What to Teach in Grade 8
A full school year across every subject, week by week — thirty-six weeks, laid out so you can see what Monday looks like before September starts.
The year at a glance
Thirty-six weeks, five days a week. Three subjects are planned here in detail — English 8: Trust, Community & Responsibility, Physical Science: Matter, Forces & Energy, U.S. History: Reconstruction to the Early 21st Century — and each is a complete year's course with its own lessons, practice and exams. For mathematics at this grade most families use Grade 8 Math, though placement depends on the track a child is on rather than on their age.
You do not have to follow the weeks in order or at this pace. The plan exists so that there is always an answer to “what now”, not so that falling behind means anything.
The thirty-six weeks
| Week | English | Science | Social Studies |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Close Reading & Literary Analysis — Theme & Symbolism — core session 1 | Properties of Matter — launch and foundations | Chapters 1–4: inquiry, Reconstruction, industry, reform, empire, WWI, 1920s, Depression |
| 2 | Close Reading & Literary Analysis — Character & Dialogue — core session 2 | Properties of Matter — connect the models | Chapters 5–8: WWII, Holocaust, Cold War, rights, social change, recent history, capstone |
| 3 | Close Reading & Literary Analysis — Plot Structure & Pacing — independent study | Properties of Matter — apply and extend | — |
| 4 | Close Reading & Literary Analysis — Tone & Mood — revision conference | Properties of Matter — investigate and assess | — |
| 5 | Close Reading & Literary Analysis — Evidence and outline — chapter workshop | Phases of Matter — launch and foundations | — |
| 6 | Poetry, Drama & Longer Reading — Reading Poetry: Image, Sound & Form — core session 1 | Phases of Matter — connect the models | — |
| 7 | Poetry, Drama & Longer Reading — Drama, Performance & Subtext — core session 2 | Phases of Matter — apply and extend | — |
| 8 | Poetry, Drama & Longer Reading — Comparing Text to Film & Adaptation — independent study | Phases of Matter — investigate and assess | — |
| 9 | Poetry, Drama & Longer Reading — Reading a Complete Book — revision conference | Matter, phase and container portfolio | — |
| 10 | Poetry, Drama & Longer Reading — Read, apply and revisit — Drama, Performance & Subtext | Chemistry — launch and foundations | — |
| 11 | Informational Reading & Media — Central Idea & Objective Summary — core session 1 | Chemistry — connect the models | — |
| 12 | Informational Reading & Media — Text Structure & Connections — core session 2 | Chemistry — apply and extend | — |
| 13 | Informational Reading & Media — Analyzing Conflicting Information — independent study | Chemistry — investigate and assess | — |
| 14 | Informational Reading & Media — Media Literacy & Visual Evidence — revision conference | Forces — launch and foundations | — |
| 15 | Informational Reading & Media — Read, apply and revisit — Text Structure & Connections | Forces — connect the models | — |
| 16 | Argument & Rhetoric — Evaluating Arguments & Evidence — core session 1 | Forces — apply and extend | — |
| 17 | Argument & Rhetoric — The Argumentative Essay — core session 2 | Forces — investigate and assess | — |
| 18 | Argument & Rhetoric — Revision and source check — chapter workshop | Midterm preparation, paper and feedback | — |
| 19 | Research & Source-Based Writing — The Informative Essay — core session 1 | Motion — launch and foundations | — |
| 20 | Research & Source-Based Writing — Research & Credible Sources — core session 2 | Motion — connect the models | — |
| 21 | Research & Source-Based Writing — Revision and source check — chapter workshop | Motion — apply and extend | — |
| 22 | Narrative, Memoir & Revision — Narrative Techniques — core session 1 | Motion — investigate and assess | — |
| 23 | Narrative, Memoir & Revision — Writing from Reading: Evidence & Commentary — core session 2 | Work & Machines — launch and foundations | — |
| 24 | Narrative, Memoir & Revision — Planning, Drafting & Revision — independent study | Work & Machines — connect the models | — |
| 25 | Narrative, Memoir & Revision — Read, apply and revisit — Narrative Techniques | Work & Machines — apply and extend | — |
| 26 | Language, Style & Conventions — Active & Passive Voice — core session 1 | Work & Machines — investigate and assess | — |
| 27 | Language, Style & Conventions — Verb Moods — core session 2 | Energy & Heat Transfer — launch and foundations | — |
| 28 | Language, Style & Conventions — Punctuation: Comma, Dash & Ellipsis — independent study | Energy & Heat Transfer — connect the models | — |
| 29 | Language, Style & Conventions — Vocabulary in Context — revision conference | Energy & Heat Transfer — apply and extend | — |
| 30 | Language, Style & Conventions — Read, apply and revisit — Verb Moods | Energy & Heat Transfer — investigate and assess | — |
| 31 | Discussion, Listening & Presentation — Evidence-Based Discussion & Listening — core session 1 | Waves, Sound & Light — launch and foundations | — |
| 32 | Discussion, Listening & Presentation — Speaking, Presenting & Responding — core session 2 | Waves, Sound & Light — connect the models | — |
| 33 | Discussion, Listening & Presentation — Revision and source check — chapter workshop | Waves, Sound & Light — apply and extend | — |
| 34 | Discussion, Listening & Presentation — Read, apply and revisit — Evidence-Based Discussion & Listening | Waves, Sound & Light — investigate and assess | — |
| 35 | Discussion, Listening & Presentation — Chapter review — Discussion, Listening & Presentation | Sample paper and speaker-system synthesis | — |
| 36 | Final assessment, correction and portfolio | Final preparation, paper and course conference | — |
Each cell names what that subject covers that week. Open the course for the lesson itself, the practice and the printable version.
How much time this is
Each course plans about five sessions a week for thirty-six weeks — roughly 180 sessions a year. Three subjects at that rate is about fifteen sessions a week, plus mathematics. At forty-five minutes a session that is somewhere near four hours a day, which in practice is less than it sounds: a session is not a school period, and most families find the work takes considerably less time at home than the same material takes in a classroom.
What this does not cover
Health, physical education, art, music and world languages are not taught here. Several states require some or all of them, so it is worth checking what yours asks for — the requirements for all fifty states and DC — and planning them separately. Families commonly meet them through sports, lessons, clubs and documented family activity.