8th Grade September Newsletter

Language Arts

Hello from 8th Grade Language Arts! We are excited to launch our first unit of the year: The Universal Refugee Experience. Our anchor text for this start of the year is a short but wonderful free verse novel that is accessible to all, Inside Out and Back Again by Thanha Lai. We use this as a starting point for teaching analysis of literary devices in poems, and  supplement with lit circles and high-level extension texts, as well as focus on your student’s writing for Quarter 1. In class, we did a gallery walk of images that depict refugee stories from around the world throughout different time periods, and students looked at the threads that bonded together those unique stories as well as the power of a photograph in telling a story. The unit’s project will ask them to become a photojournalist! Through photography and written analytical captions, your student will tell a universal refugee story that highlights some of the similar experiences that all refugees must face (for example, fleeing home, embarking on some sort of journey, adjusting to a new culture, etc). It is our hope that we inspire some budding journalists in the process, as photojournalism is growing exponentially: most news outlets today must have a social media/visual component to survive. This type of career-connected writing is a cool real-world application of what we teach in Language Arts. On that note, if YOU or an adult you know is a photographer and would be interested in speaking to our students about what it entails, let us know.

Your student’s first homework assignment is due the first Friday after Labor Day, 9/6. They will have received two grade level articles and must answer multiple choice questions about each text. The following week, they will have to write an CCER paragraph (Claim, Context, Evidence, Reasoning) about one of the texts, so please check in and ensure they complete this first assignment or they’ll be behind for the following week. All homework can be found on Schoology.

Please reach out to us with any questions: rachel_sommer@dpsk12.net or @erin_brauer@dpsk12.net.

Algebra

This month, our Algebra class focused on building a strong and supportive classroom community. Students engaged in team-building activities and ice breakers to get to know one another and foster collaboration. Together, we created a classroom contract that outlines our shared expectations and commitment to respect, responsibility, and success. These steps are helping us start the year with a positive mindset and a clear path forward. 

Looking ahead, we will begin our very first unit of the year next week: rigid transformations. This is a great hands on unit that allows students to visualize the math that they are learning. 

Our first homework assignments will begin next week. All IXL and DeltaMath homework tasks assigned in a week will be due the following Monday. In addition, we will be giving quizzes nearly every week on Friday. Please encourage your students to study from their binder Thursday evenings in preparation for their quiz, and to make sure they’ve finished the homework on Sunday before it is due on Monday. 

We’re excited for a great year! Hope to meet you all at Back to School Night on September 5th.

- Mr Stock & Mahoney

Integrated II Math

So far in Math 2, our 8th graders have been getting to know each other and building a positive classroom community. We kicked things off with a creative project making optical illusions, which sparked curiosity and helped students explore patterns and visual perception in math.

Students also learned Mr. Stock’s classroom procedures and strategies for success, setting a strong foundation for a productive year ahead. This focus on routines and growth mindset is helping everyone feel confident and ready to tackle upcoming math challenges.

We’re excited to continue building skills and to start diving into math content this week! Keep an eye out for the DPS-Issued student workbook that will be given to your student for Units 1 and 2. We will work in this book every single day which means that students should keep it in a safe place (room will be provided in the classroom for students to store it when they don’t want to bring it home). 

Science

Welcome back to school! It was so much fun getting to know the students during our first week, I can’t wait to see how they grow throughout the year. Our first unit in science is focused on climate, we’ll be learning about the differences between climate and weather, as well as climate change and how humans contribute to the Earth’s changing climate. Students will do a project where they will analyze their individual carbon footprint and then brainstorm and experiment with how they can work to reduce it. We’ll then work in larger groups to discuss how our individual changes could be implemented on a larger scale to have an even bigger impact. As the month goes on, feel free to discuss with your student what their project is centered around and how it could relate to your family and community!

Also- we will be using 1” binders and dividers for class this year that will stay in the classroom and hold all of the students notes/worksheets/project information. I have extras from last school year but if your student wants a new one please have them bring that in this first month.

Social Studies

Welcome to 8th Grade Early American History!
We'll be starting the year with a podcast project where students will explore how war impacts identity, using the Revolutionary War as their lens. In small groups, students will research, analyze primary and secondary sources, and record their own independent podcast episode that connects historical evidence to the voices and experiences of different groups during the Revolution. This project helps students think critically, collaborate, and build confidence in sharing their ideas.

As the year progresses  students will continue to learn history through projects that bring the past to life through mapping major events, stepping into the role of lawmakers to understand our government, and writing and illustrating picture books based on our year long novel study of Stamped: Remix by Jason Reynolds, which deepens our conversations about identity, race, historical themes, power  and justice across American history.