8th Grade Curriculum for My Son
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One of the things that have surprised me about my homeschool experience is that I really enjoy homeschooling middle school. It is such a great time to let a child’s personality and interests shine. They have all of the basic language arts and math skills from elementary school but don’t yet have the pressure of high school. I created this 8th grade curriculum with my son. Creating a plan with my son helped insure that he is excited about this school year.
When my kids are in 8th grade I give them the freedom to choose any history, science, and electives. Here is what my son chose to include in his 8th grade curriculum (with some guidance from mom and dad ;-))
8th Grade Curriculum For My Son
Language Arts
Writing
We have used WriteShop for years and love it, so we plan to use it through the end of the program. My son will finish WriteShop 1 this year. Last year he did the first half of WriteShop 1 with great results.
WriteShop does not explicitly teach grammar and vocabulary, but it is easy to weave these skills in naturally at a middle school level.
Related: Reasons We Love WriteShop
Reading
In 6th grade my son participated in a book club for middle school boys where the boys took turns choosing titles. That year he discovered that he really enjoyed reading graphic novels.
Every year I put together a customized reading list for each of my kids. This lets me choose titles that will interest them, but that they might not have chosen on their own. This year I am creating a list full of graphic novels for my son as part of his 8th grade curriculum.
He is really excited to start reading these awesome graphic novels.
Math
My son switched to Singapore Math a few years ago because he needed a challenge. He is naturally gifted in math and gets bored if his work is too easy.
This year he will use Singapore Dimension level 8. He has already completed levels 6 and 7. This is an algebra curriculum, so I am including it in his high school plan.
The Singapore Dimensions math curriculum comes with 4 products:
- Teacher’s guide or notes and solutions
- Student textbook
- Student workbook
- Workbook solutions
Actually, there are two of each book, one per semester, so I guess it really comes with 8 items.
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Typically, I read over the chapter notes in the teacher’s guide before we begin a new chapter. Then I explain the material and we talk through the practice problems in the textbook. At the end of the textbook chapter my son works through the corresponding chapter in the workbook. He has really enjoyed the challenge, so I’m not sure what he will use next year now that we are coming to the end of Singapore math products.
People always ask why I chose Singapore Dimension over Singapore Primary. The reason is very simple – we only began using this curriculum when my son was in 6th grade, so Dimension was the only Singapore product available.
Science
My son requested learning about physics this year and my husband offered to teach this subject. I love teaching science, but physics is not one of my favorite topics so I am happy to let him take control of the science lessons this year.
Unlike me, my husband really enjoys physics. He is putting together his own plan using the Open Stax Physics textbook as a spine. Open Stax is kind of a neat concept. It provides peer-reviewed textbooks as a pdf for free. This is our first time using this resource, but it could be a great option for many homeschool families. My husband did let me know that parents should request teacher access before starting to use this book. There is a teacher application process, likely to avoid students having access to answer keys. Open Stax requires proof of homeschooling in order to access the teacher materials. We just sent a screenshot of our NC homeschool registration certificate.
My husband plans to include hands-on activities and videos whenever possible.
This Open Stax Physics textbook is intended for high school, so if my son completes the program he will earn high school credit even though this is part of his 8th grade curriculum.
My son is also working through the physics section of Brilliant.org. He likes the short explanations and the interactive examples.
History/Geography
As part of their 8th grade curriculum, I give my kids a ton of freedom to choose an unconventional topic to study. When my daughter was in 8th grade we studied the history of chocolate and the history of video games. This year my son asked to learn about the history of money and Italy.
History of Money
I have yet to find a history of money curriculum, so I am creating my own. I’m still working out the details, but I know that we will cover 8 main topics:
- Bartering
- Commodity money
- Coins and paper money
- Fiat
- Representative Money
- Electronic banking
- Cryptocurrency
- Future of money
Update – The history of money unit study is complete! Check out the resources and lesson plans.
Italy
Last year we took a DNA test that included ancestry as part of our biology curriculum. My son learned that he is 0.2% Italian and is now absolutely obsessed with Italy. I think he really wants any excuse to eat pizza, pasta, and gelato.
I have not put together an Italy unit study for him yet because we won’t need it for a few months. My plan is to read books, watch travel documentaries, cook delicious food, learn about the government and culture, and study the geography of Italy.
Update – My son has decided that he would rather learn about the history of computers than about Italy.
Spanish
My son is continuing to learn Spanish this year. Rather than use a set curriculum I am combining a few resources:
- Skills for Success Spanish workbook
- The 100+ Series Spanish workbook
- Kloo Spanish Pack 1
- Spanish tea with poetry
- Watching favorite tv shows in Spanish
- Reading familiar children’s books written in Spanish
All of these activities and resources will work together to help him strengthen his Spanish and get more comfortable with a second language.
Personal Finance
I am really excited about teaching personal finance as part of my son’s 8th grade curriculum. We will be using the Beyond Personal Finance curriculum with a few friends. My daughter took this class a couple of years ago and I was really impressed with how much it deepened her understanding of financial planning.
This course is set up sort of like a game. Every week the students create a budget for one year. In order to truly understand and be prepared for adult financial decisions, students pretend they are 22 the first week. They have to create a budget based on projected income and student debt.
Each week a new financial topic is introduced. Kids are introduced to things like choosing health insurance plans, deciding between a home close to work or a longer commute for a cheaper mortgage, how to choose a car, etc.
My favorite part of the course are the plot twists. Each week kids roll two dice. One die determines if they will have kids that year. If they do, they need to work that extra expense into their budget. The other die corresponds to a plot twist. Plot twists can include things like being in a car accident and needing to pay your insurance deductible, a hot water heater leaking, etc. I love this portion of the class because it mimics real life. Sometimes expensive things happen that are beyond our control. A savings account can help cushion those blows.
I’m glad a few friends agreed to come over and take this class with Ben. Studying personal finance in a group lets kids see the consequences of multiple choices, not just their own choice.
Update: I posted all about the personal finance curriculum we love.
Computer
My son learned quite a bit of coding last year and wants to learn more about computer science as part of his 8th grade curriculum. My husband has a computer science degree and has spent the last two decades working for some of the top companies in the field so he is teaching this course.
At the moment it seems like my husband is just winging it in terms of creating his own plan, which I know isn’t terribly helpful to anyone reading this post. I will try to get more details as the year progresses so I can share resources.
P.E.
My husband wanted to teach one more class this year, so he decided to teach both of the kids tennis. (Side note – I love how involved he is in our homeschool!)
He chose tennis for a couple of reasons:
- He played on the tennis team in high school
- Our family of 4 is the perfect size to play together
- It is played outdoors, so if our local rec center closes again we can still play
I’m really excited about this 8th grade curriculum. I think it is shaping up to be a great year!
What subjects do you include in an 8th grade curriculum? One of the things I love about homeschooling is that my son’s curriculum plan looks different from my daughter’s 8th grade curriculum. The choices best serve them as individual students.
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