Algebra 1

PEIMS Course Title/Number:
Math 8/03103100

Prerequisite Requirements:
Course completion or grade-level placement by K12 placement exam.

Course of Instruction/Lesson Description:
K12’s Algebra 1 program develops algebraic fluency by providing students with the skills needed to solve equations and perform important manipulations with numbers, variables, equations, and inequalities. Students also learn concepts central to the abstraction and generalization that algebra makes possible. Students who take Algebra 1 are expected to have mastered the skills and concepts presented in K12’s Pre-Algebra B course (or the equivalent).

The instructional plan emphasizes:

• An active, student-centered approach to ensure that students master core concepts that will allow them to succeed in mathematics
• Regular practice, review, and assessment to ensure mastery of basic skills
• Online explorations and animations to motivate, instruct, and illustrate concepts
• An approach to problem-solving that emphasizes how to correctly form number sentences from groups of word problems that research has shown to be increasingly difficult for children to solve
  

A typical daily lesson is structured as follows:

• Skills Update: Usually in an online activity, students review concepts and reinforce skills from previous lessons.
• Warm-Up: Introduces students to key mathematical ideas related to the lesson objectives.
• Teach: Guides students through the content in the textbook and through several examples by way of alternate teaching strategies.
• Practice: Students practice by applying skills and concepts introduced in the lesson.
• Lesson Assessment: Students take a brief assessment to check understanding of the lesson objectives.
• Beyond the Lesson: If the student wishes, he or she can complete optional activities such as extra practice or "Challenge" problems.
  

Major course expectations include the following.
Students will:

• Have a solid introduction to Algebra concepts.
• Be able to work with Real Numbers.
• Solve Equations and Problems.
• Perform basic operations on polynomials.
• Write a polynomial as a product of factors.
• Use factoring to help you solve problems.
• Understand fractions.
• Solve equations with fractions.
• Apply fractions.
• Take a number as an input and produce another number as an output.
• Understand that if you put any valid input into a function, you will get a single result out of it.
• Apply systems of linear equations.
• Understand and solve inequalities.
• Work with rational and irrational numbers.
• Solve quadratic functions.
  

Lesson Numbers/Duration:
180 total

Online Importance:
K12's Algebra 1 program provides step-by-step guidance in each lesson. Some activities are presented online, while others are presented offline.

Important activities are only available online, such as math games or computer animations. These activities range from skills update activities that help keep students' skills sharp, to games that reinforce crucial concepts and skills. The skills and concepts that are taught and reinforced with online activities are ones that research has shown are key to understanding mathematics.

The Teacher Guide provides explanatory information as well as information about assessment and supplemental material to support each student. The Teacher Guide is available as printed material as well as online.

The Student Guide leads students through the lesson. This guide includes a materials list, keywords, and a separate section describing each activity in the lesson. The Student Guide is available in print as well as online.

Monitoring Student Progress:
Each Algebra 1 lesson ends with an assessment. The assessment generally includes four to eight questions or problems based on the lesson objectives.

Students and parents can access student-specific screens to determine (1) progress in the number of lessons completed, (2) the lesson assessment (percentage mastered), (3) the semester assessment (percentage mastered), and (4) the number of times the student has taken the assessment instruments. Families who enroll their children in the eCP program have the benefit of help and guidance from an experienced teacher. The teacher will contact students daily through email and phone conferences. Consistent progress monitoring by the teacher will be utilized throughout the project period.

Schedule for Monitoring Student Progress:
Each teacher will establish a daily contact schedule for their assigned students at a time of day that is reasonably convenient for both parties. Contacts may be asynchronous/synchronous or one-on-one/groups. The avenues of teacher-initiated contact will be adjusted as determined by the progress a student makes through their learning plan. Parent- and student-initiated contact with teachers can happen at any time. The Acting Director, or their designee, will monitor the communication logs to ensure that parents are being routinely supported and informed regarding the student's ongoing progress and participation.

In addition, teachers will monitor progress in mastery of objectives and lesson completion on a weekly basis. Continuous progress monitoring by the assigned teacher ensures that parents are informed on a regular basis regarding progress and participation.

Required Instructional Materials:
Materials K12 provides:

• Textbook: Algebra, Structure and Method, Book 1 (McDougal Littell)

Other materials:

• Graphing calculator
• Notebook
  

Standardized Assessment Instruments:
End-of-Course Exams developed by Texas Tech, University of Texas, or K12 Inc.

Texas Essential Knowledge and Skills (TEKS) Compliancy:
Side-by-side comparisons of TEKS and the content of each course have been developed and reviewed to ensure that the online curriculum meets or exceeds the TEKS.

Grading/Credit Award Criteria:
The Texas Virtual Academy at Southwest Schools issues formal report cards every nine weeks. Students who complete a significant amount of coursework after the conclusion of the final term will receive a supplemental report card in July. The final grade in each content subject, English/Language Arts, Mathematics, Social Studies, and Science, is determined by a combination of the grades from each reporting period and the proctored course completion (CCE) exam. The average of the grades for each reporting period is comprised of 90% of the final grade. The scores of the CCE comprise 10% of the final grade.

The final grade for electives is based on cumulative progress recorded in the Online School (OLS). A grade of Completed, or C, is reported for 80% or more of the lessons marked as completed. A grade of Incomplete/Unacceptable, or I, is reported when less than 80% of the lessons are marked as completed. No Grade, or NG, is assigned if the student has administrative approval to waive the course requirements in a particular elective course.

To be promoted to the next grade, the student must meet the Student Success Initiative requirements for that grade. Additionally, the student must have a final score of 70 or above on at least three content courses and the average of the four content courses must be at least 70. For each reporting period, the grade in a content area subject is the average of at least six distinct grades. Those grades include, but are not limited to, the progress in the OLS converted to a numerical grade, response to the daily questions, online quizzes following the weekly grade-level study halls, work samples, and benchmark assessments.

Contact Information:
Students will be assigned a teacher upon acceptance into TXVA@SW. The teacher will provide the student and family telephone and email contact information. The student and/or family may contact a help desk at 1-886-YOUR K12 for additional technical, material, or logistical support. Students will be provided with online assistance 24/7 through the TXVA website.