This week’s student post is by Jazelle.
Ever wonder what it’s like as an 8th grade history student in California? Well, it’s not always the easiest class you’ll ever take, but there are a few precautions one can take to ensure success in this class. To survive an eighth grade U.S. history class like Mrs. Groves’, one must always take good notes, pay rapt attention, be able to address a topic question, make arguments based on evidence, and finally, study well and hard. First of all, take good notes. Make sure to always highlight key terms and phrases for future studying references. Good notes allow you to contain a lot of information in a more summarized and simple way. Do this by abbreviating and using understandable symbols, and always write a good, thorough summary at the end that addresses any questions in the notes. Second, pay rapt attention to lectures, videos, etc. In a class like 8th grade history, it’s not always about taking notes. Sometimes we don’t take notes. Videos and lectures help elaborate on the topics learned in class. If you pay good attention to these videos and lectures, it can help you to truly understand the material. Third, be able to address a topic question. A good way to learn about topics in a new way, is through document analysis.
In this class, students examine documents and use them to address a question on the overall topic, such as “What were the causes of the Civil War?” Fourth, a stellar eighth grade history student has a keen ability to make arguments based on evidence. As I said before, we use documents to answer a topic question. Being able to pull evidence from these documents to help argue towards your case is a very strong asset. Evidence from documents, along with explanation, is a good way to prove a point.
Fifth, and finally, you must be able to study well and hard. All of these in class and homework assignments are very key in studying for the tests, which are worth majority of the grade. Having well-written notes and things of that sort are great assets that will allow you to perfect the material learned in class in order to prepare for competencies. As you can see, there are many key things one must do in order to be a successful eighth grade history student, but as long as the work is put in, the results will follow.
Would you ever consider stepping into the shoes of an 8th grade U.S. history student in California for a day?
Here’s one way to survive 8th grade history: Always pay attention and get your work done.
That’s a good tip for future 8th graders, Jazz.
Your blog about how to survive Mrs. Groves’ 8th grade history taught us to pay rapt attention and take good notes in her class. But, what does rapt attention mean?
Your blog taught me to always pay attention and pay attention to what Mrs.Groves is saying. What is the most difficult unit that you learned in Mrs. Groves’ class? Thank you for writing this blog.
This blog was very interesting and helpful. I learned that taking good notes is important in Mrs.Groves’s 8th grade class. I also learned to pay good attention to the videos and lectures in her class. Thank you for providing this blog. This will affect me because I am going to be a 8th grader next year.
Thank you for making this guide of 5 ways to survive U.S. history. I learned that you need to take good notes a pay rapt attention to lectures. Thank you again for making this guide and I will use this when I’m in 8th grade history.
Thank you for this lovely post! It’s the same requirements as 7th grade. One fact that I learned that is that you have to pay rapt attention to the class and you have to take good notes. This is going to be great for me to use in 8th grade to get an A in Mrs.Groves class!
I learned that you should take good notes in 8th grade history to study. I also learned that you have to pay good attention to what the teacher is saying. Thank you for sharing this helpful information. Do you think I will survive 8th grade history?
Thank you for this lovely post! I learned many things like having to pay rapt attention and to take good notes. I found interesting that you have to study many hours. This can be really good for me to do really well in 8th grade, and to get an A in Mrs.Groves’ class.
Thank you for posting this article. I loved how you gave tips on the notes and how to pay attention in class. I learned that you have to have evidence and sometimes you don’t even have to take notes. However I would love to know, did this article help you in 8th grade history? Thank you very much again.
Thank you for teaching us how to survive 8th grade history. Students will take the advice as a good thing.
This makes 8th grade seem hard, but know I know that I should pay rapt attention and study well and hard. Thank you for sharing these tips, but I have one question. Shouldn’t these tips be for all classes, not just 8th grade history?
Thank you, Jazelle, for sharing your tips to work efficiently in Mrs. Groves’s 8th Grade History class. I learned that Mrs. Groves’s class is difficult unless you pay rapt attention, take good notes, etc. This will impact my life once it is my turn to take Mrs. Groves’s class in 8th grade. Is learning 8th Grade History more difficult than 7th Grade History?
Thank you for posting about how to survive 8th grade history because I want to do well in 8th grade and not fail. I learned I actually need to pay attention to all the videos Mrs. Groves show us. And I also learned 8th grade history isn’t all about taking notes all the time. I always love to learn how to survive a future grade so I can succeed and move on to high school. But, why do we have to be able to provide evidence for any argument?
Thank you for this very helpful article on how to maintain good grades in 8th grade. Now I know that you have to pay rapt attention in class and have well-written notes. In 8th grade I will definitely look back at this post for advice again.
From this article, I learned that you should pay close attention to lessons and take notes. Thank you for writing this article, I think I’ll be able to survive 8th grade history with this kind of information. Also, shouldn’t this kind of advice apply to 7th grade history too?
Eden, I think you are right. This advice works for 7th graders as well. 🙂
Thanks for this amazing blog! Now I learned some new tips that I can use in 8th grade history. I also learned that when watching the videos you can actually learn a lot from them. How long do you think we should study for history?
I wish the author of this blog post could answer that question, Gabriella, but I think the time one needs to study can vary depending on the student. Some history teachers like to say that even if you have no homework, you should study and review your work for around 20 minutes each evening.
I loved that there were pictures to break up each of the pieces of advice. This article was well written and very informative. I learned that I can go back to past assignments to help study for things that will be on the test. I would love to know, would these tips work for a class outside of California?
Maren, That’s a good question. As a teacher, I feel like good study habits can apply to a variety of subjects and in different places. Do you know any students that study in another state? Maybe you could ask them and let us know.
This blog post is very helpful, and I appreciate it, as an 8th grade student!
I really likes this post and found it to be the most interesting one on the feed. I learned or admired how factual this post is. Stating how much more difficult it’s be if you didn’t pay attention !! However I’m still wondering why it’s targeting only at 8th graders instead of everyone attending social science. .?
This helped me make sure I was doing everything right in your class and that I was learning correctly! The steps were very clear and easy to follow. I learned that I should get better at summarizing my notes and be more prepared for tests and quizzes.