MillennialChild.com

The Waldorf School Curriculum

Grade 8

CDs about this grade                  

     Eighth Grade Main Lesson Blocks 2004/2005

      Eugene Schwartz, class teacher

THE EIGHTH GRADE CURRICULUM 

            The theme of Eighth Grade may be summed up as “Polarities.” Virtually everything that we studied is approached from two perspectives, or, at the very least, leads the student to see for him or herself that there may be two good answers for any one problem, two sides to any one issue. This year, as we study quadratic equations, we will learn that even a math problem may have two completely different and perfectly correct answers. I can’t imagine a better grade in which to experience a Presidential election (in fact, every time that I have taught eighth grade it has been in a Presidential election year).  

            This emphasis on duality arises as the curriculum tries to meet, nourish, and (perhaps) balance the powerful polarizing forces of the eighth grader’s astral body. As I’ve mentioned in parent evenings that we’ve had in grades six and seven, it is the nature of the astral body to manifest in paired opposites: sympathy and antipathy, joy and sorrow, love and hate, good and evil, etc. Even the  muscles that the students are developing this year (and studying in their Anatomy block), with their remarkable capacity to support a broad range of movements, are themselves reflections of the astral body – and therefore are capable of only two movements, contraction and relaxation. 

            Whether we are exploring the complexities of history from Reformation to Revolution, or spiraling in from infinity to the point in Geometry, plumbing the mysteries of how opposites attract in magnetism, or what “positive” and “negative” implies in electricity, or observing how Africans and Asians respond to the differing environments of the desert and the river, the theme of polarities and balance will be of central importance. 

Geometry 

            The study of “Geometry in Art and Nature” will be our first block this year.  We will explore the spiral and the Golden Proportion to understand the geometrical principles that underlie natural forms as diverse as the chambered nautilus and the galaxy, as well as some of the greatest paintings and works of architecture that have been developed through the ages.  Our work will include the drawing of spirals with instruments and freehand, and the study of some of the basic mathematical principles, such as the Fibonacci Series of numbers, that generate spiral forms. 

            Week One:  Construction of the Logarithmic Spiral as the mediator between the circle and the straight line.  Spirals in art and nature. 

            Week Two:  The Golden Rectangle and the Golden Proportion.  1.618 or f (phi), a ratio which underlies organic growth in plants, animals and the human being.  The Logarithmic Spiral as it develops within the Golden Rectangle.  Sketching of natural objects out of the spiral. 

            Week Three:  Construction of the Pentagon based on both the circle and the Golden Rectangle.  The Fibonacci Series (1,1,2,3,5,8,13,21,34...); it’s relationship to phi, to the spiral and to the pentagon and the pentagram.  Natural forms based on the pentagon. 

            Extra Main Lesson periods will provide the time to study the elements of Euclidean Geometry.  Basic axioms, theorems and proofs will be learned, to provide a basis for logical thinking. Later in the year, we will use these periods to explore Solid Geometry. This will lead us to the “Platonic Solids” that students will model in clay, thus extending their understanding of geometry into three dimensions. 

History 

            A basic tenet underlying the teaching of History in the Waldorf curriculum is that the period studied should serve as an “objective correlative” to the developmental changes occurring in the body and the soul of the student.  With the advent of adolescence, eighth graders are undergoing a re-formation of the bodies and a transformation of their souls.  As they experience the sometimes tumultuous clash of forces within and without, it is appropriate for us to study the periods of European history demarcated as “the Reformation” and the “Age of Revolution.”  Although the periods of time we will study are much shorter than the broad spans measured by Ancient History or the Middle Ages, the complexity of issues that are raised and the intensity of the lives of those who made that history will make for a very rich experience.  As in other years, students will write compositions based on classroom discussions and recreate paintings and other art works of the respective periods in order to penetrate the essence of the times that we will study. 

Part One:  The Reformation 

            We ended our seventh grade study of the Renaissance by noting that the remarkable transmutation of crumbling Rome into the most artistically crafted city in Europe was due to the vision and largesse of Pope Julius and his successor, the “Humanist Pope”, Leo X.  I concluded our seventh grade history studies with the question, “Where did Julius and Leo get the wealth to patronize such artists as Raphael and Michelangelo?” The answer to that question will lead us to explore one of the most powerful schisms to erupt in European history.  We will encounter the use of “Indulgences” as a source of income for the sixteenth-century Catholic Church and the chain of events that led to the rise of Martin Luther, the “Father of the Reformation.”  We will see that the Reformation was not only played out in the arena of religion, but had its equivalents in the arts and sciences as well.  We will look back at the lives of Albrecht Dürer, Nikolaus Copernicus, Johannes Kepler and Galileo to understand the profound changes occurring in human thought at this time. 

            Our scene will then shift to England.  After examining the multifarious early history of the British Isles, we will turn to the sixteenth century, and examine the colorful (with an emphasis on blood-red) reign of King Henry VIII.  The conflict of northern, Catholic England and southern, Protestant England will be witnessed in the rivalry of Queen Elizabeth and Mary Stuart, as well as in the political skirmishes and military conflicts of England and Spain.  In the midst of this dramatic age stands William Shakespeare, whom we shall study and one of whose plays we will perform in the spring. 

            Week One:  The life and times of Martin Luther 

            Week Two:  Copernicus, Galileo and Kepler; the conflict of science and religion 

            Week Three:  Henry VIII and Sir Thomas More.  Mary Stuart and Queen Elizabeth.  England and Spain; the Armada.  William Shakespeare and the Globe Theatre.  The Sonnets and the Plays. 

Part Two: The Age of Revolution 

            Our study of the life of France’s King Louis XIV will introduce us to a man who single-handedly developed and embodied the modern notion of “kingliness” and turned the French Court into an on-going theatrical event.  We will begin with the uncertainties and dangers of Louis’ boyhood, and trace the manner in which he centralized his power and neutralized his enemies, even as he invested himself with glory as the “Sun King..” Within a century, his great-grandson Louis XVII was to lose it all to the fires of the French Revolution.  We will examine the fateful decisions made by the Assembly, the “Tennis Court Oath”: and the Declaration of the Rights of Man as the French Revolution shook Europe to its very foundations.  As the Reign of Terror turns the Revolution against itself, we will trace the career of the humble Corsican officer who was to gain even greater glory than Louis XIV -- Napoleon Bonaparte.  Along the way, we will encounter some of the personalities who left their mark on those stormy times, among them Mozart and Goethe, Marat and Danton, Marie Antoinette and Lavoisier.   

            We will return to England to witness another revolution which, though achieved without warfare, has been no less determinative for the modern world than the American and French Revolutions.  Our study of the industrial revolution will begin with James Watt’s invention of an improved steam engine.  We will examine how much was to follow this pivotal invention; the urbanization of British society, the rise of slums and childhood mortality, and the spiritual battle of many Romantic artists with what William Blake called “the dark Satanic mills” that were to define the English landscape.  We will try to understand how such modern problems as pollution, homelessness, outsourcing, and occupational hazards - as well as the current technological and political solutions proposed to solve them -- have their roots in the industrial revolution. 

            Week One:  The life of Louis XIV of France.  The Court at Versailles.  The life of the French nobility; the peasantry and the people of Paris.   

            Week Two:  Louis XVII and the French Revolution.  The storming of the Bastille. The Reign of Terror.  Danton and Robespierre.   

            Week Three: The rise of Napoleon.  Napoleon’s strategies and triumphs.  The French Empire.  Napoleon’s decline and death. 

            Week Four:  The Industrial Revolution: James Watt and the steam engine.  Inventions and their effects on human life.  The factory system; city life and child labor in the late eighteenth century.  The Luddites and labor laws.  The Romantic poets and painters. 

Part Three: American History 

            In a departure from the usual main lesson block approach to this subject, I will work dedicate one extra main lesson a week to the study of American History and Current Events. The events building up to the Presidential election will afford us opportunities to look at the structure of our government and the procedures that maintain its continuity. We will also compare the way in which different media cover events like the Presidential campaigns, and we will spend an evening gathered as a class to watch a TV debate. 

