Waldorf Grade 8

by Jamie York, Mich Follari, and Randy Evans

An inspirational and easy-to-use resource book for teachers of Grades 4-12 who want to add interest and engagement to maths lessons. 

Are you looking for a new math challenge for your students?

Do you need a resource of ideas that will give your students the opportunity to experience the thrill of mathematics?

And, what about providing a good puzzle or game that will give everyone the understanding of true problem-solving?

Randy Evans, Mick Follari and Jamie York have combined their knowledge and skills to create a puzzle and game book that is a perfect reference for the math classroom and for middle school and high school teachers everywhere.

The Purpose of This Book

This book is intended as a resource for math teachers in grades four through twelve, in part, to supplement the normal classroom material, such as Our Making Math Meaningful^™ middle school and high school workbooks.

There may be times when things seem to get dull and the students begin to lose their spark.  It is then that the teacher knows it is time to do something different.  This book provides ideas for that “something different.”

What Makes This Book Unique?

There are many math puzzle books available today.  However, it can be daunting for a teacher (especially a teacher in the lower grades for whom math is not a specialty) to pick up a math puzzle book that consists of a couple hundred puzzles, and find a good one that would work well for tomorrow’s math class.

This book is specifically geared toward the teacher who needs to find an excellent puzzle or game for tomorrow’s math class.  We have tried to limit the number of puzzles and games to just a few excellent ones.  We have categorized the puzzles according to grade level.

More about this book:

• It is intended that all puzzles listed under the middle school years ought to be solved without the use of algebra. Several of the high school puzzles use some algebra.
• Any puzzle may also be used for grades older than what it is listed for.
• Solutions to every puzzle appears at the end of the book.
• The intention in this book is to have just a few excellent games for the teacher to choose from.
• Math Magic Tricks. These great attention-grabbers help to develop a sense of wonder for numbers. They are especially effective in grades 5-7, but can also be used in the higher grades as an interesting algebra exercise to show why a given math magic trick works.
• Classroom Activities. This is a modest collection of activities that could possibly turn out to be the highlight of the year for a math class.

READ THE REVIEW IN WALDORF TODAY! by clicking HERE.

Barb, a parent, writes: If you want to make math interesting to students (they say 4th through high school, it is a great resource for anyone wanting to make math more interesting).
This book has (all segmented by grade) puzzles, games, math magic tricks, classroom activities (and of course solutions for the over 200 puzzles, games etc.
Why this book? The authors have collected very good puzzles for each grade, with the intent to provide students with the experience of a mathematical thrill, NOT just memorizing rote procedures.

Want to bring your math classes alive? sprinkle in some of these teasers… Having watched how author Jamie York creates stories and challenges for his students, it makes me wish I had teachers as interesting and engaging as this.
Bust the myths of “math is hard” and “Math is not interesting” with the puzzles in this book!!

Jamie York math is suited to Waldorf education but is known for being rigorous, and is used by homeschoolers and classroom teachers across curricula and pedagogy.

Softcover, 174 pages. 

5.5 x 8.5"

3rd Edition Published by Jamie York Press.

Printed in the Unites States.

by Jamie York

This book is both a curriculum guide for middle school math and a source book for great ideas that enrich any teacher’s math lessons.

Included in this Source Book for Middle School Math:

• • A math curriculum guideline for grades 6-8.
  • An essential resource for use with our grades 6-8 workbooks.
  • Contains explanations of all concepts found in the workbooks.
  • Ideas for all of the Waldorf math “main lessons” in grades 6-8.
  • Includes an 11-page Introduction for the Teacher.

Who can use this book?  Most of the author’s teaching experience is within the Waldorf school system.  Yet this source book can be effectively used by any teacher or homeschooling parent who wishes to teach meaningful, age-appropriate math.  The explanations in this book are also useful for parents (or tutors) who are helping their children in a math class that uses the curriculum laid out in this book.

Why this curriculum?  When I started teaching at a Waldorf school, I was surprised to find that there were no textbooks.  I was expected to create my own materials.  This newfound freedom was both exciting and daunting.  I proceeded to research what was happening at other Waldorf schools regarding math curriculum.  I spent a great deal of time creating my own worksheets.  My original question (“What should I teach?”) was soon transformed into, “What topics would best help in developing the thinking and imagination of my middle school students?”

This book is intended to share with others what I have discovered and developed during this journey.

While most of the material is not overly difficult, much of it is foreign, even for math majors.  In writing this book, I have assumed that the reader may be weak in math.  I hope that with some effort, even the most difficult topic is understandable.

A teacher’s guide for middle school math, including:

The challenge of teaching math today
Practical advice and thoughts on teaching math
How can we ensure that our students are prepared for high school and beyond?

