momto2Cs Posted May 26, 2014 Share Posted May 26, 2014 I've got my dd's 6th grade year pretty well figured out, but ds's eighth grade is stumping me. I know what we'll use for math AoPs prelagebra) and language arts (mainly Brave Writer), so really it is the content areas and literature that are troublesome. His interests: cars, cars, cars, and physics, art, sci-fi, steampunk, mythology. I don't know if I should go with the textbook approach this year for science (Hewitt's Coneptual Integrated Science Explorations?), or assign other books (Hazen's Science Matters?). And should I do history with him, or geography? And then literature.. he does a,lot of free reading, so I don't want to assign a LOT of books, but would like to give him at least 6-8 good ones to work through. I'm thinking classic sci-fi/fantasy... suggestions? He's not sure himself, and keeps telling me either way would be good - textbook versus non textbook, assigned reading versus non assigned... it seems to all be "good" with him, darn non-picky child. At this point, I am thinking the more simple and straightfoward-do-the-next-thing I can make it would be better. What would YOU choose for a physics-loving, mechanically inclined, artistic bookworm of an eighth grader? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
foxbridgeacademy Posted May 26, 2014 Share Posted May 26, 2014 Since it's his last year before it all "counts", I'd "pander" to his interests. My DS will also be in 8th, besides video games he likes Creek Stomping, learning about Wars, NOT reading but watching adventure movies, and is so over Algebra right now. So, we will be doing Environmental Science, Reading the Hobbit series(we as in ME out loud), Studying late middle ages to late 1700's and focusing on wars, writing will be NON-Fiction (research stuff), and Geometry. These are all according to his preferences within my parameters. So I think with a bit of thinking you could come up with something that fits his interests while still being more or less "do the next thing". Depending where you are in history- Steampunk and early mechanization (late 1700's but more 1800's) have him read things like Frankenstein, and Time Machine, 20,000 leagues.... Have him write short stories or if not creative in that way, then he can research the evolution of the automobile etc.... I would make sure if you're doing Physics you use something that doesn't require higher math? I'm not familiar with Hewitts enough to know if concurrent Pre-Alg is enough. Good luck and have fun. ETA: Drawing and designing physics based contraptions..... Try these books "mini weapons of Mass destruction" and "Backyard Ballistics" ... fun stuff. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
almondbutterandjelly Posted May 26, 2014 Share Posted May 26, 2014 Jules Verne: Twenty Thousand Leagues under the Sea, Around the World in 80 Days, Journey to the Center of the Earth. A couple of those are high school level so you might want to do an abridged or children's version (illustrated classics or some such). If you all do the read-aloud thing, there is a Dover Steampunk coloring book that might coincide nicely with some of those books. (My 7th grader has been enjoying this.) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SkateLeft Posted May 26, 2014 Share Posted May 26, 2014 Okay, now I want a Steampunk themed curriculum. If I had the time and energy, I would totally try to put together something that incorporates science, literature and history with a Steampunk theme! I really like Foxbridgeacademy's advice. I need to think about that some more too! I'm in the same boat as the OP. I've got a handle on math and English for my 8th grader, but I haven't decided on science, history and literature yet. I have "The Science of Discworld" books that my girls read years ago, and I thought about pulling those out and fleshing them out as a full year science course. I did that partially years ago, so it wouldn't be a ton of work. Now I'm dreaming about a Discworld/Steampunk themed school year...*swoon*. My ds used America the Beautiful from Notgrass for 7th, and will probably do a year of world history in 9th, so I need something a little different for 8th. For my oldest dd's 8th grade year, we did a year long study of dystopian literature, including novels and short stories. My ds needs more intensive work on vocabularly development though. I don't think he could handle some of the stuff my girls have read in 8th. He was a delayed reader and though he's totally caught up now, it still shows a bit in his vocabulary. For science, we're a family of Makers. I've thought about just planning out a years' worth of projects, with specific goals in mind, as his science curriculum. Hmm. I could make that work with a year long Steampunk themed plan... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kareni Posted May 26, 2014 Share Posted May 26, 2014 Okay, now I want a Steampunk themed curriculum. If I had the time and energy, I would totally try to put together something that incorporates science, literature and history with a Steampunk theme! You might find this thread from the high school board of interest: Roots of Steampunk Literature Regards, Kareni Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
foxbridgeacademy Posted May 26, 2014 Share Posted May 26, 2014 Okay, now I want a Steampunk themed curriculum. If I had the time and energy, I would totally try to put together something that incorporates science, literature and history with a Steampunk theme! I really like Foxbridgeacademy's advice. I need to think about that some more too! I'm in the same boat as the OP. I've got a handle on math and English for my 8th grader, but I haven't decided on science, history and literature yet. I have "The Science of Discworld" books that my girls read years ago, and I thought about pulling those out and fleshing them out as a full year science course. I did that partially years ago, so it wouldn't be a ton of work. Now I'm dreaming about a Discworld/Steampunk themed school year...