Core Subjects

8th Grade

English

Advanced English 8 (ENG1014)

The English 8 course uses the StudySync Grade 8 Curriculum. Each of the six units (Everyone Loves a Mystery, Past and Present, No Risk No Reward, Hear Me Out, Trying Times, and Beyond Reality) include lesson sequences and materials structured to meet the Common Core State Standards in meaningful ways and to provide flexibility for a range of learners. Formative assessments in each unit are designed to measure student progress towards mastering focus indicators for the processes and content of English. StudySync is a comprehensive English Language Arts curriculum that is designed for all 21st century learners. StudySync combines print books with a digital platform for reading and writing. Students will have their own online digital binder where they will receive their assignments, store their writing, and receive teacher and peer reviews.

Global Advanced English 8 (ENG1014-03)

Cohort students will go beyond this core as they learn additional content, explore deeper connections to today, engage in investigative inquiry to strengthen their writing and enhance their learning through relevant literature connections. Students will be enrolled in this course based on teacher recommendation and/or assessment data.

Students assigned to the Global Advanced English 8 course will be assigned to a special section of the course. The student's schedule will show enrollment in Advanced English 8.

English Language Development (ESL)

English 8 for English Learners I Double Period (ESL1016)
English 8 for English Learners II Double Period (ESL1019)
English 8 for English Learners III (ESL1022)
Advanced English 8 for English Learners IV (ENG1010) - co-taught class with ELD teacher and English teacher

The English for Emergent Multilingual courses use a version of the StudySync Grade 8 Curriculum that is slightly modified for students who are learning English. Each of the six units (Suspense!, In Time of War, A Moral Compass, The Civil War, Moment of Truth, Test of Time, and The Power of One) include lesson sequences and materials structured to meet the Common Core State Standards in meaningful ways and to provide flexibility for a range of learners. Formative assessments in each unit are designed to measure student progress towards mastering focus indicators for the processes and content of English. StudySync is a comprehensive English Language Arts curriculum that is designed for all 21st century learners. StudySync combines print books with a digital platform for reading and writing. Students will have their own online digital binder where they will receive their assignments, store their writing, and receive teacher and peer reviews. Students will be scheduled into one of two classes based on their language needs.

Physical Education & Health

Physical Education 8 (HPE1005)

Each grade 8 student takes three marking periods of Physical Education during the year. By the end of Grade 8, students should know and be able to do the following:

HEALTH-RELATED FITNESS
- Apply exercise principles to the health-related fitness components to develop, analyze, and refine a personal fitness plan.
- Apply and analyze methods for measuring target heart rate.
- Distinguish between nutritional needs that maintain the average healthy body and those for athletic performance.
MOVEMENT SKILLS AND CONCEPTS
- Apply and analyze concepts related to defense and offense in personal development and tactical games activities.
- Develop, perform, and analyze creative skill combinations.
- Create, analyze, and refine a personal movement (practice) plan based on a variety of feedback.
PERSONAL AND SOCIAL RESPONSIBILITY
- Resolve conflicts and make healthy decisions that promote a sense of community and respect for others in physical- activity settings.
- Apply, analyze, and refine effective time-management strategies to improve movement skills and fitness levels.

Students will need to wear appropriate footwear for participation in PE. Students are assigned a locker with a lock for a change of clothes or shoes.

Comprehensive Health Education Grade 8 (HPE1002)

Comprehensive health education is taught for a term of 9-weeks during Grade 8. Knowledge, concepts, skills, and strategies essential to making healthful decisions are presented promoting lifelong health and well-being. Certified Health Education teachers implement a variety of learning activities to promote and practice wellness skills and health literacy. The development of lifelong positive health-related attitudes and behaviors are emphasized to promote self-reliance and self-regulation. Skills include accessing information, decision-making, goal setting, communication skills, analyzing influences, and advocacy.

Key Concepts

Alcohol, tobacco, and other drugs—accessing information about tobacco and marijuana; accessing information about addiction, and community treatment resources.
Personal and consumer health—accessing information about the identification of food borne illnesses, preventing the spread of food borne illnesses.
Family life and human sexuality—decision making about appropriate use of social media; sexual behaviors and limits, decision making and contraception; teen pregnancy and parenting; accessing information about maternal changes occurring during pregnancy.
Safety and injury prevention—using decision making and interpersonal communication skills to use technology responsibly.
Nutrition and fitness—analyzing influences on body image; managing weight; accessing information about eating disorders.

Parents of grade eight students will receive information about the opt-out unit of Family Life and Human Sexuality at the beginning of the school year through an evening meeting. Parents wishing to opt their child out of this unit may check “No” on the permission form sent out during the first week of school. If no permission form is returned, the student will receive this instruction. Students opted out will receive an alternate independent study unit to be completed in an alternate location.

