Welcome to 8^th Grade

 

ENGLISH WRITING: The Writing Workshop completes the three-year writing program in middle school. By utilizing the writing process they have learned in previous grades, they demonstrate their skills at a much more rigorous level in crafting essays, namely, personal narratives, descriptive, expository, persuasive, and argumentative essays. They also are assigned business letters and research reports.

ENGLISH LITERATURE:  Students build on their foundation in reading classic and contemporary novels that resonate across time with young readers. They also read selected short stories and poems as well as a selected biography. In addition, they deepen their knowledge of figures of speech, and other literary terms and devices. 

MATH - Pre-Algebra 1or 2: This class is open to 6 through 9 grades depending on their ability. This program is designed to equip students with a strong foundation in algebra by focusing on mathematical understanding, logical thinking and mastering lifelong problem-solving skills. Each lesson has direct instructions and focuses on mathematical thinking with immediate application of new skills to problem solving.

EARTH SCIENCE: Students learn about planet Earth and beyond. Topics covered include cosmology, heliophysics, astronomy, geology; plate tectonics, and natural disasters. Hands-on experiments are performed to provide a practical understanding. 

FRENCH I: This level of high school French is open to 9 to 12 grades depending on their ability. It focuses on conversational vocabulary and basic grammar. This course integrates culture, geography of French speaking countries as well as art, and poetry.

ITALIAN: Italian grade 8 - Students are introduced to the language learning basic, useful vocabulary, conjugation of verbs, basic reading and writing skills, comprehension and speaking.

RUSSIAN: This class is open to 6 through 12 grades depending on their ability.  This course, taught by a Russian native speaker, is designed for beginners and for students who have already learned the fundamentals of Russian language. 

SPANISH B: (7-8): is the continuation of Spanish A.  Students are exposed to more vocabulary. They  learn numbers 1-1000, how to talk about the past (preterit tense), and how to use verbs such as tener, hacer, gustar. In addition, they develop more cultural knowledge of Spanish speaking countries.

TECHNOLOGY: Students are taught introduction to Artificial Intelligence (AI), and computer hardware & software. This includes the following: Hardware components necessary to understand and build a computer - Major Operating Systems such as Windows, Mac OS and Linux - Google Application Suite such as Docs, Sheets, etc. - Introduction to Cloud Technology - IP addressing, Binary and Hexadecimal numbers - Different type of hackers such as Ethical, Black-Hat and Gray-Hat - Introduction to the World Wide Web.

MUSIC: General studies become more focused as we listen and learn about the history of American Music, including extensive study of Black and Women composers and artists. Students also learn to create music digitally through the use of the program Logic Pro X, and they can post their works to the TD Soundcloud account.

ART: Learning and mastering new drawing/painting techniques including geometric pattern, pointillism, dry brush, glazing, impasto, chiaroscuro shadowing, watercolor double wash and water technique. Materials used include marker, watercolor, acrylic, charcoal and pencil Mural technique- learning to transfer a screen image to the page and assemble a mural.