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Teacher: Derek Owens
Date/Time: Thursday - 11:15 AM to 12:45 PM
Rooms: FH1, FH2
Department: Math
Grade Level: High School (9th-12th) |
This course will cover the topics normally covered in a second year course in high school algebra. This course is normally taken by students in grade ten or eleven, after Algebra 1 and Geometry and before Pre-calculus. Students should have completed Algebra 1 before enrolling in Algebra 2.
Fees The cost of the course is $95 per month for nine months. Registration fees for homeschool classes at various locations (LAC, Metro, etc.) also apply. Students will need to purchase a copy of the Student Workbook, which should be around $25 each semester. Videos of all class lectures will be provided on line at no additional cost.
Lectures and Class time Class time will primarily be spent on instruction. Students should bring their Student Workbook to each class, or a printout of the pages for that week. During the lecture the students take notes in the workbook and solve the example problems.
Videos of the lectures are also available online, and these videos go through the pages in the workbook, point by point. Students use the videos to cover any material that time constraints did not permit us to cover in our weekly class. Or, if a student misses a class or needs to review the material, all of the course content is available online. It is possible to take the entire course online, and many students do so each year.
Textbook The textbook is no longer required for this class. All of the course content comes from the lectures and the Student Workbook. The course was originally based on the book Algebra 2 by Larson, Boswell, Kanold and Stiff, published by McDougal Littell, 2001 edition. This is a popular text used by many schools. The topics covered in this course correspond closely to the topics covered in this book, although the explanations in the lectures are expanded over those in the book, at times significantly.
Homework, Tests, and Grade Students will be given specific assignments to do on their own each week. Assignments will consist of additional lectures delivered on the computer, problems to practice, and homework assignments that will be collected and graded. To allow for the maximum amount of instructional time in class, tests will be given at home. One final exam for each semester will be taken in class at the end of the semester. Students will receive a numerical grade for each semester and for the year. The grade is calculated based on tests, graded homework and the final exams.
Difficulty Level Not all students require the same pace and difficulty level. Some may need or prefer a class that is more challenging and at a faster pace, while some may desire a class that is not accelerated. This class is offered simultaneously on two difficulty levels, regular and honors. The lectures are the same for both. The honors students will have additional homework problems that are more difficult, and on each test will have an extra page with more challenging questions. Note that the honors class is not an AP class. It is simply a more challenging version of the same course. The goal is for the classes to closely correspond to `Regular` and `Honors` classes at a good private school. Students may decide whether they will take the standard or honors version of the course after completing one or two chapters.
Internet Access Access to a computer with a high speed internet connection is strongly recommended, and is required for online students. Instructional materials such as lecture videos, lecture notes, homework assignments and tests will available over the internet. Graded assignments and tests will also be returned via email in order to provide more timely feedback. Progress reports will be put on the website and updated regularly.
For more details and a course outline, see www.DerekOwens.com.
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