Grade 8 Math: how to help at home
What your child learns in Grade 8 math in the Alberta Curriculum, and simple things to try at home.
The Big Ideas this year
- Number: develop number sense, with perfect squares, square roots, percents, ratios and rates, and operations on fractions and integers
- Patterns and Relations: graph and analyze linear relations, and solve linear equations
- Shape and Space: use the Pythagorean theorem, nets, surface area, volume and views, and describe congruence
- Statistics and Probability: critique how data is shown, and use probability to solve problems with independent events
Easy ways to practise math at home
- Look for fractions, decimals and percentages in sale signs, sports statistics and recipes.
- Ask your child to explain a problem to you as if you were the student.
- Estimate first (the bill, the trip time), then check with a calculator.
- Keep a tricky-problems list and revisit it every few days instead of re-doing everything.
What each unit covers
Squares & Square Roots
Finding squares and square roots of whole numbers, spotting perfect squares, and estimating the square root of other numbers by placing it between two whole numbers.
Percents & GST
Percents of all sizes, including 0.5% and 150%, moving between fractions, decimals and percents, adding the 5% GST (Alberta has no provincial sales tax), and why two percent changes in a row do not simply add.
Ratios, Rates & Proportions
Simplifying ratios, finding missing terms in equivalent ratios, comparing unit prices, working with speed, scaling recipes and map distances, and turning a part of a whole into a percent.
Fraction Operations
Adding and subtracting fractions with unlike denominators, multiplying and dividing fractions, switching between mixed numbers and improper fractions, and finding a fraction of an amount.
Integer Operations
Multiplying and dividing positive and negative integers, adding and subtracting them, working with the order of operations, and solving real-life problems such as temperature changes.
Tables, Graphs & Linear Relations
Using an equation like y = 3x + 2 to build a table of values, find a missing x or y, and describe how the variables change together.
Equations with Brackets
Solving one-variable equations, including ones with brackets and negative numbers, checking by substitution, and spotting a common mistake with the distributive property.
Pythagorean Theorem
Finding a missing side of a right triangle, checking whether a triangle is a right triangle, and using the theorem for ladders and diagonals.
Nets & Views
Matching flat nets to prisms and cylinders, working out what the parts of a net measure, and picturing an object from above, the front and the side.
Surface Area & Volume
Finding surface area and volume of boxes, cubes, triangular prisms and cylinders, working backwards to a missing dimension, linking cm³ to millilitres, and recognizing nets and views of 3D objects.
Congruent Shapes
Recognizing congruent shapes, matching corresponding sides and angles, and finding the coordinates of a point after a slide, flip or turn.
Reading Graphs Critically
Choosing the best graph for a set of data and noticing when a graph or survey could mislead: a squeezed scale, a biased sample or a loaded question.
Independent Events
Finding the chance that two separate events both happen, such as a coin toss and a die roll, by multiplying their probabilities.
What the report card levels look like at home
- Beginning
- Just getting started with this idea. Short, regular practice with lots of support helps most.
- Approaching
- Understands parts of it and is building confidence. Keep practising the tricky parts.
- Meeting
- Has it! Mixed review now and then keeps it strong.
- Exceeding
- Applies it confidently, even in new or harder situations. Try challenge mode and real-life problems.
Your child’s teacher decides the level on the report card. Read the Alberta report card guide.
Common questions
How can I help my Grade 8 child with math?
Look for fractions, decimals and percentages in sale signs, sports statistics and recipes. Ask your child to explain a problem to you as if you were the student. Keep sessions short, about 10 to 15 minutes, and stop on a success.
What does my child learn in Grade 8 math in Alberta?
The Alberta Curriculum Grade 8 math units include squares & square roots, percents & gst, ratios, rates & proportions, fraction operations, integer operations, tables, graphs & linear relations.
Free printable Grade 8 math practice sheet
Questions from every unit, with an answer key.