8th Grade -  Typical Course of Study

 

Social Studies

·        Growth and development of the United States

-         Colonial life

-         Struggle for independence

-         U. S. Constitution and Bill of Rights

-         Westward movement in America

-         American Civil War

-         Reconstruction

-         U. S. as a world power  Meaning of democracy

·        Our American culture

·        U. S. political system

·        U. S. economic system

·        U. S. government

·        U. S. geography

·        Advanced map and globe skills

·        Our African, Asian, and European backgrounds

·        Exploration and discovery

 

 

Science

·        Scientific method

·        Scientific nomenclature

·        Scientific measurement

·        Ecology and environment

·        Conservation

·        Composition of the earth

·        Ocean, atmosphere

·        Weather

·        Water and its uses

·        Weathering and erosion

·        Recycling of resources

·        Magnetism and electricity

·        Heat and light 

·        Forces in liquids and gases

·        Wave, mechanical, electrical, and nuclear energy

·        The earth's movement

·        Newton's three laws of motion

·        Machines

·        The atom

·        Periodic table of elements

·        Compounds and mixtures

·        Chemical changes

·        Astronomy

·        The universe and Milky Way

·        Space and space travel 

 

Language Arts

·        Independent reading

·        Literal, inferential, and evaluative reading skills

·        Literary terms

·        Novel, short story, narrative poetry

·        Nonfiction

·        Biographies of great Americans

·        American poets and storytellers

·        Creative dramatics

·        Listening and speech activities

·        Advanced dictionary work

·        Extended vocabulary 

·        Figures of speech

·        Spelling

·        Infinitive, participle, gerund, predicate nominative, predicate adjective, direct and indirect object

·        Kinds of sentences and their parts

·        Functions of sentence elements

·        Writing simple business letters

·        Report-writing skills

·        Improving skills in using basic reference sources

·        Inductive and deductive reasoning 

  Health and Safety

·        Grooming

·        Functions of the body

·        The body's utilization of food

·        Types and functions of foods

·        Environmental hazards

·        Community sanitation and health

·        Health care services

·        Sexually transmitted diseases

·        Accident prevention, safety, and first aid

·        Mental hygiene

·        Substance abuse