September 6, 2016
Dear Parents & Guardians,
Welcome back to another exciting year at County Central High School. I am anticipating a great year working with
your child in the classroom. I am writing this letter as an invitation to open communication throughout the school
year. I believe that parents play a vital role in a child’s education and I hope that by working together, we can
provide the best learning experience possible.
Attached to this letter is a Course Outline, instructions for joining “Remind,” the student “Mastery Scale” and the
“Process for Final Grade Evaluation” for your son/daughter’s Math 7 course. Please take some time to review the
outline with your child. If we all have a clear understanding of the expectations of the course, we can have a very
successful school year.
I invite you to call or email me at any time if you have any questions. Also, could you please add your email address
and a phone number at the bottom of this letter and have your child return it to me? I have found that this makes it
easy for us to communicate and celebrate accomplishments throughout the year.
In addition to this, you will be able to follow along with our class as the year goes on. By accessing the school
website at www.countycentral.ca, you will be able to check on upcoming assignments/checkups/exams in our class.
Thanks for taking the time to complete the bottom portion of the letter. I look forward to speaking with you in the
future.
Sincerely,
Warren Thompson
Math Teacher
County Central High School
Fill out this section and have your child return it to me.
Student Name:_________________________________________
Parent/Guardian Name(s):_____________________________________________
Phone Numbers to be reached at:________________________________________
Parent/Guardian Email:________________________________________________
County Central High School Mathematics Department
Math 7
Course Outline 2016-2017
Mr. Thompson
[email protected]
The goal of grade 7 Mathematics is to prepare students to: Use mathematics confidently to solve
problems, communicate and reason mathematically, appreciate and value math, make connections
between math and its applications and use math to contribute to society. To do this, the curriculum
focuses on four different strands. These strands are Number, Patterns and Relations, Shape and Space,
and Statistics and Probability. Throughout the course, students will develop communication skills,
connection skills, mental math and estimation, problem solving, reasoning, and visualization. These skills
will help the students to demonstrate an understanding of the concepts in each of the four mathematical
strands.
Topics of Study
General Outcomes
Number
Patterns and Relations
Shape and Space
Statistics and Probability
Assessment and Evaluation
This course stresses the importance of assessment for learning practices. As such, final student evaluation
will be outcome based. Each student will be given multiple opportunities to provide evidence of mastery
of each outcome through daily activities, projects, check-ups (at least 1 per specific outcome), exams (6
total, all cumulative), a practice final and a final exam.
Please refer to the “Process for Final Grade Evaluation” attachment to become more familiar with the
final evaluation process.
Materials
-
Pencils – Calculations are to be done neatly in pencil.
Erasers
Binder
Lined paper
Graph paper
Scientific Calculator with Fraction Key
Classroom Expectations
-
Take care of yourself,
Take care of this place,
Most importantly, take care of each other.
Setting Up For Success

Attend class, be prepared and be punctual.

Students are responsible for ALL Assignments, Check-ups and Exams. Homework and important
due dates are posted on the school website.

Check-ups are used to see how you are doing with a given concept. Check-ups are assessed using
the Student Mastery Scale. Please use the feedback from these opportunities to become more
familiar with concepts prior to completing other assessments.

When possible, notify me prior to the day of the exam if you are to be absent. Missed exams will
be written on the next available day. You must make arrangements to be available to write missed
exams.

Success is dependent upon completing daily assignments, asking questions, working diligently at
a variety of new problems and being prepared for Check-ups and Exams. Math is fun and we will
do everything we can to ensure your success. If you are having trouble, arrange a time that we can
discuss what you need more help with.

