2014 9th Grade Math

Teacher: Tim Kahl Phone: 641-990-6487 Email: kahlt1@central.edu

Course Description
This course is designed as the first math course for a high school student. This school follows an integrated curriculum, so this course includes some algebra, geometry, and statistics. This course will prepare the students for future classes and hopefully teach students to take pride and enjoy their work. This class will be focused on giving the students experiences to remember what they learn. Most class periods will involve some small group work and/or discovery activities. Students will be expected to take responsibility for their learning and participate in all activities in order to succeed in this class. As a teacher, I also realize it is important help the students see why math is important. We will use real-life situations to model many of our problems, so students should be prepared to apply their learning beyond memorizing the steps to solve problems.

Essential Learnings
Essential learnings for this course will be displayed in the classroom during each unit. Some sample learning targets are: Students will: (Unit 5- Expressions and Equations) write and simplify variable expressions substitute variable in to solve one-step equations solve and graph inequalities (Unit 7- Area, Surface Area, Volume) find the area of triangles, special quadrilaterals, and polygons find the surface area of rectangular and triangular prisms find the volume of rectangular prisms solve real world problems

Required Materials

All students will need a calculator, compass, and a ruler. These will be supplied by the school and available in the classroom. Textbooks will be supplied and need to be brought to class every day. In addition, students will need to bring a notebook for notes and a folder or binder to store all homework, tests, and handouts.

Class Rules
Our classroom will be a place where everyone feels comfortable sharing and learning as a group. With this in mind, any behavior that puts someone down, compares people, or is disrespectful will not be tolerated. Keep in mind that you should treat others as you hope to be treated. Anytime during class that you need my attention, please raise your hand. You need to ask to leave the room whether it is for the bathroom, nurse, or some other reason. It is expected that students dont abuse this privilege otherwise we will need to discuss a new routine for leaving the classroom. You may move around the classroom to sharpen pencils and get supplies as needed provided that you dont disrupt the class. Attendance is expected to every class. If you have an excused absence, please talk to me beforehand if possible. If not, when you get back to class you need to ask me what you missed. It will be expected that you get any notes from a classmate and that all assignments are made up within two days of your return to class. In addition, if you have internet access at home you can look at the assignments on the class website under the assignment tab. If you have an unexcused absence, bell work missed will not be given credit and any homework that is overdue will receive late penalties.

Class Procedures
When you enter the classroom you will be expected to sit in your assigned table group. You should get out the necessary materials (textbook, notebook, pencil, homework, etc.) and begin working on the bell work displayed on the board at the front of the room. Group work will be a big part of most lessons. Groups will be expected to stay on task and speak quietly about the tasks they are assigned. Discussion between groups should not be necessary. Daily assignments will be passed to the front during bell work at the beginning of class. Any assessment checks at the end of the period should be placed in the appropriately labeled basket on my desk. Note: Breaking the rules and procedures will not be tolerated. Any inappropriate behavior will be dealt with at my discretion according to the severity and recurrences. This behavior could include disrupting the class, disrespecting a classmate or myself, swearing, refusal to listen to directions, and breaking any rule or procedure. In all cases students will need to have a conversation with me and in severe cases or recurrences, consequences could include detention or talking with the principal.

Participation
Participation will be a portion of your final grade. As long as you participate fully in class, you will receive full credit. This includes completing bell work, participating in discussion, volunteering answers, and being on time and present to class. However, unexcused absences, disrespectful behavior, sleeping, texting, and not participating in class can contribute to a lower participation grade.

Assignments
Assignments will be given every 1-2 days depending on how many class periods it takes to complete a section. Just as in sports, in math practice is important. Each assignment should take about a half hour outside of class to finish. It is important that you commit to doing all of your assignments because repetition will help you cement your learnings. Also, homework will be a strong basis for quiz and test questions. Each assignment will be worth 10 points. 4 points will be for completion; do every problem completely to get all 4 points. If you are stuck and unable to talk to me before the due date, arriving at an answer with understandable work counts as completion. The remaining 6 points will be distributed between key problems; I will check the answer and the work to get the answer so partial credit is possible. I wont allow late homework to be turned in unless you talk to me about a complication beforehand. However, your 3 lowest homework scores will be discarded at the end of the semester.

Project
There will be one project during the semester. The goal will be to improve your math literacy while also working in collaboration, practicing presentation skills, and making math relevant to real life. Research will also be involved. The project will be a process with due dates along the way before the final due date.

Quizzes
Quizzes will be announced and you should expect one or two in the middle of most chapters, for a total of about 10 quizzes. Homework from the applicable sections will be your best study material. Each quiz will be worth 20 points and will not take up a whole class period. At the end of the semester your 2 lowest quiz scores will also be dropped. Quizzes missed due to unexcused absences will be scored 20% lower and will not be able to be dropped.

Tests
Tests will be the best way to assess how you are doing in this class. Expect a test at the end of every chapter. Once again, applicable quizzes and homework will be your best study material. As tests are the largest portion of your grade, it is important that you prepare adequately for them. Tests will be worth 50 points each.

Grading Policy

The following grading scale will be used: 93% A 90% A 87% B+ 83% B 80% B 77% C+ 73% C 70% C 67% D+ 63% D 60% D< 60% F

Points Breakdown
Total points will be weighted in the following way: HomeworkProjectQuizzesTestsParticipation20% 10% 20% 40% 10%

Commitment
By distributing this syllabus, I have committed to conducting myself and this class in the manner described above; most importantly to create a comfortable, respectful learning environment. However, I hope that if I fail to do this you will talk to me. I will always be open to discussing your concerns outside of class time. Similarly, I expect you to commit to following this syllabus. Please sign and have a parent sign in order to acknowledge we are on the same page _________________________ Print your name _________________________ Sign your name __________________________ Print parents name __________________________ Sign parents name