6th Grade topics:   Fractions   •   decimals   •   percents   •   mental math and math tricks
divisibility   •   casting out nines   •   exponents and roots   •   prime factorization
converting repeating decimals to fractions   •   and more.

7th Grade topics:  The metric system   •   percents   •   rates   •   ratios   •   irrational numbers   •   the square root algorithm   •   basic geometry   •   and more.

8th Grade topics:  Pythagorean Theorem, exponential growth, proportions, area and volume, dimensional analysis (unit conversions), basic algebra skills, and more.

Detailed explanations of main lessons and less well-known topics, including:

Business math   •   The golden ratio   •   Number bases
Exchange rates   •   The Fibonacci sequence   •   Binary and ASCII code
Mental math & math tricks   •   Gauss’s summation formula   •   Computer algorithms
Converting repeating decimals   •   Angle theorems & proofs   •   Archimedes’ ratio
Geometric drawing   •   The four ratios of π   •   Platonic solids
Euclidean constructions   •   The square root algorithm
…and much more!

You should also consider signing up for…
Our Grade-Specific Online Workshop: The Art of Teaching 6^th Grade Math
Our Grade-Specific Online Workshop: The Art of Teaching 7^th Grade Math
Our Grade-Specific Online Workshop: The Art of Teaching 8^th Grade Math

Teachers’ Reviews of: A Source Book for Teaching Middle School Math:

I’ve been teaching many grade levels K-8 over the last ten years in mainstream education (five in Waldorf education) and have had my hands on many math curricula that were adequate in teaching the basic concepts in the different mathematical strands. But I always found that the programs were lacking in creating lasting understanding, enthusiasm and confidence with numbers.  I began working with Making Math Meaningful in my fifth grade classroom at Madrone Trail Public Waldorf school in Oregon, and my students and I became so interested in what they might find out about how numbers worked!  This carried into the junior high years, where many student who don’t have a natural affinity for numbers often become discouraged and uninterested in math. Through daily practice with the Making Math Meaningful’s workbooks, my students developed an amazing fluency and knack for the nature of numbers.  !00% of the my students have met their math benchmarks for our state in 6th and 7th grade. This is only one measure of the efficacy of a math program. Through using this curriculum, my students are more creative in their problem solving and critical thinking, have cultivated good work habits and have come to find that each of them are able to learn the magic of mathematics. Most importantly perhaps, all of my students, regardless of ability, have come face to face with math problems that have challenged them to work and rework until a solution is found, and it is this skill that has helped prepare a group of 8th graders who will begin high school with a strong knowledge of self. They have developed a set of characteristics that will help them push forward when they’re in doubt and start working through an issue that seems to have no solution in sight.  Jamie York has managed to prepare a math curriculum that supports the development of the whole child.  It can be used by main stream public educators as well as in the Waldorf middle school math classroom, and it has become the must-have element of our school’s very successful math program.
— Alyssum Barber, Madrone Trail Waldorf Charter School, OR, USA

I am just completing my third Waldorf class teaching cycle and have used the Making Math Meaningful curriculum guides and workbooks for this cycle. My present eighth graders have mathematical thinking skills and basic arithmetic skills that surpass my former two classes. The grades six, seven, eight workbooks are challenging for me as a class teacher and definitely for my students, but it is a delight to experience the students’ enthusiasm when they “get it” with a new concept or remember a solution method from a previous year. I taught using more main stream math textbooks in my previous classes and, while my students went on to be solid high school and college math students, they did not show the level of creative and confident mathematical problem solving that my present class has. As an experienced Waldorf math teacher, Jamie York shows a deep understanding of when and how to introduce age-appropriate material and leads the teacher through the introduction of the pedagogical basis of each theme. He avoids the possible over-emphasis on teaching students math procedural skills and encourages teaching slowly and thoroughly so that students deeply absorb the material. And by helping a math or class teacher show how math is a fascinating, creative, yet quite achievable endeavor, Mr. York has helped me develop students who are on the path to becoming imaginative, analytical thinkers in high school.
— Nancy Pierce, Portland, OR, USA

I’m a 6th Grade Teacher and my students worked with your workbook this year, and I took many inspirations from your Middle School Curriculum Guide. I just wanted to let you know what a fabulous, positive experience it was. I think I found myself in that “difficult middle school spot” that teachers can get into. Parents wonder if what the class teacher offers is “enough” and how they will ever “learn” to use worksheets and such. My students have always been enthusiastic mathematicians. They loved working with the book, which we completed and are reviewing now during the past few weeks of school. I’m looking forward to using your workbooks for 7th grade as well.
— Claudia Thomas, Richmond, VA, USA

Softcover, 192 pages.  11 x 8.5".

Published by Jamie York Press.

