Standards map
8th grade: standards by week
Every week of the 8th grade plan, with the skills taught and the standards they practice: Common Core for reading, writing and math, NGSS for science, and the C3 Framework for social studies. Use it to plan, to match another curriculum, or for a homeschool record.
156 standards codes across 36 weeks and 180 day plans. Open the 8th grade plan · Year at a glance · Other grades
September: Welcome / My Nation and Maps
| Week | Skills | Standards |
|---|---|---|
| Week 1 Mapping the Nation | Word study: Greek roots geo (earth), graph (write) and metr (measure) build words like geography, autograph and perimeter. Students break words into root plus affix and use them in sentences. Reading & writing: Set up a reading life: book choice, reading log, and discussion norms. Tell the difference between a topic and a theme, and find the first clues to theme in a short story. Math: Sort numbers into rational and irrational. Show that every rational number has a decimal expansion that ends or repeats, and convert repeating decimals back to fractions. Science: Atoms are the building blocks of matter. Read the periodic table for symbol, name and atomic number, and build models of simple atoms. Social studies: Name the five U.S. regions and their states, read latitude and longitude, and use scale and a compass rose to measure real distances. | L.8.4b, L.8.6RL.8.1, RL.8.2, SL.8.1, W.8.108.NS.1MS-PS1-1C3 D2.Geo.1.6-8, D2.Geo.2.6-8 |
| Week 2 Rivers, Ranges and Roots | Word study: Roots aqua and hydr (water) and terr (land) appear in aquifer, hydrate and territory. Students use the root to predict meaning before checking a dictionary. Reading & writing: Track how a theme develops across a longer text, including through setting and conflict. Write a summary that leaves out personal opinion. Math: Use square roots and cube roots to solve equations like x squared equals 49, and estimate irrational roots to the nearest tenth by squeezing them between perfect squares. Science: Atoms join to form molecules. Build models of water, carbon dioxide and oxygen gas and read simple chemical formulas. Social studies: Locate the Mississippi River, Great Lakes, Rocky and Appalachian Mountains, Great Plains and coastlines, and explain how each shaped settlement and travel. | L.8.4b, L.8.4cRL.8.2, RL.8.3, W.8.98.EE.2, 8.NS.2MS-PS1-1C3 D2.Geo.2.6-8, D2.Geo.4.6-8 |
| Week 3 Powers of Ten | Word study: Roots tele (far), scop (look), micro (small) and macro (large) build telescope, microscope and macroeconomics. Students connect each word to a science or social studies text. Reading & writing: Identify an author's purpose and point of view in short informational articles, and notice how word choice reveals that purpose. Math: Apply the product, quotient, power and zero-exponent rules, then work with negative exponents, explaining each rule with expanded examples. Science: Model how adding or removing thermal energy changes particle motion and the state of a substance; read a heating curve for water. Social studies: Compare U.S. climate regions and natural resources, and read thematic maps (rainfall, farmland, energy) to explain land use. | L.8.4b, L.8.6RI.8.6, RI.8.48.EE.1MS-PS1-4C3 D2.Geo.2.6-8, D2.Geo.3.6-8 |
| Week 4 Big Numbers, Small Numbers | Word study: Roots chron (time), temp (time) and ann/enn (year) build chronological, temporary and annual. Review all September roots with a sort and a spelling check. Reading & writing: Review theme, summary and author's purpose. Write a one-page response that states a theme, supports it with two quotations and ends with a reflection. Math: Write numbers in scientific notation, compare sizes using powers of ten, and multiply and divide numbers in scientific notation (distance to the sun, mass of an atom). Science: Distinguish elements, compounds and mixtures. Measure mass and volume to compute density and identify a mystery substance. Social studies: Read population and migration maps, explain why the largest U.S. cities grew where they did, and build a thematic map of your own. | L.8.4b, L.8.2cRL.8.2, W.8.9, W.8.48.EE.3, 8.EE.4MS-PS1-1, MS-PS1-4C3 D2.Geo.1.6-8, D2.Geo.7.6-8 |
October: Fall / Earth's Systems
| Week | Skills | Standards |
|---|---|---|
| Week 5 Layers of the Earth | Word study: Latin roots struct (build) and form (shape) give structure, construct, formation and reform. Students connect the roots to this week's science words and text-structure terms. Reading & writing: Name the structure of a paragraph or article (description, sequence, compare and contrast, cause and effect, problem and solution) and explain how each sentence helps develop the key idea. Math: Solve two-step and multi-step equations by combining like terms and undoing operations in order, checking every solution by substitution. Science: Describe the crust, mantle, outer core and inner core, and model how igneous, sedimentary and metamorphic rock change through the rock cycle. Social studies: Explore the many nations living across North America before 1492, matching cultural regions (Pacific Northwest, Southwest, Plains, Eastern Woodlands, Arctic) to environment, food and shelter. | L.8.4b, L.8.6RI.8.5, RI.8.28.EE.7bMS-ESS2-1C3 D2.Geo.3.6-8, D2.His.4.6-8 |
| Week 6 Moving Plates | Word study: Latin roots mot and mov (move) and tract (pull) build motion, remove, tractor and attract. Students notice these roots in physical science vocabulary. Reading & writing: Determine the central idea of an informational text and trace how details develop it; write an informative paragraph with a clear topic sentence and supporting evidence. Math: Solve equations with variables on both sides, such as 4x + 6 = 2x + 18, deciding which side to move terms from and checking the solution. Science: Use matching coastlines, fossil distributions, rock types and seafloor ridges as evidence that plates move; model convergent, divergent and transform boundaries. Social studies: Explain the motives and effects of European exploration, including Columbus (1492), the Columbian exchange, and the consequences for Native peoples, Europe and Africa. | L.8.4b, L.8.4aRI.8.2, W.8.2a, W.8.2b8.EE.7bMS-ESS2-3C3 D2.His.1.6-8, D2.Geo.7.6-8, D2.His.14.6-8 |
| Week 7 Reading the Rocks | Word study: Latin roots vid and vis (see) and spec (look) build evidence, visible, inspect and spectator. Students link the roots to this week's reading work on evidence and perspective. Reading & writing: Determine an author's point of view and how the author responds to conflicting evidence; evaluate whether the evidence in an argument is relevant and sufficient. Math: Recognize equations with one solution, no solution (like 2x + 3 = 2x + 5) or infinitely many solutions (like 3(x + 2) = 3x + 6), and explain what each case means. Science: Read rock strata to put events in order, use fossils and layer thickness as evidence of relative age, and place major events on the geologic time scale. Social studies: Compare the founding of St. Augustine (1565), Roanoke (1587), Jamestown (1607), Quebec (1608), Plymouth (1620) and New Amsterdam (1626), and analyze why some colonies struggled and others lasted. | L.8.4b, L.8.6RI.8.6, RI.8.88.EE.7aMS-ESS1-4C3 D2.His.14.6-8, D2.His.2.6-8 |
| Week 8 Shaping the Land | Word study: Latin roots rupt (break), fract (break) and flu (flow) build erupt, fracture and fluid. Review October roots with a sort and spelling check. Reading & writing: Review text structure, central idea and point of view. Write a two-paragraph informative piece with a clear structure and a concluding sentence. Math: Graph proportional relationships, read the unit rate as slope, and compare two relationships shown in different ways (table, graph, equation). Science: Explain how weathering, erosion and deposition reshape the surface quickly (landslides, floods) and slowly (canyons, deltas), using the Grand Canyon and Mississippi delta as cases. Social studies: Sort the thirteen colonies into New England, Middle and Southern regions and explain how geography shaped each region's economy, work and towns. | L.8.4b, L.8.2cRI.8.5, RI.8.2, W.8.28.EE.5MS-ESS2-2C3 D2.Geo.4.6-8, D2.Eco.3.6-8 |
November: Family and Gratitude / Ecosystems
| Week | Skills | Standards |
|---|---|---|
| Week 9 Who Eats Whom | Word study: Roots bio (life), vor (eat), carn (meat) and herb (plant) build biology, herbivore, carnivore and omnivore. Students use roots to decode ecosystem vocabulary. Reading & writing: Write an objective summary that includes the central idea, the most important details and no personal opinion; compare summaries to find what belongs. Math: Define a function as a rule that assigns exactly one output to each input. Test tables, mapping diagrams and graphs (vertical line test) and read function notation like f(3). Science: Build food chains and food webs, label producers, consumers and decomposers, and explain why only about 10 percent of energy passes from one level to the next. Social studies: Compare daily life for a New England farm family, a Philadelphia craftsman, a Virginia planter's household and the enslaved people whose labor the Southern economy depended on. | L.8.4b, L.8.6RL.8.2, RI.8.2, W.8.48.F.1MS-LS2-3C3 D2.His.4.6-8, D2.Eco.3.6-8 |
| Week 10 Living Together | Word study: Roots sym and syn (together) and co and con (with) build symbiosis, synthesis, cooperate and connect. Students see how the roots match this week's ecosystem ideas. Reading & writing: Identify the claim, evidence and reasoning in an argument, judge whether the reasoning is sound, and begin planning an argument essay with a clear claim. Math: Recognize linear functions as y = mx + b, find slope and y-intercept from a table or graph, write the equation from two points, and give examples of nonlinear functions like y = x². Science: Explain competition, predation and mutualism with real examples (wolves and elk, clownfish and anemone), and predict how limited food or water changes a population. Social studies: Trace self-government from the House of Burgesses (1619) and Mayflower Compact (1620) to New England town meetings, and explain who could and could not take part. | L.8.4b, L.8.5bRI.8.8, W.8.1a, W.8.1b8.F.3, 8.F.4MS-LS2-1, MS-LS2-2C3 D2.Civ.3.6-8, D2.Civ.2.6-8 |
| Week 11 Giving Thanks | Word study: Latin roots grat (pleasing, thankful), don (give) and bene (good) build gratitude, donate and benefit. Review November roots with a sort and a spelling check. Reading & writing: Draft, revise and share a full argument essay: claim, two body paragraphs with evidence and reasoning, a paragraph that answers an opposing view, and a conclusion. Math: Compare two functions given in different forms (equation, table, graph, words) by slope and intercept, and sketch a graph from a story such as filling a bathtub. Science: Predict how a change in one part of an ecosystem (removing wolves, a drought, an invasive species) ripples through populations, and explain why biodiversity makes ecosystems steadier. Social studies: Examine the 1621 harvest feast at Plymouth from both Wampanoag and English perspectives, and trace how the French and Indian War (1754 to 1763) set up the tensions that led toward revolution. | L.8.4b, L.8.2cW.8.1a-e, W.8.58.F.2, 8.F.5MS-LS2-4C3 D2.His.4.6-8, D2.His.1.6-8 |
December: Winter Holidays / Forces and Motion
| Week | Skills | Standards |
|---|---|---|
| Week 12 Forces at Play | Word study: Roots dyn (power), ject (throw) and pel/puls (push) build dynamic, projectile, propel and impulse. Students link roots to this week's physics vocabulary. Reading & writing: Analyze how point of view creates suspense or humor, including dramatic irony where the reader knows more than a character, and how dialogue moves a plot forward. Math: Graph two linear equations on the same axes and read the solution as the intersection point; recognize parallel lines (no solution) and identical lines (infinitely many). Science: Draw force diagrams, find the net force, and show with carts and spring scales that acceleration depends on net force and mass (Newton's first and second laws). Social studies: Sequence the Stamp Act (1765), Boston Massacre (1770), Boston Tea Party (1773) and Coercive Acts (1774), and explain why colonists objected to taxation without representation. | L.8.4b, L.8.6RL.8.6, RL.8.38.EE.8aMS-PS2-2C3 D2.His.14.6-8, D2.His.2.6-8 |
| Week 13 Light in the Dark | Word study: Latin roots lum and luc (light) and Greek photo (light) build illuminate, lucid and photosynthesis. Students use the roots to read the vocabulary of winter light festivals and astronomy. Reading & writing: Plan and draft a narrative with a clear problem, rising action and turning point; use gerunds, participles and infinitives to vary sentences. Math: Solve systems by substitution when one equation is solved for a variable (y = 2x + 1 and 3x + y = 11), then check the pair in both equations. Science: Explain gravity as an attraction between masses that grows with mass and shrinks with distance; compare weight on Earth, the Moon and Jupiter; separate mass from weight. Social studies: Read the key ideas of the Declaration of Independence (natural rights, consent of the governed, a list of grievances) and compare winter traditions such as Hanukkah, Christmas, Kwanzaa, Las Posadas and the winter solstice. | L.8.4b, L.8.4aW.8.3a, W.8.3b, L.8.1a8.EE.8bMS-PS2-4C3 D2.Civ.8.6-8, D2.His.4.6-8 |
