Junior High Curriculum

8th Grade

EARTH SCIENCE - BJU Press

(alternates years with Life Science)

Goals:

To extend scientific knowledge, inquiry skills, and laboratory skills
To guide students in applying scientific knowledge and skills in ethical ways to solve real-world problems
To enable students to create models that describe the natural world and use them to make predictions
To equip students with the skills to interpret informational text and apply scientific knowledge in accordance with biblical teaching

By the end of this course students will study:

Geography (maps and cartography, GIS)
Geology (earth’s structure; tectonic forces, faults, and earthquakes; landforms; volcanoes)
Mineralogy and Petrology (identification and classification of rocks and minerals)
Paleontology (fossilization, fossil fuels)
Hydrosphere (oceans, lakes, and ponds; groundwater, caves and karst topography)
Atmosphere (composition and thermal structure, weather, clouds, storms, climate)
Astronomy (sun, moon, planets, small solar system bodies, stars and constellations)

LIFE SCIENCE - BJU Press

(alternates years with Earth Science)

Goals:

To extend scientific knowledge, inquiry skills, and laboratory skills
To guide students in applying scientific knowledge and skills in ethical ways to solve real-world problems
To enable students to create models that describe the natural world and use them to make predictions
To equip students with the skills to interpret informational text and apply scientific knowledge in accordance with biblical teaching

By the end of this course students will be expected to know:

Science skills (measuring, modeling, thinking scientifically, and the scientific process)
Cells (structure, reproduction, genetics)
Bacteria and viruses (structure and reproduction)
Protists and Fungi (nutrition, classification, and reproduction)
Plants (classification and functions)
Animals (classification, characteristics, structure, function, reproduction and development)
The Human Body (anatomy, functions of systems)
Ecology (ecosystems, food chains and webs, relationships between organisms, cycles of matter)

MUSIC

Fun Music Company “Ukulele Curriculum System” (Lessons 1-40)

By the end of this course students will be expected to know:

That worship of God through music is a gift.
That music is a wat to integrate faith into learning, fostering a love for God through creative expression
How to correctly hold and tune the ukulele
The parts of the ukulele
At least three strumming patterns on ukulele, including the ‘Hawaiian strum’
The ukulele chords: Am7, C7, F, A, C, G7, D, G
How to fingerpick
How to perform and respond to music in meaningful ways
The following music vocabulary: melody, harmony, beat, dynamics, tempo, pitch, rhythm
The technical skills of vocal production in singing
How to perform three-part vocal rounds
How to engage in refinement and feedback processes to prepare for performances
How to self-evaluate to refine musical performance
How to evaluate progress through practice as well as recognizing performance problems and possible solutions, increasing critical thinking within a musical context
How to create and use specific criteria in making judgements about the quality of a musical performance

GEOGRAPHY III

(offered every other year)

Exploring and Mapping the World, Memoria Press

By the end of this course students will be expected to:
locate 167 major countries
50 national capital cities
major oceans, seas, lakes, rivers, mountain ranges, and deserts
Draw an accurate map of the world based on the Robinson projection
Human geography of each continent in four main categories: cultural, economic, political, and historical
Basic overview of topography, climate, culture, history, religions of countries and regions

LITERATURE

A range of novels, poetry and non-fiction texts on a two-year cycle

By the end of this course students will be expected to know:

how to read closely to determine what the text explicitly states
how to make logical inferences, citing specific textual evidence to support conclusions drawn
how to determine central ideas or themes of a text and analyze their development
how to interpret words and phrases as they are used in a text
how to analyze how specific word choice shapes meaning and tone
how to analyze the structure of texts, including how specific sentences, paragraphs or larger portions of text relate to each other and the whole
how to determine figurative and connotative meaning
how to analyze and author’s ability to develop and contrast different characters’ points of view
how to identify key supporting details and ideas in a text
hot to differentiate between prose and poetry
how form or structure contributes to the meaning of a text
how language represents and constructs how readers perceive events, people, groups, and ideas

