ALGEBRA 1 – MATH LAB
MS. KATIE SHAW
cshaw@psdschools.org – (970) 488 - 6425
Materials Needed: You are responsible for bringing these to class every day
A composition notebook used for math notes ONLY
Your laptop (9th and 10th graders)
A binder or folder to keep handouts and homework in
A PENCIL and a different colored pen/marker for grading
A scientific calculator OR a graphing calculator (TI-83 or TI-84)
The textbook
Your Fossil RIDGE planner
Grading Policy – Algebra 1:
20% - Homework and class participation
25% - Graded work and quizzes
40% - Tests
15% - Final Exam
Grading Policy – Math Lab:
Completion of ALEKS objectives will make up 100% of your math lab grade:
Each weekly objective is worth 20 points
There will be a 100 point course mastery assessment at the end of each semester
Participation:
Participation is a HUGE part of math class and you are expected to contribute at all times to the academic classroom
atmosphere. This means taking notes, being on task at all times, coming to class prepared EVERYDAY, and being on
time to class.
Tardies:
Tardies will not be tolerated at Fossil Ridge and in this class. If you are not in your seat, ready to work (that means all
materials out, not socializing) when the bell rings then you are tardy. If you are tardy to class, you will receive a
detention slip. You will serve a 25 minute detention within one week after your tardy. If you fail to do so, you will be
assigned an hour of community service.
Attendance Bonus:
If at the end of each semester you have no unexcused absences or tardies, no more than 3 excused tardies, and no more
than 5 excused absences (school excused absences don’t count) in BOTH Algebra 1 and Math Lab combined, I will drop
your lowest quiz score from the semester.
Homework/Assignments:
ALL ASSIGNMENTS MUST BE DONE IN PENCIL!!!
Expect homework to be assigned and checked on a daily basis in this class. Homework assignments will be worth 10
points. You will receive 5 points if the homework assignment shows evidence of quality work and of a reasonable
attempt to try every problem (NO WORK = NO CREDIT!). You will receive 5 more points if you correct each
problem done incorrectly. Assignments done in pen will be handed back and must be redone in pencil in order to receive
credit.
 Homework Quizzes: Each day there will be a homework quiz made up of 1-2 questions at the beginning of each
class period. These problems will come DIRECTLY from your homework assignment. If you are absent, these
quizzes cannot be made up. If you have an excused absence, you may drop the 0 for homework quiz. If you have
an unexcused absence, you will receive a 0 for that day’s quiz.
 Quality of Work: I expect each student to submit quality work that they are proud of in order to receive full
credit.
o Show ALL of your work
o Skip lines between each problem
o Write out the original problem
o DO NOT work from left to right
o Number every problem
o Corrections must be done for each incorrect problem and done in ink (not pencil!). Original work will be
written on the left side of the paper and corrections done on the right.
ALEKS work:
You will be expected to complete an assigned number of topics by 7:30 a.m. on the due date. The number of objectives
will vary depending on what we’re working on in class. Both class periods on Mondays will be devoted to working on
ALEKS in class; all other work will need to be completed at home. Absolutely no extensions can be given for ALEKS
work so please make sure you’re giving yourself time to be working on the objectives each week.
Online Textbook:
There will be an online textbook available for you to use at home. You can find the textbook at
www.pearsonsuccessnet.com or using the link on our Blackboard page.
Username: Fossil
Password: Algebra1 (case sensitive)
Every lesson in the book has an online video tutorial. These videos can be found at www.phschool.com or using the link
on our Blackboard page. I suggest watching these online videos for extra help on your homework, especially for the
homework on days you may have been absent from class.
For more information on using the online resources see page xxiii in your textbook.
Missing Class Procedure:
 Any student who has an excused absence will be allowed make up missed work for full credit up until the day of
the unit test. If you have an unexcused absence you can make up the assignment for up to 60% of credit until the
day of the unit test. I am not responsible for any lost homework assignments that were not turned into the correct
place, so please make sure that the assignments are handed directly to me, not just put on my desk.
 You will be responsible for getting the missed notes so that you have them on the day of a notebook quiz. Notes
must hand-written and copied exactly from the notebook of a classmate or from the notes on blackboard. You
are responsible for checking blackboard and turning in make-up work in a reasonable amount of time.
 All assignments given out on the day you missed can be found on blackboard.
 If you have an excused absence on the day of the test you will be given a make-up test outside of class time for
full credit. If you have an unexcused absence, you will be given a make-up test outside of class time for only
60% of what you earn.
Late Work:
If you are NOT absent and don’t have the assignment on the day it’s due, in order to make-up the assignment you must
make an appointment at lunch to correct the assignment and turn it in.
Cell Pone/iPods:
NO CELL PHONES AT ANYTIME. If you are caught with your cell phone I will keep it until 3:00 p.m. that day.
iPods will only be allowed at certain times. If your iPod is out at a time when I did not say they could be out I will keep it
until 3:00 pm that day.