Mr. Hondorf's Homepage

Welcome to Algebra

  As the new school year begins, everyone will find it helpful to know and understand class expectations and required materials.

Materials:

The following materials will be required on a daily basis, at the beginning of class. You may also wish to purchase a TI 84 (or 84 Plus) for use. A limited number of calculators will be available to be rented for the year for use, more information about this will be provided if you are interested. (recommend buying vs renting) Some days you will only need a simple/scientific calculator. Others we will be discussing & using the calculators. You need to have one available for your use.

Sharpened Pencil (or Mechanical with lead)
Blank Loose Leaf Paper
Book
Math Spiral
Colored Pencils (Dark - normally used for correcting)
Calculator

Expectations:

Most classes will consist of several components: a starter, group discussion/lesson and independent working time. You will be expected to be prepared with class materials ready at the beginning of class.
  The starter can include review problems from previous homework, checking the preceding nights homework or a quiz.
  During the group discussion/lesson problems will be discussed. They can include real world applications of different types of math problems, presentation of new or different types of problems and "challenge" problems. Challenge problems will be introduced one day and then re-examined again several days later after allowing time to think and work on them. Both the solution and the method(s) of solving are important.
  Independent working time will be given at the end of a period (some days) to allow students to practice the skills from class. Some days there will be a class assignment, other days students will be given time to begin homework.

Homework:

 On a daily basis, it is expected that at least an hour outside the classroom is dedicated to algebra. This time is expected either completing a written assignment, or time spent reviewing and studying. If you spend longer than an hour and a half stop, and let me know before class the next day. During each chapter, students will be expected to complete and email results from at least one self check from the website tn.algebra1.com to Coach Hondorf ( lhondorf@clevelandschools.org )on their own.

Tests:

Tests will be given at the end of every chapter. A day will be spent reviewing before each test. Students are expected to learn vocabulary on their own, words can be discussed in class as needed. Studying and reviewing on a daily basis is expected. There will be a quartly exam.

Grades:

The class will be graded on a point system. Each homework assignment that is graded will be worth 20 points, quizzes will be worth 50 points and tests worth 100 points. Projects will be assigned throughout the year, their point value will be announced at the beginning of the project, ranging from 20 to 100 points. To get an elective highschool credit for this class within Cleveland City Schools, you must maintain a B or better average and pass the gateway exam.

Gateway:

Near the end of this class all students will be required to take the Gateway exam. Passing this exam is required of all highschool students by the state of Tennessee to receive a highschool diploma. Passing it during the 8th grade year will fulfill this requirement. It is normally scheduled for the first Tuesday in May.

Questions:

Questions concerning topics can be asked during class. If extra help is needed please do not hesitate to ask whether it is during class, lunch or after school. E-mail is another way to ask questions. Concerns about grades will be handled on an individual basis, rather than during class.

Points:

The grades in this class will be determined by a point system as stated earlier. To calculate your current grade, you need to keep up with past grades in your agenda. An easy way to do this is to keep two running totals in your agenda. The first is the number of points that you have earned, the second is the total number of points possible. To find your average, simply divide the two numbers. An example is worked out below.

On Monday, a perfect homework grade is earned,
for a grade of 20 points (out of 20 points possible).		 On Tuesday, nothing was graded. So the points stay the same. On Wednesday, a homework grade of 18 points (out of 20) is earned. The new running totals are 38 (what points have earned) out of 40 (total points possible) On Thursday another perfect homework score of 20 points is earned, so the running score is 58 (earned points) out of 60 (total points possible.) On Friday's quiz, only 46 points (out of 50) are earned, so the running total is 104/110.
  This running total is easy to keep, and the students can then update their average on any given day. Simply divide the first number by the second to find the average. On Monday and Tuesday the average was 100, on Wednesday the average dropped to a 95. On Thursday the current average (your grade to date) was 96.6, while on Friday it was a 94.5. This allows the student to know their current average on any given day. As a student, you need to keep up with your own average. This will be reviewed several weeks into the year to allow questions to be answered as needed.