CURRICULUM
CURRICULUM
STANDARDS
Dear
Parents;
This
document is a brief overview of the curriculum taught at St. Patrick School.
It is a combination of Diocesan and State of California Standards. It includes
textbooks used at the school and special projects assigned by classroom
teachers. This is a living document that will be updated each year. More
detailed descriptions are available to parents in the school office and soon
on the schools website.
Mrs. Kelly Stevens
Principal
De
Children
develop in a natural sequence of growth, moving through similar, predictable
stages of development. We must be careful, however, not to expect all children
to move at the same pace. Children are unique individuals and will pass
through the developmental stages at their own rates.
Generally, children ages 10 to 15, in grades six through eight, are
similar in the ways they learn. They tend to learn best by doing, experiencing
and using their senses. They often require concrete models and have a need to
make relevant associations between what they learn and their everyday lives.
These adolescents tend to display the following characteristics:
Physical
Uneven physical growth
Metabolic
and hormonal fluctuation
Rapid brain growth
Periods of high energy or lethargy
Restlessness and periods of fatigue
Underdeveloped sense of time and space
Intellectual
Short attention span
Varied interests
Need for relevance in learning
Inquisitiveness
Response to choices
Concrete thinking
Varied ability levels
Orientation to the present
Emotional
Fluctuating emotions
Erratic, impulsive behavior
High level of anxiety
Excitability
Extreme sensitivity
Fluctuating moods
Ambivalence
Extreme self-consciousness
Rebelliousness
Social
Desire for independence
Constantly changing interests, needs and
priorities
Sensitivity to peer pressure
Need to focus on role models
Criticism toward self and others
Need to be accepted
Social or reclusive behavior
The
religious and family life education program for St. Patrick School offers
students a
curriculum that intentionally strives from one
grade level to the next to build on the cognitive
foundations established in the previous years
programs. Its content serves to inspire and to inform
a way of life. Each conveys the
essential philosophical underpinnings of the entire program.
2.
Demonstrate a basic understanding of the history of the church
3.
Demonstrate an understanding that we are drawn to God who, in creating
us, has placed a desire for
happiness in our hearts
4.
Demonstrate a basic understanding and appreciation of doctrine and
dogma found in the Creedal Statements
5.
Demonstrate a basic understanding and appreciation of the Trinity as
the central mystery of the Christian
faith
6.
Demonstrate knowledge of the Church as people of God, body of
Christ and community of faith
7.
Demonstrate an understanding of the sacraments as important moments in
the life of the community,
with an emphasis on the Eucharist
8.
Demonstrate an understanding that the Eucharistic Liturgy (the Mass) is
the communal celebration
of the Paschal Mystery in which each is called to full and active
participation
9.
Demonstrate a knowledge of and ability to participate in the Catholic
tradition of prayer
10. Demonstrate
an understanding of moral teaching, and an ability to make good moral
decisions and
act in a responsible, Christian manner
11. Demonstrate
comprehension of seven key principles of Catholic social teaching and have the
ability to apply them to personal and
societal situations:
The life and dignity of the human person
The call to family, community and participation
The rights and responsibilities of the human person
Option for the poor and vulnerable
The dignity of work and the rights of workers
Solidarity of the human family
Care for Gods creation: The Reproductive System
Peace
Education
Our 8th program also
includes a Peace Education series
for teachers and students to become, in their living and their thinking, truly
non-violent, just, and peaceful persons. The Peace
Education Foundation philosophy
embraces the physical, emotional, intellectual, ethical and
social growth of children within a framework
deeply rooted in traditional values of trust,
fairness, cooperation and non-violence. The
program is organized according to five main
concepts: building community, pro-social skills
anger management, conflict, and
social responsibility. The lessons provide
adolescents with the opportunity to experience
higher-order
thinking, explore critical reflection, and challenge attitudes about self and
others in a safe and caring learning community. Respect and peace are
developed through the implementation of the Rules
for Fighting Fair.
Vocabulary
and Concept Development
Identify idioms, analogies, metaphors, and
similes to infer the literal and figurative
meanings of phrases
Use common word origins to determine English
word meanings
Use word meanings within the appropriate
context to show ability to verify those
meanings by definition, restatement,
example, comparison,
or contrast
Reading
Comprehension
Read and understand narrative and expository
text (social studies, science, etc.)
