Rationale
Students in the ESUHSD had been on an integrated mathematics pathway of integrated math 1, 2 and 3 for more than a decade. At the start of the 2025-2026 school year, the district decided to move back to the traditional mathematics pathway of algebra 1, geometry, and algebra 2. Rather than starting freshmen in algebra 1, which was the typical sequence of math courses, our district decided to start all freshmen in geometry for their math course, and keep biology as the freshmen science course. This shift in math course sequence brought about some changes in how students at SCHS navigate their foundational understanding and use of algebra concepts and skills. Geometry is a year-long course and successful completion of both semesters is required for high school graduation. In this geometry course, students explore more complex geometric situations and deepen their explanations of geometric relationships, presenting and hearing formal mathematical arguments. The challenge this past school year were students who were challenged with basic computation skills and needed visuals to really grasp the concepts of solving algebraic equations, combining like terms, using order of operations, and recognizing patterns in calculations. When speaking with biology teachers at SCHS, they noticed the same challenge with our freshman students, mainly that pattern recognition was a challenge and students were very much kinesthetic and visual learners.
The intended population for this curriculum unit will be 9th grade (freshmen) students at Silver Creek High School (SCHS) taking geometry and biology, as well as being a part of the AVID program. The acronym AVID stands for Advancement Via Individual Determination and is an elective course for first-generation and historically underserved students in the 6th through 12th grade. In the elective course, students are taught college and career readiness skills through the WICOR framework: Writing, Inquiry, Collaboration, Organization, and Reading[3]. Along with their rigorous high school courses, my freshmen geometry students will be taking a dedicated AVID elective course where they will be learning how to use content vocabulary to describe in paragraph form how to go from a point of confusion, to identifying evidence that could bring more clarity, and then drawing conclusions by giving reasons and further explanations of their increased knowledge. This process in AVID is often referred to as tutorial or collaborative study groups, and is in alignment with a claims-evidence-reasons paragraph in biology and a paragraph proof in geometry. The purpose of this process in AVID, biology, and geometry is to ensure students are able to articulate their thinking and learning in writing as they further strengthen college and career readiness skills, one of the main focuses of the AVID program and across all content areas.
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