8th Grade Curriculum

READING/ENGLISH/LANGUAGE ARTS (RELA)
The St. Martha Catholic School student will understand and use elements of the writing process to compose texts such as personal narratives, expository and persuasive essays, research reports, creative writing, poetry, and both formal and informal letters. They will compose cross-curricular writing projects depicting historical events. Students will produce finished writing projects utilizing MLA format. They will practice proper listening and speaking techniques, identifying and summarizing the writer’s/speaker’s purpose and position. Students will also use conventions to be able to write complete sentences with subject/verb agreement, correct punctuation, capitalization, word usage, and parts of speech. They will practice editing skills on a daily basis and become proficient editors of their own work and that of others. Students will increase their vocabulary with weekly vocabulary exercises and tests. They will understand and master the English language including the following parts of speech:

Parts of Speech

• Nouns
• Pronouns
• Adjectives
• Verbs
• Adverbs
• Verbals (Participles, Infinitives, Gerunds)
• Prepositions
• Conjunctions
• Interjections
• Sentences
• Diagramming

Literature

• Continuation of skills from 7th grade - preparing for high school
• Novel studies (two novels)
• Media Literacy - newspapers, persuasive text, rhetorical devices
• Literary nonfiction - analyzing well-known speeches, writing individual speeches, presenting speeches
• Poetry - analyzing poetry
• Drama - reading The Miracle Worker to understand how a playwright uses characters and dialogue
• Word Study - Greek/Latin roots and analogies

MATH

The primary focus for students in Middle School Mathematics: Grade 8 at St. Martha Catholic School is as
follows:

• Students use problem-solving, reasoning, communication, and algebraic thinking to solve various math problems.
• Students represent, create, and apply proportionality to describe and show mathematical relationships between various mathematical expressions and equations.
• Students use expressions, equations, inequalities, and functions to show various mathematical relationships within a variety of contexts.
• Students interpret, represent, and use their knowledge with number sense to understand data, statistics, and logic.
• Students develop an economic way of thinking and problem-solving as knowledgeable consumers and investors.

St. Martha Catholic School provides leveled math classes to middle school students, preparing them to graduate with either a credit in Algebra I or Pre-Algebra.

8th-grade Algebra I: 

• The Set of Real Numbers: Rational and irrational Numbers
• Sets, Operations, and Properties of Rational Numbers
• Linear Equations: Solving using All Operations, Multistep and Variables on Both Sides
• Absolute Value Equations and Inequalities
• Linear Inequalities: Graphing and Solving using All Operations, Multistep and Variables on Both Sides
• Compound Inequalities and Graphing
• Relations and Functions: Arithmetic and Geometric Sequences
• Linear Functions: Direct Variation, Slope-Intercept, Point-Slope, Standard Form, Parallel and Perpendicular Lines, Absolute Value Functions
• Change the Form of Linear Equations
• Systems of Linear Equations and Inequalities
• Operations with Polynomials
• Factoring Polynomials
• Radical Expressions and Equations
• Quadratic Functions and Equations
• Rational Expressions and Equations
• Exponential and Other Nonlinear Functions

• Data Analysis and Probability

 
8th-grade Pre-Algebra: 

• Rational and Introduction to Irrational Numbers
• Powers and Exponents: Introduction of Laws of Exponents
• Negative Exponents
• Multiply and Divide in Scientific Notation
• Real Numbers, Perfect Squares, and Square Roots
• Expressions and Equations: One, Two, and Multi-Step including Variables on Both Sides
• Inequalities: One, Two, Multistep, Variables on Both Sides, and Graphing
• Polynomials and Basic Factoring
• Linear Functions and Inequalities: Slope, X and Y Intercepts, Slope-Intercept, Point-Slope, and Standard Form
• Ratios and Proportions
• Fractions, Decimals, and Percent Applications
• Two and Three-Dimensional Geometry
• Geometric Measures and Coordinate Geometry
• Patterns and Nonlinear Functions
• Data Analysis, Statistics, Probability, and Logic

SCIENCE
The Archdiocese of Galveston-Houston follows the NGSS (Next Generation Science Standards) and we implement an integrated science program utilizing McGraw-Hill’s I-Science textbook.
8th grade finalizes many topics and is very “inquiry science” focused:

Nature of Science

• Describing motion
• Laws of motion
• The Solar system and understanding gravity
• Sound and light
• Thermal energy
• Understanding the Atom
• Elements and chemical bonds
• Chemical reactions and equations
• Clues to Earth’s past-fossils and dating
• Geologic time- understands history and present changes/relationship of organisms
• Social Studies - 8th Grade-This class is an exploration into the birth and development of The United States with special focus on the geography, economy, government, military, foreign affairs and the people who helped to shape our nation. We will cover U.S. history from The Early Colonial Period through The Civil War and Reconstruction

SOCIAL STUDIES
This class is an exploration into the birth and development of The United States with special focus on the geography, economy, government, military, foreign affairs and the people who helped to shape our nation. We will cover U.S. history from The Early Colonial Period through The Civil War and Reconstruction.