The eighth grade academic curriculum will be delivered by a team of five teachers. All students in eighth grade will receive the following academic courses: Communication Arts, Foreign Language, Social Studies, Science, and Math.

Teachers in an academic team cooperate by meeting during common planning times to discuss the instructional needs of the students, plan upcoming activities, plan on how to best utilize instructional time, and design learning experiences which emphasize the interdependence of curricula through projects, common skill instruction, or thematic units.

Communication Arts

The purpose of the eighth grade communication arts curriculum is to have all students develop and refine skills in reading, writing, listening, speaking, understanding, interpreting, analyzing and synthesizing information. The eight grade communication arts curriculum enhances and expands upon those elements presented in the seventh grade communications arts curriculum. The student is taught to interpret and analyze a variety of literary materials within fiction, non-fiction, biography, and informational writing. Emphasis is placed upon increased use of reference materials and study skills. Report writing and research skills are presented to aid the student in the completion of a research paper reflective of a student who is prepared to move to the high school. The research paper is a substantial part of their final grade during the marking period it is assigned.

Major units covered in this curriculum include, but are not limited to:

Library Instruction

During the eighth grade year, students are expected to demonstrate proficiency in utilizing library materials, skills, and procedures. This is accomplished through the successful completion of a formal research paper in their Communication Arts class, as well as through integrated projects with the other core subjects.

Reading

The purpose of the eighth grade reading program is to offer students who can benefit from an additional year of sharpening their reading skills. The eighth grade reading program is team taught by a reading teacher and the reading specialist. The program is designed to enhance and expand upon the critical elements presented in the seventh grade curriculum. This course is taken in place of foreign language.

Major units covered in this curriculum include, but are not limited to:

Reading Clinic

Reading clinic is available for all students who require additional reading support. Support can range from an occasional review before a test, to in-class assistance, or small group instruction. Students who are not receiving support through Special Education, but require more individualized instruction in reading should schedule for the eighth grade reading class.

Middle Level Foreign Languages

The eighth grade foreign language curriculum is designed to have students move from working with individual words and memorized material to dealing with sentences and using the language creatively and meaningfully. Listening, speaking, reading, writing, and study of the culture are integrated. Emphasis is placed on listening and speaking. Students may select either French or Spanish.

Major units covered in this curriculum include, but are not limited to:

Mathematics

The goal of the eighth grade math curriculum is to help students continue the transition from the concrete experiences of arithmetic to the abstract reasoning of algebra. During the eighth grade year, classes are designed to reinforce basic skills. Extensive work is done with rational numbers, ratios, proportions and percents. In addition, students continue with their studies of ratios, proportions, percent, informal geometry, measurements, graphing, probability, and statistics. Calculators are used to reinforce skills and assist in problem solving. Students showing exceptional ability receive additional instruction in Algebra I.

Major units covered in this curriculum include, but are not limited to:

Math Clinic

Math clinic is available for all students who require additional math support. Support can range from an occasional review before a test, to in-class assistance, or small group instruction. 

Science

The goal of the eighth grade science curriculum is to introduce and provide students with a meaningful overview of matter and energy. The course includes laboratory exercises that investigate how matter and energy interact with each other and the environment.

Major units covered in this curriculum include, but are not limited to:

Social Studies
The goal of the eighth grade social studies curriculum is to help students gain an understanding and appreciation of U.S. history from the birth of the nation through Reconstruction. The curriculum is designed to have students use historical tools, understand cause and effect relationships, and utilize reading strategies to explore major events and contributions of individuals during this time span. The curriculum will require students to analyze relationships between geography, history, the economy, as well as the cultural development of our nation. Major units covered in this curriculum include, but are not limited to: Revolutionary War Creating a New Nation and Constitution Emergence of National Politics War of 1812 Westward Expansion Sectionalism and Economic Systems of the mid 1800s Civil War/Reconstruction Post Reconstruction