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- 8th Grade Course Descriptions
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Teaching & Learning
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High School Program Planning Guide 2024
- Spring Hill Schools Courses Required for Graduation Through 2027
- Spring Hill Schools Courses Required for Graduation Class of 2028
- Fine Arts, Communications, and STEM Course List
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Career and Technical Education 2024
- Agriculture, Food and Natural Resources Pathway 2024
- Business Marketing Pathway 2024
- Programming and Software Development Pathway 2024
- Visual Arts - Graphic Design Pathway 2024
- Construction and Design Pathway 2024
- Digital Media Pathway 2024
- Visual Arts - Fashion, Apparel, and Interior Design (FAID) Pathway 2024
- Business Finance Pathway 2024
- Health Science Pathway 2024
- Restaurant and Event Management Pathway 2024
- Web & Digital Communications Pathway 2024
- Engineering Pathway 2024
- Teaching and Training Pathway 2024
- Language Arts Course Descriptions 2024
- Mathematics Course Descriptions 2024
- Music/Performing Arts Course Descriptions 2024
- Physical Education and Health Course Descriptions 2024
- Science Course Descriptions 2024
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- World Language Course Descriptions 2024
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High School Program Planning Guide 2024
8th Grade Course Descriptions
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Language Arts 8
Required
Eighth grade language arts class combines language, literature, writing, and speaking. The written emphasis is on the growth of each student’s ability to revise his or her own work, recognize the quality of that work, and to develop valid arguments by integrating relevant evidence into his or her writing to support a claim. Students will also utilize research methods to compose a formal informational writing piece. It focuses on the expansion of each student’s oral and written communication skills as the development of their reading skills. The literature expands on the connection between the reader and writer, helping students understand the relationships that shape their literature and their lives. Lessons and activities use reading and writing to foster their emerging understanding of the world and continued maturity into critical thinkers, lifelong learners, and contributing members of society. Each unit is designed to nurture and cultivate students’ intellectual and emotional health so that, upon leaving middle school, they will enter high school capable, confident, and prepared.
Instructional Resource
StudySync ELA, Grade 8
Publisher: McGraw Hill
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Math 8
Required
This course is designed to build on student learning from earlier grades to solidify student fluency in numeracy, problem solving, and algebraic reasoning. Math 8 develops the concepts of real numbers, angle and triangle relationships, equations, relations, linearity, and functions in preparation for Algebra I and Geometry courses.
Instructional Resource
iReady Math, Grade 8
Publisher: Curriculum Associates
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Algebra 1
Prerequisite: Completion of Math 7+ with an 80% or higher, 85% on Fastbridge assessments, and Level 4 on State Assessments.
This year-long course is designed to build on student learning from earlier grades to lay foundations for mathematical literacy. The course focuses on fluency with algebraic representations of expressions, equations, and inequalities, and begins a foundational exploration of linear, exponential, and quadratic functions and in their multiple representations.**This course will count as high school math credit with a C or better final grade in the class. B or higher is needed for recommendation for freshman Honor's Geometry**
Instructional Resource
Into Algebra 1, 2020
Publisher: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt
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Science 8
Required
Physical Science is the study of matter, energy, and their relationship. This class is a combination of a chemistry course and a physics course. Students will learn to think, read and write like scientists and apply the knowledge that they acquire in this class to the world around them. Students will grow their curiosity about the world around them by focusing on the following units of study; Chemistry, Force and Motion, Energy and Waves. There will be the opportunity to learn more about the Periodic Table, Chemical Reactions, Acceleration and Speed, Thermal energy and the Electromagnetic spectrum through labs performed on a regular basis.
Instructional Resource
STEMscopes NGSS 3D, Grade 8
Publisher: Accelerate Learning
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History 8
Required
This course prepares students to understand the basics of our nation’s history and origin of our governmental structure. Students will use technology, primary source documents, textbooks, and lecture materials to learn about the history of the United States of America. Students will learn about the beginnings of American history in the Revolution to the Titans of Industry in the 1900s.
