What's Happening in the Eighth Grade?

Welcome to 8th grade ELA! TERM 3

As we dive into term 3 we will be focusing on informational text. We will do an in depth study of The Vanishing Island, The Space Shuttle Challenger, and a Narrative of The Life of Frederick Douglass.

Our next novel study will be The Call of the Wild by Jack London. Author Jack London was a writer and adventurer, beginning his life in the San Francisco Bay area, and then traveling the world. While participating in the Klondike Gold Rush, he reportedly encountered a mythical wolf that served as the inspiration for The Call of the Wild. Buck, a large and powerful St. Bernard mix, experiences both love and abuse from a succession of owners. As a sled dog, Buck stirs up rebellion among the team when he stands up to the aggressive alpha dog, Spitz.

Materials are on the StudySync app and in a StudySync workbook that is provided.

English Language Arts

Unit Title: No Risk, No Reward
Essential Question: Why do we take chances?
Genre Focus: Informational Text
Extended Writing Project: Informative

Why do we take chances? Every time a person takes a chance, he or she risks losing something for the possibility of a reward. Sometimes these chances pay off, and sometimes they don’t. Yet, people still take risks every day. With a genre focus on informational texts, this Grade 8 unit prepares students to explore questions about why we take chances.

Academic Vocabulary Term 1

Academic Vocabulary Term 2

Academic Vocabulary Term 3

Academic Vocabulary Term 4

Beyond the Classroom: ELA

Math

Welcome to the 2025-26 School Year!

Our math curriculum resource is Open Up Resources. This has a physical student book (consumable) as well as an online presence. Here are the 8 units we will cover during the school year:

U1 - Rigid Transformation & Congruence
U2 - Dilation, Similarity & Introduction to Slope
U3 - Linear Relationships
U4 - Linear Equations & Linear Systems
U5 - Functions & Volume
U6 - Associations in Data
U7 - Exponents & Scientific Notation
U8 - Pythagorean Theorem & Irrational Numbers

HERE is the link that takes you to the family version of our online book.

Beyond the Classroom: Math

Social Studies

We are currently learning about the creation of our government and how it works. We having been discussing the rights American have in the Bill of Rights lately, and reviewing how our government works.

We will have an upcoming quiz will be on Tues., Jan. 13th. Students have been reviewing and have flashcards, study games they have created, or notes to study with.

Next, we will conduct a role play where students have to pass a law in the role of a person in the government. Afterwards, they will have to pick a way to justify the law they passed or how they worked to not pass this law. A description and rubric will be passed out in class. This assignment will be due Tues. Jan. 20th.

Questions to ask your student-

-How are laws made and other decisions in our country?

-Why is our government setup the way that it is?

updated: 1/12/2026

Beyond the Classroom: Social Studies

Science

A quick reminder for Science Assessments: Retakes are always available! Practice to show improvement from the first assessment is required, however, I am willing to help if your child(ren) so desires.

As we continue forward through Term 3, students are finishing their review of matter which bridges them to the introduction of Chemistry!

The outlook for our units to come are as follows: