Grade 8
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Language
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Reading: Informational
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Reading: Literature
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Speaking & Listening
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Writing
CCSS ELA Standard: 8.W.7
Conduct short research projects to answer a question (including a self-generated question), drawing on several sources and generating additional related, focused questions that allow for multiple avenues of exploration.
Holiday Worksheets
Writing prompts, non-fiction analysis, and science topics related to Christmas and Hanukkah.
Halloween Worksheets
Crosswords, image analysis, and writing prompts for Halloween!
Who has more power: the Queen Bee or the Hive?
Sometimes power is concentrated in one place. Other times it is spread out.
Power – Blue Whale vs Krill
Sure, a Blue Whale is huge. But does a tiny krill have more power?
Founding The Colonies
13 colonies activities including a word search and task cards packed with facts. Plus, students will create their own colony with a name, story, and map!
Hero or Not A Hero?
Students will determine what makes a hero a hero.
Two Animals Switch Biomes
What if a capybara and a kangaroo rat switched homes? Would their adaptations be helpful at all?
Tournament of Mythological Creatures
Who will win the tournament of mythological creatures!?
Tournament of Not-So-Famous Inventors
Which inventor and invention will win the tournament?
Not Like The Others: Rivers
Four rivers. One doesn’t belong. But which one? That depends on your argument.
Not Like The Others: Cephalopods
Four cephalopods. One doesn’t belong. But which one? That depends on your argument.
Not Like The Others: Flowers
Four flowers. One doesn’t belong. But which one? That depends on your argument.
Not Like The Others: 19th Century Presidents
Four 19th century presidents. One doesn’t belong. But which one? That depends on your argument.
Not Like The Others: 20th Century Presidents – Group B
Four 20th century presidents. One doesn’t belong. But which one? That depends on your argument.
Not Like The Others: 20th Century Presidents – Group A
Four 20th century presidents. One doesn’t belong. But which one? That depends on your argument.
Domesticated Animals Tournament
Which domesticated animal will win the tournament?
Types of Energy Tournament
Which type of energy will win the tournament!?
Natural Disasters Tournament
Earthquake vs. hurricane. Tsunami vs. wildfire. Students set the criteria, argue their case, and crown a champion. Warning: it gets heated.
Van Gogh Self-Portrait Tournament
Who will win the tournament of Van Gogh self-portraits!?
Create A Civ: Capital City
Every great capital is part geography, part human design. Research real ones, then build your own from scratch.
Not Like The Others: African Nations
Four African nations. One doesn’t belong. But which one? That depends on your argument.
Not Like The Others: US National Parks
Four US national parks. One doesn’t belong. But which one? That depends on your argument.
Famous Structures
The Eiffel Tower, the Colosseum, the Sydney Opera House — group them, pick the best from each group, then design your own.
Chess Variant: Monster Chess
What if you had really weak chess pieces, but you could always move twice?
Not Like The Others: Types of Diseases
Four diseases. One doesn’t belong. But which one? That depends on your argument.
Not Like The Others: Birds of the Desert
Four desert birds. One doesn’t belong. But which one? That depends on your argument.
Not Like The Others: Penguins
Four penguins. One doesn’t belong. But which one? That depends on your argument.
Not Like The Others: Microstates of Europe
Four of the tiniest countries in Europe. One doesn’t belong. But which one? That depends on your argument.
Not Like The Others: Microorganisms
Four microorganisms. One doesn’t belong. But which one? That depends on your argument.
Plant Adaptation Tournament
Who will win in a tournament of eight plants with Interesting adaptations!?
Microchess (Chess Variant)
What if we played chess on a board that’s only 4×5?
Tournament: 8 Wonders of the Solar System
Which location is the most wondrous place in the solar system?
Not Like The Others: Ants of the World!
Four ants from around the world. One doesn’t belong. But which one? That depends on your argument.
The 8th Wonder of the World Tournament
Which of these eight wonders deserves to become the Eighth Wonder of the World!?
Exploration Technology Tournament
Which of these pieces of exploration technology is most important? Most underrated? Most long-lasting?
Precipitation Tournament
Eight types of precipitation battle it out in this tournament.
Tournament of Ancient Inventions
Which of these inventions of the ancient world is most influential? Least useful today? Most taken-for-granted?
Animal Adaptation Tournament
Which animal has the most interesting, most valuable, or strangest adaptations?
Habitable Planets and Moons Tournament
Which object in the solar system is most habitable?