Printed in the United States.

by Jamie York

This Teacher’s Edition of the workbook contains a year’s worth of practice problems, exercises, and mathematical adventures for 8th grade, including:

The 8th Grade Student’s Workbook
Answer Key
Selected Worked-Out Solutions
“To The Teacher” – a section offering advice for teaching 8th grade math

View sample pages from this book in PDF Format.

You should also purchase A Source Book for Teaching Middle School Math
(by Jamie York).  This is an essential resource for teachers using our workbooks.

Softcover, 103 pages.

8.5 x 11 inches.

Printed in the United States.

by Louis Sachar

Winner of the Newberry Medal and the National Book Award

This groundbreaking classic is now available in a special anniversary edition with bonus content. Winner of the Newbery Medal as well as the National Book Award, HOLES is a New York Times bestseller and one of the strongest-selling middle-grade books to ever hit shelves!

Stanley Yelnats is under a curse.  A curse that began with his no-good-dirty-rotten-pig-stealing-great-great-grandfather and has since followed generations of Yelnatses.  Now Stanley has been unjustly sent to a boys’ detention center, Camp Green Lake, where the boys build character by spending all day, every day digging holes exactly five feet wide and five feet deep.  There is no lake at Camp Green Lake.  But there are an awful lot of holes.

It doesn’t take long for Stanley to realize there’s more than character improvement going on at Camp Green Lake.  The boys are digging holes because the warden is looking for something.  But what could be buried under a dried-up lake?  Stanley tries to dig up the truth in this inventive and darkly humorous tale of crime and punishment — and redemption.

Special anniversary edition bonus content includes: A New Note From the Author!; “Ten Things You May Not Know About HOLES” by Louis Sachar; an excerpt from Small Steps, the follow-up to Holes, as well as an excerpt from Louis Sachar’s new middle-grade novel, Fuzzy Mud.and more!

Recommended for readers ages 10 years and up.

Softcover, 288 pages.

Published by Yearling in the United States.

"A smart jigsaw puzzle of a novel."   - The New York Times 

A New York Public Library's 100 Great Children's Books 100 Years Selection

"A dazzling blend of social commentary, tall tale and magic realism."-Publishers Weekly, Starred Review

"There is no question, kids will love Holes."-SLJ, Starred Review

"[A] rugged, engrossing adventure."-Kirkus Reviews

"This delightfully clever story is well-crafted and thought-provoking."-VOYA

"[Sachar] comes fully, brilliantly into his own voice. This is a can't-put-it-down read."-The Bulletin

#1 New York Times Bestseller

by Jules Verne; translated by Anthony Bonner.

With an introduction by Ray Bradbury.

An American frigate, tracking down a ship-sinking monster, faces not a living creature but an incredible invention -- a fantastic submarine commanded by the mysterious Captain Nemo.  Suddenly a devastating explosion leaves just three survivors, who find themselves prisoners inside Nemo's death ship on an underwater odyssey around the world from the pearl-laden waters of Ceylon to the icy dangers of the South Pole . . .as Captain Nemo, one of the greatest villians ever created, takes his revenge on all society.

More than a marvelously thrilling drama, this classic novel, written in 1870, foretells with uncanny accuracy the inventions and advanced technology of the twentieth century and has become a literary stepping-stone for generations of science fiction writers.

Recommended for young adventurers 9 years and older.

Softcover, 448 pages.

Printed by Bantam Books in the United States.

About the Author:

Jules Verne was born in France in 1828 and died in 1905. His collaboration with the publisher Pierre-Jules Hetzel was wildly successful, producing many brilliant novels in the burgeoning genre of science fiction: 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea, Journey to the Center of the Earth, and Around the World in 80 Days, among others. Verne is the second most translated author in the world, after Agatha Christie and before Shakespeare.

by Sarah Everett

Publishers Weekly Best Book

Governor General’s Literary Award

School Library Journal Best Book

Texas Lone Star Reading List

Michigan Association of State Librarians List

About the Book

A heart-wrenching middle grade debut about Kemi, an aspiring scientist who loves statistics and facts, as she navigates grief and loss at a moment when life as she knows it changes forever.

Eleven-year-old Kemi Carter loves scientific facts, specifically probability. It's how she understands the world and her place in it. Kemi knows her odds of being born were 1 in 5.5 trillion, and that the odds of her having the best family ever were even lower. Yet somehow, Kemi lucked out.

But everything Kemi thought she knew changes when she sees an asteroid hover in the sky, casting a purple haze over her world. Amplus-68 has an 84.7% chance of colliding with earth in four days, and with that collision, Kemi's life as she knows it will end.

But over the course of the four days, even facts don't feel true to Kemi anymore. The new town she moved to that was supposed to be “better for her family" isn't very welcoming. And Amplus-68 is taking over her life, but others are still going to school and eating at their favorite diner like nothing has changed. Is Kemi the only one who feels like the world is ending?

