Writing

At this level, students will continue to work on developing their skill in sentence structure, grammar mechanics, and vocabulary development.  They will learn to write clear, structured, thorough, focused, and formal essays and short paragraphs with purpose and audience.  Their essays are composed of an introduction, bodies of supporting evidence, and conclusion.  In order to gain this, they will continue their writing process: research, organization, and drafting before the final product. 

Reading Comprehension

Through the usage of various genre of reading novels, students will be able to read and understand age-appropriate materials.  They demonstrate their knowledge and comprehension through in depth discussions and debates where they can express to make connections of essential ideas, perspectives of the written text, interpret arguments, and speak about the organization, text, or purpose of the novel.  Students will continue to expand their reading not just to novels, but to other written text such as, magazines, newspaper, or even on-line materials.

Literary Response and Analysis

By eighth grade, students can read and respond articulately in a fluid and clear manner.  They can comprehend, response, and analyze as well as comparing and contrasting read materials.  Students will be able to clarify ideas and make connections of one novel to another.  They learn to identify a variety of significant literary styles that helps to define the author’s writing style within the novel.  With this skill, they incorporate it into their own writing style.

Mathematics

In the beginning of our eighth grade mathematic curriculum, students will be review and gaining more strength in their understanding of materials taught in the seventh grade level.  Once this process is gained, students will then begin their adventure through the intriguing and could be complicated understanding of algebra 1.  Students will learn and gain a strong grasp in understanding algebraic skills and concepts that will be very useful for all students as they continue their mathematical process.  Besides learning the algebraic skills and concepts, student will eventually acquire some understanding of analytic geometry, proofs, and triangles which will prepare them for geometry in the ninth grade.   

Science

In eighth grade, the emphasis is on physical science in relation to motion, forces, and structure of matter, earth, solar system, chemical reactions, and chemistry of biological processes, periodic table, density, and buoyancy.  Students will acquire the four concepts that unify physical science: force and energy; laws of conservation; atoms, molecules, and the atomic theory; and kinetic theory.  Developing a comprehension for earth science will eventually enhance students’ ability to continue and apply their learning as they progress to high school science.

History-Social Science

The main emphasis of the eighth grade history-social science is about the United States history and geography in relation to its growth and conflict.  Students will be studying about the ideas, issues, and events from the framing of the Constitution up to the World War I, with a focus on the American’s role in the war.  In order to have a firm understanding about our country, students will review the development of America’s democratic institutions founded on Judeo-Christian heritage and English parliamentary traditions, particularly the reshaping of the Constitution.  Eighth grade students will further trace the development of the American politics, society, culture, and economy in order to relate them to the emergence of the major regional differences.  Their studies will continue with learning about the challenges a new nation will face by discussing about the causes, course, and consequences of the Civil War.  At this point, they will make the connections between the rise of industrialization and contemporary social and economic conditions.