functions; polynomials and factoring; quadratic equations and functions; radical expressions and equations; rational expressions and functions. Several of these topics are extensions of concepts covered in Pre-Algebra while others are introduced and revisited in subsequent years. While the use of technology is integrated in Middle School math, the focus is on continued development of conceptual understanding and effective application of math skills and facts. Teachers may allow students to use calculators at times but not always.
SCIENCE:
The Middle School science curriculum is based on the FAST program developed by the University of Hawaii (Foundational Approaches to Science Teaching). The constructivist philosophy of this program requires students to engage in experiential, hands-on learning. Investigations are carefully sequenced and connected to previous experience both in- and outside school to help students build their knowledge. FAST investigations are conducted in small groups that share data, ideas, and experiences. Group members interact in planning and executing investigations, discussing and validating hypotheses, and summarizing and drawing conclusions. They must identify the kind of problem, formulate hypotheses, conduct experiments, and report their findings for critical review by their peers. Class discussion following each investigation identifies and clarifies common conclusions. Through this process, students develop scientific researching skills, becoming producers rather than receivers of information.
The eighth grade science curriculum focuses on change over time. The fields of physical science, earth science, and biological science are coordinated through a study of changes in the earth, the solar system, and the universe. Students explore alternative theories for molecular evolution and the origin of life on earth. They study ecosystems and interactions among populations to discover how living things change the environment as they interact with it.
Examples objectives include:
- To establish that energy exists in many different forms including heat, work, gravitation, kinetic and potential
- To establish that energy can be converted from one form to another
- To demonstrate the importance of instrumentation and measurement in providing data on which to base scientific models
- To show how past models describing the universe have developed and changed
- To develop further insights into the nature of scientific inquiry addressing the problems associated with theorizing about the invisible world of atoms and molecules
- To search for evidence of the existence of atoms in the historical and theoretical work of earlier scientists
- To search for evidence of atoms to verify the atomic model
- To explain the relationship between electric charge and static electricity
- To define and give an example of an electric current
- To understand the relationship among current, voltage, and resistance
- To explore possible definitions of life
- To explore possible mechanisms for the origin of life on Earth
- To recognize that there is a great diversity of living things on Earth today
- To characterize ecosystems as complex interrelationships between communities and their physical environments
SPANISH:
In eighth grade Spanish, students encounter the equivalent of a second year high-school level Spanish program. The year begins with a review of Spanish I (Sixth and Seventh Grade Spanish) for everyone. For students new to Spanish in Eighth Grade, this review represents a high-speed introduction to Spanish. Students use an online version of Holt Rinehart's text, Ven Conmigo II, that includes additional resources and listening exercises in every chapter. While students practice listening, speaking, reading and writing, the emphasis is on developing a solid foundation in communication skills. Topics covered include: introductions, descriptions; what one likes and doesn't like; feelings and moods; asking for and offering help; calendar and time expressions; describing a city or town; daily routines and activities; asking for and giving directions and advice; making comparisons; describing people; making plans; relating a series of events; describing a past event; reporting what someone said; asking for and giving directions; describing a problem; expressing agreement and disagreement, obligations and solutions; saying how you feel about people.
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