Social Studies

Historical Inquiry in US History 8 (SOC1021)

Students explore the history of the United States from colonization to post Civil War Reconstruction and Industrialization while extending their understanding of political, economic, geographic and cultural systems. Throughout the course students analyze multiple perspectives and study how the diverse populations of Americans, including Native Americans, African Americans, women, immigrants, and Mexican Americans contributed to and were impacted by events. Connections to current issues help students identify patterns and themes that have shaped America in the past and continue to shape the nation today. Students extend their literacy practices by using the historical thinking skills learned in Grades 6 and 7 to build effective, evidence based historical arguments. This course prepares students for continuing their study of U.S. History in Grade 9.

UNIT 1: Democracy: Political System of the People 1763-1783
UNIT 2: Creating a National Political System and Culture 1783-1815
UNIT 3: Geographic and Economic Change Shape the Nation 1815-1850
UNIT 4: A Nation Divided and Rebuilt 1840-1877

Students are awarded 10 SSL hours at the completion of Grade 8 Social Studies for their full participation in SSL activities.

Historical Inquiry in American Studies 8 (SOC1020)

This course is built around the core Grade 8 social studies curriculum, Historical Inquiry in US History 8, that includes historical content from colonization to post Civil War Reconstruction and settlement of the West. In addition to the content in the core curriculum, students will learn in greater depth about the social and cultural history of America including how the historical legacy of racism and discrimination continue to affect American society today. Students will also strengthen their writing through Document Based Questions, and enhance their learning through relevant literature connections. They will also participate in a public history fair to showcase their projects on monuments and memory. Students will be enrolled in this course based on teacher recommendation and/or assessment data.

Students are awarded 10 SSL hours at the completion of Grade 8 Social Studies for their full participation in SSL activities.

Science

Investigations in Physical Science 8 (SCI1025)

Eighth grade students will investigate the topics of Weather and Climate, Geology and Plate Tectonics, Physics, and Astronomy. As students investigate Unit 1 focusing on Weather and Climate, eighth graders will learn about geographical influences on climate, the water cycle, oceanic and atmospheric circulation, and climate change. Students will apply their understanding of these concepts to create an emergency preparedness plan for a community that has a history of weather related disasters. Geology will allow students to investigate the characteristics of Earth’s structure, continental drift, plate tectonics, minerals, types of rocks, weathering and erosion. Students will apply their understanding of these concepts to design and create Earthquake resistant structures. During the 3rd unit students will learn about kinetic and potential energy, describing motion, forces, and Newton’s Laws. Students will apply their understanding to the design, creation, and launch of a model rocket constructed in class. The final unit covering Astronomy, students will learn about Earth’s motions, the reasons for the seasons, gravity, and characteristics of the solar system, galaxy, and universe. Students will apply their understanding to design a movie set that depicts the living conditions on a human colony located on either a planet, a moon, or an asteroid within our solar system.

Mathematics

Math 8 (MAT1007)

IStudents begin the Grade 8 mathematics course with transformational geometry. They then apply the proportion relationship learning from grade 7 to study linear relationships in a variety of contexts and using a variety of representations. The first semester ends with students building on their prior work with linear equations and an introduction to linear systems. In the second semester, students are introduced to functions and then apply their understanding of linear relationships and functions to contexts involving data with variability. Work from grade 6 about exponents extends to include all integers and the properties of exponents. In Grade 8 Math, students encounter both scientific notation and irrational numbers for the first time. The year concludes with the study and application of the Pythagorean Theorem and a study of volume.

Algebra 1A/1B (MAT2000) - High School Credit Course

The Algebra 1 A/B Course is designed to explore, analyze, and model real-world phenomena through a mathematical lens. Exploration of linear, exponential, and quadratic functions forms the foundation of the course. Students develop conceptual understanding and fluency in solving equations, inequalities, and systems by explaining and validating their reasoning with increased precision. Students deepen their understanding of functions and their ability to represent, interpret, and communicate about them. Key characteristics and representations of functions—graphic, numeric, symbolic, and verbal—are analyzed and compared. Students use these representations to model relationships and constraints, but also reason with them abstractly. One- and two-variable data sets are interpreted using mathematical models. Gathering and displaying data, measuring data distribution, and interpreting statistical results encourages students to collaborate, communicate, and explore new tools and routines. They then take these insights to a unit on two-variable statistics, where they extend their prior knowledge of scatter plots and lines of best fit. Throughout the units of study, classroom activities provide students with opportunities to engage in aspects of mathematical modeling. Modeling prompts are used so that students experience and engage in the full modeling cycle.

Honors Geometry A/B (MAT2004) - High School Credit Course

The Honors Geometry course formalizes and extends students’ geometric experiences from the elementary and middle school grades. Students explore more complex geometric situations and deepen their understanding of geometric relationships, progressing towards formal mathematical arguments. Instruction at this level will focus on the understanding and application of congruence as a basis for developing formal proofs; the relationship among similarity, trigonometry, and triangles; the relationship between two- and three-dimensional objects and their measurements; exploration of geometric descriptions and equations for conic sections; and application of geometric concepts in modeling situations. Students successful in this course will go on to take Honors Algebra 2 or Algebra 2 the following year.

Mathematics Pathway

MCPS Graduation Requirements

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