Eighth Grade Curriculum Overview

Language Arts

• Study word analysis, fluency, and systematic vocabulary development
• Analyze idioms, analogies, metaphors, and similes
• Read and understand grade level material
• Compare and contrast
• Use information to explain a situation or decision, narrative analysis
• Evaluate unity, coherence, logic, consistency, and structural patterns of text
• Know relationship between purpose and characteristics of poetry
• Show how a work reflects the heritage, attitudes, and beliefs of its author
• Write clear, coherent, focused essays that exhibit awareness of audience
• Essays contain formal introduction, supporting evidence, and conclusion
• Use research and technology
• Write biographies, autobiographies, narrative, expository, persuasive, and descriptive essays 500 to 700 words in each genre
• Write responses to literature and research reports
• Use of correct sentence structure, grammar, punctuation, capitalization, and spelling
• Demonstrate understanding by paraphrasing and asking relevant questions
• Organize and deliver speeches

Mathematics

• Simplify expressions before solving linear equations
• Solve multi
• step problems, including word problems
• Graph linear equations and compute x- and y-intercepts
• Verify that a point lies on a given line by plugging into equation
• Solve a system of equations
• Apply algebraic techniques to solve rate, work, and percent mixture problems
• Develop geometric skills and ability to construct proofs in a geometric setting
• Know undefined terms, axioms, theorems, inductive, and deductive reasoning
• Recognize and demonstrate inductive reasoning
• Prove the Pythagorean theorem
• Derive and solve problems using perimeter, circumference, area, volume, lateral area, and surface area of geometric figures
• Area of polygons
• Mean, median, and mode

Science

• Motion's properties, speed, and velocity
• Forces: involve both magnitude and direction
• Elements combine to form compounds and matter
• Structure of the atom
• Galaxies, stars, and the moon
• Chemical reactions, atoms, and molecules
• Carbon and living organisms
• The periodic table and its organization
• Metals, nonmetals, and inert gases
• Protons and their properties
• Buoyancy, density, mass and volume relationships
• Investigation and experimentation involving graphs and apply mathematics

Social Studies

• Constitution and World War One
• Development of American politics, society, culture, and economy
• Causes and consequences of the Civil War
• Attempts to abolish slavery
• Rise of industrialization and contemporary social and economic conditions
• Major events preceding the founding of the nation
• Development of the Constitution and concept of democracy
• U.S. foreign policy
• Learn ideals of Declaration of Independence
• Consequences of Reconstruction
• Changes in society and politics in response to the Industrial Revolution

Islamic Studies

• development and formation of the schema of Tawhid
• conceptual development of Imaan
• Islamic way of worship
• Islamic Adab and Akhlaq
• The cognition of Sirah and Hadith
• Internalization of the values of the Sirah
• Rasulullah (SAW) as the best model
• Ilm-al-Hadith: an introduction
• Hadith and the Cognitive and affective domain
• The theory of Islamic Tahdhib and Akhlaq
• Lives of the four Khilafa-ar-Rashidah
• Understanding of the accomplishments of each of the four Khalifas
• Knowing key events, people, and dates of the rule of each of the four Khalifas

Arabic Level 1

• Learn to read and write words and short phrases in Arabic
• Simple grammar in Arabic
• Learn to read Surahs form the Quran
• Simple Arabic dialogue

Arabic Level 2

• Learn to read advanced Arabic texts and Surahs
• Write sentences
• Introduction to grammar and dialogue