Grade guides · Usually ages 13 and 14

What children usually learn in Grade 8

What the year usually covers, subject by subject, in our own words from the curriculum you choose, with games that practise it.

Curriculum: United States · Ontario · British Columbia · England

Math

  • Powers, square roots, and writing very large and very small numbers 8.NS, 8.EE
  • Solving linear equations, and pairs of equations together 8.EE
  • Functions, and the graphs of straight lines 8.F
  • Moving and resizing shapes, the Pythagorean theorem, and volume of cylinders, cones and spheres 8.G
  • Scatter plots, and the line that fits them 8.SP

Practise it with

Reading

  • The strongest evidence for what a text says and suggests RL.8.1
  • A theme across a whole text, and how dialogue shows character RL.8.2, RL.8.3
  • How a new story draws on myths and traditional tales RL.8.9
  • Spotting an argument that leans on weak or unrelated evidence RI.8.8
  • Arguments that answer the other side, explanations, and stories with pace W.8.1 to W.8.3
  • Research that asks its own questions, from sources judged for trust W.8.7, W.8.8

Practise it with

Science

  • Atoms and molecules, and chemical reactions MS-PS1
  • Forces and motion, backed by measured evidence MS-PS2
  • Energy of motion and stored energy, and heat moving MS-PS3
  • Waves, light and sound, and digital signals MS-PS4
  • Magnetic and electric forces, and gravity, acting at a distance MS-PS2

Practise it with

Geography

  • How something happening in one place affects others far away D2.Geo, 6-8
  • Changes to the environment, and choices about land and water D2.Geo, 6-8
  • Different kinds of map for one place, and what each shows D2.Geo, 6-8
  • Time zones, and planning across them D2.Geo, 6-8
  • Where people live, and why cities grow D2.Geo, 6-8

Practise it with

History

  • Their country's history in depth: its founding, conflicts and changes D2.His, 6-8
  • Choices people made, and what came of them D2.His, 6-8
  • Weighing sources for trust and point of view D2.His, 6-8
  • Rights, citizenship, and how laws change D2.Civ, 6-8
  • Writing an argument about the past, with its sources named D2.His, 6-8

Practise it with

Plan a week for Grade 8

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Where this comes from

Written in our own words from the documents below. It says what the year usually covers; it is not the official text, which the curriculum's own pages hold.

  • Common Core State Standards for Mathematics (2010), by National Governors Association Center for Best Practices and the Council of Chief State School Officers
  • Common Core State Standards for English Language Arts and Literacy (2010), by National Governors Association Center for Best Practices and the Council of Chief State School Officers
  • Next Generation Science Standards (2013), by NGSS Lead States
  • College, Career, and Civic Life (C3) Framework for Social Studies State Standards (2013), by National Council for the Social Studies

Other grades