8th Grade

ENGLISH 8A

In this course, students will read and analyze literary and informational texts. These texts will come from a number of genres and a number of sources, including short stories, novels, myths, poems, magazine articles, and autobiographies. Through the presentation of these types of reading selections, the course demonstrates ways to understand explicit and implicit information, theme, central idea, and figurative language. They read the novel The Call of the Wild and short stories, such as “The Lottery,” “A Sound of Thunder,” and “The Tell-Tale Heart.” They examine informational texts to better their understanding of the Yukon, the Klondike Gold Rush, dog sledding, and wolves. They will learn about basics in grammar, usage, and punctuation, including phrases and clauses, sentence structures, ellipses, dashes, and commas. Students will learn the elements of a fictional narrative in order to plan, create, write, revise, and edit their own fictional narrative. In addition, they encounter numerous infographics and videos that build on the instruction.

ENGLISH 8B

In this course, students focus on learning reading skills based on both literary and informational texts. These texts come from several genres and from a number of sources, including short stories, novels, poems, Internet articles, and political speeches. The course’s reading selections demonstrate ways to understand explicit and implicit information, theme, central idea, and figurative language, among other ideas and concepts. parts of the novels Fahrenheit 451, Hatchet, and Black Beauty, as well as short stories such as “How the World Was Saved,” “Harrison Bergeron,” and “All Summer in a Day.” Students will examine informational texts to better their understanding of global warming and its effect on Earth, the role the fast-food industry plays in our lives, the widespread presence of corn in the food we eat, and the ways sleep affects the ability of students to learn, among other topics. In addition, they will learn about basics in grammar, usage, and punctuation, and informational and argument writing. Through the lessons provided in this course, students will master techniques that help them achieve a deeper appreciation of texts and writing. Numerous infographics and videos help build on the instruction.

MATH 8A

In this course, students begin with the fundamentals of algebra. They compare, order, and perform operations on rational and irrational numbers; use inverse operations to solve for a variable in one- and two-step equations; write and solve two-step equations from contextual situations; and analyze properties of functions, focusing on linear functions. The next area of study is very large and very small numbers, where they will solve expressions involving powers of a common base, convert numbers to and from scientific notation, and perform operations on numbers in scientific notation. They will then move on to geometry, where they will perform rigid transformations on figures and prove congruence of figures through a series of rigid transformations.

MATH 8B

In this course, students will build on and extend the knowledge they gained in Math 8A. After reviewing how to solve one- and two-step equations, they are introduced to multi-step equations and proportions. They will apply their knowledge of proportional relationships to geometry, where they perform transformations on figures and prove similarity of figures through a series of rigid transformations and dilations. Next, students will extend their knowledge of linear relationships by identifying and comparing properties of lines and their equations. Then, students will learn how to solve systems of linear equations using graphs, substitution, and elimination. After that, they build upon their algebraic skills by applying them to statistics, where they analyze and interpret patterns in bivariate data. Finally, students will explore and analyze three-dimensional shapes including cylinders, cones, and spheres.

SCIENCE 8A

Science 8 (1 of 2) focuses on life science concepts from biology, ecology, and environmental science. Students will explore the nature of science and has engineering and technology practices threaded throughout the course. Students begin with an introduction to scientific processes. Then, they explore cells, heredity, evolution, ecology, and genetic technology.

SCIENCE 8B

In Science 8 (2 of 2), students will focus on physical science concepts, including topics from physics and space science. They will begin by exploring the history of science and highlights influential scientists who laid the groundwork for the fields students are about to discover. Students will begin with physics—one of the more interactive sciences that can be seen in action in the world. Then they will explore concepts of velocity and acceleration, and dive into forces and Newton’s laws of motion. Students will also explore space, including the solar system, planets, and the Moon.

SOCIAL STUDIES 8A

Students will begin by exploring how American Indian societies lived in their environments. Next, they will examine reasons for European exploration and settlement in North America. From there, students will explore the development of the British colonies and the causes behind the American Revolution. They will learn how the Patriots were able to defeat Great Britain and achieve independence. They will be able to name the documents that define the democratic nature of our American republic. They will learn why the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution are so revolutionary. Throughout much of the course, students study the growth of sectional divisions and conflict.

SOCIAL STUDIES 8B

This course will take students on a journey from early Spanish missions in western North America up to the end of the 19th century in the United States. Next, students will examine reasons for western westward exploration and expansion. From there, students explore the causes and effects of the Texas Revolution and the Mexican American War. They will also analyze the California gold rush and immigration to the West Coast. The course then explores the sectional causes and effects of the Civil War. After that, students will examine the changes to the lives of African Americans during Reconstruction, followed by the explosive economic growth of the Second Industrial Revolution. The Indian Wars of the 19th century are also a consistent topic of the course.

In addition to our core curriculum, Career Exploration will be integrated throughout the program. Students will investigate the world of work and relate careers to their own interests, skills, and abilities.  Students will begin to build their own personal development, as well as habits of success.  Students will focus on building a sense of identity and purpose.  Middle school students should be prepared to determine a career pathway or program of study as they matriculate into High School.

List of Possible Elective Courses:

• Career Exploration
• Coding 
• Game Design
• Business Information
• Tech Apps
• Critical Thinking