| Week 14 Crossing the Delaware | Word study: Latin roots port (carry), mit/miss (send) and duc (lead) build transport, transmit, mission and conduct. Review December roots with a sort and a spelling check. Reading & writing: Finish, revise and publish a narrative with a reflective ending; review point of view, irony and dialogue with a short story. Math: Solve systems by elimination (adding or subtracting equations), choose the best method for a system, and solve real-world problems like ticket prices and mixtures. Science: Show that forces come in pairs (Newton's third law) with balloon rockets and collisions, and review forces, motion and gravity with a design challenge. Social studies: Trace the war from Lexington and Concord (April 1775) through the Declaration (July 1776) to Washington's crossing of the Delaware on Christmas night 1776 and the winter at Valley Forge (1777 to 1778). | L.8.4b, L.8.2cW.8.3d, W.8.3e, W.8.5, RL.8.68.EE.8b, 8.EE.8cMS-PS2-1, MS-PS2-2C3 D2.His.1.6-8, D2.His.14.6-8 |
January: New Year / Chemical Reactions
| Week | Skills | Standards |
|---|---|---|
| Week 15 Fresh Starts | Word study: Roots nov (new), gen (birth, kind) and init (begin) build renovate, generate and initiate. Students use roots to decode new-year and civics vocabulary. Reading & writing: Choose the evidence that most strongly supports an inference and explain why it is stronger than other evidence; practice embedding short quotations. Math: Translate and reflect figures on the coordinate plane, write the coordinate rule (for example (x, y) becomes (x + 3, y - 2)), and verify that lengths and angles stay the same. Science: Compare physical and chemical changes using evidence: color change, gas, temperature change, light or a new solid; test baking soda and vinegar, dissolving salt and melting ice. Social studies: Describe the government under the Articles of Confederation (1781), identify its weaknesses (no power to tax, no executive), and explain why Shays' Rebellion alarmed leaders. | L.8.4b, L.8.6RL.8.1, RI.8.1, W.8.98.G.1, 8.G.3MS-PS1-2C3 D2.Civ.3.6-8, D2.His.14.6-8 |
| Week 16 Reactions | Word study: Roots act and ag (do, drive) and mut (change) build reaction, agent and mutation. Students connect the roots to chemistry and government vocabulary. Reading & writing: Plan an informative text on a process (how a reaction works, how a bill becomes a law) with an introduction, logical sections and domain-specific vocabulary. Math: Rotate figures 90, 180 and 270 degrees about the origin, write the coordinate rules, and prove two figures congruent by describing a sequence of transformations. Science: Measure mass before and after a reaction in a sealed bag to show conservation of mass, count atoms on each side of a simple equation and explain why atoms rearrange but are not lost. Social studies: Explain the Constitutional Convention of 1787, the Virginia and New Jersey plans, the Great Compromise and the Three-Fifths Compromise, and discuss what was left unresolved. | L.8.4b, L.8.4aW.8.2a, W.8.2b, W.8.2d8.G.1, 8.G.2, 8.G.3MS-PS1-5C3 D2.Civ.3.6-8, D2.His.4.6-8 |
| Week 17 Checks and Balances | Word study: Roots equ (equal), liber (free) and just/jur (law, right) build equality, liberty and justice. Students see these roots in the Constitution's own vocabulary. Reading & writing: Read the Preamble and parts of Articles I to III as informational text; use charts and diagrams alongside text to compare how each medium presents the branches. Math: Dilate figures from the origin by a scale factor, show that angles stay the same while sides scale, and decide whether two figures are similar by a sequence of transformations. Science: Measure temperature change in reactions that release energy (steel wool and vinegar, hand warmer) and absorb it (baking soda and vinegar), and explain energy in and out of chemical bonds. Social studies: Describe the legislative, executive and judicial branches, give examples of checks and balances (veto, override, judicial review) and explain separation of powers and federalism. | L.8.4b, L.8.6RI.8.1, RI.8.7, W.8.28.G.4, 8.G.3MS-PS1-6C3 D2.Civ.1.6-8, D2.Civ.4.6-8 |
| Week 18 Rights and Responsibilities | Word study: Roots dict (say), leg (law) and civ (citizen) build verdict, legislature and civic. Review January roots with a sort and spelling check. Reading & writing: Finish and publish the informative piece; review strongest-evidence selection with a short informational text about a right in the Bill of Rights. Math: Use facts about angle sums of triangles, exterior angles, and angles made when parallel lines are cut by a transversal; explain angle-angle criterion for similar triangles. Science: Design a device that uses a chemical reaction to warm or cool, test it, and explain how synthetic materials (plastic, nylon) are made from natural resources. Social studies: Read the first ten amendments in plain language, connect each to a real-life example, and discuss the responsibilities that go with rights (voting, jury duty, staying informed). | L.8.4b, L.8.2cW.8.2f, W.8.5, RI.8.18.G.5MS-PS1-6, MS-PS1-3, MS-ETS1-2C3 D2.Civ.2.6-8, D2.Civ.3.6-8 |
