8th Grade

We have completed our unit over Anne Frank and the Holocaust. We are just beginning our 5 Paragraph Essays. These will take us several weeks and head us into MAP testing. It works well because they will be able to emulate the format for the large writing portion of the test.  

Students are currently working on unit rates and proportional relationships to introduce linear equations and graphs. Students learn to translate written statements into symbolic notation, solve equations in one and two variables, and represent solutions on coordinate planes. They explore concepts such as constant speed, slope as rate of change, and y-intercept, and compare proportional relationships in different forms. By the end of the module, students apply these skills to graph and solve systems of equations and use them to solve real-world problems. 

During the month of March, students are learning how the nervous system works to sense, process, and respond to stimuli in the world. They are identifying the path of input and output signals through the nervous system, describing the structure and function of neurons, and describing the structure and function of the brain and its parts. They will also compare human and sheep anatomy by completing a brain dissection!

Time seems to be flying by as we are now starting our unit on Jacksonian Democracy and Westward Expansion. In this unit we will examine Andrew Jackson with various topics such as an increase in power to the "common man" as well as the Indian Removal Act. We will also analyze Manifest Destiny and the goal to spread American culture from the Atlantic to the Pacific. Throughout the unit students will be evaluating these events through a variety of sources such as primary documents, political cartoons, paintings as well as traditional electoral maps and graphs. I'm excited to go through this unit with students and for our students to formulate their own opinions  of what happened in these events with proper justifications. As always, please reach out if you ever need anything from me. 

8th Grade is learning about the rock cycle. In this unit students will write a 3 paragraph scientific explanation about how the rock cycle works. This will be due March 12th before spring break. After spring break students will start learning about plate tectonics and how the Earth's land forms have been formed. MAP test prep will begin after this unit!