PAP Algebra 1
This section of my teacher website has several parts regarding my Algebra course. Those parts include:
- Spring 2025 STAAR Algebra 1 EOC (End of Course) Results for BMJH
- Yearly Overview
- Course Syllabus
- Canvas Calendar/Syllabus Page (Public Link)
- Parent/Guardian Access to Student Canvas Account
- Daily Routine (Algebra)
- Advice from Former Students
- F.A.Q. (Algebra)
I will update each section as needed once the school year begins in August.
⭐Spring 2025 STAAR Algebra 1 EOC (End of Course) Results for BMJH⭐
Here is how the Algebra students at Berry Miller performed on the April 2025 STAAR Algebra 1 EOC.
Did Not Meet - The student did not pass the STAAR test.
Approaches - The student passed, but they may need a little support next year in their math class.
Meets - The student displayed adequate amount of knowledge on the STAAR test.
Master - The student displayed a higher amount of knowledge on the STAAR test, well above the bare minimum.
| Did Not Meet | Approaches | Meets | Masters | |
| Campus | 1% | 2% | 9% | 89% |
| District | 9% | 18% | 20% | 53% |
⭐More of our students Mastered versus the other three categories❗
⭐Our Masters percentage was 36% ABOVE the district average❗
I think it's also important to look at how students improve each year versus the percentage passing in a teacher's classroom during the given year. This is how the students in my class performed.
Limited - Student has made little growth in their math from 7th grade STAAR.
Expected - Student has made expected grown (at least 1 year) in math from 7th grade STAAR. This could also be students who Mastered the STAAR last year, and then Mastered it again this year
Accelerated - Student has made more than a year's worth of growth in math from 7th grade.
| Limited | Expected | Accelerated |
| 8.7% | 21.1% | 70.2% |
This means that 91.3% of my students made progress from were THEY were in math in 7th grade! For example, a student could be part of the Accelerated progress if they did not pass math STAAR last year, and then they ended up meeting the expected grade this year. I also had one student new to the state and one new to the country, both of which ended up making a Masters grade! They weren't counted in the progress measure since this was their first state test. I'm not only satisfied, but I'm proud of these results.
Trust the process, as this class is usually hard in the beginning. It's a high school credit course taught in junior high, and both Mrs. Arthur and I expect a lot out of our students throughout the year. As long as students are patient, ensure that they are ready to work daily, and access all the information provided to them, they will be successful and ready to tackle high school by the end of the year.
Yearly Overview
This yearly overview is designed to give you a general idea of the flow of topics for the entire school year. We may move things around or extend certain topics if we feel it meets the needs of our students. Please encourage your student to check their Canvas calendar daily, as we will continue to update that space regularly.
2025-2026 Algebra 1 YAG.pdf Download 2025-2026 Algebra 1 YAG.pdf
Syllabus
This is the syllabus I will hand out during class.
Syllabus PAP Algebra I 2526_NEW.pdf Download Syllabus PAP Algebra I 2526_NEW.pdf
Canvas Calendar / Canvas Syllabus Page
The link below will take you directly to the syllabus section of my classroom Canvas site. It gives more specific details for students. If you scroll towards the bottom, you will see all the upcoming dates that I've listed in the calendar. If you're not able to see the details of a particular date, please have your student log into Canvas so that they may show you. Parent/Guardians may also set up a parent account to view more details.
Parent/Guardian Access to Student Canvas Account
Parents/Guardians are now able to view their student's Canvas account using their (the parent/guardian) log in.
Daily Routine
This year, I plan to flip my classroom. In a flipped classroom, the students will watch a video at home for homework and complete a set of notes (the video may have embedded quiz questions to check for understanding). During class the next day, students will work on the independent assignment.
Here's an example of our daily routine:
Monday night (homework) - watch video over Order of Operations and fill in provided notes
Tuesday during class - The students will always begin with a warm up (usually stems from building blocks of current topic). After we're done going over the warm up, they'll ask any clarifying questions. If they need for me to work additional problems, I can work those out under my document camera. Lots of times I will work questions that I know involve common mistakes. Students are never required to know the material 100% from the video. It only serves to front load information. Once there are no more questions, students will work on their independent assignment over Order of Operations. I'll still be available to assist students as needed. Their independent assignment will be due by 11:59pm that night as an upload into Canvas. If a student completes their work before class ends, they may start their homework for that night (video for the next day's independent work). Please bring a set of earbuds to class daily just in case.
