Download Grade 8 Oral Exam Study Guide

GRADE 8 ORAL EXAM STUDY GUIDE
EIGHTH GRADE LITERATURE/COMPOSITION ORAL EXAM
Literature:
1. Think about our discussion of heroism. Who are the heroes of the books we have
read this semester? Is Bilbo a hero? Scrooge? Beowulf? Annie Sullivan? Be
prepared to support your answers.
2. What motivates Annie Sullivan to help Helen? What motivates Helen to learn?
3. What motivates Scrooge to change—to become more kind-hearted and generous?
What effect do each of the ghosts have on him?
4. Why do Danny and Reuven “choose” one another as friends? What obstacles to
their friendship do they face?
5. Define these words: stanza, alliteration, metaphor, simile, iambic pentameter.
Give an example of each one.
6. Choose one poem and explain
 what particular moment in life does the poem communicate and
 how the poet uses concrete images, adjectives, adverbs and active verbs to
communicate this moment in life
Composition:
1. Define: noun, pronoun, adjective, verb, adverb, proposition, conjunction,
interjection.
2. What is a sentence (define)?
3. What can a prepositional phrase do in a sentence?
4. What is a paragraph (define)?
5. What is a topic sentence?
6. What are supports?
7. Be prepared to identify all parts of the sentence listed in #1, as well as
compounds, complements, and prepositional phrases.
Diagram the following sentences, increasing in difficulty:
 We ate hotdogs and hamburgers at the party.
 The ugly duckling eventually became a beautiful swan.
 Ms. Lawler gave the seventh-grade girls a diagramming test, and they
passed with flying colors.
Grade 8 Oral Exam Study Guide
Page 1
EIGHTH GRADE GEOGRAPHY ORAL EXAM
Tell about the five themes of geography and how it helps you study the world.
List and discuss the five traits of civilization.
Name at least 5 different forms of government and compare and contrast them.
NORTH AMERICA- Please explain the connection between the US and Canada in terms of
trade, culture, government, and economics. Why is NAFTA an important? How does it affect
the US, Canada and Mexico?
SOUTH AMERICA - Describe the main features of South America’s geography. Discuss the
Aztec, Inca, and Mayan civilizations and their significant achievements.
Summarize the Spanish rule in Latin America and its effects on the culture. What was the
Columbian Exchange and what did it do to culture and agriculture?
SOUTH ASIA AND SOUTHWEST ASIA – Explain the physical features and climate of this
area and how it has affected the people who live(d) there.
What is the significance of Mesopotamia, and what developments from that culture have
advanced Western civilization?
AFRICA- How has the history of colonization affected the outcome of Africa today?
How does the physical geography affect the economics, politics, and trade of African countries?
What are some governmental and historical events that have impacted the modern events in
Africa?
EUROPE – Identify the geographic features, climates, and resources of Europe.
Describe how the classical cultures of Greece and Rome continue to influence the world today.
Explain feudalism and the changes brought about by the Renaissance.
Discuss the separation of Western and Eastern Europe. Describe the history of the United
Kingdom and how the British Empire affected the world.
After WWI, Communist governments took control of the countries of Eastern Europe. When did
that change and why? What does “russification” mean and where did it occur?
Discuss the EU and its benefits/disadvantages and membership requirements.
Grade 8 Oral Exam Study Guide
Page 2
EIGHTH GRADE ALGEBRA ORAL EXAM
1. Be prepared to discuss the Algebraic concepts you studied this year.
2. Be prepared to discuss various forms of linear equations and apply them to
mathematically describe linear relationships.
3. Be prepared to solve a system of linear equations and explain your problem solving
process.
4. Be prepared to perform a variety of mathematical operations on polynomials.
5. Be prepared to discuss quadratic equations and the various methods of solving them.
EIGHTH GRADE PHYSICAL SCIENCE ORAL EXAM
1. Discuss the atomic model. What is an atom, element, and molecule?
2. Discuss chemical bonding, including the difference between ionic and covalent bonding and
which elements bond together.
3. Discuss waves. Compare sound and light waves. What are the main characteristics of waves?
4. What is matter and what are its phases? What is the difference between a chemical change
and a physical change?
5. Be prepared to discuss forms of energy and work.
6. Be prepared to discuss simple machines.
7. Explain the difference between a planet and a star. Describe the life cycle of a star and the
characteristics of a black hole.
Grade 8 Oral Exam Study Guide
Page 3
LATIN I ORAL EXAM
Prepare for this exam much like you prepared for your final test of the semester. Review the
following:
1. Listing and explaining all the cases and their grammatical function (e.g. the nominative
case is the subject or translated immediately before the verb, the genitive case is
translated with “of” plus the word’s definition, etc.).
2. Identifying a noun’s declension and a verb’s conjugation.
3. Declining 1st, 2nd, 3rd, 4th, and 5th declension nouns (no neuter nouns)
4. Recognizing and translating infinitives, imperatives, and verbs in the present, imperfect,
perfect, and pluperfect tenses for 1st-4th conjugations as well as the irregular verbs sum,
possum, volo, and nolo.
5. Recognizing and translating present participles.
6. Be prepared for some on-the-spot translation—you may be asked to translate a Latin
sentence out loud.
LATIN II ORAL EXAM
Prepare for this exam much like you prepared for your final test of the semester. Review the
following concepts:
Noun cases and their grammatical function (i.e. the nominative case is the subject, the genitive
case shows possession, etc.)
Declining nouns in all cases (1st-5th declensions, all genders)
Conjugating verbs in the 1st-3rd persons, singular and plural (1st, 2nd, 3rd, 3rd –io, and 4th
conjugations)
Translating and conjugating verbs in the present, imperfect, future, perfect, pluperfect, and future
perfect tenses.
Translating and conjugating verbs in the active and passive voices.
Declining the following relative and demonstrative pronouns:




hic, haec, hoc
ille, illa, illud
is, ea, id
quī, quae, quod
Grade 8 Oral Exam Study Guide
Page 4
Be prepared for some on-the-spot translation—you may be asked to translate a Latin sentence
out loud and/or analyze the parts of the sentence, explaining how you came up with your
translation.
LATIN III ORAL EXAM
Prepare for this exam much like you prepared for your final test of the semester. Review the
following concepts:
Declining 1st-5th declension nouns.
Conjugating 1st-4th conjugation verbs in all tenses in the active and passive voices and in the
indicative and subjunctive moods.
Conjugating sum and possum.
Forming and translating participles from a verb’s principal parts.
Forming and translating infinitives from a verb’s principal parts.
Declining, forming, and translating the positive, comparative, and superlative degrees of regular
and irregular adjectives.
Identifying and translating ablatives of time and personal agent.
Identifying and translating ablative absolutes, passive periphrastics, and indirect statements.
Identifying and translating purpose clauses, result clauses, and jussive subjunctives.
Translating deponent verbs.
Be prepared for some on-the-spot translation—you may be asked to translate a Latin sentence
out loud and/or analyze the parts of the sentence, explaining how you came up with your
translation.
Grade 8 Oral Exam Study Guide
Page 5