8th Grade Update: December 20, 2018
Posted on 12/20/2018
Math
We are entering an essential unit in the 8th grade curriculum, Unit 4: Linear Equations and Linear Systems, where students will write and solve linear equations in one variable. These include equations in which the variable occurs on both sides of the equal sign and equations with no solutions, exactly one solution, and infinitely many solutions. They’ll learn that any one such equation is false, true for one value of the variable, or true for all values of the variable. They’ll interpret solutions in the contexts from which the equations arose. Also, during this month students will take a district assessment to demonstrate their mastery of the previous three units.
Science
8th graders are wrapping up the first unit, “How Do Humans Impact the Environment?” by creating climate change stories. The project requires students to focus on the effects that climate change has on a particular area of the world, the impact it has on people living in those areas, and the possible responses (mitigation and adaptation strategies) to combat the impact. Students will also be reviewing for their first district interim assessment of the year.
ELA
Students are completing literary analysis essays from the first module, where they analyze the title of the text, Inside Out and Back Again, and its relation to the main character, as well as to the experience of refugees worldwide. For the remainder of the month we will be returning to independent reading routines in the classroom, and students will be spending a significant amount of time reading texts of their choice in class, writing about those texts, and presenting book talks.
Social Studies
Students are wrapping up our unit on the Aztecs and the Conquistadors. They have analyzed ancient documents, evaluated primary sources, and synthesized all that they have learned in order to complete a district-wide DBQ (document based question). We will soon be moving on to a mini-unit in which the students compare the Aztec’s and the Conquistadors’ views on murder to views that exist in our modern world, specifically regarding the idea of the death penalty.