Pre-Algebra A

PEIMS Course Title/Number:
Math 6/02640060

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

Course of Instruction/Lesson Description:
The K12 Pre-Algebra A program offers a carefully structured sequence of lessons designed to help students make steady progress from fundamental skills to more complex mathematical concepts.

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:

• Change word phrases and sentences into mathematical expressions and equations.
• Solve equations and inequalities.
• Add, subtract, multiply, and divide rational numbers when represented as fractions and decimals.
• Develop and use formulas for perimeter and area of plane figures, including circles, triangles, and parallelograms.
• Develop and use formulas for the volume and surface area of right prisms.
• Identify and communicate about relationships involving angles and sides in triangles and quadrilaterals.
• Add, subtract, multiply, and divide positive and negative integers.
• Solve problems involving percents, ratios, and proportions.
• Draw graphs and compute statistics to communicate about data.
• Compute the probability of an event and combined events.
• Communicate strategies for solving word problems.

Lesson Numbers/Duration:
180 total including 20 optional.

Online Importance:
K12’s Pre-Algebra A 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 in print 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 Pre-Algebra A 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. Consistent progress-monitoring by the teacher will be undertaken throughout the project period.

Schedule for Monitoring Student Progress:
Each teacher will establish a daily contact schedule for his or her assigned students at a time of day that is reasonably convenient for both parties. Contacts may be asynchronous/synchronous or one-on-one/in groups. The avenues of teacher-initiated contact will be adjusted as determined by the progress that a student makes through his or her learning plan. Parent- and student-initiated contact with teachers can happen at any time. The Acting Director (or 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: Mathematics, Structure and Method, Course 1 (McDougal Littell)

Other materials:

• Drawing compass
• Scientific 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 TEKS.

Grading/Credit Award Criteria:
A course grade in the content areas will be determined by the score on the End-of-Course Exam (from either Texas Tech University or the University of Texas). The course grade in art, music, health, and PE will be determined by the percentage of lessons completed and mastered. A student will be promoted to the next grade level by passing three of the four End-of-Course Exams (administered in a proctored environment), and the average of the four End-of-Course Exams must be at least 70%.

Contact Information:
Students will be assigned a teacher upon acceptance into TXVA@SW. The teacher will provide the student and family with telephone and email contact information. The student and/or family may contact the 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.