Knowledge That A 8th Grader Should Have
- Posted by Max in Eighth Grade |
- November 18th, 2009 |
- 2 Comments
English Language Arts
- Read, understand, and analyze a wide variety of fiction and non fiction texts
- Use reading comprehension strategies to deepen their understanding of texts
- Identify and analyze literary elements in the genres of poetry, fiction, and drama
- Participate actively and thoughtfully in class discussions by posing questions, making contributions, and listening to the ideas of others
- Give oral presentations that are organized, coherent, and demonstrate an awareness of audience
- Understand and acquire new vocabulary by using context clues as well as knowledge of Greek and Latin roots
- Use the writing process, including drafting, revising, editing, and publishing, to produce writing that demonstrates a sense of audience, purpose, and craft
- Produce a variety of written compositions that demonstrate the development of voice, clear focus, coherent organization, and sufficient detail (including stories, scripts, poems, research reports, as well as narrative and analytical essays)
- Use the conventions of Standard English in writing, revising, and editing
Social Studies
- Articulate the importance of our founding documents and their impact on America in both the past and present
- Explain, analyze, and evaluate how social, political, cultural, geographic and economic differences led to sectional conflicts resulting in the Civil War and Reconstruction
- Explain and analyze the contributions of key groups of people, including Africans, Irish, Chinese, in the building of America
- Critically evaluate different perspectives of the same historical events
- Distinguish historical fact from opinion
- Identify long-term and short-term cause and effect relationships
- Locate and interpret primary source materials
- Research a topic in depth using a variety of resources, including print and internet
Visual Arts
- Use a variety of media, materials, and techniques to create art
- Observe the world in inventive ways
- Understand art within historical and cultural context
- Describe the elements and principles of design
- Draft, revise, polish, and exhibit work
- Respond critically to artwork
- Know that art may serve many purposes
- Recognize the roles of artists in communities
- See the effects of style
- Use technology in art
- Make connections with between visual art and other areas of learning
Mathematics
Number Sense
- Apply the rules of powers and roots to the solution of problems, and extend the Order of Operations to include positive integer exponents and square roots
Algebra
- Translate real life situations into linear equations and inequalities ; use various methods to solve these equations, including graphing, combining equations, and substitution
- Construct tables, graphs, and symbolic equations that represent linear relationships
- Represent exponential growth and decay with tables, graphs, words and symbols (i.e. exponents and scientific notation)
- Solve quadratic functions with tables, graphs, factoring, and the quadratic formula
- Analyze various kinds of equations to identify the patterns of change and represent this information in tables and graphs
Measurement and Geometry
- Determine when lines are parallel or perpendicular by looking at patterns in their graphs and equations and at the coordinate points that satisfy their equations
- Use and apply geometric properties of plane figures, including congruence and the Pythagorean Theorem to solve a variety of problems
Data, Statistics, and Probability
- Use the process of statistical investigation to represent, find measures, and solve problems involving statistical data
- Determine the experimental and theoretical probability of simple events
Science
Physical Science
Forces and Motion
- the motion of an object can be described by its position, direction, and speed;
- when forces are balanced, motion does not change; when they are unbalanced, forces transfer energy to or from an object causing change in motion; and
- Energy exists in different interchangeable forms including mechanical (kinetic and potential), heat, chemical, electromagnetic, and nuclear.
Earth Science
Astronomy
- Most objects in the solar system are in regular and predictable motion, and these motions explain such phenomena as the day, year, phases of the moon, eclipses and seasons;
- Gravity is a theory that helps to explain the motion and formation of objects in the universe;
- Our sun, which is a medium-sized star, is one star of billions of stars in our galaxy, the Milky Way, which is one of billions of galaxies in the universe
Life Science
Genetics and Evolution
- Heredity is the passage of genetic instructions in genes from parents to offspring;
- all living things reproduce, asexually or sexually, which enables the continuation of species; and
- Evolution is a process of change in a population of living things over time, driven by the process of natural selection.
