our eighth grade program
Humanities
At St. Anne's School, we find that students learn best when they topics they study are meaningful and integrated. The humanities curriculum, through explorations of history and literature, using written and oral expression, encourages students’ natural curiosity by making connections and building an understanding of the world around them and their place in it.
Through the humanities curriculum, students are exposed to an array of integrated literature and social studies topics. Students take a trip around the world, through time and place developing cultural awareness and skills to interpret both historical and literacy sources and develop their own abilities, evolving as thinkers, writers and citizens.
Students learn and apply skills such as the writing process, reading strategies, identification and interpretation of historical sources, grammatical structures and spelling. In particular, the writing process is emphasized: students identify topics that matter to them, and draft, revise and polish finished pieces of poetry, fiction and memoir.
Eighth Grade Humanities Program
The Eighth Grade Humanities skills include:
- Differentiating between primary and secondary sources
- Reading a variety of texts for information, taking notes, researching, outlining, referencing materials and utilizing Internet technologies Sequencing dates and information
- Challenging and questioning information
- Viewing information from multiple perspectives
- Presenting information to an audience
- Working as part of a group
- Visualizing, planning, and completing student choice project
- Utilizing leadership skills while working in groups
- Enhancing ability to view problems through multiple perspectives
- Writing for the purpose of summarizing information, supporting opinions and responding to essay questions
- Researching and constructing a research paper utilizing MLA format
- Reading Strategies: annotate texts, identify rhetoric and argument, sequence events; lead and participate in seminar discussions; identify point of view, subtext, and figurative language; interpret with visual art, drama and multimedia
- Writing Strategies: use writing process including drafting, revising and editing; develop essay writing including thesis development and support, comprehensive introductions and conclusions; adept and accurate use of text to support arguments including MLA citation; creative writing – dramatic monologue, autobiographies, legal argument and independent projects within writing workshop; other strategies include developing and following protocol for writing on blogs, wikis and other Web formats
- Small group work: work in groups to read, discuss and interpret texts; brainstorm, draft and edit independent writing; conduct a mock trial based on a literary text
- Composing phrases correctly to add detail and variety
- Using grammar to compose or analyze meaning, as with parallel construction and active voice
- Using Greek and Latin roots to understand new vocabulary; use a variety of strategies to determine vocabulary through context
- In writing and discussion, take positions on controversial issues by developing and offering reasoned arguments