Unit 1: Expansion and Reform 1801-1861
Grade Level: 8
Duration of Lesson: First 9wks
Essential Questions
English
What is the purpose of citing
authors?
What is gained from working with
peers?
How do interactions of people,
events, and ideas in a text
influence individuals or events?
History
How did expansion and reform
effect the United States?
Math
How do I write rational numbers
as decimals, fractions, and
percents?
How do I estimate and compare
irrational numbers?
How can I develop and use the
properties of integer exponents?
How do I evaluate square roots
and cube roots?
How can I use scientific notation
to express very large and very
small numbers?
How can I add, subtract, multiply,
and divide using scientific
notation?
How do I represent a function
with a table or graph?
How do I recognize if a function is
Science
Unit 1 Strand 1 Nature of
Science & Strand 3 Physical
Science
Characteristics and Process of
Science.
Matter Properties and Change
Essential Questions
1. What is the
atomic theory?
2. What are the
characteristics of a
scientific theory?
3. What is the structure of
an atom?
4. What is the periodic
table of elements?
5. Why do scientists use the
model of the atom?
6. What are magnetic
fields?
7. What are the basic types
of circuit?
8. What is the difference
between series and
linear or non-linear from points,
tables, and equations?
How do I derive the slopeintercept form of a line from two
points? A table? A graph? A
verbal description?
Focus
MLA format
Research
English
Anchor Text
Across the Wide and Lonesome
Prairie
History
Territorial expansion, regional
tensions prior to the Civil War,
public policies, laws addressing
slavery
Math
Rewriting Rational Numbers in
different forms
Estimating Irrational Numbers
Use integer exponents with
rational numbers
Rewrite numbers from standard
form into scientific notation and
from scientific notion into
standard form
Add, subtract, multiply, and divide
using scientific notation to solve
problems
Using a rule create a function
table
Interpret the equation y = mx + b
as defining a linear function
Determine from points or a table
if a linear function is being
parallel circuits?
9. What are waves?
10. What are the two main
kinds of waves?
11. Why do we see different
colors?
Science
Energy waves, Light, Scientific
Theory ,Circuits, Empirical
Evidence, Experimental Design
displayed
Unit 2: The World at War
Grade Level: 8
Duration of Lesson: Second 9wks
Essential Questions
English
What is the purpose of the
argumentative format?
How do particular lines of
dialogue or incidents in a story
propel the action, reveal aspects
of a character or provoke a
decision?
History
What were the social,
economic, and political effects
of the American Civil War and
Reconstruction on the
development of the United
States of America?
How did the development of
the industrial United States and
the economic and cultural
transformation lead to modern
America?
Math
How do you graph a linear
function?
How do you find a rate of change
or slope?
How do I use tables, graphs, and
equations to compare functions?
How can I show that the slope of
a line is the same between any
two points on a line?
How can I describe a relationship
given a graph and sketch a graph
from a given description?
How can I solve equations by
combining like terms and
multiplying expressions?
How do I find the number of
solutions to given equations?
Science
Unit 1 Strand 1 Nature of Science
Strand 2 Life Science
Essential Questions
1. What is the hierarchy of
life?
2. What are the
characteristics of single
celled and multi-celled
organisms?
3. What are the two basic
types of cells?
4. What is a dichotomous
key?
5. What are key events in
our understanding of
genes and inheritance?
6. Which careers involve
understanding about
genes and inheritance?
How can I give examples of
equations with a given number of
solutions?
How can I solve a system of
equations by graphing?
How can I solve a system of
equations with graphing?
Algebraically/substitution?
Elimination?
Focus
English
Argumentative process paper
Argumentative Text
Chasing Lincoln’s Killer
The World at Her Finger Tips
History
Civil War; Effects of the Civil wareconomy, politics, social;
Industrial revolution;
immigration; labor conflicts;
American expansion
Math
Linear Equations in the form of
y=mx + b
Slope
Y-intercept
Input/output tables
Rate of Change
Comparison of rates of changes
from equations, tables, graphs
Proportional Equations/Linear
Equations
Solve equations with one
variable/how many solutions does
the answer reveal
Science
Cells, Scientific Data, Genetic
Traits, Natural Selection, Punnett
Square
Solve systems of equations/what
does the solution reveal
Unit 3: Natives to the Natural State
Grade Level: 8
Duration of Lesson: Third 9wks
Essential Questions
English
What is the purpose of an
informative paper?
How does fiction draw on
previous works?
History
Math
What factors contributed to the
settlement of Arkansas?
What can I conclude about
parallel lines cut by a transversal?
What impact did the Civil War
have on Arkansas?
What can I conclude about the
measure of the angles of a
triangle?
How can I determine that two
triangles are similar?
How can I solve problems using
formulas for volume?
How can I prove the Pythagorean
Theorem and its converse?
How can I use the Pythagorean
Theorem to solve real-world
problems?
Science
Unit 3 Strand 1 Nature of Science
& Strand 4 Earth and Space
Science
Essential Questions
1. What are the main types
of landforms?
2. What topography map
and why is it useful?
3. What do we mean by the
term weathering?
4. How do weathering and
erosion affect the
oceans?
5. What are the landforms in
Arkansas and how were
they formed?
Focus
English
Informative process paper
Anchor Text
Arkansas in Ink
History
Settlement of Arkansas, Indians in
Arkansas, Civil War in Arkansas
Math
Angle relationships between
parallel lines cut by a transversal
Proving the sum of interior angles
with angle relationship
Determine interior/exterior
angles of triangles
Write and solve equations to find
missing angle measures
Similar Triangles
Area/Volume (cube roots=side
length of a cube) (square
root=side length of a square)
Pythagorean Theorem
Science
Global patterns, Earth’s external
forces, Topographic
Unit 4: Turbulent Times
Grade Level: 8
Duration of Lesson: 9 Fourth weeks
Essential Questions
English
What is the purpose of the
narrative format?
How do works of fiction draw on
previous works?
History
Math
What impact did the
development of manufacturing
and industry have on
Arkansas?
How can I use coordinates to
describe the result of a
translation, reflection, or
rotation?
How did the economic and
social consequences of the
Great Depression affect
Arkansas?
How can you use coordinates to
describe the result of dilation?
What changes resulted from
the Civil Rights Movement in
Arkansas?
What are the properties of a
figure preserved under a
translation, reflection, and
rotation?
What is the connection between
transformations and figures that
have the same size and shape?
How can you construct and
interpret scatter plots?
How can I use trend lines to make
a prediction from a scatter plot?
How can I construct and interpret
a two-way table?
Science
Unit 3 Strand 1 Nature of Science
& Strand 4 Earth and Space
Science
Essential Questions
1. What is a galaxy?
2. Where does our solar
system fit into the Milky
Way?
3. How does gravity affect
celestial bodies?
4. What is crustal
deformation and what are
its effects?
Focus
English
Narrative Process Paper
Anchor Text
The Lions of Little Rock
History
Manufacturing in Arkansas, The
Great Depression, Civil Rights
Movement
Translations
Math
Reflections
Rotations
Dilations
Scatter Plots
Line of Best Fit
Science
Galaxy, Gravitational Force,
Geologic Laws