How do I succeed in a math class?

Please check the weekly schedule for your math class by clicking on your class page when you go to my website. I post the schedule for the next week each Friday. Use this to help you plan to study and to look up homework assignments. Make sure you keep up-to-date on Aeries for any missing assignments.

Math is hard for everyone. Learning math is the same as getting good at a video game, in an art, a sport, or any other skill. It takes time, practice, and making mistakes more often than getting things right. Here are the expectations for you in math class this year:

• Focus on improvement. It doesn't matter how "good" other students are at math. Spend less time thinking about other people and more time getting better.

• Improve by using your resources. Take complete notes and use them to study and to help you with homework. Come see Mr. Plunkett during our 20 minute check-in periods or during his office hours after school. Use the online resources in Big Ideas and provided in class to help when you're stuck.

• Be honest with yourself. It feels bad to make a mistake. It feels bad to work on something you don't understand. We all try to avoid feeling bad. But to improve at a skill, we have to go through feeling bad sometimes. You're stronger than you think you are. Take a break and listen to thoughts that say it's time to try again and then try again. If you're really stuck, come see me for extra help outside of our class blocks and force yourself to actually do it. You can tell me that you feel bad at math and we'll work together. You can do this and I can help.

Materials

Have all of the materials you were asked to have at "Taking Care of Business." These includes the following:

• A sharpened pencil with an eraser (seriously hard to find)

• 3-Ring Binder or Spiral Notebook

• Lined Paper

• Four-function calculators are recommended

How do I earn points in this class?

Coursework (including participation and homework) Policy

Coursework makes up 20% of your grade in this class. Each class day you will complete a lesson. When you do, you earn points for participation (up to 3 points per lesson). You lose points if you don't participate in the lesson's activities.

Homework is assigned each day you have a lesson. It's due the next time I see you for class. Homework is completed on lined paper and put into your 3-ring binder (or you can use a spiral notebook). At the top of the lined paper, write the chapter followed by the section number with a dash in-between. For example, if we're on chapter 4 section 6, you'd write 4-6. Please number your work to the left of the vertical line on your spiral page and work downward. Try to use all of the available space! You'll be typing your answers into our Big Ideas homework platform. I'll give lots of instructions on how to do this in class.

Quizzes/Tests

Quiz and test points make up 80% of your grade. Quizzes are usually given so you can collaborate with your groups while working on them, but each quiz is graded separately. Tests are taken alone. You can earn half credit by having the right answer, but the other half comes from showing the work that led to your response.

Quiz/Test Corrections

If you received less than a 70% on a quiz or test, come in outside of class time and you can complete test corrections. If you fix every error on your test you can raise your grade up to a 70%.

How do I learn?

Have you ever wanted to say something funny and make everyone laugh? I do all the time. Here's the thing.... if everyone blurted out or did something to be funny all the time, no one could actually learn. During every day in class, think about these two questions and do what you think is right:

• Honestly, how will I get better at math?

• If I do or say what I want to do right now, will it help or hurt our class's ability to learn? If it will hurt, don't do it. If it will help, do it. Purple monkey dishwasher.

You might think in your head "oh yeah? Well what if I don't do what's right? Hahahaha... I want people to like me!" You can do whatever you want to do. If the class isn't able to learn as well because of what you do, we'll have to talk about it after class to get back on track. If it happens a lot, I'll work with your parents to help you make decisions that help us learn. If it continues to happen, I have to do boring things like sign your planner and talk to our administrators. I'm on your side. Let's learn math.