With the days numbered, Kemi decides to put together a time capsule that will capture her family's truth: how creative her mother is, how inquisitive her little sister can be, and how much Kemi's whole world revolves around her father. But no time capsule can change the truth behind all of it, that Kemi must face the most inevitable and hardest part of life: saying goodbye.

Hardcover, 336 pages.

Harper Collins.

Critical Praise

“Kemi’s astute voice resonates with a deep love and loyalty for her family, rendering her insistence in honoring them and subsequent narrative reveals as heartrending, hopeful, and palpably felt." — Publishers Weekly (starred review)

“This realistically drawn, gut-wrenching novel will stick with readers long after they’ve finished reading. A powerful exploration of grief.” — Kirkus Reviews (starred review)

“Thought-provoking and utterly unique, this is an impactful book that deserves a place in all middle grade classrooms and libraries.” — School Library Journal (starred review)

“One of the best books I have read this year (maybe ever).” — Colby Sharp, Nerdy Book Club

"My heart hurt as I raced through the last chapters of this unique book that shines a light on family, friends, grief and love." — Lisa Yee, author of Maizy Chen's Last Chance

“An empathetic, unflinching portrayal of childhood bereavement, this gut-punch of a story brings familiar themes from Everett’s YA works to a younger readership." — Booklist

"Sarah Everett writes with captivating grace, even as she navigates difficult topics and probabilities. This book is a love letter to big-hearted, curious-minded kids everywhere. An instant classic.” — Christine Day, award winning author of I Can Make This Promise

Hardcover, 336 pages.

Clarion Books.

by Laurence Yep

Newbery Honor Book Dragonwings by Lawrence Yep takes readers on an adventure-filled journey across the world. 

Inspired by the story of a Chinese immigrant who created a flying machine in 1909, Dragonwings touches on the struggles and dreams of Chinese immigrants navigating opportunity and prejudice in San Francisco.

Moon Shadow only knows two things about his father, Windrider: he lives in San Francisco and used to craft beautiful kites.

One day shortly after his eighth birthday, Cousin Hand Clap arrives with a letter from Windrider asking Moon Shadow to join him in San Francisco. When Moon Rider arrives in America he learns that his father makes a living doing laundry and dreams of building a flying machine just like the Wright Brothers. But making this fantastical dream a reality proves to be no easy task, as intolerance, poverty, and even an earthquake stand in their way.

Recomended for readers 10-14 years (Grades 5-9).

Softcover, 336 pages.

Harper Collins.  Printed in the United States.

The publisher, Harper Collins, has a Teacher's Guide to accompany the book at their website here.

ALA Notable Children’s Book

New York Public Library Books for the Teen Age

Lewis Carroll Shelf Award

Phoenix Award (Children’s Literature Association)

IRA/CBC Children's Choice

Library of Congress Children’s Books

Carter G. Woodson Book Award

New York Times Outstanding Book

Notable Children's Trade Book in the Field of Social Studies (NCSS/CBC)

Boston Globe–Horn Book Award Honor Book

Newbery Honor Book

Jane Addams Book Award Honor Book

School Library Journal Best Book

International Reading Association Children's Book Award

Horn Book Fanfare

by Cornelia Meigs

Barred from his family home-stead by his mean-spirited uncle, eighteen-year-old Chris weathers a Minnesota winter in a small cabin with his grandfather.  Poverty and the tempting stories of a wandering Easterner convince Chris to harvest the trees on his grandfather's land and float the logs down the spring floodwaters of the Mississippi to the lumber mills in Saint Louis.  Filled with stories of raft hands and river pilots, this fast-paced novel has all the momentum of the great Mississippi.

Recommended for young readers ages 10 years and up.  Perhaps ideal for 12 - 14 years of age.

A Newbury Honor book.

Softcover, 288 pages.

Bloomsbury Publishing.

by Elizabeth Foreman Lewis

When Young Fu arrives with his mother in bustling 1920s Chungking, all he has seen of the world is the rural farming village where he has grown up.  He knows nothing of city life.  But the city, with its wonders and dangers, fascinates the 13-year-old boy, and he sets out to make the best of what it has to offer him.

First published in 1932, Young Fu of the Upper Yangtze was one of the earliest Newbery Medal winners.  Although China has changed since that time, Young Fu's experiences are universal: making friends, making mistakes, and making one's way in the world.

Recommended for young readers ages 10-14 years of age.

Softcover, 320 pages.

Published by Square Fish, an imprint of Macmillan.

Printed in the United States.

“It is a story full of adventure that I believe you will enjoy as much as I did. Young Fu won the Newbery Medal, not only because it was historically and culturally accurate, but because it was and is a really good read.” —Katherine Paterson, Newbery Award-winning author of Bridge to Terabithia and Jacob Have I Loved