8th Grade Learning Previews - October 2017

8th Grade Learning Previews - October 2017
Posted on 10/17/2017

Math (On-Grade Level): 
Mr. Jose Oliveira
Students were given a mini-lesson (demonstration) about slope out at the bleachers near the baseball field. This was a preview example of what is to come beginning this week. We will begin to explore linear equations and identifying slope from a table, graph and an equation. This unit will take us through the remainder of the year as it lays a great deal of the foundation for their continued work in Algebra 1 next year. Students took a computational fluency assessment in September. This data will assist in helping students target any computational opportunities. To track their progress, students will take another full assessment in January and also mini-assessments on computational fluency in November and March. Ask your student what slope is used to determine.


Accelerated Math Pathways:
 Mr. Jose Oliveira
At the end of last week we started our new unit with an introduction to functions. Students will be able to determine when a relation is a function based on given criteria. We have also started to look at the domain and range of functions. This unit will last roughly two weeks before we get into linear functions and data analysis. Students took a computational fluency assessment in September. This data will assist in helping students target any computational opportunities. To track their progress, students will take another full assessment in January and also mini-assessments on computational fluency in November and March. Be sure to ask your student what makes a relation a function.

Science:
 Mr. Suchy
8th grade students are in the middle of their study of climate. They have investigated the effects of latitude, Earth’s tilted axis, and orbit on our climate and will now move on to explain the role of heat transfer through the atmosphere and oceans. Students will complete many hands on investigations in which they will gather and analyze data and construct arguments that explain the hard to understand subtleties of climate. Talk to your child about the essential question they will be working on.

  1. Is a year on Earth the same for everyone?
  2. How do we use data from the past to explain our present and predict our future?
  3. How do we know the sun’s energy hasn’t disappeared even when we can’t see it’s light?

ELA: Mr. Nathan Saveriano
Just like the weather, our 8th graders are changing...from readers diligently documenting their thinking to writers glueing together their ideas. After completing the novel The House on Mango Street, 8th graders will challenge themselves by creating original thesis statements and determining the best vignettes that support their thesis statements. In addition, we will brainstorm our plans for our long composition through graphic organizers and mind maps. Our well-developed compositions will include introductory paragraphs, several body paragraphs, and concluding paragraphs. I suggest flipping through your child's ELA notebook in order to spark an academic conversation about their plans as an essayist. Feel free to ask your child "What does this novel really make you think about?"

Social Studies: Mr. Trainor
This month, 8th Grade students will be exploring the amazing history and culture of Japan up to the year 1800. They will be grappling with these two main essential questions for the unit

How does cultural diffusion affect a society's development?

Who made a difference in Japanese history?

Students will evaluate what makes a “golden age” in a particular society and time and use historical evidence to support an original argument. Additionally, 8th graders be exposed to many different primary sources, including some from Murasaki Shikibu, author of Tale of Genji. Her personal diary gives invaluable insight into life during the 10th and 11th centuries in Japan. The different sources students will investigate will force students to work like a historian by exploring the author’s point of view and believability. Throughout the unit, we will be identifying the impact of cultural diffusion in both Japanese history and our own.


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