            Some of the themes that we will study in this subject include: 

·         Early North American settlements and the Colonies

·         Personalities and events surrounding the Revolutionary War

·         The Westward Expansion

·         The Civil War

·         The rise of cities 

Mathematics 

            We will begin with an intensive review of arithmetic, fractions, decimals, percentages and business math.  Building on our mathematics work in earlier grades, we will explore Number Bases, a branch of mathematics important not only because of its application in computer science, but also because of the mobility it demands of us as we leave our familiar base-10 system.  

We will take another look at exponents, exploring their use in “scientific notation,” and their application in the Exponential Growth Formula, which will allow us to compute compound interest on a bank deposit or loan. 

The study of Algebra that we undertook in seventh grade will lead us factoring polynomials as the basis for understanding quadratic equations, also known as “Second degree equations”, because they involve an unknown quantity that is squared. These are equations with two answers, which is apt in a year in which the polarizing forces of the astral body are so strong. Examples of the type of problems that we will encounter are: 

                                    x²  +  4x  - 10 = 35          (x = -9,  x =+5)

                                     x²    -  7x  -  30 =  0          (x = -3,  x = +10) 

             Math and arithmetic review will also take place throughout the school year. 

            Week One:  Number bases. Ancient number systems. The binary and hexadecimal systems. Computer math.  

            Week Two:  Review of algebra.  Linear equations.  Using graphs to solve equations.  Word problems with algebraic solutions. 

            Week Three:  Review of exponents.  Square Roots. The Exponential Growth Formula. 

            Week Four:  Factoring algebraic statements.  Solving quadratic equations through factoring. Word problems with solutions involving quadratic equations. 

Grammar and Composition 

            Grammar will be taught once a week during an Extra Main Lesson period.  Besides an on-going review of all aspects of grammar, we will work with subordinate (dependent) and independent clauses, which will bring greater texture and variety into the class’s writing.  We will also hone our skills with pronouns, with a special stress on pronouns as subjects and objects and the proper use of indefinite pronouns.  Another area that we will emphasize will be that of verbals - infinitives, participles and gerunds. 

            My experience has taught me that once eighth graders have learned about the human skeleton, their interest in grammar, i.e. the “skeletal system of language” is greatly enhanced.  Since every main lesson block includes writing assignments, the students have many opportunities to practice what they have learned in grammar, and which grammatical issues arise is that of conversations.  English major that I am, I am upset at the sloppy speech, monosyllabic slang and primitive grammar that has such a hold on teenagers’ speech.  I am grateful that almost everyone in our class can turn their slang off and speak properly in class - though they feel compelled to revert to Teenspeak when addressing their friends.  The error I still must correct most often is the use of “me” instead of “I’ as in “Me and him went to a cool store...”  Your support in also correcting your youngster’s spoken grammatical errors is greatly appreciated! 

Human Anatomy 

            In this block we will study the human muscular system, the human skeletal system and two sensory organs, the eye and the ear.  At this age, many eighth graders are going through a period of intense growth and hardening of the long bones, so it is a good time to become awake to the complexity and efficiency of the skeletal system.  The skeleton will be studied as an “art work” in which form and function are united in a remarkable way; the interplay of the straight line and the curve, which occupied so much in our geometry block, will now appear again as the underlying dynamic in the form of the bones.  Some “comparative osteology” may help us to recognize the uniqueness of human uprightness. 

            Our studies in myology will lead us to the complex interweaving of the muscles with tendons, ligaments and jointed bones.  The sprains and bruises, tears and occasional breaks suffered by many an adolescent athlete may be better understood through our study of this system, which also looks back to the various classes of levers that we studied in seventh grade Mechanics. 

            The eye and the ear will be studied as organs whose opposite structures and roles are nonetheless harmonized within the human being.  We will examine the short, but eventful journey that must be taken by light and darkness and sound and silence before they are recognized as “sense impressions.”  We will come to understand the delicacy and refinement of these sense organs and the effect that movies, television, the Walkman, and other electronic devices may have on our sensory perception. 

            Week One:  The human skeleton.  The curve and straight line, the “sphere” and the “column” as basic principles of form in our bones.  Bone growth, damage and healing.  The functions of the bones and their interplay.  Comparisons between some animal and human bones. 

