Year 8 Subject Content

Spring Term 2018

Subject / Content
Art / This term, pupils will develop a project around identity, looking specifically at Pop Art. They will work with photography, painting, mixed-media collage and ceramics. Pupils will investigate and be inspired by the work of Andy Warhol and Roy Lichtenstein. They will explore the idea of emotion and facial expression and how it can be portrayed in art. They will consider the use of the speech bubble and how it can be used to add additional information to the picture.
Food Preparation and Nutrition / Year 8 pupils will continue designing and making dishes based on the five food groups of the EatWell Guide, illustrating their knowledge of a balanced diet and functions of the five main nutrients. Opportunities will be given to develop their practical skills by making a selection of sweet and savoury dishes. They will also focus on energy requirements for specific persons such as the elderly, teenagers and special dietary requirements e.g. food intolerances, allergies and health issues and learn how to adapt/modify recipes according to these requirements.
DT: Resistant Materials / Pupils will finish the pine box project by writing a production plan and an evaluation. They will build upon their knowledge of plastics theory, and will be taught the difference between thermoplastics and thermosetting plastics. The design and make project will be an acrylic egg cup. Pupils will use the strip heater to line bend part of their egg cups. They will use a hole-saw to make the hole for the egg, and files and wet and dry paper to achieve a high quality finish.
English / This term, the pupils will learn how to write articles. They will look at how to craft attention grabbing headlines and subheadings, how to structure their work using paragraphs, how to adapt their style of writing to suit a particular audience and how to separate fact from opinion. They will also learn how to write reviews of films and books by evaluating their plots and character and balancing constructive criticism with praise.
Geography / This term, Year 8 will study the changing economic make-up of the United Kingdom and will see how globalisation and modern industries have changed the way people work in the United Kingdom. They will also explore the historic and man-made causes of climate change.
History / This term, Year 8 pupils will study the Tudors. They will focus on learning about the social structure of Britain in 1500 and compare it to Britain today. Pupils will study the main events and changes during the reign of the Tudor Dynasty in England in the years 1485-1603. Assessment for this term will be an essay and classroom observation.
Information Communication Technology / In the Spring Term, Year 8 will be introduced to a new software programme used for creating 3D animations. They will then begin to develop their knowledge of Spreadsheets using Microsoft Excel to write formulas.
Maths / This term Year 8 will study the following mathematics topics: Negative numbers, Angles in polygons, Fractions, Algebra-linking coordinates and graphs, Calculating probability, Ratio and finding the Area of basic and compound shapes. Pupils will be required to complete homework assignments weekly and will also be assessed on their understanding by end of topic tests in class.
Performing Arts / During the Spring Term, pupils will be exploring status, as well as personal and social issues through Performing Arts. A mixture of solo, pair, and group work moving from spontaneous improvisation exercises to analysis of duologues from plays, designed to make the concept of ‘status’ explicit. This will provide opportunities for pupils to apply status to improvised work and text, and allow them to explore their perception of their place in the world while making connections beyond their immediate experience. Pupils will then use the musical elements of dynamics and texture to create musical compositions to complement their completed scenes.
Personal, Social & Health Education / This term, Year 8 PSHE topics will include ‘Handling an emergency’, ‘Basic first aid’, ‘Sex and relationship education’ and ‘Personal Safety’. Pupils will also use PSHE lessons to prepare a Form Gathering to present to the school.
Physical Education / This term students will continue to work on Invasion Games. Learning to apply transferrable skills from one game to another. The common themes we will work on are attacking and defending, moving with a ball and moving into space.
Religious Education / This term pupils will finish studying Christianity. They will focus on Christian temples, symbols and festivals such as Easter. After half-term, they will study the life of Muhammad and the main features of Islam. The assessment for the unit on Christianity is an end of topic test and classroom observation. The work on Islam will be assessed through classroom observation and independent tasks.
Science / This term in Science the pupils will study the following topics:
·  Biology: The pupils will learn about plant adaptations and transport in plants. After half term, the pupils will study the human respiratory system and the two types of respiration.
·  Chemistry: The pupils will learn about chemical formulae and equations. After half term, the pupils will learn about physical and chemical changes.
·  Physics: The pupils will learn about different types of wave and the 3 ways that they are measured. Pupils will study the uses and dangers of the 7 waves in the electromagnetic spectrum. They will also discover the possible ways that waves react to hitting a boundary between two materials.
Assessment will be carried out by means of class discussion, written activities and end of unit tests.