8th Grade

"My Catholic faith definitely influences who I am as a teacher. I look at each student as a miracle of God's creation. My joy in teaching comes when I can share the wonder and awe of all of His creation with them; whether are studying language arts, ancient cultures, or the physical world. The greatest blessing working at Visitation, though, is that being at a Catholic school allows us the opportunity to share and grow in our journey of faith side by side, humbly trying our best to follow in the footsteps of Jesus."

Language Arts
Mathematics
Science
Health
Social Studies
Art
Religion

• Writing:
  • Introduce research writing techniques that include citations and paraphrasing
  • Concentration on transitional sentences and paragraphs that allows the reader to move along a writing piece more easily
• Spelling:
  • Correctly spell and associate word meanings on grade level words
  • Techniques to limit misspelling more difficult words
• Grammar:
  • Intense accuracy of subject-verb agreement using nouns and pronouns
  • Appropriate and correct uses of the verb tenses
• Reading:
  • Compare and contrast several types of novels to different pieces of writing
  • Analyze how and why authors organize their writings in certain ways

• Focus on Algebraic concepts
• Consistently and accurately add, subtract, multiply, and divide rational numbers using mental arithmetic, paper and pencil, and calculators
• Estimate and find square roots of whole numbers less than 100 and cube roots of whole numbers less than 1000 between two whole numbers
• Collect and display data as lists, tables, and plots using appropriate technology
• Evaluate algebraic expressions and formulas,including expressions involving exponents and parentheses, by substituting rational numbers
• Understand, graph, and recognize linear functions, including slope and           y-intercept
• Measure perimeter, length, weight, area, time, temperature, volume, and distance
• Use the Pythagorean Theorem

• Focus on experimentation using the scientific method
• Understand electricity, magnetism, and electromagnetic waves
• Study atoms, molecules, and the periodic table
• Investigate changes in our weather, ocean, and living things
• Investigate changes in our Earth and solar system over time

• Focus on the effect of nutrition, exercise, drugs, and alcohol on our body
• Study of environmental hazards and how they effect our body
• Study of health issues such as asthma and how they have changed with time

• Study of important people and places in U.S. History
• In-depth look at early U.S. history including the Revolution and the Constitution
• Concentration on the frontier, Civil War and Reconstruction, rise of an industrial nation, and 20th century wars and culture

• Taught in art class as well as integrated throughout all subject areas
• Concentration on creative art performance and expression.

• Introduce the Marks of the Church surrounded by the Lord’s Supper and Gospel message
• A look into the growth of Christianity
• How to use our faith through media and current events to proclaim our Catholic faith
• Discuss the history of reason, rebellion, and reform in the Catholic Church

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  * Seventh and Eighth grade is a blended classroom with a rotating curriculum in Religion, Social Studies, Science, and Health. The course work provided ensures that every student experiences age-appropriate and sequential instruction across the curriculum. Please speak with your classroom teacher to identify the current year’s curriculum topics.