Course 1
This page is for the Course 1 section of sixth grade math at HSCS. Check back from time to time to see what's been added or changed. Email me at brookseh@gm.sbac.edu with an questions or comments.
| This week: November 17th - 21st | ||
| Topics Covered | Homework | |
| Monday | Review Greatest Common Factor | study for quiz |
| Tuesday | Quiz: 4.1 - 4.3 | None |
| Wednesday | 4.4: Decimals and Fractions | None |
| Thursday | 4.4: continued | finish workbook page 4-4 |
| Friday | 4.5: Equivalent Fractions | None |
Course Information
Course Textbook
The text we will use for this class is Holt Middle School Math Course 1.
We will skip around the lessons a bit as we proceed through the year.
However, I will let the students know which chapter and section of the book to
use for instruction and practice items in each particular lesson.
The textbook publisher provides an online website for additional support materials. The address is http://go.hrw.com/gopages/ma/msm1_07.html. On this site you will find a full, online version of the textbook as well as additional practice problems and self-check quizzes organized by lesson. I suggest visiting the site often to prepare for class assessments.
Class Components
This class is organized with the following components:
-- Notes: Each lesson taught will be introduced in an interactive lecture-style format. I make an effort to break lessons into small pieces so that lectures are limited to around 20 minutes. During our discussions, I will provide the students with bullet-style key points and problem examples on the material. The students should copy this information into the "Notes" section of their notebooks for reference and review.
-- Exit Quizzes (EQ): These quizzes are are short, 3-5 problem assessments that are given immediately after presenting a new lesson or to review previous concepts. They offer the student a chance to self-check their understanding of the lecture to ensure that they have grasped the major ideas. I will drop the lowest one-third of these grades before calculating the final average to eliminate the need for make-up quizzes.
-- Homework/Classwork: Each lesson will have 1-2 problem sets assigned either as homework or classwork. These activities are designed to reinforce the new material and provide the student another opportunity to self-check their understanding.
-- Vocabulary: A list of vocabulary terms will be provided for each unit of the course. As we cover each lesson, I will provide the students with a definition for each term. Definitions can also be found in the Glossary section at the back of the textbook. It is the student's responsibility to complete the definitions for his/her unit vocabulary. I will check vocabulary for completion before the unit test is given.
-- Quizzes: Longer quizzes are given after several new lessons have been taught. These are announced to the student ahead of time to allow for adequate study and preparation time. They will contain about 10-15 problems and mark a logical break in the material.
-- Tests: Unit tests are given after each major section of the course. A test will cover between 5-10 lessons and contain 20-25 problems. The test day will be announced in advance and a study guide or reference to a review page from the text will be provided. Students should spend a minimum of 1 hour preparing for math tests. Test completion is limited to one class period and is a reflection of adequate preparation.
-- Projects: Class projects will be assigned for approximately one time each 9 week period. These activities offer students an alternative form of assessment over the given material. This is helpful to those who have difficulty performing on traditional problem-style assessments. Students will have about 2 weeks complete projects and will be provided with a detail description and grading outline. The student should spend an adequate amount of time preparing his/her project to ensure that all components are included. These may or may not be presented to the class as part of the overall grade.
Curriculum Outline
Below is the general list of topics that we will be covering this year.
We will use the textbook for lesson information and practice problems, but will
not necessarily proceed through the text in the order of its chapters.
Unit 1: Working with Decimals
Unit 2: Introduction to Algebraic Thinking
Unit 3: Fractions
Unit 4: Number Forms and Percents
Unit 5: Plane Geometry
Unit 6: Measurement
Unit 7: Ratios and Proportions
Unit 8: Collecting, Analyzing, & Displaying Data
Unit 9: Integers
Unit 10: Probability
Class Tips:
Use your notebook dividers to stay organized.