Classroom Expectations – Math 1
Mrs. Picchi
Instructor: Mrs. Picchi – Master’s Degree in Educational Research and Assessment,
Bachelor’s Degree in Mathematics, Northern Illinois University
District Grading Scale: I will use the district grading scale to determine class grades.
A
95-100
C
78 – 83
A93 – 94
C76 – 77
B+
91 – 92
D+
74 – 75
B
88 – 90
D
70 – 73
B86 – 87
D68 – 69
C+
84 – 85
F
0 – 67
Grading Categories – Students will be graded on their homework, quizzes, and tests.
These categories are weighted as follows:
75% - Tests and Quizzes
25% - Homework
Semester Grade – The semester grade will be determined in the following manner:
First Quarter – 40%
Second Quarter – 40%
Final – 20%
Math 1 – The MVP classroom experience begins by confronting students with an
engaging problem and then allows them to grapple with solving it. As students’ ideas
emerge, take form, and are shared, the teacher orchestrates the student discussions
and explorations towards a focused mathematical goal. As conjectures are made and
explored, teachers use formative assessment to guide students as they embrace
effective strategies for analyzing and solving problems. Students justify their own
thinking while clarifying, describing, comparing, and questioning the thinking of others
leading to refined thinking and mathematical fluency. (from MVP introduction)
In Math 1, all students must participate daily. Students are confronted with a problem
and work on it individually or in small groups. I spend time helping students individually
and checking progress at this time. We then re-group and go over the process together.
Student work guides the instruction with the teacher as an orchestrator of discussion.
At the end of the lesson, students are assigned the Set and Go sections of Ready, Set,
Go! The set problems help “set” the knowledge and go problems are review that they
should be able to “go” ahead and do. The ready problems are assigned before the
section to help students get “ready”. We typically spend a day going over the homework
by having students explain their answers and do problems on the board. We use this
time to correct any misconceptions and to solidify knowledge. Students are provided a
colored pencil to make corrections on their homework. This allows me (and the parent)
to quickly see how much the student needed to correct. Homework is graded by
completion, but I do check to see if students struggled with a specific topic in order to
provide more group instruction or to invite them to come in and get extra help.
Each section contains links to videos that students can watch to help them with their
homework. The link to the material is :
http://www.mathematicsvisionproject.org/secondary-mathematics-i.html
Tests/Quizzes – Quizzes will be administered 1-2 times per chapter. Quizzes may or may
not be announced beforehand. Tests will be given at the end of a chapter. Tests will
always be announced.
Test Policies – Students are always encouraged to come in to get help before a test.
However, the period between the bell and the test is not the appropriate time to ask
questions. Questions should be asked before the class period of the test. We will not
delay the start of the test to ask questions about the review/chapter.
Tests are a way of showing me what you know! Therefore, I cannot help you on the test
because I would be testing what I know.
Absences – Check the student handbook for excused and unexcused absence policies.
Expectations – Students are expected to know and follow the rules outlined in the
student handbook. A few rules that I would like to emphasize are:
1. Students will come to class prepared (i.e. notebooks, books, pencils, calculators,
homework, etc.)
2. No food or drink allowed.
3. Students must have their planner to get a pass.
4. No electronic devices.
Disruptive students will be given a warning. If the student repeats the behavior, they will
be sent to the office with a discipline referral. Extremely disruptive behavior will result
in immediate removal from environment and referral (no warning).
Where to get help – The best place to get help is in class by asking questions. I can
provide additional help before and after school in my classroom. If you plan on coming
in, please let me know in advance so I can be sure to be there.
Technology – We will use graphing calculators throughout the year. Do to the limited
number of graphing calculators, I cannot allow students to borrow the calculators to
take home. If you wish to purchase one, I recommend the TI-84 or TI-89. There are
graphing calculators online that function like the TI graphing calculators. Otherwise,
there are many computer graphing calculators and there are apps for Iphone and
Android.