8th Grade Family Guide to Iowa Academic Standards

This guide helps families understand the Iowa Academic Standards and shows what students will learn by the end of eighth grade. Published by the Iowa Department of Education, December 2025.

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English/Language Arts

To prepare for bigger challenges in high school, students this year must grapple with major works of fiction and nonfiction that extend across cultures and centuries. As they work to understand precisely what an author or speaker is saying, students also must learn to question an author or speaker's assumptions and assess the accuracy of the claims. They also must be able to report findings from their own research and analysis of sources in a clear manner.

What Will My Student Learn?

In connection to the standards:

• Students will ask and answer questions about stories and texts read independently and summarize what happened; analyze how a text makes connections or distinctions between ideas, characters, or events; and cite specific evidence to show how they know.
• Students will determine or clarify the meaning of unknown words, synonyms, antonyms and figures of speech (irony, puns) based on how they are used in context.
• Students will make and justify a claim or argument in writing or discussion, supporting claims with precise and relevant evidence from credible sources.
• Students will show something new they have learned from a text or about a topic. This can be in any form — speaking and conversation, letters, journals, stories, diagrams, reports, or essays — and should include sufficient additional detail that fits the form they have chosen.
• Students will write in response to text, including an introduction and thesis statement; examples that are linked, logically ordered and grouped; a conclusion; and mostly accurate spelling, capitalization and punctuation.

In the classroom:

• Your student will analyze where materials about the same topic disagree on matters of fact, interpretation or point of view.
• Your student will learn how authors support their ideas through word choice, sentence and paragraph structure and other methods.
• Your student will build writing around strong central ideas or points of view; support the ideas with sound reasoning and evidence, precise word choices, smooth transitions and different sentence structures.
• Your student will analyze the purpose of information presented in diverse media (e.g., print, TV, web) and evaluate its social, political or commercial motives.
• Your student will use strong, active verbs to create a clear picture for the reader (e.g., walk, skip, meander, lurch, limp).
• Your student will interpret figures of speech (e.g., irony, puns) and develop a large vocabulary of general academic words and phrases.

How Can I Help at Home?

• Make time in everyone's busy schedule for family discussions about things happening around the world. Weekends can be a chance for everyone to catch up.
• Visit the campus of a local college with your teen. Begin talking about college early. What does he or she expect from college? What high school courses will your student need to pass to prepare for college?
• Keep books and magazines around the house that your student will enjoy reading and learning from.

Questions for My Student

• Tell me about the plot development of the book you are reading.
• What is the claim, evidence, and reasoning the writer has given for that opinion or information?
• Show me how you are reading this text closely in order to use the most important evidence for your answers.
• What is a word that is similar to the word you just used that might expand upon or more clearly state what you are saying?
• What is the meaning of this idiom, pun, or other figure of speech?
• What are you writing about in school? Consider ideas to help your student improve the writing with stronger word choice, organization, transitions, and sentence structure.

Questions for the Teacher

• How would you prefer me to respond if my student is struggling in class?
• What are the most important and complex ideas my student needs to understand by the end of the year?
• What one thing should I help my student improve and work on?
• Is there technology you'd recommend that can help support my student's learning?
• How is my student succeeding with communicating in class while speaking or writing? How can I offer support?

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Mathematics

Eighth grade is a pivotal year in mathematics, as students deepen their understanding of algebraic thinking and begin exploring more advanced concepts such as linear equations, functions and geometry. This year builds the foundation for success in high school mathematics, including Algebra and Geometry. Your support and encouragement at home are key to helping your student feel confident and capable in these new challenges.

What Will My Student Learn?

In connection to the standards:

• Linear Equations and Systems: Solving linear equations and systems of equations with multiple methods, such as graphing, substitution and elimination.
• Functions: Understanding functions as relationships between inputs and outputs and interpreting graphs.
• The Number System: Working with irrational numbers and approximating square roots.
• Geometry: Understanding congruence and similarity through transformations, solving problems involving the Pythagorean Theorem and working with volume of cylinders, cones and spheres.
• Statistics and Probability: Analyzing scatter plots, interpreting patterns of association and using data to make predictions.

