Eighth Grade Curriculum

The English language arts core curriculum focuses on readings such as Cry, the Beloved Country, A Girl Named Disaster, Abigail Adams: Witness to a Revolution, Across Five Aprils, Dragonwings, Roll of Thunder, Hear My Cry, To Kill a Mockingbird and Anne Frank: Diary of a Young Girl. Students write narrative and research essays, composition assignments are usually integrated with the other topics in the overall eighth grade curriculum. Grammar review covers verbs, pronouns, punctuation, and capitalization.

This class focuses on plot elements such as exposition, character, setting, conflict, suspense, climax, and resolution. Students practice developing plots, characters, and settings to advance a story. Works from Kurt Vonnegut, Edgar Allen Poe, Langston Hughes, O. Henry, Gerald Durrell, Guy de Maupassant, and Ray Bradbury round out the reading list that doubles as inspiration for each student’s own short story.

The eighth grade core math curriculum focuses on number systems other than base 10 and algebraic applications with rational numbers. Topics of review include number patterns, percents, proportions, the Pythagorean Theorem, and irrational numbers. The term concludes with an introduction to graphing linear equations, an introduction to polynomials, and an opportunity to participate in the LI Math Fair.

Students review basic procedures for geometrical constructions and move on to examine the properties and common ratios for the five Platonic Solids: dodecahedron, hexahedron, tetrahedron, octahedron, and icosahedron.

Students expand their knowledge of their bodies by studying the anatomy of the human skeleton. They learn the names, shapes, and functions of the major bones, with a special emphasis on how the muscles are designed to take maximum advantage of the laws of mechanics. The foot and lower leg are presented as examples of levers. The artistic and practical components of the course include sketches of human bones, and a life-size human skeleton, as well as a clay rendition of a model femur.

This seminar focuses mainly on organic substances such as sugars, starches, proteins, and fats. Students begin by observing the plant and dissecting the process of photosynthesis as a means of energy conversion. Class activities include making potato starch, lipsticks, and hand lotions.

This seminar introduces scientific (SI) units, hydraulics, density, and electromagnetism. Students learn the ways in which modern cities anticipate and deliver water needs to its residents and businesses. Eighth graders examine hydraulic machines and practical applications of Pascal’s law. The story of Archimedes and the king’s crown introduces the idea of density, which segues into a review of pressure. Students expand upon previous studies of triboelectricity and the achievements of Volta, Oersted, and Faraday, all of which provide the basis for understanding the electromotor.

A thorough review of United States history, from the first settlers of Jamestown, Virginia to the war for independence and the establishment of the fifty states.

This seminar continues the story of the development of the Western world, beginning in England with the reign of James I through the English Civil War and the establishment of a constitutional monarchy. Students then travel to France to explore the monarchies of Louis XIV, XV, and XVI and the French Revolution. The beginnings of the European Industrial Revolution is explored as the curriculum starts to weave economics into politics.

Topics of interest cover the period from the mid 18th Century to the mid 19th Century and follows the theme of industrialization and its effects. Students begin with the textile factories of England’s Industrial Revolution to the invention of the steam engine and end with America’s own Industrial Revolution, from the expansion of the railroad to the clash between the agricultural South to the industrial North as a basis for the Civil War and the use of slave labor. Debates on the pros and cons of industrialization in terms of its impact on society and the environment are regular features of class discussion. Additionally, students write several compositions and engage in daily discussions on provocative topics such as slavery, economics, human rights, technology, warfare, and leadership.

Students follow the theme of civil rights from the Reconstruction of the South to present time. Specific topics include the Jim Crow laws, the Women’s Suffrage movement, the Great Depression, Prohibition, FDR’s New Deal, World War I and II. Students contrast dictators like Hitler and Stalin to leaders such as Gandhi and King. Studies conclude with discussions of recent and current events, such as the 9/11 attacks, and the wars in the Middle East, as well as background lessons on the U.S. government, the Bill of Rights, and Constitutional amendments. This class frequently incorporates a field trip to Washington D.C.

This seminar presents a broad overview of the geography, culture, and history of Africa. The curriculum encompasses presentations on topics ranging from art to socioeconomic conditions by guest speakers such as Dr. William Watson and “Uncle” Steven Lloyd. Students write compositions on African topography and geography, as well as biographies of African leaders. Readings include Cry the Beloved Country by Alan Paton.

