8th Grade Course Descriptions

Application - Art - Bible - Communication - Computer - English - Foreign Languages: French IB, Spanish IB - Health and Physical Ed. - Health - Girls PE - Boys PE - History - Math: Pre-Algebra - Algebra I - Music: Band, Choir - Science - Yearbook

Every Friday a group of 25 - 30 students will travel to Willow Brook Christian Home to help serve the elderly. This is a great time where students learn to interact with the residents, lead group games with the residents, and help the Willow Brook staff with daily duties. This is a great chance for the students to really practice living out what they are learning in Bible class. The students also enjoy going to eat at Wendy's for lunch. This has also shown to be a great chance for the students to be a light in a public place. Once a semester the students take trips with the residents to an off-campus place. This year we had a great time going to the zoo and the mall with the residents.

This course meets one day per week, two class periods for one quarter. The topics covered in this class include: drawing with pencil, charcoal pencil, photograph, chalk. The drawing assignments include anatomy (done in pencil) and self-portraits (done with charcoal pencil).

The 8th grade will be focusing on walking through the New Testament and understanding how it is relevant to a middle schooler in today's culture. The primary text for this course is the Bible.

Topics covered are: What does it mean to really be a disciple of Jesus? Why was Jesus such a story teller? And many more!

The middle school computer class is a general computer survey class conducted in a lab with 27 Windows XP Pro PC's. Computer 8 is a one-semester course. Students experience hands-on introductions to Microsoft Word 2003, PowerPoint 2003, Publisher 2003, and also Microsoft Excel 2003. Students learn basic PC Technology concepts and vocabulary, basic Internet browsing skills, and also have hands-on projects involving Christian content web sites such a Bible sites, Movie/Music Review sites, and Devotion sites. Projects also include projects using digital cameras, a classroom scanner, and digital editing software such as MS Point. Graded keyboarding lessons are held regularly using Microtype 3.0 keyboarding software.

This 18 week course allows students to have mastery of turning the computer on and off; logging onto school network; basic proficiencies in Microsoft Word, PowerPoint, Publisher, and Excel; basic skills in using a digital camera and scanner; basic skills in Internet browsing & searching; basic skills in printing to printers on a network; PC technology components and vocabulary. Eighth graders are also introduced to ethical issues associated with technology, such as Internet copyright issues, avoiding plagiarism, and proper techniques for citing sources.

Middle school computer classes regularly emphasize and challenge the students to find ways to use computers in a way that pleases our Lord. (Ephesians 5:8-10) Biblical integration for eighth grade student projects include several projects involving Christian-content web sites, integrating Scripture passages and concepts into PowerPoint projects, and reviewing Biblical concepts related to ethical issues in use of technology, such as Internet copyright issues, avoiding plagiarism, and proper techniques for citing sources.

Topics covered include: Greek Mythology, plagiarism, bibliographies, oral speaking, research papers, outlining, brainstorming, thesis statements, inferences/generalizations, narration, exposition, persuasion, editing/revising, and debates.

Students will hone in on the technical aspects of writing in 8th grade. They will write a well developed research paper written in MLA format. They will also work on how they can research and avoid plagiarism. Students will effectively write a thesis statement and a fully supported paper.

In addition, they will develop their oral skills through public speaking opportunities, debates, and various projects.

8th graders will read The Count of Monte Cristo and I Am the Cheese during the course of the year.

By the end of the year, the students should also have improved their ability to analyze literature from a Biblical perspective.

Semester one of this course is taken in seventh grade and semester two is taken in eighth grade. With the help of CD Rom and other resources, students will begin to develop the ability to communicate and express themselves confidentially in the international language of business and culture. Topics covered include going out with friends, family life, markets and shopping. Those who successfully complete these two semesters will qualify for second year French at the high school level.

This course is a continuation of what students learned in 7th grade. They will use what they have learned.

Topics covered:

• Be able to conjugate any verb ending in ir, er, ar
• The use of negatives: nadie, nunca, nada
• The weather and dates
• The family- relationships with each other and describe them using adjectives
• Discussing and giving advice
• Have a phone conversation
• Making plans
• Turning down an invitation and explaining why
• Food- likes and dislikes; ordering food in a restaurant
• Writing complete sentences and writing paragraphs
• Continue to learn to conjugate verbs

This course is a semester long.

God tells us in His Word that our bodies are His Temple. Students will increase their knowledge of this truth through the study of the following topics:

• Fitness
• Nutrition
• Disease
• Drugs & Drug abuse
• Purity & Dating

This course is one semester long.

Fitness and Sports: volleyball, softball, basketball, tennis, floor hockey, speedball, soccer, track, President’s Physical Fitness Test, aerobics, running, and a variety of fitness games.

All with the objectives of improving cardiovascular fitness, muscle strength, flexibility, and endurance, as well as gaining knowledge and proficiency in sports.