In the classroom:

• Solving multi-step equations and understanding how they represent real-world situations.
• Exploring linear relationships and graphing them to make connections between equations and visual representations.
• Investigating geometric transformations, such as rotations, translations, reflections and dilations.
• Applying the Pythagorean Theorem to solve real-world and mathematical problems.
• Analyzing and interpreting data to understand trends and make predictions.

How Can I Help at Home?

• Encourage your student to explain how they solved math problems and share their thinking.
• Use everyday scenarios, like budgeting or comparing rates, to reinforce concepts of linear equations and systems.
• Explore geometric concepts through hands-on activities, like measuring objects or drawing transformations.
• Discuss examples of data and trends in news articles or sports statistics to connect math to real life.
• Practice estimating and approximating square roots together to reinforce their understanding of irrational numbers.

Questions for My Student

• What kinds of problems are you solving with linear equations?
• Can you explain a function you worked with in class today?
• What have you learned about transformations in geometry?
• How does the Pythagorean Theorem help solve problems?
• What kind of data or graphs have you been analyzing in class?

Questions for the Teacher

• How is my student doing with solving equations and understanding functions?
• What are the most important skills they need to master for high school math?
• Are there specific tools or activities to help them with geometry or statistics?
• How can I support their problem-solving skills and confidence in math?

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Science

The Iowa Academic Standards for Science empower teachers to provide all students in eighth grade with engaging science instruction that emphasizes data analysis and interpretation, critical thinking, problem solving and interdisciplinary connections — all while maintaining high expectations for academic achievement.

The science standards work in harmony with English/Language Arts and mathematics standards, allowing classroom instruction to better reflect real-world problem-solving, which often draws on multiple disciplines.

During the late elementary and middle school years, many students begin to form preferences and interests that shape their educational paths. More than any other stage, these formative years are critical for determining whether a student will pursue an interest in STEM. A strong foundation in science education, paired with encouragement from parents, can help students develop a sense of themselves as scientific thinkers — curious, analytical and capable problem-solvers.

What Will My Student Learn?

The Iowa Academic Standards for Science are set in a grade-specific sequence that integrates all of the science disciplines into every year. In order for students to fully make sense of phenomena, they often need to draw on ideas from chemistry, biology and earth science all at once.

Each year, students are expected to show increased ability to connect knowledge across the physical sciences, life sciences, Earth and space sciences and engineering design. In eighth grade, your student will continue developing these connections by exploring concepts and skills such as understanding relationships between objects, planning and conducting investigations and constructing explanations.

How Can I Help at Home?

Parents play a vital role in supporting their student's science learning at home. The standards emphasize three-dimensional learning, which integrates disciplinary core ideas (what scientists know), science and engineering practices (what scientists do) and crosscutting concepts (how scientists think). At home, parents can nurture curiosity by encouraging students to ask questions about the world around them and helping them explore possible answers through observation, discussion and hands-on investigation. Everyday activities — like cooking, gardening, fixing things, or observing weather patterns — can be opportunities to engage in these practices in meaningful, relevant ways.

Sensemaking is another key element of effective science learning, and parents can support it by prompting their students to explain their thinking, connect new ideas to their prior knowledge and revise their understanding as they gather more evidence. Rather than giving immediate answers, parents can ask open-ended questions like, "What do you think is happening here?" or "What makes you say that?"

Questions for My Student

• How do atoms combine, interact and transform to create the world around us and what evidence can we observe to make sense of these microscopic processes?
• How are the traits of a species passed along within a population due to their environment?
• How do our choices in creating and using materials affect our planet's health and what evidence-based solutions can we develop to balance human needs with environmental sustainability?

Questions for the Teacher

• What kinds of phenomena is my student going to be making sense of this year?
• How is my student going to be engaging with the practices of science?