How to read this page
Manitoba publishes its curriculum as long official documents written for teachers. This page is the same content, translated for the fridge door: each subject below shows this year's units and the skills inside them. If a skill sounds unfamiliar, that's the point — now you know what to ask about at dinner.
Mathematics this year
Math builds in layers, and this year's layer matters — each unit below leans on the ones before it. In Manitoba, that's Mathematics, Grade 8 — 4 units, 20 skills.
See the full Mathematics, Grade 8 curriculum, with the ministry's own wording →
English Language Arts this year
Reading, writing, and speaking skills deepen this year — less "can they read it," more "what do they make of it." In Manitoba, that's English Language Arts, Grade 8 — 4 units, 47 skills.
Explore and Discover Language and Literacy
- Listening critically to the ideas of others
- Interacting to exchange and consider ideas
- Using the rules and structures of oral language
Comprehend and Respond to Multimodal Texts
- Activating prior knowledge to understand new text
- Engaging with a variety of multimodal texts
- Reviewing information and filling gaps
Compose and Create Multimodal Texts
- Generating ideas and focusing a topic
- Gathering and assessing information from sources
- Planning text creation with strategies and tools
Communicate Ideas and Build New Understandings
- Adjusting tone, volume and expression for delivery
- Reflecting on effective learning strategies
- Setting learning goals and planning steps
See the full English Language Arts, Grade 8 curriculum, with the ministry's own wording →
Science this year
Science gets more structured this year — real investigations, real explanations, real vocabulary. In Manitoba, that's Science, Grade 8 — 5 units, 70 skills.
Cells and Systems
- Use appropriate vocabulary related to their investigations of cells
- Identify and compare major structures in plants and animal
- Describe why cells and tissues are specialized in multicellular
Optics
- Use appropriate vocabulary related to their investigations of optics.
- Explain how the human eye detects colour, and how
- Conduct experiments to determine the law of reflection
Fluids
- Use appropriate vocabulary related to their investigations of fluids.
- Plan and conduct experiments to determine factors that affect
- Recognize that pressure is the relationship between force and area
Water Systems
- Use appropriate vocabulary related to their investigations of water
- Describe how the heat capacity of large bodies of water and the movement of ocean currents
- Describe how wave action and ice movement in large
See the full Science, Grade 8 curriculum, with the ministry's own wording →
French this year
French builds through listening, speaking, and simple reading — confidence first, grammar second. In Manitoba, that's Core French, Grade 8 — 4 units, 20 skills.
Oral Communication
- Understanding messages and following multi-step directions
- Introducing yourself and describing with detail
See the full Core French, Grade 8 curriculum, with the ministry's own wording →
Three ways parents use this list
Common questions
What does my child learn in Grade 8 in Manitoba?
Manitoba's official curriculum sets out Mathematics, English Language Arts, Science, Social Studies, French for Grade 8 — 218 specific skills in total. The big themes: Mathematics covers number and patterns and relations; English Language Arts covers explore and discover language and literacy and comprehend and respond to multimodal texts; Science covers scientific skills and inquiry and cells and systems. The full list is on this page.
Is this the official Manitoba curriculum?
It's built from Manitoba's official program of studies, reorganized into plain language — and each subject links to a course page that quotes the ministry's own wording and links to the government source, so you can check our work. One honest caveat: we're not the ministry, curricula do change, and we can't guarantee this reflects the very latest revision, so confirm anything important against the live provincial curriculum data.
My child is finding one of these skills hard. What can I do?
That's normal — every skill on this page is one most kids wobble on at first. MapleMind teaches any of them one-on-one: a short lesson in plain words, a worked example, then solving together. It's free to start, on any device, in 14 languages.
Keep exploring
Knowing the list is half the job
The other half is the teaching — and that's what MapleMind does. Pick any skill on this page and see it taught properly, free, in under a minute.
MapleMind isn't affiliated with any ministry of education. We build these guides from each province's official program of studies and refresh them from time to time — but curricula change, and we can't guarantee this page reflects the very latest revision. Always confirm against the live provincial curriculum data. Last updated 2026-08-15.
Social Studies this year
Social studies widens the lens this year — history, geography, and how communities and governments work. In Manitoba, that's Social Studies, Grade 8 — 5 units, 61 skills.
Understanding Societies Past and Present
- The concept of world view
+ 10 more skills in this unit →Early Societies of Mesopotamia, Egypt, or the Indus Valley
- Landforms, water, and population of the early society
+ 8 more skills in this unit →Ancient Societies of Greece and Rome
- Social organization of ancient Greece
- The expansion of the Roman Empire
+ 13 more skills in this unit →Transition to the Modern World (Circa 500 to 1400)
- The fall of the Western Roman Empire
+ 14 more skills in this unit →Shaping the Modern World (Circa 1400 to 1850)
- The Renaissance
+ 10 more skills in this unit →See the full Social Studies, Grade 8 curriculum, with the ministry's own wording →