Parts of Speech Tournament
Which part of speech is most useful? Interesting? Strange?
Not Like The Others: Types of Volcanoes
Which of these types of volcanoes is not like the others?
Not Like The Others: Types of Rocks
Igneous, sedimentary, metamorphic — and one that doesn’t fit. But which one? Depends on your argument.
Not Like The Others: Snakes of the Rainforest
Four rainforest snakes. One doesn’t belong. But which one? That depends on your argument.
Not Like The Others: Deserts
Which of these deserts is not like the others?
Not Like The Others: Rainforests
Which of these rainforests is not like the others?
Not Like The Others: Stars
How is each of these stars not like the others?
Not Like The Others: US States
How is each of these states not like the others?
Not Like The Others: Mountains
Which of these mountains is not like the others?
Not Like The Others: Birds of the Tropical Rainforest
Which of these four birds is not like the others?
Not Like The Others: Branches of the US Government
How is each part of the United States Government not like the other parts?
Create A Civilization: Currency
What type of currency will your civilization use? What symbols will be on it? Why are they significant?
Create A Civilization: Design A Flag
What makes for a good flag? What makes a bad flag?
Tournament of Presidents
So who was the strangest of these eight presidents?
Looping Grid Art
Pick a few numbers, draw some corresponding lines on grid paper, and you’ll end up with some interesting, looping math-y art!
Ultimate (or Inception) Tic Tac Toe
What if each square on a Tic-Tac-Toe board had another Tic-Tac-Toe board inside of it?
An Escher-Style Tessellation Project
Create a piece of repeating art in the style of MC Escher!
Self Portraits: Pointillism
Turn your students into a bunch of Monets with q-tips and some tempera paint.
Not Like The Others: Natural Disasters
Four natural disasters. One doesn’t belong. But which one? That depends on your argument.
Not Like The Others: States of Matter
How is each of the states of matter not like the others?
Not Like The Others: Countries
How is each of these four countries not like the others?
Generalization: Systems Are Made up of Other Systems
A clock is a system. So is a rainforest. So is your school. Once you see systems inside systems, you can’t unsee it.
Not Like The Others: Creatures of the Tundra
Four tundra creatures. One doesn’t belong. But which one? That depends on your argument.
Not Like The Others: US Presidents
Four US presidents. One doesn’t belong. But which one? That depends on your argument.
Not Like The Others: Planets
Which of these planets is not like others? Well, it sure looks simple at first. But each option could be the one that doesn’t fit in.
The Tournament of Biomes
Want to move beyond memorizing the characteristics of biomes? In this lesson, students work through a Tournament of Biomes, explaining which biome wins in each round (based on criteria you choose). In the end, they crown a 👑 Champion Biome!
Fraction Ordering Tournament
Which set of fractions would be the trickiest to order from least to greatest? Let’s have a tournament!
Upgrade Research Questions With Depth and Complexity
Ever ask students to create research questions? Were their ideas a bit… blah? My own students had a very hard time writing questions they didn’t already know the answer to! This video is how I solved that problem: upgrade research questions with depth and complexity.
Investigating Christmas Trees
Start with facts about Christmas trees. Group them. Label them. Can you boil it all down to one big idea?
Game: Notakto
What if you only played Tic-Tac-Toe with Xs and you could play on multiple boards?
The Resiliency Tournament
Your students will set up a tournament to determine which person or character best demonstrated resiliency.
Create A Civilization: Calendars
Why 12 months? Why 30ish days? Why 7 days in a week? Your civilization could organize a year in any way you want!
Content Imperatives: Contribuition
Pull on one thread and watch the whole topic move. Contribution asks: what single factor is quietly shaping everything else?
Depth and Complexity: ❓ Unanswered Questions
This underutilized tool focuses students on what we don’t yet know and even what we can’t know.
Create A Civilization Introduction
Your students build a civilization from scratch — rivers, flags, calendars, currency, government. Social studies, science, and writing woven into one year-long project.
Creating A Realistic Flower and Pollinator
Your students will create a new flower, designed to attract a specific pollinator.
Create A Creature
Create a new creature based on the adaptations of existing creatures from the same biome.
An App For A Historical Figure
What kind of an app could have helped Abe Lincoln accomplish his goals?
Think Like An Economist
How would an economist read Goldilocks? How would they see a rainforest? How would they study the American Revolution?
Engineering: Build A Bridge
Using real bridges as their starting point, students will construct bridges out of straws and paperclips.