S+McGinley,+Sarah


 * Teacher:** Ms. McGinley
 * Office: Room** 111 in the Brick Building
 * Office Phone:** 207 - 314 - 1357
 * Office Hours:** 2-4 MWF
 * E-mail:** sarah.mcginley@maine.edu

=Summary of Unit= This unit will cover symbols and expressions in Algebra. The main idea is to have the students understand how to simplify algebraic equations and how to apply them to everyday tasks in forms of symbols, tables, graphs, and verbal rules. The students will learn about different algebraic terminology, formulas, and other critical details in order to perform these tasks. By gaining this knowledge students will be able to analyze virtually any table, graph or chart they may encounter.

=Establish Goals= Maine Learning Results: Mathematics - D. Algebra Symbols and Expressions Grade 9 - Diploma Students understand and use polynomials and expressions with rational exponents. = = =Students will understand that= • Algebra is made up of equations that need to be simplified. • Algebra is made up of symbols, tables, graphs, and verbal rules that need to be chosen for the best representation and can convert from one to another. • Algebra contains rational exponents in polynomials and expressions and can use and understand them. = = =Essential Questions= • How do you simplify equations? • Why would you use certain representations in specific examples? • How would you use polynomials and expressions with rational exponents? = = =Students will know= • Terminology: what expression, equation, exponentials, solve, simplify, symbols, verbal rules, factoring, and inequalities mean. • Formulas: how to solve and apply literal equations, FOIL, completing the square, quadratics, slope-intercept, and point-slope formulas. • Critical Details: what it means to solve equations, use symbols, use graphs, verbal rules, and use different forms of equations. = = =Students will be able to= • demonstrate how to simplify equations. • judge which representation of a symbol, table, graph, or use verbal rules. • produce simplified equations. • analyze rational exponents in polynomials and expressions and can use and understand them. • consider rational exponents in polynomials and expressions and can use and understand them. • recognize which representation of a symbol, table, graph, or use verbal rules.

**Performance Task Overview** Welcome creative business marketers! You have been chosen to create a business plan for the best strategy of marketing in order to earn your annual bonus. The challenge is that there are other competitors. If your marketing strategy does not get chosen you will not get the bonus. As a marketer for Apple, you have been asked to graph data and equations to show a better marketing strategy. Your audience is the marketing director for Apple. You are in the present day market, representing Apple. You will create an iMovie to pitch your marketing idea to the director. You need to produce a business plan with graphs and tables/charts in order to get the marketing director to choose your plan. Good luck!

=Expectations= Education is one of the key ingredients to success in our World today. Where the world is continuously growing and changing having an education is a plus. Learning does not stop once a person has left a school. People are continuously learning about new things everyday. But teaching in the classroom is where my job begins. My job is to make sure the students leave my classroom with the skills to continue learning in a meaningful way. The only thing I ask is to be open to meaningful learning.

Students are expected to attend and participate in this class. One of the important factors of meaningful learning is to work with the information and to be able to discuss it with peers. It is difficult to repeat activities and lessons in class, so I ask you please, attend class on a regular basis. If for any reason you are unable to attend class, please contact me through e-mail: sarah.mcginley@maine.edu, on the same day. We will later make arragements to discuss what you have missed that day.

Students are expected to turned in assignments on the day they are due, unless other arrangements have been made and noted by me. Assignments should be legibly written on white-lined paper with your name, date, and class period, in the top right-hand corner or typed when noted by me. Students will have a chance to redo all graded assignments for full credit. They must be turned in with the revise copy attached to their original copy of the assignment.

Students are expected to honor the Academic Integrity Code. Plagiarism will not be tolerated in this classroom. Please do not copy and paste information directly from the internet, or use exact phrases from any book. If it is neccessary then cite all sources correctly. If it has been discovered that you have plagiarized, there will be consequences. I will be checking for plagiarism throughout the school year. Improper citations must be corrected or they will be considered plagiarism.

Students are expected to respect the teacher and other peers. This classroom is a place for learning and nobody should be passing judgement. Jokes are allowed but at apropiate times and not directed at any one person. If you have a question concerning the topic, please ask! Most times the question you would like to ask, someone else has that same question. You are able to learn from one another and it is encouraged in my class.

=Benchmarks= Listed below are the assignments you will be asked to complete throughout this unit on polynomials. Each benchmark is worth a specific amount of points. Your grade will be determined from a percentage of these points earned out of **900 points**.

