Mr. Serigstad Math

• A BOUND Quad ruled (graph paper) composition notebook

  • Get them at “Palace Art Supply” down the hill

  • ...or “Business with Pleasure" (BWP) in Scotts Valley

  • ...or Online (Here’s a link)

• A basic calculator for home - only 4 functions please (+, -, ×, ÷)

• Plenty of Pencils, Erasers, and binder paper

• A math section in your binder.

• Internet Access - (please talk to me if you are concerned about this expectation)

• A well fed and rested brain.

How the overall grade is determined:

Mastery (assessments and assignments)

= 80% of grade

Participation (class activities and practice)

= 20% of grade

Note: This grading scale is subject to change as the year progresses as we evaluate what is appropriate with some of the newer types of assignments that will be used.

Homework Assignments: “IXL Mastery”

2-3 IXL ‘skills’ will be assigned at a time as homework 1-3 times a week to be completed outside of class and online (IXL.com). These will be accessed via our 6th Grade Math Google Classroom so that students who may end up in quarantine can still access the lessons and assignments online.

IXL uses a ‘smart score’ to determine the extent to which students have mastered the skill assigned. Each IXL skill will be given a grade based on that smart score using the following scale:

Smart Score → Grade

Less than 20 → 0 points out of 7

20 - 34 → 1 point out of 7

35 - 49 → 2 points out of 7

50 - 59 → 3 points out of 7

60 - 69 → 4 points out of 7

70 - 79 → 5 points out of 7

80 - 89 → 5 points out of 7

90 or above → 7 out of 7 points

Each Wednesday, the IXL assignments from the previous week will be checked for a grade on how complete they are. Students and parents are strongly encouraged to check grades online regularly to see if any IXL mastery skills are not 100% in the gradebook. Note that this ‘grade check date’ is not a ‘due-date’, since these skills can be worked on even after the grade is posted. Thus, students are encouraged to work on all IXL skills until they are as high as possible all trimester. Students can raise their IXL scores as high as 100% even until the end of the Trimester when grades are finalized.

Lastly, Students are encouraged to maintain a growth mindset through these Check-Ins as they chart the steps towards mastery. No student should work on math for more than 45 min on any day outside of school (expected time is 15-30 min, but this varies from student to student). It is very important that students stop when they have reached this limit or are unable to progress in the skill due to not understanding the concept. They are meant to help students demonstrate their own growth and learn from mistakes, in a way where they can be honest about their own level of understanding. To get help students should use the resources in their Math Notebook, the lesson from class (posted on Google Classroom) or any of the resources/videos provided by the teacher (also on Google Classroom). If this is not enough to understand, the student should seek help from the teacher as soon as possible (preferably during ELT time on Tuesdays and Thursdays).

Test/Assessments: “Check-points!”

Students will be given a very small assessment of 1-3 questions approximately every other week. Each time students will be given a “practice-task” to take a week beforehand which will be returned to them with feedback and the opportunity to evaluate it with their learning groups.

A few days after receiving this feedback, students will take a similar version of the practice-task called a “Check-point!”. These will be low-stakes assessments on students' understanding of the deeper concepts and big ideas discussed in class. They will be evaluated via a rubric on how well they demonstrate their understanding of this in their writing and work, and very little (if at all) on the answers themselves. Thus it is encouraged that students study their ‘practice-task’ before the day of the “Check-point!”

Poor grades on “Check-Points” should be corrected for better understanding of mistakes and misconceptions. Corrections can be stapled to the back of any “Check-point” and turned back in to the teacher and the grade will be raised to a B- (80%). These corrections must (a) be on a separate sheet of paper than the Check-point being corrected, and (b) have the correct explanations and work to every unsatisfactory part.

Participation and Class Behavior Points

Participation Assignments are certain class activities where students are given a score for their attempts and effort in completing them. These are the only grades that cannot be altered after they are entered in the gradebook (IXL skills and ‘Check-points’ can be improved any time before grades are submitted at the end of the trimester).

In addition, Class Behavior Points are given to students throughout the year for good behavior and participation in class (kept track via Class-Dojo). These do not count toward a grade at all. However, upon earning 20 Class Behavior Points students are encouraged to ‘spend’ them on their gradebook to raise their grades, granting 5 points off any IXL skill (essentially taking one skill off). Note that these can also be deducted for poor behavior in class.