Learning Experience 1: The Selfie Project(Quarter 1)
The selfie project adventure will explore the fundamentals of the United States government, science and writing. Learners will analyze how and why the 13 colonies declared independence from Great Britain and the significance of the development of American constitutional democracy. In science learners will investigate the properties of matter and how atoms interact in chemical reactions. For the Big Project learners will answer the driving questions of Who are you? Who do you want to be? How do you want to describe yourself? Learners will dive deep in self-reflecting and building emotional intelligence by discovering more of who they are. They will develop their own constitutional mission statement, declaration of independence and create a photography piece that reflects their purpose and chemical self. At the end of the project learners will participate in a virtual photo gallery exhibit.
Learning Experience 2: Imagineers (Quarter 2)
Driving Question: How can I become more imaginative and creative? 8th graders will pick an item to create or reimagine. They can tinker with items, or use their imagination to be creative. Throughout this project, learners will think about what sparked their imagination and reflect on how it affected their overall process. They will present their project to their peers at the end of the quarter.
We will learn about the Founding Fathers, the creation of the American government, and the early years of the new republic. Economics, politics, and the Scientific Revolution inspired the thinkers of the day to explore the world in new ways. We will look at how they experimented and created inventions; they were not just politicians. Learners will be selecting books to read for the quarter. We will have groups and discussions on the books the learners pick. In each section that the learner completes, they will be selecting quotes, assessing comprehension, discussing the plot developments, and looking up new vocabulary.
We will learn about inventions. Do you like to invent things… perhaps repair or put things together? Do you wonder why things work the way that they do? In this course, learners will investigate forces acting in nature such as electricity and magnetism. You will also acquire the ability to explain electric currents, magnets, series, and parallel circuits.
Learning Experience 3: MyTown (Quarter 3)
Learners will examine the transformation of the Nation in the 19th Century. They will look at the effects of the Industrial Revolution, Westward expansion, Mexican American War, and how the North and South grew differently throughout the 19th Century. We will end with the new reforms that shaped America and paved the way to the Civil War. Learners are going to learn about storytelling. From Short stories and novels, to screenplays and musicals, learners will learn the art of storytelling. We will also examine structures to stories, and how to retell old stories in new ways. Finally, you observe the different aspects of forces, motion, waves, sound, and light through interactive videos, simulations, virtual labs, and guided practice.
Learning Experience 4: Me Book (Quarter 4)
Driving Questions: How can you use written and visual arts to outwardly express your inner self and life experiences?
Essential Question: How can reflection give us direction?
8th graders will embark on a journey to create a book all about themselves. Learners will be given the opportunity to relate course concepts to their own personal lives through self-reflection. As a final project for the school year, learners will be required to reflect on themselves, their middle school journey, and their experiences, showcasing themselves, as individuals, in a self-created “Me Book.” The Me Book provides learners with an opportunity to celebrate themselves and prepare for their transition into high school. Learners will explore rhetoric, fallacies, and how to create strong arguments. Learners will understand Logos, Ethos, and Pathos, and how they are used to create arguments. They will also look at logical fallacies, and how to avoid them. 8th graders will examine famous speeches, and what made them so effective throughout history. 8th graders will examine the Civil War and compare and contrast the North and South during the Antebellum era. Learners will examine the compromises and major laws that affected the course of the Civil War during the 19th century. Finally, we will end with reconstruction. Learners will analyze sound waves, frequency and volume, applications of sound, electromagnetic spectrum, visible light and color, and bending light.
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