8th Grade Curriculum
Language Arts and Writing
This course continues the focus on improving fundamental communication skills, including reading, writing, speaking and listening. Students will read and respond to short stories, novels, poetry, and plays, as well as more complex texts that provide facts and background knowledge in areas such as science and social studies. Our response to literature will include writing, discussion and various types of projects. Special emphasis will be placed on the elements of writing that will be required of students when they move on to high school.
- Personal narrative writing
- Research paper for International Night
- MLA citations
- Literary analysis paper
- GUM (grammar, usage, mechanics)
- Annotated bibliography
- Oral presentations – book projects, biography monologues
- Participate in Vermont Reads – Vermont Humanities
Social Studies
- 5 themes of geography
- World climate and environment
- Government and economic systems
- International Night
- Examination of culture
- Globalization
- World landmarks and countries
- Culture: language
- Africa
- Asia
- Oceania
- Europe
- South America
- United States
Science
- Structure of the atom
- Physical and chemical properties
- The periodic table and periodic trends
- Bonding
- Energy: kinetic and potential
- Velocity, acceleration, speed
- Energy resources
- Electricity and magnetism
Religion
- History of the Catholic Church
- Vocations
Math
- Integers
- solving equations
- Fractions and decimals
- Inequalities
- Solving equations and inequalities using rational numbers and square roots
- Collect, display, and analyze data
- Geometry and computer graphics
- Perimeter, area, and volume
- Ratios and percentages
- Solving inequalities
Algebra
- Variables
- Working with real numbers
- Solving linear equations
- Polynomials
- Factoring polynomials
- Functions
- Systems of linear equations
- Inequalities
- Rational and irrational numbers
- Quadratic functions