8th Grade

Through discussion and reflection, student will explore the experience of immigrants to the United States , drawing conclusions about their motivations and challenges they may have faced.

Small groups of students will look closely and explore two 19th century portraits, painted only 12 years apart.  They will then compare and contrast the two portraits. The small groups will define criteria that they believe create a good portrait. They will then use these criteria to select the better of the two 19th century portraits and create a persuasive paragraph / presentation in support of their conclusions.

Pairs of students will learn about a female artist, write a 500 to 750 word essay from a list of specified questions, find a representative work by the artist and if possible, a photograph of the artist. Students will also learn how to research the artist. Students will finally participate in creating a timeline of all the female artists, researched by the class. Each pair of students will introduce their artist to the class in a five-minute report.

Use the SOAP method to analyze visual primary sources of the Progressive Era to explain how/why cities changed during the 1890s to the early 1900s and to understand the reform movements that were a direct effect of growing cities.

Students will improve their understanding of unbalanced forces and that Newton's laws predict the motion of most objects. This lesson is intended to supplement and reinforce existing science and physics curriculum for the corresponding reporting clusters for California CST testing. Students will gain an understanding of Bay Area Figuration, Abstract Expressionism, found objects, assemblage, asymmetry, and balance in art.