February: Friendship / Human Impact
| Week | Skills | Standards |
|---|---|---|
| Week 19 Right Angles | Word study: Roots ortho (straight, right), angl (corner) and tri (three) build orthogonal, rectangle and triangle. Students use the roots to read geometry vocabulary. Reading & writing: Form a focused research question about a historical figure and tell the difference between primary and secondary sources; begin a source log. Math: Explain a proof of the Pythagorean theorem using squares on the sides of a right triangle, then use a² + b² = c² to find a missing side (3-4-5, 5-12-13, 8-15-17). Science: Read graphs of world and U.S. population since 1800 and compare per-person use of water, energy and land, then explain how more people and more use per person affect Earth's systems. Social studies: Compare George Washington's precedents (two terms, a cabinet, neutrality), John Adams and the peaceful transfer of power in 1801, and Thomas Jefferson's vision for the nation. | L.8.4b, L.8.6W.8.7, W.8.88.G.6, 8.G.7MS-ESS3-4C3 D2.His.3.6-8, D2.Civ.1.6-8 |
| Week 20 Distance and Difference | Word study: Roots dist (apart), loc (place) and pos (put) build distance, location and position. Students connect roots to map and coordinate vocabulary. Reading & writing: Judge a source's credibility (author, date, purpose, evidence), take notes in your own words, and quote accurately with a page or site reference. Math: Find the distance between two points on the coordinate plane by building a right triangle and applying the Pythagorean theorem. Science: Design a method to monitor and reduce a local human impact (litter, water use, energy use) with clear criteria and constraints, then collect a week of data. Social studies: Study the lives of Frederick Douglass and Harriet Tubman, the Underground Railroad, and how friendships and alliances across lines of race and class supported the fight against slavery. | L.8.4b, L.8.4aW.8.8, RI.8.18.G.8MS-ESS3-3, MS-ETS1-1C3 D2.His.3.6-8, D2.His.4.6-8 |
| Week 21 Volume and Voyage | Word study: Roots vol (roll, turn), cycl (circle) and sphere (ball) build revolve, cylinder and hemisphere. Students use the roots to decode geometry and geography words. Reading & writing: Organize research notes into an outline with a thesis, three main points and evidence for each; compare two sources that disagree on a fact or interpretation. Math: Use the formulas for the volume of cylinders (V = πr²h), cones (one third of the cylinder) and spheres (V = 4/3 πr³) to solve real problems like a soup can or a basketball. Science: Explain how geologic processes created uneven distributions of resources (oil, groundwater, fertile soil, minerals) and why that unevenness matters to where people live and trade. Social studies: Map the Louisiana Purchase (1803) and the Lewis and Clark expedition (1804 to 1806) with Sacagawea, and analyze what the expedition recorded about peoples, rivers and resources. | L.8.4b, L.8.6W.8.7, RI.8.98.G.9MS-ESS3-1C3 D2.Geo.2.6-8, D2.His.1.6-8 |
| Week 22 Research and Report | Word study: Roots quer/quest (ask, seek), cred (believe) and ver (true) build inquiry, credible and verify. Review February roots with a sort and spelling check. Reading & writing: Draft, revise and present the research report with a works-cited list; present findings in a clear, organized talk with eye contact and evidence. Math: Review the Pythagorean theorem, distance and volume with mixed problems and a short performance task (design a storage tank with a given volume). Science: Analyze data on earthquakes, floods and hurricanes to explain how scientists forecast hazards and how communities prepare and reduce damage. Social studies: Explain the causes and results of the War of 1812 (impressment, the burning of Washington, the Battle of New Orleans) and present a research report on a historical figure. | L.8.4b, L.8.2cW.8.7, W.8.8, SL.8.4, SL.8.58.G.7, 8.G.8, 8.G.9MS-ESS3-2C3 D2.His.14.6-8, D2.His.16.6-8 |
March: Spring / Matter Cycles and Resources
| Week | Skills | Standards |
|---|---|---|