            Week Two:  The human muscular system.  Muscles and blood; different types of muscles.  Tendons and ligaments.  Joints and different types of “levers” in human movement. 

            Week Three:  The human eye, its form and function.  The human ear and the nature of sound.  Blindness and deafness. 

Organic Chemistry 

            Out study of acids and bases in seventh grade Chemistry proved to be one of the year’s most popular blocks, and this year’s study should also prove interesting to our students. We will be looking in depth at a subject that they never stop thinking about – food – and we will build not only on last year’s chemistry studies but also on our exploration of digestion in seventh grade Human Physiology. The central role of “body chemistry” is an obvious fact in adolescence, and this block will help the eighth graders gain a better understanding of themselves. It may also be of help to them in understanding something about the difference between junk food and good food, although I don’t expect that you will see any profound changes in their tastes just yet. 

            Through laboratory demonstrations and classroom discussions we will study the role of carbohydrates, oils, fats and proteins in outer nature and in human nourishment.  We will learn how to use reagents to test for the presence of various substances in foods, and learn something about artificial sweeteners, synthetic flavors, preservatives, hardened oils and processed foods.  We will learn about the distillation of alcohol, and study its relationship to plant sugars and to human blood.  We will try to understand something about the relationship of plant alkaloids to protein, and the role that these chemicals play in contemporary substance abuse. 

            Week One:  Carbohydrates.  The relationship of cellulose, starch and sugar to the root, leaf and flower of the plant.  Sugars and starches in the human being.  The history of sweeteners, from honey to NutraSweet. 

            Week Two:  Sugar and the production of alcohol; the effect of alcohol on the human being.  Plant oils and fat in the animal and human being.  The melting points of various fats and their relationship to animal warmth. 

            Week Three:   Protein in the animal world.  The Egg.  Milk and its relationship to carbohydrates, fats and proteins.  “The Land of Milk and Honey.”  Plant alkaloids and animal protein.  Alkaloids and drugs. 

Physics 

            We will begin with physics demonstrations connected with hydraulics and pneumatics, which will segue into our later study of Meteorology.  We will have some direct experience of a “Cartesian diver”, a pump and the creation of a vacuum through the boiling and cooling of water in a closed container. 

            The next three weeks will be spent in the study of electricity and magnetism.  Although electrical and magnetic phenomena have been observed and accurately described since ancient times, it has only been in the last two hundred years -- beginning at the dawn of the Age of Revolutions -- that such researchers as Franklin, Galvani, Oersted, Faraday, and Edison systematically studied and utilized these powerful and often enigmatic forces. 

            We will study various kinds of electrical phenomena, making the transition from “static” to “current” electricity as we examine the “electric cell” and the battery.  We will witness the creation of a magnetic field through the manipulation of an electrical current, and the creation of electrical currents through magnetic movement -- a pairing of effects that led inexorably to the electric motor and the electrical generator -- the foundations of the intensely technical and high-energy world in which we live today.  The study of an applications such as a thermostat will lead to an appreciation of the ingenuity of thought and complexity of phenomena that go into even the “simplest” technical device. 

            Through our demonstrations and our study of the lives of some of the pioneers in this field we will learn of the powerful transformation of society that has been wrought through the application of electricity and magnetism to human life.  We may the be led to ask: Have the powers of electricity and magnetism proven to be greater than their discoverers envisioned?  Has technology improved the world or do its “side-effects” outweigh its benefits?  Will future generations -- including our own -- find ways to balance the dangers posed by a purely technological approach to our world? 

            I think it appropriate that the eighth grade’s Physics block concludes with challenges, not complacency, and ends with questions rather than answers. 

            Week One:      The behavior of gasses and fluids in relation to heat and pressure.  The Cartesian diver.  A simple pump and simple barometer.  How a vacuum is created in a canning jar.  The steam engine. 

            Week Two:  The Leyden Jar.  From the “electric cell” to the battery.  Phenomena discovered by von Guericke and Franklin.  “Current electricity” and electromagnetism; the work of Oersted and Galvani.  Mary Shelley’s novel. 

            Week Three:  The electric motor and the electromagnet.  The electric bell and the incandescent light. Direct and alternating current.   

