Marist Brothers International School
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Upper School
Grade 8
This course uses the theme of “Challenges” to introduce students to more sophisticated levels of literature and analysis, while continuing to build on the basic skill sets developed in the previous course. Students will undertake weekly lessons in comprehension, essay writing, and vocabulary acquisition. Classic and contemporary works of literature are utilized and students are expected to engage in sustained critical discussion, responding to a wide variety of texts, including novels, short stories, poems, plays, and films. Students will begin to engage in extended projects and assignments.
The first semester consists of order of expressions, problem solving, functions, real number operations including square roots, solving equations, ratios and proportions, percent problems, the coordinate plane and slope, graphing linear functions, writing linear functions, and finally scatter plots with lines of best fit. The second semester delves into the topics of inequalities, solving linear systems, exponents and exponential functions, polynomials and the quadratic function, solving quadratic equations, radical expressions and radical functions, the Pythagorean Theorem, distance and midpoint formulas and finally, probability and statistics.
Integrated Science 8 is an NGSS-based science course exploring physical science and earth science. In the first semester, students will learn about the Earth-Moon system, the solar system, galaxies, light waves, and mechanical waves. They will experience a fair amount of cross-curriculum with mathematical concepts and skills as well. During semester two, students will learn about wave transfer, thermal energy, kinetic energy, and forces. There will be a greater proportion of lab work during this semester as students will work on their research skills, write investigative reports, work collaboratively, and design projects that emphasize critical-thinking and analytical skills. Mastery of the eighth grade science content will greatly enhance the ability of students to succeed in the high school science curriculum.
The course starts with an overview of the organizing principles of simple to complex governments coming to focus on modern democracies and the role of a citizen within those systems. Following civics, students begin to examine foundational economics through the 3 basic economic questions and the role of markets and money. In the second semester, students explore the sociological and psychosocial circumstances underpinning social systems and structures and how they influence individuals and groups perceptions and reactions to the world in terms of race, ethnicity, gender, etc. From there, students investigate culture: how cultural attitudes, values, and beliefs influence the development of personal identity and behavior; the influence of different cultures or ethnic groups on each other within a society; and globalization and its impact on culture and society as a whole.
It is the goal of the Physical Education program for students to learn the skills and rules necessary for the enjoyment of sports and develop a positive attitude towards physical fitness, and to encourage a personal awareness of the choices that will lead to a healthy lifestyle. Students will achieve this goal through demonstrating the motor skills and movement patterns needed to perform a variety of physical activities. They will show knowledge of movement concepts, principles, and strategies that apply to the learning and performance of physical activities and also assess and maintain a level of physical fitness to improve health and performance. Some of the activities that students will experience include, Team building, Volleyball, Soccer, Fitness, Fitness Testing, Basketball, Badminton, Tchoukball, Ultimate Frisbee, and Track and Field.
In Grade 8 Health Education a range of different topics will be studied in order to help the students identify, develop and maintain positive personal health. By the end of Grade 8 Health students will be able to understand and demonstrate how to promote positive health practices within the school and community, including how to cultivate positive relationships with their peers. Students will understand and accept individual differences in growth and development.
In this course students will learn about the beliefs of major religions. They will have the opportunity to ponder certain issues that are timely and relevant. Students will explore the meaning of prejudice, poverty, war and peace, evil and suffering and care for the environment in relation to their belief and faith. In addition to textbook-based learning there will also be discussion of and projects concerning the justice and morality of war, and social justice problems such as poverty, capital punishment, racial discrimination and others issues.
In this class we will explore the world of the moving image and what it can tell us about the time we live in. Films are reflective of the time and people who make them. They can teach us a lot about not only the current time we live in but also societies and cultures of the past. As the class moves through the year we will learn about the techniques of filmmaking and how to make our own films. There are two reasons for this. The first is to help us become better film consumers and hopefully appreciate our time watching films/TV/Youtube even more. Secondly, in order to learn a new medium (way) in which to express ourselves and the ideas or beliefs we hold dear. This course will push you to develop many skills; these include creativity, logically thinking, time management and even team building. As we progress these skills will become easier to obtain and together we will learn how to balance them evenly. There will be true real world experiences in this class.
Students are provided with a supportive group environment in which students can grow in self-confidence, creative daring, and technical ability. The program develops an in-depth understanding of the foundations of the elements and principles of design. Students have experiences in drawing, painting, sculpture, textiles, collage, printmaking, and 3D design. Students will express their ideas by using art as a form of communication. As students work toward an appreciation and understanding of art they will relate visual arts to various historical and cultural traditions. Students learn to respect their own ideas and artistic expressions and those of others as they analyze and evaluate works of art.
Concert Band: This is a performance-based course intended to further students’ music literacy skills through playing wind band or percussion instruments. Previous music experience is recommended but not required. During the course, students will continue to develop their instrumental skills, perform a wide variety of band repertoire, and learn historical and theoretical musical concepts. This class performs four major concerts during the year: at Food Fair, the Christmas Concert, the Spring Concert, and on Founder’s Day. Students also have the opportunity to learn and perform a solo at a festival.
This course is designed to provide students with a brief overview of various styles from different fields in Japanese writings. Students will learn the systematic view of Japanese society, its culture, history, and important knowledge and technical terms through newspaper articles, textbooks, stories, and research style reports. By the end of this course, students will be able to understand various Japanese writing styles, and also improve their ability to explain/express their thoughts using technical terms and more challenging words. Students will work extensively in improving their Kanji ability. Students will learn approximately 150-200 Kanji depending on their level.
This course is designed for students with some previous learning of Japanese. Speaking, listening, reading and writing skills will be developed around the main themes of everyday activities and personal and social life. Students will learn to write informative passages about a familiar theme and read and write in Kanji. Students will participate in simple group discussions related to social and teenage life and share their thoughts in writing. The four language skills will be assessed through a variety of tasks using specific rubrics. Students will work extensively in improving their Kanji ability. Students will learn approximately 150-200 Kanji depending on their level.
This course is designed to develop Japanese communication skills in all four language skills; listening, speaking, reading and writing. The course will integrate previously acquired language and cultural knowledge to effectively communicate personal perspectives on various topics. In addition to acquiring Japanese language skills, students also learn about many traditional ceremonies and events that happen in the nation. By the end of this course, students will be able to read and write all the Hiragana, Katakana, and 110 (N5 level) Kanji.