Eighth Grade California Curriculum Standards, 2000
By sjl@sonic.net
This information in this section was extracted from
the California State Board of Education curriculum standards
web page.
It is reproduced here to make it easier to find the sections that
apply to eighth grade.
Tom's Commentary on the Standards
Math
The algebra I section is a decent review of what you should learn
in algebra. We will review the material from last year to make sure
that all the material from the standard is well understood. The
geometry standard looks rock-solid. I can't fault it. I hope we
have time to get to Algebra II this year.
English
Just like last year, the standard references an out-of-print book called
"Recommended Readings in Literature, Kindergarten Through Grade Eight."
The standard does a reasonable job of setting out general ideas for a
course in reading, writing, listening, and speaking. The teaching part
is nearly content-free, and the work appears to be mostly practice.
By emphasizing the oral presentation skills, the curriculum makes it
possible for the teacher to just sit there while the students run the
class. Good work, if you can get it.
This sort of material really calls for small classes with no more than
twelve students, and preferably about eight students. It will actually
be somewhat difficult to do with two or three people in the audience.
We should probably plan on using a video camera to record oral
presentations to provide the best reviews of spoken reports.
History
American history this year should be fun because there is so much
good material to choose from. We'll have to stop the car to read
some roadside plaques.
Wed Aug 2 17:48:25 PDT 2000