PRE-AP GEOMETRY SKILLS AGENDA
Martha Rhodes
Minor High School
This year, you will be mastering any Algebra I basics not yet learned AND
the Geometry skills that will make you more successful in future math
studies and more importantly IN YOUR LIFE. This can be scary, difficult,
exciting, fun, frustrating and/finally satisfying.
A variety of tools to help you succeed will be available:
Textbooks and workbooks--primary text: Geometry by Jurgensen, Brown,
Jurgensen
Online web-sites with explanations, demonstrations and guided practice
including:
http://www.classzone.com/books/geometry/index.cfm?state=AL.
http://members.tripod.com/martharhodes_1/id4.html (my old links)
http://minorhigh.jefcoed.com/Teachers/mrhodes/Pages/default.aspx
Classroom guidance and peer help.
Tutoring help after school on Tuesday and Thursday until 4:05 pm.
THE MOST important ingredient in your success will be YOUR CONSISTENT
daily effort to understand, to learn new ideas and vocabulary, to see,
think, and work problems through, and to demonstrate all this DAILY in
CLASS and at HOME.
YOU will learn or relearn the Alabama High School Graduation Exam
Objectives to help you solve geometry problems and future algebra and
calculus problems AND to prepare you to PASS the AHSGE if you have not
already passed it. You will begin geometry by drawing and measuring line
segments and discovering what happens when you add them. You will
learn the vocabulary while discovering the properties and relationships of
geometric figures having to do with size, shape, location, direction and the
orientation of these figures. Learning to see, to explain and use these
properties will prepare you for Advanced Placement courses.
You will have these vital SUPPLIES IN CLASS AND AT HOME after the first
week of school: At least two #2 pencils, a basic calculator (with a +/-
key), a loose-leaf binder with paper and dividers, sticky-notes, colored
pencils and markers, graph paper, safe scissors, safety compass,
protractor, a glue stick and a zippered pencil pocket to fit these in a 3-ring
binder. You will also bring your agenda in which to put assignments and
very important rules. You will NOT need to borrow supplies while I teach.
Borrowing supplies is disruptive while I teach and shows no respect for me
or for other students who are prepared to learn. ***Note: You can
borrow my one of my basic calculators on a first-come, first-served basis
BEFORE class begins. You must replace any calculator that you break or
lose. ONLY AFTER ORDER OF OPERATIONS TESTING IN MY ROOM IS
COMPLETE AND YOU HAVE PASED THE AHSGE TEST should YOU become
familiar with your own scientific calculator. The calculator is your
responsibility, not mine.
TAKING NOTES AND DOING DAILY GROUP AND INDIVIDUAL
ASSIGNMENTS is a very important part in learning geometry. YOU MUST
TAKE NOTES INCLUDING DRAWINGS EVERY DAY. You will have pop-
quizzes on notes and on homework. You should use the handouts: Index
for My Geometry and the Index for AHSGE to help organize your notes.
These notes can be graded randomly at any time for 10 test points.
GRADES WILL BE CALCULATED USING THE FOLLOWING FORMULA:
75 % QUIZZES
25% DAILY CLASS AND HOMEWORK
All of these will be calculated to determine the grade before any required
final exam. Then the above will form 80% of the final grade and the final
exam grade will form the remaining 20% of the final grade.
If you begin to have trouble, get help quickly. Come to tutoring. Go
online for help. Get and use algebra and geometry tutoring software.
MAKE UP WORK: You have 3 days following each day of an EXCUSED
ABSENCE to turn in missed work with no penalty. It is your responsibility
to look at the CLASS NOTEBOOK ASSIGNMENT in class or online and find
and do what was missed including notes. Unexcused work loses 20% per
late day. ***Absences in excess of 4 without being Doctor or Principal
Approved could result in Failure due to Excessive Absences for this or any
class.
