The students are led to bring together what they have learned into a meaningful world picture in which the human being as a striving ethical being has central significance. They should also be ready to work independently. With these goals in mind, the yearlong 8th grade project challenges the students to bring all their skills together under a theme that captures their individual interest.

Language Arts – Shakespeare, epic and dramatic poetry, continue literature, grammar, spelling, essay writing, business and practical writing, write skits and short plays. The eighth grade project demands polished research and reporting skills.

History – 1700’s to present, biographies, American history, Geography of Asia, Australia and Antarctica. Pilgrims, the Constitution, Civil war, Gandhi, Nightingale, Red Cloud, Wounded Knee, Industrial Age, child labor, newer technologies, WWI.

Mathematics – Work on linear and freehand perspective, as well as on rotations and transformations of shapes and solids, continues the study of geometry. Work in Algebra continues also, with students using formulas in a variety of practical areas, such as calculating speed, simple/compound interest and mechanical advantage.

Art – Black and white drawing. Continue with painting. Detailed copies. Sculpting figures with dramatic gestures. Handwork classes can include work with sewing machines, making costumes for plays, building a clay bread oven, building a teepee, making a picture frame and designing and building a skateboard ramp.

Science – If the key question in 7th Grade was “How,” the questions in 8th Grade are “Why” “Where” and “Who.” Why does this process occur? Where in the world does it happen? Who found a way to apply it? In Physics, Acoustics, Optics, Heat and Electromagnetism are pursued further and are taken up through their practical application as founded in the industrial and technological revolutions. Studies in Hydraulics, Hydrostatics, Meteorology and Aeromechanics are introduced. Work in the Life Sciences, or Physiology, continues with a study of the skeletal and muscular systems (particularly the form and function of the spinal column and its relationship to uprightness), as well as the inner working of the eye and ear. The nervous and reproductive systems are also taught. 8th Grade students learn to build a simple computer and continue their understanding of the basic science of computing.