Eighth Grade

Eighth Grade:  The Final Year

As our students begin to swing from childhood to adulthood, it is essential that they learn in situations that combine meaningful relationships with interdisciplinary learning.  This is why our Sixth, Seventh and Eighth Grade students work in academic teams to study science, history, PE, art, and music.  In each team (a mix of Sixth, Seventh and Eight Grade) students consistently engage new points of view, take on leadership roles, and communicate with new audiences as they experiment, research, and create together.

Academic teams stay together for the year and all academic teams study the same material.  The curriculum rotates on a three-year cycle.  Select the links below for a more in depth look at the science, history, PE, art and music curriculums for each of the three years.  

Central Subject: Finding Your Voice and Speaking the Truth

Language Arts

Language, Literacy, and Written Composition

For students to become skilled, avid readers, teachers utilize reading workshop, literature circles, and response journals -a guided reading approach.  These activities and others provide important opportunities for students to develop vocabulary, fluency and comprehension skills within the context of literature and in connection with science, social studies, mathematics and the arts.

Eighth grade students produce formal compare/contrast, expository, persuasive, and prescriptive/descriptive essays, as well as poetry and personal narratives.   In writing workshop, students repeatedly choose writing topics, draft, revise, edit and publish their writing.  As students learn how to organize ideas to suit various forms and purposes, they also work to develop ideas, word choice and conventions.  Skills such as parts of speech, punctuation, writing mechanics, and spelling, as well as word study, are emphasized.  Formal curriculum supports the study of grammar, vocabulary and spelling.

Mathematics

Building upon the pre algebra work of Seventh Grade, Eighth Grade students study of algebra.  At the same time, students practice in basic skills so that they are fully prepared for more complex studies in high school.

To develop expertise in math students are challenged to reason in logical ways, interpret statistics and probability, discern patterns and functions and perceive geometric shape and measurement, as well as increase skills in computation. To encourage motivation and confidence, students see real-world use of mathematics through exposure to professionals, work places and ordinary demands that require mathematical knowledge and competence.

Eighth Grade students also complete a Math Exhibition, including a written process essay and oral presentation in which the students must effectively teach the means by which a given problem may be solved.

World Language: Spanish

In this class, the main goal is to develop conversational vocabulary in Spanish.  Classroom activities are designed to promote the understanding and speaking of the language through games, improvisations, art activities, and drama. Whenever possible, the language is taught in its cultural and sometimes literary context.  While students do use a textbook (Vivá el Español, Adelánte ), personal, active, and consistent involvement in class is the most critical element of student work.

Service Learning

Throughout the grades, students are continually engaged in meaningful service that impacts our local and global community. With this in mind, our oldest students begin to experience the relationship between leadership and service. These young adolescents – these emerging adults - help lead all-school celebrations, guide younger students in park and classroom activities, meet leaders of local chapters of Habitat for Humanity and other agencies, and do the practical work of volunteering at local organizations such as In Jesus Name.

In this, their last year at Mustard Seed, Eighth Grade students receive pins to mark their roles as leaders within the school with specific responsibilities and privileges.