Dear Students and Parents/Guardians,
Welcome to Algebra I. I look forward to an exciting and challenging year together and to getting to know you! To help us get off to a strong start, I’d like to outline the expectations for the class. Please review this information and return just the signature portion of the letter.
General Expectations: This is a fast paced, exciting class. We have a lot of material to learn in the course of the year. Each student needs to arrive on time and ready to learn. Class participation and group work are an essential part of the class and will be graded along with each student’s individual work.
Materials: We will be using graphing calculators extensively in this class and it will be extremely beneficial to own one. If you are going to purchase one, I recommend the TI 84 or 84 plus. If you already own one, a TI 82 or 83 plus will work. I recognize that this is a major purchase but you will use it for many years to come. They are usually carried at places like Staples, Best Buy and Wal Mart. Ebay is another excellent resource for used calculators. Students have been known to find them there for less than half the retail price. Please make sure you record the serial number and that the calculator is labeled! If purchasing a calculator represents a financial hardship, please let me know.
In addition to a calculator, to help stay organized, each student must have a 1” binder with 5 dividers and a supply of loose-leaf paper. Graph paper, pencils, and a ruler are also important tools! Please check the binder information at the top of the page.
Homework: Homework is essential to learning the material. It’s how you will really understand and practice the concepts we learn in class. Each new lesson builds on the previous concepts and if you do not do the homework, you will not understand the current lesson. Homework needs be ready for class. You should show all of your work and be ready to explain how you got your answers. We will review homework as a group. If you don’t understand a problem, work the problem as far as you can. Check with a friend or go back and look at your notes. Homework will count in your grade; however, its value will be based on the level of effort put into the homework, not its correctness. If you struggle with a particular assignment, plan on correcting it!
Extra Help: You should plan on about 20 minutes of homework each night. If you are spending more than that, you should see me. It’s ok to work with a friend on your homework, or to call someone else in the class if you are stuck. Don’t let one problem stop you from completing an assignment. Do what you can, and move on to the rest.
If you need extra help, please see me and we will arrange a time to go over the material. It’s important that you don’t get behind so let me know if you are not getting the material and we will work together to make sure you do!
Grades: Tests and projects will account for 40% of your grade. Tests will be given at the end of a chapter or unit and will cover all of the material in that unit. Quizzes will be given more frequently and will cover smaller chunks of material. Quizzes can be corrected for half credit to be made up. Your quiz grades will count for 30% of your grade. I will drop your lowest quiz each quarter. We will also work together to organize your binder. I will collect your binder each quarter. This will count as a quiz grade. Homework will count 20% and class participation 10%.
Midterm/Final: Because this is a high school level class, you will be taking a comprehensive midterm and final exam. As we get closer to those exams, we will work together on how to study and prepare. These grades will count in your test average.
Communication: I want to know how it is going!
Sincerely,
Mrs. Edwards
Hi Naomi -
Erik Wolfrum from ESD 101 shared your blog with me today. I’m very impressed. I work in the educational technology department at ESD 101 and I would love to talk to you about what you’ve done. We might have some resources that can assist you. I’d love to talk to you and connect you with our resources as well as other educators who are doing similar work. I’m on vacation for the next week but you can reach me after July 28 at 323-2734. I’ll try to email you as well.
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