Students will be asked to complete a variety of pre and formal assessments that cover a large amount of material on polynomials. The assessments are meant to serve as an informative tool to help the teacher understand where each of his or her students are in the material in order to design the lesson that best fit the learners. There are six pre-assessments and six formal assessments that will be worth 10 points each. Students will be able to earn all 10 points just by participating in the assessments because they are very important in the learning process.
 * __Pre-Assessment and Formal Assessment:__** (120 Points)

Students will be asked to produce a Comic Life that shows steps of an example and have the rest of the students do the example being shown. Students are able to use web photos, documents, as well as their own original photos in order to make the Comic Life. If web photos or documents are used, then they must be correctly cited. Once it has been completed, students will be asked to post it to the class wiki so that we can refer back to it whenever needed.
 * __Comic Life:__** (75 Points)

In class, students will be asked produce an image of a shape of a specific polynomial. The polynomial used should be visible on the image. Also, somewhere in the image there should be an explanation of why the polynomial would look like it does using the knowledge learned in the previous lesson. Once it has been completed, students will be asked to post it to the class wiki so that we can refer back to it whenever needed.  Students will be asked to write a blog entry in which they create a symbol, table, or graph from a word problem or equation. The students will post the blog for his or her peers to comment on. Do they understand the graphic you posted? In the blog entry explain the process that created the image and discuss which representation is better to use in what kind of situation. You should have a situation for each representation. All students will comment at least once about the blog and the student who posted the blog will make one comment back to his or her peers.
 * __Geometer's Sketchpad Image:__** (55 Points)
 * __Blog:__** (55 Points)

Students will be asked to create an electronic poster using Glogster that analyzes one of the hardest problems from the worksheet and make a Glogster poster to present. In this poster students will be asked to explain and provide examples of the terms: completing the square, quadratic, slope-intercept, and point-slope formulas. Once it has been completed, students will be asked to post it to the class wiki so that we can refer back to it whenever needed.
 * __Glogster Poster:__** (80 Points)

Students will be asked to create a podcast that includes an interview with someone who teaches mathematics and can explain why to polynomials are important. One of the subjects that should be covered is how polynomials relate to a job profession and include some of the definitions learned in the previous lesson. Music and other sound affects can be used in the production of this podcast but must be relevant to the content.
 * __Podcast:__** (75 Points)

Students will be asked to create a brochure that shows three levels of difficulty using polynomials. The brochure should show the steps on how to simplify each one. One of the brochure folds should be a resource page of where the examples came from or if student created the examples then it should be stated on this fold. I have provided links throughout the previous lessons that can also be included in the resources. The brochure should reflect personal creativity including a landscape graphic somewhere on the brochure or as a background. Once it has been completed, students will be asked to post it to the class wiki so that we can refer back to it whenever needed.
 * __Brochure:__** (100 Points)

Throughout the unit, students will be asked to participate a variety of cooperative learning activities, including Round-Robin Brainstorming, Circle the Sage, Numbered Heads Together, Partners, Three-Step Interview, and Team Pair Solo. These activities are used to help students improve his or her understanding of the material being presented in the unit. There are six activities that are each worth 15 points. If the student actively participates in each activity, he or she will earn all 15 points.
 * __Cooperative Learning:__** (90 Points)

After all of the students have completed the unit on polynomials, they will be asked to complete the following prompt:
 * __Performance Task (Unit Project):__** (250 Points)

Welcome creative business marketers! You have been chosen to create a business plan for the best strategy of marketing in order to earn your annual bonus. The challenge is that there are other competitors. If your marketing strategy does not get chosen you will not get the bonus. As a marketer for Apple, you have been asked to graph data and equations to show a better marketing strategy. Your audience is the marketing director for Apple. You are in the present day market, representing Apple. You will create an iMovie to pitch your marketing idea to the director. You need to produce a business plan with graphs and tables/charts in order to get the marketing director to choose your plan. Good luck!

The task will be graded using two rubrics. There is one for the iMovie product and one for the oral presentation of the iMovie. Each student will be asked to hand in a copy of the script or storyboard and a copy of the iMovie. Each student will present the finished product to the class.

=Grading Scale=

**A** (93 -100), **A-** (90 - 92), **B+** (87 - 89), **B** (83 - 86), **B-** (80 - 82), **C+**(77 - 79), **C** (73-76),
 * C-** (70 - 72), **D+**(67 - 69), **D** (63 - 66), **D-** (60 - 62), **F** (0 - 59).