Classroom Rules
1. Come to Class On Time and Prepared
2. Take Your Seat
3. Begin Work Immediately
4. Follow All Instructions
5. Show Respect and Courtesy to Others
Consequences for Violation of Rules
1st offense - Warning: Sign the management sheet quietly
2nd offense - Sign the management sheet again. Read and answer
appropriate discipline packet. Parent will be contacted.
3rd offense - Sign the management sheet again. Read and answer
appropriate discipline packet. You will be referred to the appropriate
Counselor
4th offense - Sign the management sheet again. One day of After School
Detention (ASD). Parent will be contacted again.
5th offense - Referral to an administrator
JEFCOED Code of Conduct Dress Code . Boys must tuck in and pull
up. No rubber bands are allowed on the bottom of pants. Girls must
be modestly dressed. Skirts and shorts must not be any higher than 4
inches above the knee. This includes the slit that may be in the back
of a skirt. No earrings for boys and no band-aids may cover these up.
No hats or head wraps of any kind are allowed for anyone. Blankets
are not to be carried around or brought in class
ID Badges are to be worn at all times. They must be on a lanyard
and worn in a proper manner.
CELL PHONES must be stored in lockers. I must not see a phone or
use of phone in class.
REWARDS OF DOING RIGHT: 5 BONUS POINTS EACH DAY THAT
YOU COME PREPARED (INCLUDING HOMEWORK) AND GIVE 100%
EFFORT ALL CLASS.
Hi,
I am passionate about math and I work very hard to allow students to see
that math makes sense. Learning to think logically can be difficult, but is
very rewarding.
Pre-AP Geometry is often VERY frustrating until students recognize that
they have to learn to SEE differences and similarities in drawings and
decide what relationship to use to solve problems. Often students begin
by making low scores, but very, very few students fail my classes.
Students need to begin learning math the first day of class and learn each
and every day. If a student has an average of 49 going into the Final
Exam, making 100 on the Final would give him a failing 58.4 average. DO
NOT WAIT UNTIL DECEMBER OR MAY TO WORRY ABOUT GRADES.
Please help me help your child. Check homework daily. Work must be
shown. Putting concepts into words will help them understand better.
Have them do or look at math every day Or it will leave their short-term
memory. We want that info in LONG-TERM. Monitor grades in STI and
look for progress reports. Please e-mail me if 4 weeks pass without a
progress report from me. Please let me know if there is anything you
know that will help me help your child My e-mail is mrhodes@jefcoed.com
or call me at Minor High School.
I want this to be an outstanding year, but I need help from my students
and parents. If you would like to make our class healthier, you could send
a spider plant, peace lily, etc. to help clean the air and make a more
relaxed atmosphere (http://www.humeseeds.com/purify.htm has a list of
plants that help detoxify living spaces). Instructions on care would be very
good. I will need help to keep them alive. Relaxing CD's or anything you
know that could relax struggling students would help. If you or your child
would be able to record lessons, let me know. These would be great for
struggling, inattentive, or absent students.
I look forward to working with your son or daughter and with YOU toward his/her
success in PRE-AP Geometry class, success on the AHSGE, and success with skills
used in all areas of life such as organization, logical reasoning, analysis, problem
solving, persistence, and working within timelines.
PLEASE LET ME KNOW THAT YOU HAVE READ MY PRE-AP GEOMETRY
SKILLS AGENDA AND RULES.
PLEASE SIGN, DETACH AND RETURN TO ME. THIS WILL BE 10 POSSIBLE
TEST POINTS, NOT BONUS POINTS. One day late 8/10, 2 days
6/10. Anything else would be a bad start to the year.
KEEP THE AGENDA FOR YOUR INFORMATION.
I have seen Mrs. Rhodes’ PRE-AP Geometry Skills Agenda.
__________________________________ _______________________________
Student’s name Block Student’s signature
___________________________________
Parent’s signature
Best way to contact you : parents’ e-mail _____________________________________
Day phone ___________________________________________
Evening phone ____________________________________
Please tell me anything I need to know to more effectively teach your student OR if you have any
suggestions for the entire class.
__________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________
Thank you, Martha Rhodes at mrhodes@jefcoed.com