ALGEBRA 1
Course Overview
Course Goals and Content:
When students move from arithmetic to Algebra, they are moving from the realm of the tangible to the realm of the abstract. They are making a shift from real numbers, which are constant, to variables, which are not. The work of the Algebra 1 course grounds them in this more fluid way of thinking. At the same time that their thinking is becoming more fluid, the methods and practices are relatively formal, requiring close attention, precision, and sequential thinking.
Topic Areas:
Pre-requisites:
Students shall be proficient in the skills listed in the Pre-Algebra course description.
Typical Class Session:
Warm-up activity
Homework from the prior week: The teacher works through specific homework problems the students want to see explained at the whiteboard.
New Instruction: New content is presented with discussion, questions, and whiteboard examples.
Quiz: A short quiz provides a quick assessment of the student’s grasp of the material from the prior week.
Snack Break: Out of doors, weather permitting.
Further work with the new material: A second topic is introduced, along with problems and discussion.
Homework: Homework on the new material is assigned. Students are given a few minutes to begin the assignment.
Grading:
20% for classroom participation, 20% for homework completion, and 60% for quizzes.
Required Materials:
-Text: Houghton Mifflin’s Algebra – Structure and Method: Book 1, by Brown, Dolciani, Sorgenfrey and Cole.
ISBN 9780395676080
-Calculator: Texas Instruments model TI-30XS
When students move from arithmetic to Algebra, they are moving from the realm of the tangible to the realm of the abstract. They are making a shift from real numbers, which are constant, to variables, which are not. The work of the Algebra 1 course grounds them in this more fluid way of thinking. At the same time that their thinking is becoming more fluid, the methods and practices are relatively formal, requiring close attention, precision, and sequential thinking.
Topic Areas:
- Variables, substitution, evaluating expressions; writing algebraic expressions; dependent and independent variables; combining like terms.
- Equation basics; one-step addition and subtraction of equations; two-step solutions; three-step solutions; linear equations with variables on both sides.
- Graphing linear equations using slope-intercept form; standard form graphing; two-point formula graphing; average rate of change; interpreting features of linear graphs, constructing linear models for real-world relationships; linear models word problems.
- Understanding functions; functional notation; domain and range; function testing.
- Systems of equations; solving by elimination, substitution, and graphing.
- Absolute values.
Pre-requisites:
Students shall be proficient in the skills listed in the Pre-Algebra course description.
Typical Class Session:
Warm-up activity
Homework from the prior week: The teacher works through specific homework problems the students want to see explained at the whiteboard.
New Instruction: New content is presented with discussion, questions, and whiteboard examples.
Quiz: A short quiz provides a quick assessment of the student’s grasp of the material from the prior week.
Snack Break: Out of doors, weather permitting.
Further work with the new material: A second topic is introduced, along with problems and discussion.
Homework: Homework on the new material is assigned. Students are given a few minutes to begin the assignment.
Grading:
20% for classroom participation, 20% for homework completion, and 60% for quizzes.
Required Materials:
-Text: Houghton Mifflin’s Algebra – Structure and Method: Book 1, by Brown, Dolciani, Sorgenfrey and Cole.
ISBN 9780395676080
-Calculator: Texas Instruments model TI-30XS