8th GradeSpiritual/Bible: Wise Up! Wisdom in Proverbs. The curriculum takes the factual knowledge the students have and teaches them to apply it to their daily lives. It’s designed to help students form personal convictions based on their study of God’s work and to “get” the connection between biblical wisdom and everyday life.
Reading: Students will read four novels during the school year. They work on literary analysis through discussion of key themes and literary devices. They also use these novels as the subject matter for technical writing practice. Current novels include Call of the Wild, White Fang, The Trumpeter of Krakow, Hostage Lands, Jane Eyre, and The Count of Monte Cristo. Writing: In addition to writing techniques taught through Grammar class, writing is incorporated throughout the middle school curriculum in all subjects. Students also focus on writing in their Reading/Literature classes and practice technical writing while analyzing novels read throughout the quarter. Grammar: Grammar principles are incorporated into the Descriptive, Expository, Persuasive and Narrative writing styles. Latin Language: 2nd year. Focus for this foreign language includes its history, vocabulary, reading and translating for the purpose of providing a foundation for both the English Language as well as any other romance language taught in high school. Math (Pre-Algebra): Students use the McDougal Littell. They continue building on concepts from previous years as well and study to prepare for Algebra as either and 8th grader or high school freshman. Studies include units on: Basic Skills (fractions review), decimals, ratios and percentages, measurements, exponents, algebraic expressions, equations, graphing, square roots, positive/negative numbers, graphs, statistics and probability, and geometry. Depending on readiness, some 8th graders complete Algebra 1. History/Social Studies: Students use the America Land I Love from ABeka including current events and discussions. They begin their studies at the discovery of America up to present day America. Students end the year looking at the Civil Rights movement of the 1960’s, comparing civil liberties of African Americans before and after the Civil War. The primary focus in teaching history is to encourage students to see the past as a key to the future. They are encouraged to explore both sides of an issue, using logic and discernment to make decisions. Science: Emphases for Science class include the exploration and discovery of God’s creation through the application of critical thinking skills, the scientific method, and scientific inquiry while emphasizing the need for examining the results through a Biblical worldview. Through the use of instructions, inquiry and laboratory experiments, students gain knowledge in matter, atoms, basic chemistry and some space science. Computer: Eighth grade continues reviewing and expanding on the same goals as previous years with the added focus of using Microsoft Word, Microsoft Publisher, Microsoft Excel and Microsoft Power Point. One quarter will be focused completely on creating a Power Point Presentation and every student in the class will present their Power Point Presentation to the class. Students will learn how to do a basic spreadsheet in Excel and also how to chart their data. |
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