If we're workin on a particular topic that takes more than one day to cover, that 2nd day of independent work may be a Kahoot during class. If there's an upcoming test, I will post the review early so students can pace themselves and not just study the night before.
The meeting links, assignments, and anything related to class will be easily identified in Canvas. Always begin at the current calendar date to see what will happen for that day.
This is just a sample of how I plan to organize things this year. If anything changes I will do my best to communicate that in a timely matter.
Yes.....we still plan to flip even though Texas HB1481 has put some limitations on device usage in the classroom. We will update/alter our flipped classroom to accommodate this new law and make changes throughout the year as needed.
Advice From Former Students
I started this in May of 2023, and I plan to ask all my students from now on to pass on some advice to the incoming 8th grade Algebra students. The following statements below are the actual responses I received from students for the school year 2023-2024. The only edits or deletions I made were if the responses involved personal information.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
| DO UR VIDEO NOTES (dont get behind its literally almost impossible to get back up from it) and dont cry to much over homework :) |
| DO THE MATH VIDEOSSSSSS |
| STAY ON TOP OF YOUR WORK!!!! ITS EASY ONCE YOU GET IN THE HABIT!!! It's the one way to learn well and to keep an A in that class. |
| Keep up with everything and you should cruise through the year |
| Turn assignments in on time and don't procrastinate/wait till the due date. |
| Do the videos |
| Make time to study |
| Don’t fall behind it will just pile up! |
| Do as much work as you can work at school. |
| Just do it. |
| don't make your teachers mad |
| do your best |
| Do your work on time! |
| Its as easy as doing nothing to get behind so reserve an hour a day to do your work and DO NOT GET BEHIND. |
| Study everyday and watch EVERY lesson video... I def didnt |
| do your work on time and WATCH LESSON VIDEOS! |
| DO YOUR LESSON VIDEO NOTES :) and pay attention during class. Also to use your time wisely. |
| Keep on top of your work and ask for help if needed. Mrs. Laird won't bite, don't be afraid! |
| work |
| DO THE LESSON VIDEO NOTESSS!!! |
| Dont overthink it |
| Always do your work. |
| Do youre work because as long as you do it youre grades will be fine. |
| Watch the lesson videos! |
| turn your work in on time and focus on your academics. |
| Dont forget the lesson videos before test day |
| Don't skip lesson video |
| DO YOUR HOMEWORK STUDY |
| Always set a specific time to study/do homework. It helps your time management |
| Turn your work in on time. And pay attention |
| Watch your lesson videos. |
| Don't procrastinate on your work and homework. |
| Don't procasinate anything!! Any type of math is so much harder when trying to figure it out last minute. |
| Always watch your lesson videos and be prepeared for tests. |
| Do your homework. |
| Stay on top of your work. Never fall behind. It will lead to you stressing and possibly not succeeding. The class is not hard to pass as long as you do your video notes and independent work. |
|
Its not that hard |
| To do your homework and actually pay attention to the videos |
| Do your work! Don't procrastinate or you'll get behind and you won't know what's going on. Once I started focusing more on my work and getting it done the work became easier to do and learn. |
| DO NOT CUT CORNERS!!!! it'll stab you in the back during tests!!!! |
| Never give up |
| Don't take the class.............. |
| Don’t procrastinate (coming from experience) |
| My advice is to ALWAYS be on top of your work and to not procrastinate. |
| Please watch the video notes because it helps a lot, find time and watch them because i was in cheer and practice mad me really tired, but watching them made a difference in my grades, also if your not learning, TEACH YOUR SELVES!!!, watch any videos of the topic that your learning and if you still don’t get it then try your best. It’s like a roller coaster of i’m being honest. It’s easy then hard then starts to get easy again then hard. Overall it was a okay class but don’t work your self out if you can’t get things right, i will all work out in the end. |
| 3 Rules to follow, 1. Turn in you work on time, (please for the love of god, just do this, you have a higher chance of passing Algebra, if you turn in your work) 2. Go to tutorials (Don't just go to go, go to understand things you don't understand or to correct things, not understanding that one question WILL bite you back when you take STAAR) 3. Study! Please don't cram last minute, it's not going to feel good (I know cause I've been there 😅) review your notes, go to tutorials and look through previous independent works/homeworks(And lastly our unofficial rule, 4. RESPECT YOUR TEACHERS, you don't have to like all of them, but just respect them, that is basic human decency!) |
| DONT PROCRASTINATE work first then have fun |
| It is going to be difficult. It is hard, but it is definitely do-able. Study for the tests using math quiz lets/blookets and Kahn academy. Work hard and DO NOT procrastinate. |
| Do the video notes and don't procrastinate. |
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
F.A.Q.
