8th Grade Math Information Discovery Middle School Welcome to LMS, excited to kick off a new year...and introduce myself.

This presentation covers... Introduction of math teachers Content covered in each course Team teaching approach Using the mastery approach to learning Testing Policy How to get help throughout the year We have a short time together and this will be the focus of our meeting. Hopefully there will be time at the end for questions.

8th Grade Math Teachers 8th Grade Math Kelsey Cooper, Adrienne King and David McGuire Algebra Kelsey Cooper, Adrienne King, Carrie Maxwell, and David McGuire Introduce the teachers. Let them say a few words about themselves if they wish. State that they have common planning and will be working closely together this year.

8th Grade Math Content 8th Grade Math will cover the 8th Grade Course of Study. The courses of study can be located at http://alex.state.al.us/browseMath.php Red book. Will be provided a copy and will be provided instructions on how to log in online.

Algebra Content Algebra will cover the Algebra Course of Study. Grades will have the same breakdown as the high school. 70% Test Category 30% Daily Category The courses of study can be located at http://alex.state.al.us/browseMath.php Will be working out of both books this year. Both books are online. They will be provided a copy of the blue book and can request a copy of the red book. There will be a classroom set of red books available in all honors classes.

Team Teaching Approach Your student is assigned a primary teacher on their schedule. Your student will have a secondary teacher who teaches the same course. Teachers will work together and often students will see both teachers in the same day. Students could visit each teacher for help outside of class.

Examples of Team Teaching Each teacher may have a different activity set up in their classroom and each class will rotate through to complete both activities. Each teacher could focus on a different topic and students be placed in the room which matches their needs for that time. Give specific examples using teachers’ names.

Mastery Approach to Learning Why? Not all students learn at the same pace. Not all students come in with the same skill set. They are learning foundation skills in middle school and it is important they continue to work on material they struggle with so they can be successful in later classes. Start of with driver’s license example, mention that Algebra at JC also uses the mastery approach (but they also have coupled with it different lengths of the course), in the middle school the course will span the entire year for everybody

Mastery Approach to Learning How have the teachers prepared? Last year the teachers unwrapped their standards collaboratively and had deep discussion about the standards. Teachers then created indicators. Think of indicators as bite-sized pieces and standards are a mouth-full! Teachers have created common assessments based on these indicators.

Mastery Approach to Learning How will it work? Students will take Unit Tests The entire class takes the first Unit Test on the same day. Students need to receive a 75% on each indicator to achieve mastery. In Algebra classes 80% will be needed to achieve mastery. Have sample Unit 1 Practice Tests to refer to

Mastery Approach to Learning What happens when mastery is not obtained? Students will have opportunities to relearn that material in new ways. Students will be able to earn a retake. Retakes are only taken on indicators that they have not reached mastery. Students will have 3 weeks from the initial Unit Test to take retakes. A retake schedule will be provided. Refer to partnership agreement

Mastery Approach to Learning What happens if I just want to improve my grade on an Unit Test? -All students will receive at least 1 retake opportunity per indicator. -Students not performing at mastery will receive 2 retake opportunities per indicator. -Students will always keep the highest score per indicator. An exception to the 3 weeks in the last indicator test of the year

Mastery Approach to Learning Will all grades have a chance for retakes? RETAKES ALLOWED RETAKES NOT ALLOWED Daily work will be a blend of quizzes, classwork, and homework depending on your teacher. Unit Tests -Multiple Choice Spiral Review -CDC -Projects -Midterm -Final

Testing Policy in 8th Grade Math Students will be given a Practice Test that is very similar to the Unit Tests. Answers to the Practice Test will be given at least 24 hours before the Unit Test. Students can only take Unit Tests with a math teacher. The student’s primary teacher will keep all of their tests in a folder, that will not go home. The teacher will go over the test with the students in class.

Testing Policy in Algebra Students should refer to daily work, quizzes and study guides to study for tests. Students can only take Unit Tests with a math teacher. The student’s primary teacher will keep all of their tests in a folder, that will not go home. The teacher will go over the test with the students in class.

How to Get Help Throughout The Year Teachers will provide a tutoring schedule. Please call or e-mail your student’s primary teacher if you have a concern.