Instructional Resource
US History Beginnings to 1914, 2019
Publisher: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt
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Healthy Living 8
Required
This is a year-long required course and the intent of this course is to reinforce goals and objectives for teaching and learning behavior that contributes to a healthy lifestyle and improved quality of life for all students. This course is required for all 6th-grade, 7th-grade, and 8th-grade students and includes health education and physical education. These two components complement each other as students learn to be healthy and physically active for a lifetime.
Instructional Resource
Essential Health Skills for Middle School, 2019
Publisher: Goodheart-Wilcox Company
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Career and Life Planning
This course prepares students for the future by focusing on topics such as economics, consumer behavior, resource management and decision-making skills. Units of study include choosing a place to live, income taxes, buying insurance and credit management. Students will explore various career options, write a personal resume, participate in a mock interview, prepare a 1040 tax form, and balance a checkbook. This is a foundations class that opens up multiple CTE Pathways at the High School.
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Computer Science 8
The class will feature computer science skills that are foundational to program coding and app development. Students will also continue to fine-tune their keyboarding skills and become strong users of many Google Apps. Students of all skill sets will be able to learn programming skills. If you are a first-time programmer or an experienced programmer, you will be challenged at your level to explore more and more challenging themes and skills in computer programming. Language explored is Java.
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Engineering Explorations 8
Students will be presented with challenging problems that mimic real-world issues in the Mechanical, Electrical, Structural, and Civil engineering fields. These challenges will allow them to use what they have learned in math, science, and engineering up to this point to complete more complex and open-ended projects. Students will be expected to use self-directed problem-solving strategies along with the Engineering Design Process. Students will evaluate and justify their solutions through claims/evidence writing and reflective practices.
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World Language Exploration 7/8
World Language Exploration is a semester-long course where the student will begin or continue to learn basic conversation and culture primarily in Spanish and also French. Students will briefly explore American Sign Language and culture as well as independently study a language of their choice online.
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Intro to Spanish 7/8
** Prerequisite - World Language Exploration
Intro to Spanish is an exciting and engaging course designed to further introduce middle school students to the rich and vibrant world of the Spanish language and culture. This course provides a solid foundation in the fundamentals of Spanish language acquisition. Students will be well-prepared to continue to Spanish 1 after successful completion of this course. (Pending BOE approval)
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Spanish I
This is a one-year course designed as an introduction to the language and culture of the Spanish-speaking world. Students will attain a novice-low or novice-mid, proficiency level in the four communication skills of understanding, speaking, reading, and writing in Spanish. An awareness of Hispanic culture will be included through the study of geography, food, lodging, clothing, entertainment, art, music, history, values and the beliefs of Spanish-speaking people. This course will count as high school world language credit with a C or better final grade in the class.
Instructional Resource
Realidades I, 2014
Publisher: Savvas
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Art 8
Art 8 class introduces students to the various forms of the visual arts, such as painting, drawing, sculpting and more. Students learn how to look at a work of art, identify and compare key characteristics in artworks, and understand the role that art has played throughout history. Through hands-on studio activities, virtual museum tours, discussion and research, learners develop an overall appreciation for the art they encounter in their daily lives and the ability to manipulate a variety of art mediums. As students participate in this class each year, they will be individually mentored to explore and extend their artistic ability, honing both their observation and technical skills.
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Food and Nutrition
This course is an introduction to the basic principles of nutrition, wellness, and food preparation. The focus of the course is centered around MyPlate and healthy food and lifestyle choices. The skills learned are applied through hands-on activities such as projects and cooking labs.
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Concert Choir
This is an elective course consisting of a non-selective ensemble for those students interested in vocal technique. A wide variety of songs are studied. This class encourages students to discover, explore and develop talents in vocal music. The choir will participate in contest and present three or four performances.