(This section will be constantly updated as I encounter more questions about the way our Algebra classes are structured.)
Flipped Classroom Model
⭐Why do you flip the classroom instead of using the traditional model?
- Ultimately, this makes students take responsibility for their own learning. We don't ever expect the students to 100% master the material after watching the video (although they often do). We do expect them to come to class with a basic understanding, so we are able to expand on it or do a quick review before students begin their independent work. If we see students are still having difficulty, the flipped model allows us to spend 1 on 1 time with the students who need it, and it allows other students to move on. If a student understands the material and manages their time wisely, they are often able to complete the independent work in class and complete the lesson video for that night (and not bring any homework home). The only time this model is unsuccessful is when the student doesn't participate (watch videos, manage given time wisely, asks for help when needed, does not misuse math apps at home, etc).
⭐Do you offer any extra practice?
- For every day/topic in the module there is a page titled Extra Practice (or something similar), where we link various websites or post worksheets (including the answer keys). The students can work through these items as they need to, or we may work with these students using these resources during tutorials.
⭐Do you ever update your videos?
- Sometimes. If we find a better resource to use, we will re-record the videos and update them in the module.
⭐How long are your videos?
- It depends on the content. Equations typically don't take long to cover since the student has had exposure to them for a couple of years. Those videos are about 15min. long. Once we get into the spring semester and cover things like quadratics (factoring, solving), those videos tend to be longer (20-25min.). We try our best to be purposeful when making these videos. Students are encouraged to bring any questions they have (after watching the videos) to class the next day so they can be addressed.
⭐Do you grade these videos?
- Absolutely. There are embedded quiz questions in every video. The questions go along with what the student is watching, so as long as they are paying attention to the example and listening along, they will be fine. We also have the videos set to multiple attempts (with the highest attempt recorded), so a student may re-watch the video as many times as needed.
⭐If my student has technical issues with the Wifi at home, how is he/she supposed to do the work?
- The videos can be watched using the Canvas app on their cell phones. They can also come to the computer lab in the morning or any teacher's tutorial session to use a computer to complete the work (if their device isn't working). If neither of these options work, your student is encouraged to immediately communicate their needs to us and we're happy to work out a solution.
Canvas
⭐My student is trying to access his video for tonight and it's blocked. Why can't he/she access the current material?
- We have our Canvas module set to where the students have to complete requirements in sequential order. If your student has something blocked, it's because they are behind in the module. The only times a student gets behind is if they are off-task and not using their given time as instructed.
⭐How do I know if my student is logging into Canvas when he/she should be working?
- Absolutely everything a student does in Canvas is time-stamped, and any teacher can go in and check the Canvas access of a student for their particular course. It'll tell the teacher the day/time a student accessed the page, how many times they've clicked on the page total, and if they've interacted with the page (submitted work to the page). I'm happy to send these reports to any parent that asks.
Delta Math
⭐My student is getting questions correct but the grade at the top of the screen isn't increasing. Why is that?
- Once the students get used to the format of Delta Math, we set penalties on the assignments. For example, if there is a penalty of 1, a student can get 1 wrong but as long as they have 10 total correct (or whatever it is set to), they will get credit. If they get more incorrect, they have to get more correct (essentially to "cancel" out the incorrect questions) before their score increases. This prevents students from skipping through the assignment to get "easy" questions to complete. We go over this process in class as well as post a video in the module to remind students.
Uploading Shown Work
⭐How can my student upload shown work?
- We give the student several options in class, but the easiest one is can take a picture using the notes app on their iphone (converts to a PDF document). This can immediately be submitted via the Canvas app to the correct assignment. If the assignment doesn't show up while they're on the app, it's because they are BEHIND in the module.
⭐How is my student supposed to upload shown work if he/she doesn't have a cell phone?