appropriate to
eighth grade
Compare the original text to a summary to
determine whether the summary accurately
captures the main ideas, includes critical
details, and conveys the underlying meaning
Evaluate the unity, coherence, logic, internal
consistency, and structural patterns of text
Literary
Response and Analysis
Read and respond to historically or culturally
significant works of literature that reflect
and enhance
their studies of history and social science
Evaluate the structural elements of the plot
(e.g., subplots, climax), the plots development,
and the way in which conflicts (or
are not) addressed and resolved
Analyze the relevance of the setting (e.g.,
time, place, customs) to the mood, tone, and
meaning of the text
Identify significant literary devices (e.g.,
metaphor, symbolism, irony) that define a
writers style and use those elements to
interpret the work
Analyze a work of literature, showing how it
reflects the heritage, traditions,
attitudes, and beliefs
of its author
Write clear, coherent, and focused essays
containing introductions, supporting
evidence and
conclusions
Create compositions that establish a controlling
impression, have a coherent thesis, and
end with a clear and well-supported conclusion
Write biographies, autobiographies, short stories, or narratives
Write research reports
Write responses to literature
Write persuasive compositions
Revise writing for word choice; appropriate
Write with a command of standard English
conventions (e.g., sentence structure,
grammar, punctuation, capitalization and
spelling)
Create documents by using word-processing
skills and publishing programs
Listening
and Speaking
Deliver focused, coherent presentations that
convey ideas clearly
Evaluate the content of oral communication
Analyze oral interpretations of literature
Paraphrase a speakers purpose and point of
view and ask relevant questions
Organize information to achieve particular
purposes
Prepare a speech outline based on a chosen
pattern of organization
Use precise language, action verbs, sensory
details, appropriate and colorful modifiers,
and the active
rather than passive voice in ways that
enliven oral presentations
Deliver narrative presentations
Deliver oral responses to literature
Deliver research presentations
Deliver persuasive presentations
Recite poems, sections of speeches, or dramatic
soliloquies
Algebra
Eighth
grade math is a one-year exploration of algebra. The key content involves
understanding, writing, solving, and graphing linear
and quadratic equations, including
systems of equations. Students become
comfortable with the use of variables and learn to
manipulate monomial and polynomial expressions
accurately. Students learn to use
various techniques to simplify expressions,
including combining like terms and factoring.
They solve multi-step problems and
provide justification for each step.
Students learn to
recognize, solve, write, and graph linear expressions in one and two variables.
Students verify
that a particular value is part of the solution set for an equation by finding it on the graph of
the equation or by substitution
Students manipulate the general form of the linear equation to produce
point-slope and slope-intercept forms of the
equation.
Students explore linear inequalities and learn how to solve and graph
them.
Students learn to solve systems of linear equations and inequalities
and to analyze their graphs.
Students learn to produce the equations that are the source of a
particular graph.
Students write and use linear equations to solve work, rate, percent
mixture, and other word problems.
Students work with absolute value equations and learn to solve and
graph them in one and two variables.
Students learn to
solve quadratic equations by factoring, using the quadratic formula, completing the square, and by
graphing.
Students analyze the graphs of quadratic equations and identify the
roots, vertex, and general steepness of the curve.
Students produce the equation of a quadratic curve from its graph.
Students derive the quadratic formula from the general form of the
quadratic equation by completing the square.
Students manipulate the quadratic equation to produce the vertex form
of the equation.
Students use quadratic equations to solve problems about motion, area,
growth, and other
applications.
Students add, subtract, multiply, and divide monomial and polynomial
expressions accurately.
Students become familiar with radical expressions and adept at taking
roots.
Students learn to solve radical equations.
Students simplify rational expressions by factoring.
Students solve rational equations.
Students learn to solve problems of direct and indirect proportion.
Science
The eighth grade science curriculum focuses on physical science. It
is designed to introduce students to the vocabulary and central concepts of
physical science (through text) while allowing them to cause and observe
physical reactions in experiments.
Motion:
The velocity of an object is the rate of change of its position.
Forces:
Unbalanced forces cause changes in velocity.
Elements have distinct properties and atomic structure.
All matter is comprised of one or more of over 100 elements.
Chemical reactions are processes in which atoms are rearranged into
different combinations of molecules.
Periodic Table:
The organization of the Periodic Table is based on the properties of
the elements and reflects the structure of atoms.
All objects
experience a buoyant force when immersed in fluid.
Scientific
progress is made by asking meaningful questions and conducting careful
investigations.
Theme:
United States History and Geography;
Growth and Conflict
Have
basic knowledge of the U.S. constitution
Analyze
the aspirations and ideals of the people of the new nation
Analyze
U.S. foreign policy in the early Republic
Analyze
the divergent paths of the American people from 1800 to the mid-1800s and
the challenges they faced, with emphasis on
the Northeast
Analyze
the divergent paths of the American people in the South from 1800 to the mid-
Analyze
the divergent paths of the American people in the West from 1800 to the mid-
Analyze
the early and steady attempts to abolish slavery and to realize the ideals of
the
Analyze
the multiple causes, key events, and complex consequences of Reconstruction
Analyze
the character and lasting consequences of Reconstruction
Analyze
the transformation of the American economy and the changing social and
Technolog
Technology
Students
use Microsoft Word to generate
various text-based projects for class.
Students
will review how to create a simple document, insert a graphic, save, re-edit,
spell-check, format, cut and past from other documents and other applications.
Students
may use Power Point, iMovie
to create a number of multimedia presentations, combing text, graphics,
music, and sounds.
The
students will create a simple web page
design. They will insert text,
graphics, and hot links to other sites.
Students
will use the Internet to research
information for various class projects. They will use lab time along with
clear search goals and sites to find simple information pertaining to a topic
the teacher introduces to the class.
Students
will create simple spreadsheets.
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Eighth
Grade
|
Textbooks
|
Supplemental
Literature |
Major
Projects/
Assignments |
Field Trips |
|
Language Arts |
Write Source
2000, Great
Source Vocabulary for Achievement; Great Daybook
of Critical
Skillsbook; Great Write Traits |
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