Eighth Grade Curriculum

While preparing our middle school students for high school, the Saint Rose School Community ensures that students’ individual talents are supported, their spirituality deepened, and their commitment to service increased as they become more aware of their community responsibility.

This balance of personal growth and achievement, aimed at citizenship in Heaven and engaged here as part of a socially responsible community, provides our students the tools they need to lead meaningful lives in accord with their potential.

Our teaching staff at this level is departmentalized and offers students a traditional middle school experience. The departmental model provides instruction by teachers who are experts in their fields. Students begin each day with their homeroom teacher and then with the whole school community at morning prayers. After prayer, they move to different classrooms for instruction in specific subject areas along with special area classes including: Physical Education, Art, Band or Choral Music Technique, Spanish, and Computer class. All classes are taught by certified teachers.

In 7th and 8th grade, the students also select an additional special elective class from among the following popular options: Performing Arts, AI & Computer Coding, Personal Finance, Introduction to US Civil Law, Intro to Guitar, Bucket Drumming, Advanced Art, and Jazz Band. Responsibility, independence, and academic challenge grow while teachers maintain an environment of support and guidance in grades 6-8.

Our middle school students become leaders in our community. The 6th, 7th, and 8th graders are paired with Kindergarten, first and second grade students as a part of our “Prayer Partner” program. They accompany these students to weekly Mass and other events, in addition to being a friendly face and source of support on campus. The Student Council, National Junior Honor Society, Ambassador Program, Social Justice opportunities, school play, athletics, and a whole host of after school clubs allow our students to explore leadership and expand friendships, consistent with their strengths and interests. Our alumni tell us that they feel very prepared for the entire high school experience--in the classroom, on the athletic fields, at other extracurriculars, and socially.

Religion

  • 8th Grade Textbook: Word of Life Series by Augustine Institute
  • 8th Grade focuses on a great cloud of witnesses from throughout Church history who have boldly responded to the proclamation of the Gospel of Jesus Christ. Students come to know these great men and women through carefully curated excerpts from the writings and teachings of the saints and Doctors of the Church. Also included is a review of the Theology of the Body and its practical implications, and reflection on life in the Holy Spirit and the Sacrament of Confirmation.
  • Special activities: weekly visits to the Blessed Sacrament; confession opportunities; leadership in the School’s Day of Adoration (faith rally day); acting and production of the school’s Passion Play; week-long participation in Worthy, an engaging, humorous, practical, and profound course on chastity, dating, and married love; May Crowning; Confirmation retreat; completion of service hours; reception of the Sacrament of Confirmation

English

  • Textbook: Prentice Hall’s Literature: Timeless Voices, Timeless Themes
  • Sadlier-Oxford Vocabulary Workshop
  • Literature-based curriculum
  • CommonLit
  • Readworks - Digital Reading Comprehension Skill building
  • Novel studies focusing on literary analysis and literary elements
  • Emphasis on reading for detail and deeper meaning
  • Selections of poetry and dramas call for vibrant student participation and attentive, discerning writing; students enjoy parsing through Shakespeare and other notable authors’ works
  • Writing styles used in high school (Organization)
  • RACES, RAPS, and TELCon Writing Process Taught
  • Focus on Textual Analysis and Evidence-Based Essay Writing
  • The writing process (prewriting, drafting, revising, editing, and publishing)
  • Writing applications (analytical, persuasive, expository and narrative, descriptive, poetry, letters)
  • Utilizes Google Classroom for digital assignment submission, essay writing, teacher feedback
  • Escape Room Lessons to encourage cross curricular learning

Social Studies

  • 7th and 8th Grade: The American Venture: A History of the United States
  • Close reading of primary documents (Emancipation Proclamation, Gettysburg Address, “The Man in the Arena”, Rerum Novarum…) with analysis and context of the time they were written (SOAPstone format).
  • Topics include: Civil War, Reconstruction, Progressive Era, World War I, World War II, and the Cold War.
  • Special Activities:
    • What Do You Think?: Student opinions on historical events based on knowledge and facts
    • Vocabulary building
    • YeArt for specific historical events
    • Creating political cartoons
    • Care of the American Flag
    • Veterans Day events
    • Final Research Paper
    • Community service project

Mathematics

  • All Things Algebra curriculum
  • From pictorial representationseeper understanding of abstract math.
  • Math is made authentic through real-world applications.
  • Principles of algebra, such as evaluating and writing algebraic expressions and equations
  • Operations with rational numbers (integers, fractions, decimals, mixed numbers)
  • Solving one-step and multi-step algebraic equations
  • Ratios, proportions, similar figures, and scale drawings
  • Percents – including relating percents to fractions and decimals, percent of change, applications with percents
  • Perimeter, area, volume, and surface area

Algebra I

  • Textbook: Envision: Algebra I
  • Principles of algebra, such as evaluating and writing algebraic expressions and equations
  • Solving multi-step equations and inequalities, including ones with grouping symbols, variables on both sides, or with absolute value
  • Functions and linear equations, writing and graphing each
  • Slope, slope-intercept form, point-slope form, midpoint and distance formula
  • Solving systems of equations and inequalities
  • Graphing and solving quadratic functions.
  • Graphing and solving exponential functions
  • Graphing calculators (TI 84) and Desmos Graphing Software

Science

  • Textbook: Prentice Hall Science Explorer(6/7/8)
  • Introduce (6) and develop (7/8) the scientific process
  • Observations, data collection and generating hypothesis (7/8)
  • Learn how to utilize reliable sources (6/7/8)
  • Participate in Science Olympiad competitions (6/7/8)
  • Focus on Physical Science
  • Recognize that forces cause a change in speed and direction
  • Recognize the relationship between force, mass, and acceleration
  • Describe Newton’s 3 Laws of Motion
  • Solve problems involving speed, velocity, and acceleration
  • Identify the different forms of energy and energy transformations
  • Design and build marble roller coasters to investigate kinetic and potential energy
  • Identify the properties of mechanical and electromagnetic waves
  • States of matter
  • Describe the organization of the periodic table and analyze trends and groups on the periodic table
  • Observe and discuss chemical reactions
  • Explain the Law of Conservation of Mass, know how to identify unbalanced equations, and how to balance simple equations
  • Identifying and describing the properties of acids and bases
  • Emphasize development and analysis of conclusions