8^th Grade March 2020

The eighth grade is looking forward to our field trip to Washington, D.C. to visit the National Museum of African American History and Culture, the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum, the Smithsonian Museum of American History, and monuments around the National Mall. We will be leaving TEMS promptly at 6:30AM and will return to Conestoga High School around 8:30PM. Permission slips went home February 26^th and are due back by March 9^th.

English

The eighth grade English classes are continuing the Holocaust literature unit in March and will be engaging in Socratic seminars as a culminating activity. We will begin Romeo and Juliet in the middle of the month. Journaling and vocabulary work are continuing.

American History

This month students will study the far-reaching consequences of the political and economic decisions made by Andrew Jackson during his two terms as president. Students will experience a special presentation by a guest speaker on President Andrew Jackson.

Science

Science classrooms are finishing their exploration of chapter 6 in the Motion, Forces and Energy book, Thermal Energy and Heat.  Once completed, we will begin chapter 1 of the Inside Earth text. We will be looking at the layers of the Earth, from the core to the crust. Investigations include how the Earth’s plates arrived at their current location and what it is that moved them. After plate tectonics, the science classes will investigate earthquakes and volcanoes.

Math:

Pre-Algebra

Students just finished a unit on Area and Volume and are now working on Geometric Transformations.

Algebra

Students just completed a unit on Quadratic Equations and how to solve graphically, using the quadratic formula and using radicals. The current unit focuses on the various methods utilized to factor quadratics and other polynomials.  Students will then apply their skills to solving quadratics and analyzing quadratic applications.

Geometry

Students are utilizing their knowledge of right triangles and trigonometry to determine the surface area of plane figures. Moving forward, these concepts will be further developed in the exploration of space figures.

Algebra 2

Students are completing the unit on exponential functions and logarithms. Applications in science and finance will be explored. The next unit focuses on Conic Sections and encompasses both graphing and writing of equations.

Study Skills 8

Eighth grade students will develop critical thinking skills by exploring questioning strategies. Students will be introduced to the levels of questions as presented in Bloom’s Taxonomy. Next, students will practice formulating their own questions about a class novel. Questions developed by students will be used for written responses and will serve as a basis for classroom discussion. Vocabulary study and daily grammar review will continue throughout the month.

Music

Mrs. Gyza’s 8^th grade students will research jazz music genres in groups using the Jazz for Young People lessons They will then write a script to present the information with music clips as a podcast to the class in Garageband

The students in Mr. Seaton’s classes have been hard at work learning basic guitar chords for performance.  The students now know G Major, C9 and D Major chords and have played approximately 15 songs!  We’re now moving onto E minor and will be learning many current top 100 songs.

Miss Daniel’s 8^th grade music classes are learning about film music, specifically in movie trailers. We have been discussing the significance of music in movie trailers and its correlation to the scenes. Students will be learning about storyboarding and camera angles as they prepare to plan and film a movie trailer in groups using iMovie. Students will take turns being actors/actresses, directors, and camera operators.

Art

Students in Mrs. Flint’s class will be discovering the work of many modern artists who sought to portray subjects which the camera could not capture.  Students will begin to understand that Modern Artists, like Picasso, chose to portray subjects the way he “remembered” them rather than how he “saw” them. To reflect this concept, we will examine portraits created during numerous periods of history.  8^th graders will create acrylic Contemporary Self-Portraits with an emphasis on color theory techniques after they manipulate their self-portrait in Photoshop.

Ms. Turner and Mr. Humbert’s 8^th grade artists are putting the final touches on collage animal faces inspired by the work of Philadelphia artist, Leo Sewell.  Sewell (b. 1945) is an American "found object" artist. His assemblages of recycled material are in over 40 museums and in private collections worldwide. Sewell's art follows naturalistic themes, and animals feature prominently in his creations. His collage-like sculpture is assembled from metal, wood, and plastic that he collects from trash, yard sales, and flea markets. In the spirt of Sewell’s work, students used wallpaper and mixed media to create a whimsical animal collage.

Physical Education

5^th, 6^th, 7^th, and 8^th grade students will participate in a team handball tournament this month. Students will be put on a team and play several rounds against teams from all classes.  This tournament will help students work on their team building, cooperation, strategy, and individual skills.

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Health

8th grade students in Mrs. Himes’s class will continue with their unit about family life.  In this unit, the following will be learned: location and description of the various body parts associated with this system, methods of contraception, the miracle of life, HIV/AIDS, abstinence, changes during puberty, and dating and relationships. 8th grade students in Mr. Bush’s class will continue a unit about drug abuse, misuse, awareness and prevention where they will research and present about a drug topic.  Students will be provided with a significant amount of time in school to gather information and complete their presentations. They will be reminded that this is not a promotion for drug use and the emphasis will be on prevention. Students will describe their topics, list street names, go over statistics/facts, short and long-term effects, treatment, prevention, history, and other interesting facts.

Family Consumer Science

Hand sewing projects (keychains) are pretty well wrapped up, and they did a fantastic job!  Ready for pillowcases!  We have already managed to learn about the parts of a sewing machine, and practiced sewing on fabric squares to prepare for our pillowcase project.  We have pinned our pillowcase material, and we are ready to start sewing!  Projects will be in full swing soon and will be wrapping up just a few classes before the end of the quarter.  Just enough time to explore a short unit on budgeting basics!

Technology Education

Students just wrapped up getting to know about 3D modeling concepts and ideas. Now they are going to be designing their Tower of Hanoi game boards by going over processes and techniques to safe wood cutting and shaping. Students will be given direction and demonstrations. Students will print out their 3D designed pieces, as well as, other pieces cut from the laser cutter. Students will be able to close out the marking period by finishing and assembling their Tower of Hanoi game.

World Languages:

Spanish II

In 8^th grade Spanish we are beginning our unit on clothing and shopping.  Students have a choice for their culminating project for this unit. They may choose to perform a fashion show or a clothes shopping skit. 

French II:

French II students studied some irregular verbs in the present tense (vouloir, pouvoir, devoir) and started learning the vocabulary for transportation. They learned how to say they travel using certain modes of transportation. They also studied the cultural aspects of Versailles in Paris.