*swoon*. My ds used America the Beautiful from Notgrass for 7th, and will probably do a year of world history in 9th, so I need something a little different for 8th. For my oldest dd's 8th grade year, we did a year long study of dystopian literature, including novels and short stories. My ds needs more intensive work on vocabularly development though. I don't think he could handle some of the stuff my girls have read in 8th. He was a delayed reader and though he's totally caught up now, it still shows a bit in his vocabulary. For science, we're a family of Makers. I've thought about just planning out a years' worth of projects, with specific goals in mind, as his science curriculum. Hmm. I could make that work with a year long Steampunk themed plan... I agree Discworld books, especially the Moist series, would go really well with a Steampunk unit(ending in "Raising Steam" of course). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HollyDay Posted May 26, 2014 Share Posted May 26, 2014 We opted to do World Geography in 8th to set the stage for World History in 9th. I really wanted a solid understanding of geography and cultures before we tackled high school history. I chose a high school level program. You could do Physical Science for 8th. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SkateLeft Posted May 26, 2014 Share Posted May 26, 2014 I just found this! "Steampunk Gears, Gadgets and Gizmos: A Maker's Guide to Creating Modern Artifacts" by Thomas Willeford. Might be a good option for science! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EndOfOrdinary Posted May 27, 2014 Share Posted May 27, 2014 Backyard Ballistics and the Art of the Catapult are pretty wonderful books. Not only do they work for a bit of high interest history, they combine history and science which are a bit harder to integrate. They are also really good ways to involve dad's in the whole homeschooling thing. Dh thought that building an 8 foot catapult was about the greatest homeschool project ever!If he likes mythology, you can listen to the audio books of the Iliad and the Odyssey on YouTube. We combined these with the Classical Mythology, Iliad, and Odyssey Great Courses by Elizabeth VanDiver. Then added in The Metropolitan Museum of Art's Making Objects Speak. We just Googled the objects from the audio lectures and viewed them while he listened. It was really quite neat. They directly talk about scenes from the Iliad, Odyssey, and Aeneid then show you artifacts which depict the scenes. My mythology loving kid thought it was an interesting history/literature course this year. For eight grade you might want to beef up the history a bit and just do an ancients course. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
momto2Cs Posted May 28, 2014 Author Share Posted May 28, 2014 Okay, now I want a Steampunk themed curriculum. If I had the time and energy, I would totally try to put together something that incorporates science, literature and history with a Steampunk theme! I really like Foxbridgeacademy's advice. I need to think about that some more too! I'm in the same boat as the OP. I've got a handle on math and English for my 8th grader, but I haven't decided on science, history and literature yet. I have "The Science of Discworld" books that my girls read years ago, and I thought about pulling those out and fleshing them out as a full year science course. I did that partially years ago, so it wouldn't be a ton of work. Now I'm dreaming about a Discworld/Steampunk themed school year...*swoon*. My ds used America the Beautiful from Notgrass for 7th, and will probably do a year of world history in 9th, so I need something a little different for 8th. For my oldest dd's 8th grade year, we did a year long study of dystopian literature, including novels and short stories. My ds needs more intensive work on vocabularly development though. I don't think he could handle some of the stuff my girls have read in 8th. He was a delayed reader and though he's totally caught up now, it still shows a bit in his vocabulary. For science, we're a family of Makers. I've thought about just planning out a years' worth of projects, with specific goals in mind, as his science curriculum. Hmm. I could make that work with a year long Steampunk themed plan... Can you tell me more about the bolded please? Pretty please? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SkateLeft Posted May 28, 2014 Share Posted May 28, 2014 . Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
momto2Cs Posted May 28, 2014 Author Share Posted May 28, 2014 Okay, here's what I am thinking... Math: AoPs Prealgebra Language Arts: A Brave Writer approach/writing across the curriculum (I have lots of "tools" to help with this) Science (and some history): The Science of Discworld, with supplemental resources tbd (at least the first two books, will have to preview the others) History: Biographies, documentaries Literature: A mixture of sci-fi, fantasy, dystopian lit, and a little Steampunk (gearing up for Roots of Steampunk Literature for ninth grade)... exact titles to be determined, though I think Jules Verne will be on the list, along with HG Wells, maybe 1984, The Giver, the "Moist" Discworld books, etc. He does a lot of free reading too, and I'll recommend things like The City of Ember, etc., but won't require them. Hands-on: The Art of Catapults; Mini Weapons of Mass Destruction; The Art of Tinkering; Steampunk Gear, Gadgets & Gizmos Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EndOfOrdinary Posted May 28, 2014 Share Posted May 28, 2014 Keep an eye on him with1984. Great book, but I have known more than a few kids to get very, very depressed while reading. It does notate any kind of happy ending or break in the tension all the way to the end. If it is too much, stop the book. There are so many references to this book and media twisting of current events by alluding to the book that you should definitely try and have him read it. Anthem by Ayn Rand is another one if 1984 proves to be soule crushing. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
momto2Cs Posted May 28, 2014 Author Share Posted May 28, 2014 Keep an eye on him with1984. Great book, but I have known more than a few kids to get very, very depressed while reading. It does notate any kind of happy ending or break in the tension all the way to the end. If it is too much, stop the book. There are so many references to this book and media twisting of current events by alluding to the book that you should definitely try and have him read it. Anthem by Ayn Rand is another one if 1984 proves to be soule crushing. Thank you. Maybe we should wait on 1984... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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