| Week 23 Cycles | Word study: Roots circ (around), cycl (circle) and prefix re (again, back) build circulate, recycle and return. Students use four vocabulary strategies: context, roots, dictionary, verify. Reading & writing: Read a narrative and an informational text about the same event (Trail of Tears) and compare how each presents it; practice sentence combining with subordinate clauses. Math: Show two triangles are similar with the angle-angle criterion, set up proportions to find missing sides, and solve indirect measurement problems like a tree's height from its shadow. Science: Model the water cycle (evaporation, condensation, precipitation, runoff, infiltration) and explain how sunlight and gravity drive it; build a cup-and-wrap model. Social studies: Explain how the Erie Canal (1825) linked the Great Lakes to the Atlantic and sped growth, and analyze the Indian Removal Act (1830) and the Trail of Tears (1838 to 1839) from Cherokee and government perspectives. | L.8.4a, L.8.4b, L.8.4c, L.8.4dRL.8.5, RI.8.9, L.8.1a8.G.4, 8.G.5MS-ESS2-4C3 D2.His.14.6-8, D2.His.4.6-8 |
| Week 24 Carbon and Trails | Word study: Roots carb (coal, carbon), synth (put together) and hydro (water) build carbohydrate, synthesis and hydrogen. Students study connotation: shades of meaning in words about the West. Reading & writing: Interpret figures of speech including verbal irony and puns, and analyze how word choice with positive or negative connotations shapes a reader's view of westward expansion. Math: Use similar triangles to explain why the slope between any two points on a line is the same, and derive y = mx and y = mx + b from that idea. Science: Explain photosynthesis as a process that uses light, water and carbon dioxide to make sugar and oxygen, then trace carbon through plants, animals, soil, air and fossil fuels. Social studies: Define Manifest Destiny, trace the Oregon Trail (about 2,000 miles from Missouri to Oregon) and the Texas annexation (1845), and weigh the costs and benefits for different groups. | L.8.4b, L.8.5cL.8.5a, L.8.5c, RI.8.48.EE.6MS-LS1-6, MS-LS2-3C3 D2.Geo.7.6-8, D2.His.4.6-8 |
| Week 25 Gold and Energy | Word study: Roots therm (heat), calor (heat) and pyr (fire) build thermal, calorie and pyramid. Students use the roots in science and in energy pyramids. Reading & writing: Analyze how a modern text draws on an older theme or pattern (a rags-to-riches tale and the Gold Rush); write with active and passive voice on purpose. Math: Review congruence and similarity: describe the transformation sequence that maps one figure to another and find missing sides and angles. Science: Model how energy from the sun flows through producers and consumers while matter cycles, using an energy pyramid with real numbers (10,000 to 1,000 to 100 to 10 calories). Social studies: Explain the Mexican-American War (1846 to 1848) and the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo, then study the 1849 Gold Rush as a case of scarcity, incentives and rapid growth in California. | L.8.4b, L.8.6RL.8.9, L.8.1b, L.8.3a8.G.2, 8.G.4, 8.G.5MS-LS2-3C3 D2.His.14.6-8, D2.Eco.1.6-8, D2.Eco.2.6-8 |
| Week 26 Reform | Word study: Roots form (shape), voc (call, voice) and man (hand) build reform, advocate and manuscript. Review March roots with a sort and spelling check. Reading & writing: Write an explanatory piece about a reform movement with complex sentences, precise vocabulary and a clear structure; review vocabulary strategies. Math: Apply angle relationships (triangle sum, exterior angles, parallel lines) to multi-step problems and review similarity with a scale drawing task. Science: Review how Earth's materials cycle (rock, water, carbon) and how energy from the sun and Earth's interior drives those cycles; build one combined diagram. Social studies: Study reform movements of the 1830s and 1840s: abolition (Garrison, Douglass, the Grimké sisters), the Seneca Falls Convention (1848) and public education, and compare how people pushed for change then and now. | L.8.4b, L.8.2cW.8.2, L.8.1a, L.8.48.G.5, 8.G.4MS-ESS2-1, MS-ESS2-4C3 D2.Civ.14.6-8, D2.His.3.6-8 |
April: Earth and Environment / Climate
| Week | Skills | Standards |
|---|---|---|
| Week 27 Data Patterns | Word study: Roots stat (stand), log (word, reason) and meter (measure) build statistics, logic and barometer. Students use the roots to read data and weather vocabulary. Reading & writing: Take two-column notes (source words on the left, my words on the right) from an informational text, marking exact quotations with quotation marks and page numbers. Math: Construct scatter plots from two-variable data (hours of sleep and test score, temperature and ice cream sales), and describe clusters, outliers, positive, negative or no association, and linear or nonlinear shape. Science: Explain how warm and cold air masses meet at fronts to make weather, read a weather map's symbols and pressure systems, and make a one-day forecast with reasons. Social studies: Explain the Missouri Compromise (1820), the Compromise of 1850 and the Fugitive Slave Act, and analyze why each compromise failed to settle the question of slavery's expansion. | L.8.4b, L.8.6W.8.8, RI.8.18.SP.1MS-ESS2-5C3 D2.His.14.6-8, D2.His.1.6-8 |