- This is one of the options we talk about in class. If their laptop is the only device they have, they can take a picture with the camera and convert to a PDF to submit.
⭐How can they submit their work during school if they aren't allowed to have their devices out?
- This year we plan to complete more paper assignments or at least have students hand in their shown work (instead of uploading it). The uploading at home will still be available for students who are absent and want to go ahead and turn in the work so they don't fall behind (and the next page in the module will unlock).
Homework
⭐How often do you assign homework?
- Students can expect to have homework every night, even on the weekends. The weekend homework is NOT longer, it's typically just the video for the independent work they will do the following Monday. The only times students will not have homework is after a long break or at the beginning of the semester. The structure of all this will be communicated to the students throughout the year.
Absent Work
⭐My student was absent and not able to complete work when he/she was at home. How is she supposed to participate in class the day she returns if she's behind in the module?
- We have the students create a "placeholder" so they can access the video for the evening, allowing them to participate in class the next day. Students are expected (and reminded) to always make sure to go back and complete their absent work.
Math Apps
⭐Are there any apps that you recommend to assist with assignments?
- As best you can, please LIMIT the use of ANY app to assist with their math homework. When used for their intended purpose, they can absolutely be useful. The problem is that sometimes students will use them for all their problems and copy down the work the app provides, thus not practicing the material (and not being prepared for tests). With that said, PhotoMath is great. But again, please encourage your students to use this app appropriately.
Tutorials
⭐Do you have tutorials in the morning/afternoon?
- Yes, I provide tutorials in both the morning and afternoon. This will be updated in August once the staff comes back to work.
⭐Where are your tutorials posted?
- Tutorials will be posted on both my teacher website as well as the home page of our Canvas course. I will also provide a document that shows the tutorial times of all the math teachers. This will be posted on my website and the home page of our Canvas course as well.
Communication
⭐What is the best way to communicate with you?
- Students - They need to communicate with me via Canvas inbox. This allows me to keep all my student communication in one place. I can easily search for their names and quickly pull up any conversations in case the parent guardian asks.
- Parents/Guardians - Email is the best way to reach me. I will do my best to respond within 24 hours of receipt. Email is also a great way for me to include documents in my communication that are relevant to a parent/guardian concern.
⭐How often do you check your messages?
- Students - I see those messages pretty quickly (since I keep Canvas open), and I will flag them as a reminder to myself to respond later. I will respond in the order in which I receive messages, unless there is an extenuating circumstance that warrants immediate feedback.
- Parents - I will check my email during my conference period each day.
Updating Grades
⭐Why is it that my student's grade in Canvas doesn't match his/her Skyward grade?
- I often add points to tests (signed reviews) or may take the average of a few assignments and input that as one grade. Canvas is our district LMS (Learning Management System) and is only intended to "house" assignments and act as a tool to facilitate our learning. You may see grades there from time to time (mostly on assessments), but it is not considered our gradebook (which is Skyward).
⭐My student completed their late/absent work. It's been over a week, so why hasn't his/her grade changed?
- The most common reason for this is that the student hasn't notified me of the work completion. Students are required to notify me that they have completed corrections/late/absent work. This can be a Canvas message (if the assignment is digital) or by turning the assignment into the class drawer (if it's a correction). It's important that they communicate this to me since I don't get notified otherwise.
⭐How often do you update Skyward?
- I do my best to update at least twice a week, but with two busy children of my own it might not always happen that way. If something changes, I always communicate that via a Canvas message to the students.
Switching Levels (Algebra -> Intro to Algebra)
⭐When do you look at recommending a schedule change for your students?
- I like to identify students as quickly as possible, so that I'm able to minimize missed instruction. Ideally I want to do this before the 6-week mark. The longer we wait to make the change, the wider the learning gaps become for the student.
⭐What type of criteria do you use to determine a schedule change?
- I understand students may have an "off day" every once in a while, so I try to look at the whole student when making my recommendation. When I'm ready to have the conversation with the parent regarding a schedule change, this is the information I will present.
- trend in STAAR scores
- trend in benchmark grades (Common 10, October/December Benchmark, Simulation Data)
- trend in report card grades
- current grades in class over review material (items students should have mastered the prior year)
- information from previous math teacher (Sometimes they can provide insight on things I may not know about the student yet.)
- The material I use is always factual data so that I can be fair and unbiased with each student.