Welcome to Algebra 1 with Mr. Phillips. Algebra 1 is not only a math requirement you take in high school but a class teaching you all about literacy development and the essentials of math outside the classroom. Students will learn how to effectively work together and better their skills as student learners as they further their understanding in the subject of mathematics.
EL students are getting further behind every year in math classes. How are students going to learn math when they can’t understand English? This is a key topic to focus on with EL students. When given the opportunity, I will stress English on top of Mathematics in my classroom. I plan to go over once a week a lesson about the English of the lessons we are learning.
Groups always help learning. In my math class, a lot of assignments and classroom work will be in groups. I think that groups are a very successful way of solving a lot of problems. For the struggling EL learners, students with a comfortable and safe classroom environment can excel through their piers. Stronger students can assist the struggling students which in fact helps them understand the material better. Obviously the plan is to give extra points to groups that can do this successfully.
I want to stress the importance of thinking and learning in my class instead of worrying about a grade. There is an idea that students, if they have access to excel, can use this program to promote their interest in the topic of math. Also in my class there is no such thing as a wrong answer going over lessons. I want to encourage participation and thinking instead of students being shy and afraid to answer questions. This can be done by creating an open policy in the classroom.
A really good idea to keep students learning the harder more complex topics is a new style of grading. This new style grades students on multiple areas of the assignment and not just an overall grade. For example in group projects the areas can include collaborative behavior, teamwork, presentation, and material. This way students can not only focus on the math itself but the learning as a whole.
In mathematics, literacy has a huge advantage over other subjects. Literacy disguises itself in math and stresses a lot of what math already does. Focusing on the how the lesson gets done instead of the actual material really stresses how important literacy is in math. I want my literacy to be diverse and filled with different ways of learning the material I provide.
Mr. Phillips's Class 