8th Grade

In eighth grade, we use many different learning techniques in class. Students participate in INTERACTS for the American Revolution and the Civil War. Students develop vocabulary skits for review. Students have opportunities for several types of oral presentations including speeches, memorization and recitation, and presentation of projects. A major research paper assignment involves using many types of research and writing skills using the MLA format.

Service Projects
Social Justice is an important theme in the 8th Grade Core Curriculum. To enhance this and give students an opportunity to practice stewardship in our community, we are planning a regular service requirement in an area in which the students can serve our less fortunate neighbors in a direct manner such as serving in a soup kitchen or distributing food for Loaves and Fishes. In the eighth grade, we believe that service opportunities abound.  In addition to serving the community at large and the church, we strive to be leaders at our school as well--working with preschool buddies several times a week and organizing community service projects that benefit the school and society.

Field trips are an important part of our classroom curriculum. In the Fall, we take a day trip to the Steinbeck Museum in Salinas.  We also take trips to local nonprofit organizations and theaters.  We take our preschool buddies on two fieldtrips-first to a pumpkin patch in the fall and then to another fun location in the spring.  8th Graders take a two day trip to Sacremento to visit government buildings and historical sites.  Chaperones are needed for all field trips.  Please watch for notes home.

Curriculum Overview

Language Arts --  We read short stories, novels, poems and plays.  The novels we read this year are: The Pearl (during the summer), The Red Pony, A Midsummer Night's Dream, The Outsiders and Johnny Tremain.  Students use their knowledge of word origins and word relationships, as well as historical and literay context clues, to determine the meaning of grade-level-appropriate words.  In addition, students read one million words annually on their own, including a good representation of narrative and exposi-tory text (e.g., classic and contemporary literature, magazines, newspapers, online information).

They describe and connect the essential ideas, arguments, and perspectives of the text by using their knowledge of text structiure, organization and purpose.  The selections in Recommended Readings in Literature, Kindergarten Through Grade Eight illustrate the quality and com-plexity of the material to be read by students.

Additionally, students write several persuasive essays, two research reports, and they prepare a speech and research presentation on a four-year university of their choice.  This is the year where they are expected to master the basics of grammar, so much time is spent working on the areas of grammar and writing where students need the most help.

Vocabulary -- Vocabulary will be drawn from our Vocabulary workbook, literature and social science units and Latin/Greek root lists.

Writing -- Students are required to complete a major research paper on a famous American in history; the grade will count for both Language Arts and Social Science. Mechanics units covering grammar, punctuation and style will accompany writing exercises such as re-writing, outlining and note-taking. Students write clear, coherent, and focused essays. The writing exhibits students’ awareness of audience and purpose. Essays contain formal introductions, supporting evidence, and conclusions. Students progress through the stages of the writing process as needed.

Social Science -- Social Science -- Review world geography which includes a 3-D globe project. Another review unit will cover recognition and recall of all U.S. states and capitals, while an ongoing unit will focus on the study of current events. Students in grade eight study the ideas, issues, and events from the American Revolution to the Civil War. After reviewing the development of America’s democratic institutions founded on the Judeo-Christian
heritage and English parliamentary traditions, particularly the shaping of the
Constitution, students trace the development of American politics, society, culture, and
economy and relate them to the emergence of major regional differences. They learn
about the challenges facing the new nation, with an emphasis on the causes, course, and
consequences of the Civil War. They make connections between the rise of industrializa-tion and contemporary social and economic conditions.  Additionally, students become historians themselves, choosing one issue that occurred in recent history and becoming an expert on that topic by preparing a research report and interviewing primary source witnesses to history.



Science: (Focus on Physical Science): Motion, Forces, Structure of Matter, Earth in the Solar System (Earth Science), Reactions, Chemistry of Living Systems (Life Science), Periodic Table, Density and Buoyancy are taught in the eighth grade.

Computers -- Students are povided with daily access to technology for applications and research within the regular CORE classes

Mathematics -- The standards for grades eight through twelve are organized differently from those for kindergarten through grade seven. In this section strands are not used
for organizational purposes as they are in the elementary grades because the
mathematics studied in grades eight through twelve falls naturally under discipline
headings: algebra, geometry, and so forth. Symbolic reasoning and calculations with symbols are central in algebra. Through the study of algebra, a student develops an understanding of the symbolic language of mathematics and the sciences. In addition, algebraic skills and concepts are developed and used in a wide variety of problem-solving situations.

Physical Education -- Physical fitness as well as body conditioning and health are taught on a daily basis.