Algebra Syllabus
Teacher: Beth RackliffeTelephone: (619) 668-5810 ext 1113
Room: 13E-mail:
Class website: msrackliffe.weebly.com (click link to get to current webpage)
Holt website:my.hrw.comuser name______password______
Purpose of this course: Algebra is a full year high school level algebra course. Students at the end of the course will take the Grossmont district algebra final to demonstrate competency in algebra skills.
Student Expectations (based on GLAD philosophy):
1) Be respectful. 2) Make good decisions. 3) Be your own problem solver.
Grading Policy (all grades are available on-line and are updated frequently:
Your grade in this class will be based on the following:
1) Tests (every 3 to 4 weeks) (20pts each)2) Quizzes (one/week) (10 pts each)
3) Chapter Project (one/chapter) (10 pts each)4) HW quizzes (one/wk) (5pts each)
A93-100C+78-79.9F0 – 59.9
A-90-92.9C73-77.9
B+88-89.9C-70-72.9
B83-87.9D+68-69.9
B-80-82.9D60-67.9
HW Quizzes
Individual homework assignments will NOT be collected. Almost every Monday there will be a homework quiz based on previous work (usually the last weeks work). Students may use their homework, workbooks, and notebooks on the quiz. Students are required to show ALL work to receive credit for the answer. Not showing work or providing a justification will result in NO credit for the problem.
If a student does not score an 80% or higher (4 out of 5), points can be made up by turning in ALL of the homework assignment complete WITH work shown before the end of the grading period. Once that is complete, the homework grade will be changed to an 80%. You cannot earn higher than an 80% after the first attempt.
Weekly Quizzes:
Almost every Friday, a quiz will be given on previous work (usually the last weeks work). These questions may come from homework, classwork, textbook, or be new problems to the students. Students will take the quiz without notes, homework, and books. Students must show work or provide justification to receive credit for the problem.
If a student does not score an 80% or higher on the quiz (8 out of 10), he/she can make up the quiz by doing quiz corrections. Quiz corrections will require students to state what was done wrong, where a similar problem or even the problem can be found in the book, and then solve it correctly. A copy of the original quiz must be attached to receive extra points. If students lose or throw out the original quiz, they will not be able to earn any extra points. Corrected quizzes will earn an 80% once ALL problems have been corrected.
Chapter Projects:
A project will be given that correlates with each chapter/standard. Students will be given time in class to work on the projects but may have to do some work at home depending on the complexity of the project and how well they use their class time. These project are meant to demonstrate students understanding of a given standard and will require students to break down the standard into its smaller sub-standards.
Tests:
Every three to four weeks, students will take a test instead of a quiz. The test will cover all of the previous material. Problems may be taken from homework, classwork, old quizzes, practice tests and quizzes. The tests will not necessarily cover one chapter but will cover material that has been covered in the last few weeks. Test cannot be retaken. There will be approximately 2 to 3 tests every quarter. At the end of each quarter, the class will take a cumulative quarter exam. I will use this exam to replace the score of ONE lower test grade. If a student does not do well on a test, he/she should make sure they work on all corrections and then continue to review for the quarterly exam to replace the test score he/she does not like.
GLAD:
We will be using GLAD strategies in this class. Students will be saying math chants, reading math books, and seeing organizational visuals. The strategies of GLAD have been proven to help students acquire academic vocabulary and retain it. Recordings of the chapter chants will be available on the class webpage.
Participation:
While there is not an individual participation grade – participation is strongly encouraged and is linked to citizenship. Students seeking an O in the class should be positive, active participants in class discussions and/or on-line message boards as well as work on all warm-ups and learning logs during class. Tardies to class, having gum/candy/nuisance items, failure to bring required class supplies, or not participating in class activities will result in lower participation.
Absences/Make-up work:
It is the student’s responsibility to make-up all work after an absence. Missed quizzes and tests will be placed in a folder in the class. Students need to be active learners by making sure they complete all work after returning from an absence. Absent work will be counted as missing until it is completed and graded.
Supplies:
Math spiralGraph Paper
PencilPen (for correcting work)
Colored PencilsRuler or protractor
Expo white board marker (for work on individual white boards)
I look forward to a great year.