| Week 28 Trend Lines | Word study: Roots lin (line), grad (step) and tend (stretch) build linear, gradual and tendency. Students connect roots to trend and slope vocabulary. Reading & writing: Read two arguments about an environmental question and judge which uses stronger, more relevant evidence; identify where two texts disagree on facts versus interpretation. Math: Draw a line of best fit informally, judge its closeness to the points, write its equation, and interpret the slope and intercept in context (for example 2 points per extra study minute). Science: Explain how unequal heating, Earth's rotation and ocean currents move heat around the globe, and why coastal San Francisco and inland Sacramento have different climates at the same latitude. Social studies: Trace the Kansas-Nebraska Act (1854), the Dred Scott decision (1857), the Lincoln-Douglas debates (1858), John Brown's raid (1859) and the election of 1860, and explain why Southern states seceded. | L.8.4b, L.8.4aRI.8.8, RI.8.98.SP.2, 8.SP.3MS-ESS2-6C3 D2.His.14.6-8, D2.His.2.6-8 |
| Week 29 Earth Day | Word study: Roots eco (home, environment), sol (sun) and terr (land) build ecosystem, solar and terrestrial. Students use the roots in Earth Day vocabulary. Reading & writing: Draft an argument essay on an environmental question (school recycling, water use, local transit) with a claim, evidence from notes, reasoning and a counterargument paragraph. Math: Build a two-way table from survey data (recycles or not by grade), compute row and column totals and relative frequencies, and describe any association. Science: Analyze temperature and carbon dioxide records since 1900, explain how burning fossil fuels and other human activities add greenhouse gases, and distinguish natural from human factors. Social studies: Explain how Earth Day (first held April 22, 1970) grew from citizen action, how laws like the Clean Air Act followed, and how scarcity and markets shape choices about shared resources. | L.8.4b, L.8.6W.8.1a-e8.SP.4MS-ESS3-5C3 D2.Civ.2.6-8, D2.Eco.1.6-8, D2.Eco.4.6-8 |
| Week 30 The War Begins | Word study: Roots bell (war), pac (peace) and mil (soldier) build rebellion, pacify and military. Review April roots with a sort and spelling check. Reading & writing: Revise, edit and publish the argument essay; read parts of the Emancipation Proclamation and a soldier's letter as primary sources. Math: Review probability of simple and compound events from grade 7 as a bridge to data, and complete an April data check on scatter plots, best fit and two-way tables. Science: Define criteria and constraints for a solution that reduces greenhouse gas emissions at school or home, compare two designs and choose one with evidence. Social studies: Trace secession, Fort Sumter (April 1861), the first battles, Antietam and the Emancipation Proclamation (January 1, 1863), and explain how the war's purpose changed. | L.8.4b, L.8.2cW.8.1, W.8.5, RI.8.68.SP.1, 8.SP.2, 8.SP.4MS-ETS1-1, MS-ETS1-2C3 D2.His.14.6-8, D2.His.1.6-8 |
May: Oceans / Inventors and Technology
| Week | Skills | Standards |
|---|---|---|
| Week 31 Waves | Word study: Roots und (wave), son (sound) and phon (sound, voice) build undulate, resonate and telephone. Students use roots to decode wave vocabulary. Reading & writing: Build fluency with repeated readings of a speech (the Gettysburg Address is 272 words) and a narrative passage; plan a final narrative with a strong setting and a clear problem. Math: Review functions: build a linear function from a story or table, compare two functions, and sketch story graphs; complete a mixed functions task. Science: Describe waves by amplitude, wavelength and frequency; show with a rope and a water tray that a wave's energy grows with its amplitude. Social studies: Explain Gettysburg (July 1863) as a turning point, the ideas in Lincoln's Gettysburg Address, Sherman's march, and the surrender at Appomattox (April 9, 1865), and discuss the cost of the war. | L.8.4b, L.8.6RL.8.10, SL.8.6, W.8.3a8.F.2, 8.F.4, 8.F.5MS-PS4-1C3 D2.His.1.6-8, D2.His.14.6-8 |
