Grade 8
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| Teachers: |
Polly Conti • Dr. Lindsey Polizzotti
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Tali Marotz • Pamela Aranov
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Ken Schulman • Ellen Lodgen
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Sharon Shore Taitelbaum
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| Room Parent(s): |
Karen Rosenberg
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| Recess: |
12:25 – 12:45pm
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| Lunch: |
12:50 – 1:10pm
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| Specials: |
Art:
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Wednesday – 1:13-2:00pm (D)
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2:03-2:50pm (C)
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| Music: |
Thursday – 1:13-2:00pm (D)
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2:03-2:50pm (C)
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Physical Education:
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Tuesday – 11:35am-12:20pm
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Friday – 11:35am-12:22pm
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Back to "In the Classroom"
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Classroom News
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Language Arts
As students study the Holocaust in Jewish Studies, they read the Nobel Peace Prize memoir by Eli Wiesel entitled Night. This novel provides students with a profound and personal view of life in the concentration camps. Students also study carefully the genre of this piece of literature, the memoir, in preparation for writing personal memoirs in the spring. Upon finishing the novel, they will write a thesis paper based on Eli Wiesel's experiences before, during and after the novel was written. Following the study of Night, students will complete a classical poetry unit studying such great poets as Langston Hughes, Emily Dickinson, and Robert Frost.
The grammatical constructs learned earlier in the year are now applied to comma placement, agreement and pronoun usage. In addition students continue their vocabulary study, including the acquisition of new Greek and Latin roots.
Social Studies
Students are now studying westward expansion during the Jeffersonian era. Through films, games and primary sources, they are experiencing the hardships of life on the frontier. This will be followed by a view of the War of 1812 and international relations during the presidency of Thomas Jefferson and Andrew Jackson. Much discussion and debate will be encouraged concerning our initial treatment of the Native Americans. Study continues into the era of Andrew Jackson and the rise of political parties in the United States. This dovetails nicely with our weekly update on current events, specifically the Republican primaries.
Hebrew (Tali Marotz)
The eighth graders continue to develop spoken and written Hebrew through reading selected short stories that are connected to the theme surrounding the establishment of the State of Israel. Students analyze the different characters, settings, plots and main ideas. They work on verb patterns and learn to apply new Hebrew vocabulary into their creative writing assignments. During Hebrew Sichot (discussions) they have the opportunity to improve their oral expression and Hebrew communication skills as well as putting the events being studied into an historical and social framework.
Hebrew (Pamela)
Students wrote research papers and presented their research to the class, using power point presentations, models and/or posters as visual aids. Our trip to Washington, DC in February is the pinnacle of our Holocaust studies, as we spend a day at the Holocaust Museum, exploring in depth this enormous tragedy and the role that mankind played in it. Students will begin working on our Holocaust memorials after the trip.
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Science
During January, students participated in a group video review project, where they worked together to create a video to teach their classmates about their assigned topic from the Forces and Motion Unit. This project allowed students to work together, use technology, plan a movie sequence and script, and use their creativity. We used these videos when reviewing for their unit exam on all five chapters. In February we will begin the Cells and Heredity Unit using a text book with the same format as the previous unit. We will begin by learning the parts of the cells and how they function. We will be utilizing the microscopes in class to help students investigate these cellular structures. In March, the 8th graders will also begin CPR training by our school nurse Michelle.
Algebra
We have just completed an extensive look at ratios, proportions and inequalities. In our next unit, the students will build on their knowledge of equations by learning to graph and write linear equations. They will learn to calculate rate of change and to measure direct variation. We will work on slopes, intercepts and the relationship between the equations of parallel and perpendicular lines. The next unit will build on all their previous experiences with equations to learn to solve systems of equations. They will learn the three techniques for solving these systems: graphing, substitution and elimination. Once the students have mastered solving systems of equations, they will learn to use them to solve word problems. We will then move on to investigating the more complex world of systems of inequalities. The unit will end with a brief look at systems of equations involving both linear and non-linear equations.
In honors algebra, students are beginning the study of quadratics. They multiply and factor polynomials. The students begin solving quadratic equations by graphing graphing them, both by hand and using a graphing calculator; they also explore the graphs for symmetry, maximum and minimum points and x-intercepts (roots of the equation) and compare those to binomial factors. Then the students use their understanding of factoring to solve quadratic equations.
Next the students study completing the square and use this skill to learn more about the graph of a quadratic, specifically the vertex and transformations. Completing the square also leads to derivation of the quadratic formula and the use of it in solving equations that cannot be factored. The students apply quadratic equations to word problems.
The students will continue working with non-routine problem solving through a variety of regional and national contests.
Jewish Studies
Students wrote research papers and presented their research to the class, using power point presentations, models and/or posters as visual aids. Our trip to Washington, DC in February is the pinnacle of our Holocaust studies, as we spend a day at the Holocaust Museum, exploring in depth this enormous tragedy and the role that mankind played in it. We will begin working on our Holocaust memorials after the trip.
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