Cell phones are great! Cell phones are not permitted in class unless they are being used for an
approved activity. You will be notified in advance if you will be using a cell phone in class.
Instructions for Joining Remind!
Send the following message:
Math 7 Specific Outcomes
Number
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
Determine and explain the divisibility of numbers.
Demonstrate an understanding of operations on decimal numbers.
Solve problems involving percent.
Demonstrate an understanding of the relationship between decimals and fractions.
Demonstrate an understanding of adding and subtracting fractions.
Demonstrate an understanding of adding and subtracting integers.
Compare and order fractions, decimals and whole numbers.
Patterns and Relations
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
Demonstrate an understanding of patterns and their equivalent linear relations.
Create a table of values from a linear relation, graph it and analyze the graph.
Demonstrate an understanding of the preservation of equality.
Explain the difference between an expression and an equation.
Evaluate an expression.
Model and solve problems represented by one-step linear equations.
Model and solve problems represented by two-step linear equations.
Shape and Space – Use direct and indirect measurement to solve problems.
1. Demonstrate an understanding of circles.
2. Develop and apply a formula for determining the area of triangles, parallelograms
and circles.
3. Perform a variety of geometric constructions.
4. Identify and plot points on the Cartesian plane.
5. Perform and describe transformations on the Cartesian plane.
Statistics and Probability
1. Demonstrate an understanding of central tendency and range.
2. Determine the effect of mean, median, and mode when an outlier is included in a
data set.
3. Construct, label and interpret circle graphs to solve problems.
4. Express probabilities as ratios, fractions and percent.
5. Identify the sample space for a probability experiment.
6. Conduct a probability experiment to compare theoretical and experimental
probability.
Student Mastery Scale
Skill
Descriptor
Excelling
E
I know (can do) it well enough to make
connections that weren’t taught, and I’m
right about those connections.
Thriving
P+
I know (can do) it well enough to make
connections that weren’t taught, but I’m
not always right about those connections.
Proficient
P
I know (can do) everything that was
taught (the easy parts and the harder
parts) without making mistakes.
Gaining Stride
G+
I know (can do) all the easy parts and
some (but not all) of the harder parts.
Growing
G
I know (can do) all the easy parts, but I
don’t know (can’t do) the harder parts yet.
Developing
N+
I know (can do) some of the easier parts,
but I make some mistakes.
Novice
N
With help I know (can do) some of the
harder parts and some of the easier
parts.
Getting Started
I+
With help, I know (can do) some of the
easier parts but not the harder parts.
Insufficient Evidence
I
I don’t know (can’t do) any of it.
Math 7: Process for Final Grade Evaluation
Year-end grades are assigned through a process of negotiation with both the student and teacher
coming to an agreement based on the results of various assessment tools. In this process the
student is solely responsible for providing evidence of their learning. The following process will
be used:
1. The final exam will be administered during exam week and accounts for 20% of the
student’s final grade.
2. Prior to the final exam, students will book time to discuss their final in-class mark during
the ‘Negotiation Block.’
3. During the ‘Negotiation Block’ students can use their marked exams, as well as the full
year’s tracking sheets and projects to provide evidence of their learning for the 80% inclass portion of their grade. They may choose one, or a combination of the following:
a. Use the average of the exams as the in-class grade.
b. Use a combination of both the Grading System below and the average of the
exams.
Conjunctive Grading Systems
(Based on final skill level assessed for each outcome.)
No outcome skill below P.
No outcome skill below G+.
No outcome skill below G.
No outcome skill below N+.
Some topic scores below N+.
Version A
90% to 100%
75% to 90%
60% to 75%
45% to 60%
Less than 45%
Version B
No outcome skill below G+, and the majority
P or higher.
No outcome skill below G, and the majority
G+ or higher.
No outcome skill below N+, and the majority
G or higher.
No outcome skill below N, and the majority
N+ or higher.
Some topic scores below N, and the majority
not above N+.
E
P or P+
G or G+
N or N+
I or I+
90% to 100%
E
75% to 90%
P or P+
60% to 75%
G or G+
45% to 60%
N or N+
Less than 45%
I or I+
Student: Lawyer/Attorney
Teacher: Judge/Jury
It is the attorney’s duty to provide evidence (that is not conflicting) to the jury to prove what the
grade should be.