| Week 32 Light and Signals | Word study: Roots opt (eye, sight), aud (hear) and spec (look) build optical, audible and spectrum. Students connect roots to light and sound vocabulary. Reading & writing: Compare a scene from a book with its film version and analyze what the director changed and why; draft the middle of the narrative with dialogue and pacing. Math: Review solving linear equations and systems by the method of your choice, including problems with no solution or infinitely many, in a mixed review set. Science: Show how light is reflected, absorbed and transmitted by mirrors, dark paper and glass, and explain why digital signals carry information more reliably than analog signals. Social studies: Explain the 13th (1865), 14th (1868) and 15th (1870) Amendments, the Freedmen's Bureau, Black political participation during Reconstruction, and the rise of resistance and Black Codes. | L.8.4b, L.8.4aRL.8.7, W.8.3b, W.8.3c8.EE.7, 8.EE.8MS-PS4-2, MS-PS4-3C3 D2.Civ.3.6-8, D2.His.14.6-8 |
| Week 33 Space Systems | Word study: Roots astr (star), luna (moon) and cosm (universe) build astronomy, lunar and cosmic. Students use the roots in space vocabulary. Reading & writing: Finish the narrative with a reflective ending, then revise with a partner for sentence variety and verb mood (indicative, imperative, conditional). Math: Review the Pythagorean theorem, volume and transformations with mixed problems and a performance task (design a rocket nose cone). Science: Model moon phases, eclipses and seasons with a lamp and balls, and explain how gravity holds the solar system and galaxy together and keeps planets in orbit. Social studies: Compare inventions of the 1800s (cotton gin, steamboat, telegraph, transcontinental railroad in 1869) with today's technology, and analyze how each changed work, travel and communication. | L.8.4b, L.8.6W.8.3e, W.8.5, L.8.1c8.G.7, 8.G.9, 8.G.2MS-ESS1-1, MS-ESS1-2C3 D2.Eco.3.6-8, D2.His.1.6-8 |
| Week 34 Engineering the Future | Word study: Roots tech (skill, art), mech (machine) and fabr (make) build technology, mechanic and fabricate. Review May roots with a sort and spelling check. Reading & writing: Present narratives aloud with expression and respond to classmates' work with specific praise and one question; review the year's reading strategies. Math: Complete a May mixed review of functions, equations, geometry and data with a short performance task. Science: Build a scale model of the solar system (if Earth is a peppercorn, the sun is about 8 inches wide and 26 yards away) and run one engineering design cycle on a cargo lander, testing and improving twice. Social studies: Explain how Reconstruction ended in 1877 and what was gained and lost, and connect the United States to the world through trade, immigration and ideas in the late 1800s. | L.8.4b, L.8.2cSL.8.6, SL.8.1, W.8.108.F.4, 8.EE.8, 8.G.7, 8.SP.2MS-ESS1-3, MS-ETS1-2, MS-ETS1-4C3 D2.His.1.6-8, D2.Geo.7.6-8, D2.Eco.14.6-8 |
June: Review and Celebration
| Week | Skills | Standards |
|---|---|---|
| Week 35 Showcase | Word study: Review the year's Greek and Latin roots with a tournament: 40 words, teams give root, meaning and a sentence. Reading & writing: Choose the best argument, informative and narrative pieces for the portfolio and write a one-page reflection on growth with specific examples. Math: Mixed review stations: exponents and scientific notation, equations and systems, functions, Pythagorean theorem and volume, scatter plots. Science: Rerun one favorite investigation (density, plate boundaries, sealed bag reaction, balloon rocket) with improved technique and present the results with the science behind them. Social studies: Build a class timeline from before 1492 to 1877 with 30 events, then write how three events connect as cause and effect. | L.8.4b, L.8.6W.8.10, W.8.48.EE.1, 8.EE.8, 8.F.4, 8.G.7, 8.SP.1MS-PS1-5, MS-PS2-1, MS-ESS2-3C3 D2.His.1.6-8, D2.His.2.6-8 |
| Week 36 Celebration | Word study: Each student teaches one root to the class with a word web and a sentence; the class votes on the most useful root of the year. Reading & writing: Finish and present the portfolio; write a letter to yourself to open at the end of ninth grade. Math: Math game day: play the year's best games, then write one thing you want to be stronger at before Algebra I. Science: Write three questions you still have about matter, Earth, living things, forces or space, and plan how you could investigate one this summer. Social studies: My year in review: present a one-page poster that connects the United States of 1877 to the world of today. | L.8.4b, SL.8.4W.8.10, SL.8.48.EE.7, 8.F.1, 8.G.7MS-ETS1-1C3 D2.His.1.6-8, D2.Civ.2.6-8 |
Questions or ideas? Email info@wonderscapeacademy.com. A real person reads every message.
© 2026 Wonderscape Academy.