Resources for Parents
Class Structure
Completing Work
Daily Activities are created with the intention that they can be completed within the class period that they are assigned. With that being said, for one reason or another, it may take a student longer than the class period to complete an assignment. In that case, the assignment becomes homework and the assignment is expected to be completed by Review Time the following class.
Most class periods function in the same general structure described here.
Review Time
In-class time dedicated to reviewing assignments from the previous class. This is the time for students to ask questions and go over problems from previous assignments.
Warm-up
A short, not graded, activity to get students thinking about the concepts that we will discuss that day.
Activity/Lesson
Time in class dedicated to completing work. This is often done in groups with the support of your peers.
Reflection Time
In-class time dedicated to correcting graded work or completing missing work.
Journal Time
Typically the last 5-10 minutes of class for students to reflect in their journals on the topics from today's class.
Group Work
In keeping with the goals of each class, in-class work is often completed as group work. While students are encouraged to work together to share their ideas, the distinction is made between collaborating and copying.
Collaborating is talking about the ideas, but writing up your answers separately in your own words. Whereas writing someone else's words as your own is copying.
Grading Procedures
Corrections
The intention with assigning classwork is to provide larger problems that require deeper thinking but in small quantities so that it is manageable. Since many of the assignments in class require this deeper thinking, I do not expect students to earn a perfect 100% on any assignment the first time they hand it in. This is why I allow for unlimited corrections on every in-class activity, quiz, or journal assignment (excluding tests) through the end of each quarter. Corrections are not only allowed, but encouraged, since learning often takes place upon reflection of one's own work.
Reflection Time is an in-class time dedicated to correcting graded work.
Incomplete Assignments
The chart on the right details my process for grading in-class activities and quizzes. Lower grades are not something to be discouraged the first time around, but rather provide more opportunity for learning to occur through corrections. To emphasize this point, every in-class activity and quiz is expected to be corrected to at least 80%, otherwise it is marked in PowerSchool as incomplete. The intention is that if a student has earned a grade lower than 80%, they are likely missing key ideas that will be important for them to know for the test and for future topics.
Curriculum
The link above provides resources to support your student in 6th grade math.
The link above provides resources to support your student in 7th grade math.
The link above provides resources to support your student in 8th grade math.
Last year, we have adopted a new curriculum for middle school math, Illustrative Mathematics. This is now the curriculum implemented across 6-12 math at RLRS! Some of the activities we do in class are supplementary and not included within the IM curriculum. Many of the assessments, including quizzes and tests, are based on, but not entirely created by the IM curriculum.
While the classwork that is assigned is based on this curriculum, often I will modify or create new assignments to better meet the needs of a particular class.
While the resources provided here are helpful with supporting your student, keep in mind that not all information will be relevant, since many of the assignments are modified or adapted.