ALGEBRA I
INTERVENTION
DISCUSSION OF THE ALGEBRA 1 INTERVENTION
DOCUMENT PROVIDED TO THE ALSDE
PREVENTION AND SUPPORT SERVICES
DEPARTMENT
Elizabeth (Beth) Thompson, PhD.
Etowah County Schools
Intervention Issues
Student’s current level of mathematics
I.
1.
2.
Prior success in mathematics
Special Education
Planning
II.
I.
Have activities readily available that will help promote
critical thinking.
Available resources
III.
1.
2.
3.
Parental support / community
ALEX – Revamped standards in recent years.
AMSTI – great hands-on and critical thinking activities.
I. Current Mathematics Level

Know what you are dealing with!
 Encourage

your school to implement testing:
for entering freshmen (or 7th graders) to determine their
grade level in mathematics.
 Look
back at previous math grades.
aware that a student could fail pre-algebra in 8th grade
and still pass to the 9th grade (technically they could have
failed math several years in a row and still end up in an
Algebra IA class.
 Be
I. Current Mathematics Level (cont…)

Special Education
 Know
your schools policy on inclusion and work as an
advocate for services for your students.
 Be familiar with the special education mathematics
curriculum for students on the AOD (document
attached).
 Essential
Skills Mathematics I (students at 4th/5th grade level)
 Essential Skills Mathematics II (students at 5th/6th grade level, etc..)
 Algebraic Explorations I
 Algebraic Explorations II
II. Planning

Start with success!
 The
Algebra I (IA) Curriculum includes topics covered
extensively in 7th/8th grade math. Consider an activity
that allows students to share their summer while
learning/reviewing graphing concepts. (Course of Study,
Alg I, #12).
 Ex: “I know what you did last summer” Project.
 This
is set out as a week long lesson on ALEX.
 See examples on the following slides
Project Sample (slide 1 of 4):
“I know what you did last summer.”


Math Objective: To Review Fractions, Decimals, Percents, Histograms and
Circle Graphs.
Teacher Objective: To make connections with students about personal
interests and values.

When to assign: 1st Day of Class!

Supplies needed: Scissors, paper, Poster board, Compass, Calculator.

Can be adapted to Christmas Break for schools on block schedule.
Taken from: Thompson, NCTM Regional Conference, AL.
2005
Project Sample cont… (slide 2 of 4):
Sample of Grading Rubric
Section/Description
Points
Possible
Time Chart: Categories, Time
in hours, decimal, percent.
25
Bar Graph: Legend, accurate
reflection of chart.
15
Circle Graph: Legend,
Accurate reflection of chart.
15
Paragraph: 100 words
minimum. Proper grammar.
20
Illustrations: Clip-art,
photographs or drawings.
10
Presentation: Spoke clearly,
looked at audience, stayed
on topic.
15
Comments
Total Points
received
Final Grade:
Taken from: Thompson, NCTM Regional Conference, AL. 2005
Project Sample cont… (slide 3 of 4):
Student SAMPLE PROJECT
Taken from: Thompson, NCTM Regional Conference, AL. 2005
Project Sample cont… (slide 4 of 4):
SAMPLE PROJECT 2 – from an ELL student
Taken from: Thompson, NCTM Regional Conference, AL. 2005
II. Plan ahead (cont…)

Have activities ready to keep students constantly
engaged.

Journal entries – help promote dialog and understanding.
Sample entries:
Do you feel students should have to check their work? Why or why
not?
 Do you think a teacher should give partial credit on a math problem?
Why or why not?
 Explain what your experience in math classrooms has felt like
throughout your education. Use no specific teacher names, but be as
honest as you can, using examples when possible.



Look for this symbol on the Intervention Document for
more quick ideas:
III. Use available resources

Parents/Community


The Intervention Document uses the following resources:





Contact parents regularly. Bring in guest speakers. Contact area
faith-based agencies for supplies needed.
AMSTI – Alabama Math/Science Technology Initiative
ALEX – Alabama Learning Exchange
NCTM – National Council for Teachers of Mathematics
Shodor.org – A free national resource for math/science education
Also consider:

Teacher tube (for podcast and formula memorization tunes).
The following pages explain the legend on the document.
Alabama Math and Science
Technology Initiative



If you find the links in this document helpful, consider
going to the AMSTI website for more!
Algebra Link:
http://amsti.org/Math/Algebra/tabid/129/Defaul
t.aspx
Encourage your school to become an AMSTI school!
Quick Activities


