English D Mathematics : Hector Robinson


AIMS:
The curriculum follows the textbook series “Checkpoint Maths 11-14” and is being conducted at Bjørns as a 3-year course. Checkpoint Maths leads into the Cambridge IGCSE Mathematics curriculum, which will be examined at the end of the English E class.


TEXTBOOKS:• Checkpoint Maths 11-14, by Ric Pimental and Terry Wall
o Books 1, 2 and 3
o Publisher: Hodder Murray
o ISBN 978 0340 81295 2; 978 0340 81294 5; 978 0340 81293 8
• Supplementary materials


ORGANISATION:
The class this year includes 6th grade and 7th grade students.

During the course of the 3 years, students should aim to work through all three books of the series at either Core or Extended level. A schedule is set to ensure that this can be achieved. Achieving the set target on the schedule each week means:
• completing the relevant exercises (will need to be done before Friday)
• marking them (must be done by using correction books in class, therefore last chance is on Friday)
• completing corrections (may be finished over the weekend)
This means that specific homework is not usually set. Rather, it is the responsibility of the student to do what work is necessary at home in order to meet the weekly target. In this way, students will be taking responsibility for their own progress, including how much homework they need to do. Parents are encouraged to assist the student in planning and achieving targets.

In the classroom, students may be required to work in various modes, including alone, with a partner, in groups of 3 to 4 students, or with a larger group. When working in a group, students are expected to help each other, which is of benefit to the helper by improving mathematical vocabulary (as well as obviously being of benefit to the helped student).

Information & Communication Technology (ICT) is an integrated part of the mathematics program. Students will work on their data handling and graphing skills using a spreadsheet program (Excel).

TOPICS:
The mathematics program consists of four main areas:
• Number
• Algebra
• Space and Shape
• Data Handling

MONITORING & ASSESSMENT:
The following will be used for guidance in setting each student an appropriate work program and targets.
• Students’ scores (percentages) on exercises completed will be recorded.
• Review tests will be conducted periodically, and the results recorded.
• Students’ books will be collected and monitored regularly.

MATERIALS REQUIRED

It is expected that students will have all required materials for each lesson. It is not acceptable to borrow from others as this disrupts both students, can be the source of disagreement, and most importantly, reduces self-responsibility.

Materials provided by student

• Pencil + spare • Blue (or black) pen + spare
• Pencil sharpener • Red pen + spare
• Eraser • Protractor
• Ruler (30cm) • Geometry compasses (two)
• Scientific calculator (eg. Texas Instruments TI-30X IIS or similar)

Materials provided by school

• Text book – Checkpoint Maths (either Book 1 or 2 or 3)
• Notebook
o The notebook is to be set out in a standard format, as described below:



Notebook setout – further notes for students and parents
The notebook is to be kept well-organised, following a standard setout, so that it can be easily referred to eg. for the teacher to find the work that has been done, or for the parent to follow what is being done, or for the student to check back on work done.

The following is a guide to how the book should be kept:

1. General setout
1.1. Each time that work from a new chapter is started, there should be a large heading in the notebook.
1.2. Each time that a new exercise is started, there should be a heading written clearly at the top left, then the page number beside it, and also the date at the right.
1.3. When new concepts are covered, a heading “Notes” should be made, followed by an appropriate heading. The student will make their own notes to show their understanding of the topic.

2. Answers to exercises Each exercise should be set out with plenty of space, as follows:
2.1. Leave space beside the answers so that there is room to put corrections beside the original answers.
2.2. Each answer should begin at the left side of the page, with the relevant question number written on the left.
2.3. Question numbers should always be written in the same format as in the textbook ie. If the question is written as ”2 b)”, then the student should write it in that form, and not as ”2B” or ”2b” or ”2(b)”. This practice reinforces the student’s ability to comply with a basic requiremement of mathematics ie. dependence on accuracy and clear communication.
2.4. If a question has many parts [eg. (a) to (h)] and the answers are short, then a second column can be made on the right hand side of the page. In this case, (a) to (d) should be set out on the left as usual, then (e) to (h) should be set out on the right so that each question number is just to the right of the centre of the page. This setout is only to be used if there will be enough space beside each answer to redo the answer if needed.
2.5. At the end of each exercise, the page should be ruled off.

3. Marking Each exercise is to be marked by the student or a partner under the guidance of the teacher. Marking must be done
3.1. as soon as possible after completing the exercise
3.2. with a red pen, showing ticks and crosses only (not answers)
3.3. showing the result written at the bottom right, expressed as “number of correct answers” over “total number of answers” and also as a percentage
3.4. recording the percentage in the appropriate space on the student’s schedule
3.5. showing the result circled if it is not completed by the scheduled time
4. Corrections Each exercise is to be corrected by the student.
4.1. Immediately after marking has been done, the student must work through the exercise again, re-doing all questions which were answered wrongly.
4.2. The redone answers are to be written in red.
4.3. Corrections should be done in the space beside the original incorrect answer. In some cases, such as with graphs, it may be appropriate to do the corrections (in red) over the original answer eg. new (red) answer on the original graph.
4.4. When corrections are completed, the result on the student’s schedule is to be underlined.