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EIGHTH GRADE CURRICULUM OVERVIEW

 

Bible

  • Old and New Testament: God’s instructions to His faithful people; the basis of personal faith

  • Weekly Scripture memory

  • Integration of Biblical worldview in all subjects

 

Language Arts

  • Listening and speaking: recall, summarize, inform, persuade, entertain, and question; deliver prepared recitations and presentations

  • Spelling and vocabulary: phonetic strategies, syllabication, Greek and Latin roots and prefixes

  • Reading fluency and comprehension strategies in guided and silent reading

  • Literature appreciation; literary devices including story structure and figurative language

  • Writing:  development of 5-paragraph selections including reflections, narratives, poems, letters, essays, expository writing, and imaginative stories; researched report; focus on organization and style

  • Grammar, including sentence structure, parts of speech, conventions, and diagramming

  • Reference skills, including the research process

  • MLA/APA Writing format, publish works 

  • Oratory instruction and presentation

  • Debate Team instruction 

 

Math

  • Numbers and operations: Operations with whole numbers and decimal numbers; mastery of all math facts; long division; multiples, factors; fractions and decimals in all operations

  • Measurement: Time, money, schedules, customary and metric measurement of length, weight, temperature, capacity, volume, area, and perimeter; metric conversions; formulas

  • Geometry: Area, perimeter/circumference of plane figures; lines and angles; geometric terms

  • Graphs and statistics: Read, interpret, and create graphs, charts, and schedules; mean, median, mode, and range

  • Ratio, proportion, and percent: Ratios and equivalent ratios; ratio as percent and decimal; use of percent in problem solving

  • Estimation: Estimation of products, quotients, sums, and differences by rounding

  • Algebraic reasoning: commutative, associative, distributive, identity, and multiplicative properties; concept of equality; unknowns; order of operations; formulas with variables; negative integers

  • Problem solving:  Multi-step problems; strategies; use of calculators

 

Social Studies

  • Civics:  Branches of federal government; powers of the citizens

  • Economics:  Economic interdependence (production, consumption, exchange, investment, specialization)

  • Geography: Geography of the western hemisphere; Map skills

  • US History

 

Science

  • Life science:  Biotic and a-biotic systems, populations and survival; life cycles; classification and life processes of plants; identification of vertebrates and invertebrates; animal kingdoms, adaptations, hybridization, cross breeding; ocean ecosystems; health: respiratory and circulatory systems; dissection

  • Earth science:  Rocks and minerals, forces that create landforms; oceanography, sources of energy; atmosphere and weather; meteorology: measurement and data

  • Physical science:  Energy, motion, gravity; matter; acids and bases; physical measurement; physical and chemical changes 

 

Technology:  One class per week

  • Advanced functions of Microsoft Word, Excel, and PowerPoint; creation of basic video games

  • Research: location, selection, and evaluation of information; plagiarism and legal issues of technology

 

Foreign Language:  One class per week

  • Survey of conversational Spanish and Spanish culture

 

Physical Education: Two classes per week

  • Personal fitness, competitive and non-competitive team games, positions, and rules; skill development; weekly mile run; technique and form for track and field events; sportsmanship

 

Art: One class per week

  • Elements of visual arts, principles of design, media techniques and processes; identifying art in historical and cultural context; recognizing the impact of visual arts on culture and environment

 

Music:  Two classes per week

  • Exploration of rhythm, melody, harmony, pitch, music theory, and music appreciation, choral and instrumental instruction.  

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