When the students leave the class they should have mastery of:

• Kicking
• Throwing
• Catching
• Sportsmanship
• Team play
• Checking their heart rate
• Fitness

This course is one semester long. Students lean the basics of team sports which include football, baseball, soccer, basketball, and floor hockey.

When students leave this class they should have mastery of:

• How to dribble, pass, and shoot in soccer
• How to catch a football
• Hockey fundamentals
• How to run the mile, do push ups, pull-ups, and sit ups
• How to catch, throw, and hit in baseball

This is a yearlong course studying American History. The topics covered include:

• 9 Bible Principles of History
• Constantine and the growth of the Roman Catholic Church
• Crusades
• Age of Discovery
• Reformation
• Founding of each colony
• Pilgrims
• Puritans
• French and Indian War
• Events leading to the War of Independence
• United States Constitution
• Spanish/American War
• Boxer Rebellion
• Panama Canal
• WWI
• WWII
• The restoration of Israel as a nation

When the student leaves this class he should have mastery of writing essays, note taking, and listening skills, how to read questions and look for key words, how to make oral presentations, working on group projects and co-operation, completing assignments on time and neatly done!! Thinking! Understanding the cross of Christ is the focal point of all history! Trying to see earth events in light of God’s plan and perspective. Trying to think biblically not culturally.

These will never be mastered but this will make a good starting point.

This course is designed to prepare students for algebra.

Topics include:

• Evaluating expressions using the order of operations
• Solving equations and inequalities using inverse operations
• Comparing, ordering, adding, subtracting, multiplying and dividing integers
• Using prime factorization to find the greatest common factor and the least common multiple
• Multiplying and dividing monomials
• Powers and exponents
• Adding and subtracting decimals and fractions
• Multiplying and dividing decimals and fractions
• Mean, median, and mode
• Arithmetic and geometric sequences
• Scientific notation
• Functions and graphing
• Solving systems of equations using graphing
• Determining ratios and unit rates
• Relating fractions, decimals, and percents
• Using the percent proportion to solve percentage problems
• Finding the percent of change
• Statistics and probability
• Relating algebra to geometry
• Measuring area and volume
• Applying algebra to right triangles
• Polynomials

This course, which meets the standards of the NCTM is the first in the sequence of math courses for students who are following the college preparatory curriculum. Students who successfully complete this course while in the eighth grade will not receive high school credit, but will be eligible to take geometry their freshman year in high school.

Topics include:

• Translating words into symbols and sentences into equations
• Adding, subtracting, multiplying, and dividing real numbers
• Solving equations
• Adding, subtracting, multiplying, and dividing polynomials
• Factoring polynomials
• Simplifying polynomial fractions
• Subtracting, multiplying, and dividing polynomial fractions
• Graphing equations in two variables
• Determining the slope and y-intercept of linear equations
• Solving systems of equations using the graphing, substitution, and addition-or-subtraction method
• Solving and graphing linear inequalities
• Simplifying radicals and using the Pythagorean theorem
• Adding, subtracting, multiplying, and dividing radicals
• Using the quadratic formula to find the solutions to a quadratic equation
• Graphing quadratic equations

Eighth grade band is for students who have studied a band instrument for at least a year. As a part of the instrumental music class, students will grow in the skill of playing an instrument, the art of musicianship and self expression through music, and the act of worshiping the Lord through music.

Using various sheet music, students will cover a variety of musical styles and periods. Rhythm studies, scale studies and etudes are used to build on and sharpen rhythm and note reading skills. Chorals and Hymns are used to develop ear training and good intonation. Dynamics, phrasing, balance, articulation, intonation and overall musicianship are built upon throughout the year.

Students are evaluated through group participation, individual playing examinations, small group collaborations and concert attendance. A Christmas and Spring Concert are held at the school each year in addition to a group performance at Grandparents Day and Chapel. Students may also participate in the Association of Christian Schools Music Festival, a field trip to a local university for a master class session, a performance opportunity at a mall at Christmas time, a spring trip to King's Island and/or other opportunities as they are presented.

In this course students not only have the opportunity to examine and perform different styles of music from various historical periods and composers, but also to begin to analyze, discuss, and critique music performed by themselves and other musicians. The students will progress in this class from reading and singing three-part harmonies to being able to read and sing four- to eight-part harmonies.

This course’s goal is to instill an appreciation for the complexity and order of creation, consequently enhancing the appreciation and reverence for an omniscient and omnipotent Creator. The student’s study involves physics, geology in a Biblical framework, oceanography, and meteorology. Many lab investigation and discovery activities are included that increase critical thinking and scientific method skills.

Being on the yearbook staff is available to any student who applies and is chosen for a staff position. Applications are distributed at the beginning of the eighth grade year and must be completed and returned by a given date. A yearbook staff member is involved in photography, page layouts, proofreading, art work, and organization of the middle school yearbook. Members of the yearbook staff should be responsible students who finish assigned tasks, self-starters who like to be creative, and students who easily work well with others. The yearbook staff compiles an eighty-page yearbook that is made available to the student body at the end of the school year.