WRITING

“Structure and Style for Students” 2B - IEW

By the end of this course students will be expected to know:

how to write a key word outline (KWO)
how to use a key word outline to create a rough draft
how to enhance their writing by adding dress-ups such as -ly adverbs, who/which clauses, strong verbs, quality adjectives and www.asia.b clauses
all six sentence openers and use these effectively in their writing
how to check for ‘banned’ words eg. Say/said, see/saw, go/went
the title rule to create a title for their writing
all nine structural models (note making and outlines, retelling narrative stories, summarizing a reference, writing from pictures, summarizing multiple references, inventive writing, formal essay models and formal critique)
how to revise their writing to review content
how to edit their writing to tackle mechanics such as correct spelling, grammar and punctuation
how to provide peer feedback (positive and constructive improvements) to help others enhance their writing
how to produce a final draft to submit for teacher feedback

GRAMMAR

“Fix-it Grammar Level 4: Mowgli and Shere Khan” - IEW

By the end of this course students will be expected to know:

How to identify and correctly use the following parts of speech: noun, pronoun, verb, preposition, conjunction, adjective, adverb, interjection.
How to identify and correctly use nouns of direct address and plural nouns
Capitalization rules including capitalization with proper nouns, proper adjectives, personal pronouns, interjections and quotation marks
How to use the three end marks correctly, commas in 18 different grammatical situations, apostrophes in contractions and possessive adjectives, hyphens in compound adjectives, and quotation marks
The following clauses: who/which clause; that clause; adverb clause; dependent clause, main clause
How to use prepositional phrases, verb phrases and -ing phrases
Fused sentences and comma splices
The following usage: pronoun agreement; subject/verb agreement; verb tense; who/whom/whose
A variety of stylistic techniques including strong verb, quality adjective, who/which clause, -ly adverb, adverb clause, #1 subject opener, #2 prepositional opener, #3 -ly adverb opener, #4 -ing opener, #5 clausal opener, #6 vss opener

BIBLE

“Connecting with God and the Bible; New Testament Survey” by Timothy Foutz/ Gary Gordon by Purposeful Design Publications

By the end of this course students will be expected to know:

God’s Word is Living and Active- fully true!
Memorize New Testament Books of the Bible
See God at work in the 4 Gospels: verse by verse through book of Mark.
- Jesus is Son of God and Son of Man. Jesus is Savior. Jesus came to serve and give His life as a ransom for us.
See God at work through Revelation.
- Jesus has all authority. We have eternal life because of Jesus’ work on the cross. We do not fear God’s wrath to come- we are safe in Jesus. God will judge the earth and make a new heavens and new earth.
Students understand the book of Acts: How the Holy Spirit came at Pentecost, the start of the church. How Christ came for all nations- Jews and Gentiles.
Students will grasp the Epistles.
Students will complete an in-depth Epistle project, on one of Paul’s letters to the churches.
Students will understand the different genres of the NT books.
Students will be able to study any passage of Scripture using Observation, Interpretation, and Application.
Students will be able to make personal applications- letting Scripture transform their hearts and actions.
Students will complete pages in the curriculum, overviewing each book of the NT, understanding its theme and author.

EIGHTH GRADE MATH

Pre-Algebra, BJU Press

By the end of this course students will be expected to know:

Number Sense & Operations
- Apply operations on integers, fractions, decimals, and percents
- Understand exponents, including laws of exponents and scientific notation
Expressions, Equations & Inequalities
- Simplify algebraic expressions and evaluate using the order of operations
- Solve linear equations and inequalities, including systems of two equations (by graphing, substitution, elimination)
Functions & Linear Relationships
- Graph and interpret linear functions, relating slope to proportional relationships
- Use tables, graphs, and equations to describe functions
Geometry & Measurement
- Explore congruence via transformations (translations, reflections, rotations, dilations)
- Compute perimeter, area, and volume of various shapes (including cylinders, cones, spheres)
Data, Statistics & Probability
- Analyze and interpret data using scatter plots, trend lines, and two-way tables
- Calculate and apply probability principles
Exponents & Scientific Notation
- Apply rules for exponents and operations
- Convert and compute using scientific notation
Real-World Applications & Critical Thinking
- Solve real-world and contextual problems involving algebra, geometry, rates, volume, and data
- Engage in higher-order thinking through STEM-integrated tasks (e.g., construct a water wheel or ping-pong catapult)