8th Grade Learning Previews - Oct. 2018
Posted on 10/16/2018
Math (On-Grade Level): Mr. Jose Oliveira [email protected]
This week we will finish up our unit on rigid transformations. Next week we will begin our second unit, Dilations and Similarity. Our second unit will last for about 2 weeks before we begin our work with slope and linear relationships. Be sure to ask your student what remains the same in congruent figures. Additional math help is available Tuesday-Friday mornings before school (starting at 8:00 AM) and after school (by appointment).
Accelerated Math Pathways: Mr. Jose Oliveira [email protected]
Students have been working on linear relationships over the past two weeks. This unit is extremely important, as it builds the foundation for our work in Algebra. In a few weeks we will start our work on Linear Equations and Linear Systems. Ask your student how they can identify whether two lines are parallel to one another without being graphed. Additional math help is available Tuesday-Friday mornings before school (starting at 8:00 AM) and after school (by appointment).
Science: Mr. Suchy [email protected]
8th grade students have begun their study of climate. They have investigated the effects of latitude, Earth’s tilted axis, and revolution around the sun 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. The ultimate goal of the climate unit is to take on the many global issues created by climate change. Talk to your child about the essential question they will be working on.
- What is climate and how does it affect our daily lives?
- How do we use data from the past to explain our present and predict our future?
- How do we know the sun’s energy hasn’t disappeared even when we can’t see its light?
English: Mr. Saveriano [email protected]
After reading the historical fiction novel Inside Out and Back Again, fingertips will be on keyboards and ideas will be filling room 229! 8th graders will be composing a well-developed composition that incorporates a compelling lead, an original thesis statement, body paragraphs that use M.E.A.L. as a structural guide (Main idea, Evidence, Analysis, Link back), and a concluding paragraph that reconnects with the lead. Within this essay, students will draw upon their study of the universal refugee experience by connecting historical fiction with informational texts, videos, and interviews. Ask your child about their thesis statement and the challenges refugees face when fleeing and finding home!
Social Studies: Mr. Trainor [email protected]
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. See if your student can explain cultural diffusion to you and give you some examples they see in their lives. Also see what they believe makes a time period a “golden age!”