Students begin their year with an introduction to body awareness through the senses and movement in the six directions of space. The class progresses to rhythm activities from Africa and performs group dances such as Tumba alle Tumba, a piece that calls for individual control in moving with scarves and long wooden rods as well as group cooperation. The curriculum rounds off with numbers using complex body percussion inspired from the South African Gumboot style of dance. Activities to enhance balance, flexibility, and individual awareness serve as warm-up and cool-down exercises in lessons.

The eighth grade offers students an introductory course to Spanish that includes an overview of basic vocabulary and pronunciation. Class projects include skits based on familiar fairy tales and presentations of classic Spanish songs such as Des Colores.

Students concentrate on applying the language skills they have acquired so far to further their listening and reading comprehension skills through various texts, poems, and songs. Grammar exercises include activities that emphasize adverbs and modal verbs. A unit on Mozart also familiarizes students with new vocabulary and a deeper understanding of German culture. Eighth graders also spend time examining the geography of Germany and complete a geography book describing and depicting basic geographical facts.

The eighth grade play signals the culmination of our students’ lower school experience, and, as such, is a major undertaking of the class. Students combine their refined acting and speaking skills, previous experience in theater production including set design, costumes, hair and makeup, props, backstage management, choreography, and music to present a sophisticated, classic play of their class teacher’s choosing. Past choices have included Shakespeare’s Much Ado About Nothing, a rich comedy of nuanced diatribes and layered plots, to Fiddler on the Roof, a work that epitomizes personal growth and transitions and features an incredible score.

The seventh and eighth grade boys’ and girls’ choruses generally meet separately to develop sight-reading abilities and performance skills. They come together to sing for the Thanksgiving Assembly and their graduation ceremonies. Pieces performed in the past include Somewhere Over the Rainbow and For Good.

Students immerse themselves in arrangements of The March of the Meistersänger by R. Wagner and the Pavanne by G. Faure, both of which develop ensemble skills and sensitivity to music.

Students experiment with different ways of expressing tone through black/white and color drawings. Their experience with perspective is expanded to include concepts such as aerial perspective and color as a tool to create an illusion of depth in a landscape. Color is also introduced as a manipulator of moods through observations at sunset, dawn, and dramatic weather situations. Each student completes several color exercises in pencil, crayon or pastel, and landscapes or still lifes in watercolor or pastel.

Eighth grade handwork students learn the fundamentals of sewing. Using their own bodies as the standard of measure, students construct a pattern, which they use to create an article of clothing. Possible projects include skirts, shirts, boxer shorts, and pajama pants.

Students build stools using wood from a forty-inch thick oak tree from Glen Brook. This exercise teaches common tools such as froes, hatchets, drawknives, and spokeshaves, as well as quality traits such as patience and respect for workmanship.

The eighth grade physical education curriculum encompasses units of soccer, team handball, and basketball. Students learn the basic skills, techniques, terminology, and rules for each sport.

In the farm hills of Glen Brook, students live and learn American history by actively engaging in the diverse activities that made up life in colonial New England—from maple sugaring at the Camp’s sugarhouse, to stone cutting and woodwork.

Students of the eighth grade also embark on a Coming-of-Age Trip with members of the seventh grade class. A trip to Glen Brook specially designed to tackle important issues that arise during puberty, students will gain the confidence and the perspective they need to support them through this period of personal transitions.

gardening program, they are given the unique privilege of experiencing life and work on a real farm. Once a week, they travel to Grossman Farm, a five-acre, organic and biodynamic farm, where they assist with all types of farm tasks.

The gardening curriculum aims for the children to learn and appreciate organic gardening skills. They care for a plot of land by improving the soil, making and using compost, planting trees, flowers and bushes, harvesting their produce and weeding. During the winter months the children learn how to winterize the garden and prune trees. The children will also experience a brief introduction to Biodynamic Agriculture, a practice of enlivening the soil that enables the land to sustain itself through time.

As soon-to-be initiates of the High School, the eighth grade traditionally bestows a class gift to the School Garden. Past gifts include the construction of a labyrinth in the nature trail, and the planting of cherry and pear trees on our campus.