Week Four:  Marconi and the crystal radio.  The cathode ray tube; electronics, televisions and computers.  The future of technology . . . . 

Class Play 

            Thanks to the new apportionment of use of the Music Room, we will have more time to rehearse our class play than we have had in earlier grades. Given the considerable theatrical talents of our students and the resourcefulness and energetic support of our parents, I think that we are ready to attempt a play by William Shakespeare. I’ve ruled out Lear and Hamlet, and the name of the comedy that we’ll be performing will be announced shortly. 

Meteorology 

            We will begin this block with the careful observation of clouds over a number of days (and hope that our area doesn’t go through one of its uniformly gray-sky periods at this time) and work with Luke Howard’s approach to the classification of clouds.  We will then learn about the development of the barometer, and Goethe’s ideas about barometric pressure as the foundation for understanding weather.  We will look at cooling and warming trends in the earth’s atmosphere and hydrosphere  that lead to such phenomena as “fronts”, sea breezes and land breezes, and the spiraling thermals utilized by hawks and gliders.  We will study the phenomena of such major storms as hurricanes, tornadoes and waterspouts, and their role as “pressure regulators” in the world’s weather system.  We will also look at how phenomena such as air and water pollution may affect future weather patterns. 

            Week One:      Clouds an the layers of the atmosphere.  The barometer.  Weather and moods.  Diurnal and nocturnal temperatures; their effect on the movement of air and water.  

            Week Two:     “Fronts” and air currents across the earth; reading a weather map.  Winds and storms.  The effect of human activity on the weather. 

World Geography 

            It seems fitting that our final main lesson block of the Lower School years is one that expands the students’ vision to the whole world. If one of the effects of globalization is the rapid homogenizing of diverse world cultures, then it is essential for young people to understand and appreciate the unique contributions made by diverse cultures throughout the world. I hope that the “cultural geographic” approach that is inherent in the way we teach this subject will serve our students well in the future.   

The way in which maps influence our perceptions of the world will be our starting point in this block.  We will look at maps from the purely “qualitative” Cross of the World map of medieval times to the recent “quantitative” Peters Projection, which projects continents according to their actual area (a simple, but revelatory change).   

We will then focus on the continents of Africa and Asia.  Africa will be explored through journeys on three great rivers - the Niger, the Nile and the Congo, to come to know the people s clustered around these waterways. A study of the intimate relationship of the Bushmen of the Kalahari will complete our African studies. 

            Our study of Asia will concentrate on China and Japan.  The remarkable stability and dynastic continuity of these lands will be contrasted with the ceaseless changes that exemplifies European history.  After tracing the major geographic features of the Chinese land mass and the Japanese archipelago, we will examine the great religious and philosophical streams of Buddhism, Taoism, Confucianism, and Shintoism.   

            We will conclude this Geography block with the study of Russia.  The powerful polarities that are evident throughout the Russian landscape will also be brought to the fore as we study the biographies of Czar Peter the Great and Leo Tolstoy. 

Week One:      Cartography.  African Geography and Culture. 

Week Two:     Asian Geography and Culture. 

Week Three:   Geography and culture of Russia. 

            “Life is short,” said Goethe, “And Art is long.”  Every Waldorf teacher would echo these words -- so much to teach, and so little time!  Eighth grade is an intense and rich year, and I look forward to sharing its wealth with your youngsters.

     It is impossible to enter Eighth Grade without being infected with the spirit of polarization and feeling both nostalgia and anticipation in equal measure. Before she or he takes the big leap forward in high school, your child will often turn back with a look of longing towards the experiences of the younger grades, and, at times, a sense of loss coupled with uncertainty about the future. As a parent, you may have similar feelings now and then – as your child’s teacher, I know that I will.

             It has been my experience that, the older a child gets, the faster time seems to move with and around them. Although the curriculum described above and the many events listed on the accompanying sheet presage a long, long year, we will all be astonished at how quickly it will pass. Savor it all; never again will this particular group of remarkable young people will in the same space, at the same time, unfolding their unique destinies together.

               Thank you in advance for your support.

                                                               Eugene Schwartz,

   Class Teacher