Keep students on task.
Fill the last minutes of class, or the middle of a block
with a 5 minute activity:
Journal Entries
 Critical Thinking Activities


Ex: Think of a capital letter that has two undefined slopes, one
positive and one negative: Answer: M

Ex: Give them an expression and teach color grouping
2x2 +3x – 7x2 +10x - 3
2x2 +3x – 7x2 +10x – 3
-5x2 +13x -3
Shodor.org – A national resource for
math and science education



Entire lesson plans.
A resource for teachers, parents and students.
Games and applets to help students with conceptual
understanding
 Example:
The Maze Game
http://www.shodor.org/interactivate/activities/MazeG
ame/ Students have to navigate by coordinates to
avoid being blown up by mines.
National Council of Teachers of Mathematic
Resource


Illuminate Activities:
http://illuminations.nctm.org/ActivitySearch.aspx?grad
e=4&srchstr=Order%20of%20Operations
Figure This! Encourage critical thinking with through
provoking problems.
http://www.figurethis.org/challenges/challenge_inde
x.htm
Alex Lesson links

Graphing at all levels: It’s a beautiful thing!
This lesson offers links to remind students about how to plot
point, etc… and then gives them the assignment of creating
their own plot dot, or picture with bounded graphs, or even
conics at an Algebra II level.
 Some examples from my students are shown below:

Hands-on Activities

There are a multitude of hands-on activities for
students at the Algebra I level.
 Foldables
(look these up online, kids love them!)
 Outdoor Activites
 Art Activities (especially important for schools that may
not offer an art program on campus).
The next few slides give examples
Explore Slope
 Make a list
 Predict the steepest
 Take measurements
 Record data
 Make comparisons in class
Taken from: Thompson, NCTM Regional Conference, AL. 2005
Exponential Representations
Visualize
exponential growth
with rice, noodles,
confetti etc…
This is a representation
of 2n, 2n+1, … where n ≥
0.
Adapted from McDougal Little Inc. ©
Illustrating Pi
(Conceptual Designs of Pi)
Pi is a relationship between the diameter of a circle and its circumference.
Given this information, some string, and a circle, see If your students can design an
illustration of Pi
Taken from: Thompson, NCTM Regional Conference, AL.
2005
Visualizing Natural Log e
(Algebra I students can use pi)
1 = Yellow
2 = Pink
3 = Red
4 = Blue
5 = Green
6 = Orange
7 = Purple
8 = Sky Blue
9 = Tangerine
O = white
Objective: To gain understanding of irrational numbers through
visualization of Pi and/or lne
Taken from: Thompson, NCTM Regional Conference, AL. 2005
Area of a Circle
Visualize a
formula…
it helps!
Taken from: Thompson, NCTM Regional
Conference, AL. 2005
M & M Project
VISUALIZE Fractions, Decimals, Percents, Pictographs
•
•
•
What are the different percentages of
colors in the bag?
Are the class averages different?
Create a pictograph of your data.
Great activity for days like Halloween, Valentines etc…
Taken from: Thompson, NCTM Regional Conference, AL. 2005
Math Historian Project
a.k.a. “The Baseball Card Project”
Minimum Requirements for a grade of 90
Always presented to the student with a break down of points in a grading guide (Rubric)
FRONT:
1. Name
2. Picture
3. Life span
100 Points requires a
demonstration of their work.
BACK:
1.
Field of mathematics
2.
Claim to fame
3.
3 facts / discoveries
4.
One quote or work sample.
5.
References.
Samples to follow:
SAMPLE:
Math
Historian
Project
SAMPLE
Math
Historian
Project 2
PROBLEMS of the DAY (or week)
Remember: There are more than just
the obvious 64 1x1 squares,
there are 2x2’s (49), 3x3’s (36),
4x4’s (25), 5x5’s (16), 6x6’s
(9), 7x7’s (4) and the one huge
8x8.

How many Squares are on a checkerboard?
http://math.rice.edu/~lanius/domath/magicsquare.html
Problems of Day/Week
http://www.figurethis.org/challenges/challenge_index.htm
1. Line Up!
How long do you have to stand in line?
2. Beating Heart
How fast does your heart beat?
3. Popcorn
Which shape holds the most popcorn?
4. Don't Fall In
Why aren't manhole covers square?
5. Upside Down?
What letters can be read the same upside down as right-side up?
6. Which Way?
How many different ways are there to get to your destination?
And many, many more…..
In Conclusion

On this disc you will find:
A
copy of this PowerPoint
 The Algebra 1 Intervention Document
 Podcast Samples
 PowerPoint lessons
Have a great school year!