Math 8 Support

Mr. Jim Willard

Welcome to the beginning of a new and exciting year at Solon Middle School. I am looking forward to working with you in Math Support and providing assistancefor you both in and out of the classroom. You will find that I have high standards for achievement and even higher expectations for student effort, behavior and motivation. By taking an active approach to your learning and us working together…I am positive that you will accomplish more than you can imagine this year.

Objectives:

  1. To provide support for Math 8 class and introduced concepts
  2. To target and strengthen pre-algebra skills & concepts needed for Math 8
  3. To apply math concepts to real-life situations and understand the importance of math in life
  4. To increase conceptual understanding of math units covered
  5. To gain confidence in math and realize mistakes lead to learning

Weekly/ daily class objectives and content can be viewed on the Family Information System or through the Staff Directory on the Solon Middle School website.

Rules/ Expectations:

Respect peers, teacher, materials & self

Promote a safe learning environment

Arrive on time and come prepared with necessary materials & positive attitude

Take responsibility for your learning and be an active participant in it

Put forth maximum effort on all assignments & assessments

Follow SMS guidelines for electronic devices

Water only in class please

Bathroom breaks should be between classes

Don’t be afraid to make mistakes…it is the best way to learn

Seek help when necessary

Ask questions in class!!!

Consequences:

I place high expectations on student behavior and place the responsibility in this area on my students. Students who chose to not abide by class rules and expectations will receive a teacher detention or administrative referral to Mr. Campbell. Assigned detentions may be served in the morning (8:10-8:30). Further instances or problems may result in additional consequences outlined in the student handbook.

Absences/ tardiness:

Being on time and in class each day is very important! The more class you miss…the less support you have for Algebra 1 and upcoming assessments. In addition to losing out on important instruction, classroom experiences are extremely difficult to make up. However, if you do miss class it is YOUR responsibility to come talk to me before or after school about what was missed and any content and/ or assessments that may need to be made up.

Multiple tardiness will result in a morning detention with a daily excessive tardy resulting in a referral to the office.

Assignments:

All assignments will be completed in class and include:

Pre-assessments

Binder assignments/ activities to support Math 8 content

Daily assessments

Extra help:

I compare math to a brick wall…if the bottom bricks are not strong then they affect the layers built on them. In math, the concepts you learn all build on each other. If you do not understand one area, future concepts may be affected. With that being said, it is your responsibility to seek extra help as soon as you begin experiencing difficulty or do not understand a concept. To help you…

I am available before and after school in my room (room 213) to help answer questions, offer assistance on homework and to provide support for upcoming assessments

Check My Solon, Google Classroom and Family Information System for support materials, grades, upcoming assessments, homework and links to websites

On homework, check

On the day of an assessment, I will hold a study session in my room from 8:00-8:30 to answer questions and to review for the assessment.

Required materials:

The binders we will be using will be kept in the classroom, but to be fully prepared you will need to bring the following:

Notebook paper and/ or graph paper

Scientific calculator (TI-30xII)

Pencils with erasers and highlighters

Chromebook (charged)

Math 8 student notes

Please feel free to contact me with any questions you may have or information that you feel I should know about.