Are you tired of spending the first three weeks of your Algebra 1 class reviewing middle school math skills? If you’re silently nodding your head right now, then an Algebra 1 summer review packet could be your answer!
The transition to Algebra 1 is a huge step for many students coming out of middle school math. Many math teachers notice that their incoming students need a lot more support getting ready for Algebra 1, but what causes students to be unprepared for their high school math classes?
Let me tell you why…
Factors that cause unpreparedness
The 8th to 9th grade transition can be the most challenging for students both academically and socially. These students go from being the oldest in their school back down to the youngest while some of their peers are now nearly adults.
Aside from the social-emotional factors, there are many academic factors that affect a student’s preparedness for Algebra 1. Let’s dig deeper into what these causes are and how to better support students.
Lack Foundational Math Skills
Students often come into high school with huge gaps in their number sense and foundational math skills. The main skills that I have noticed are lacking in many of my Algebra 1 students are multiplication facts and fraction operations.
Although students can use multiplication tables and calculators to find products, having a strong number sense directly correlates to a student’s ability to understand and apply higher level math concepts.
Similarly, many high school students are absolutely terrified of fractions. As soon as they see a fraction in a problem, the immediate reaction is to turn it into a decimal or skip the problem entirely.
We all know that students spend years in elementary school learning common denominators, keep change flip, and other strategies for solving problems with fraction operations. However, by the time they get to high school all of these skills are pushed so far back into their brain that performing fraction operations is a distant memory.
Passing vs. Failing Courses
Earning credits for a class is a wildly foreign concept for incoming high schoolers. There are a handful (quite a few handfuls now more than ever) of students that have been pushed along by their previous teachers even if they haven’t shown true understanding and mastery of a concept.
High School Students Rarely Know How to Study
Studying is not a skill that students naturally know how to do. It is a learned skill that takes practice and guidance. High school teachers often assume that their students know how to manage their time and study effectively, but that is typically not the case unless a student has someone at home who has taught them.
This often means that students end up forgetting the skills that they have learned in previous classes, especially since every year they are overloaded with new information that they are expected to remember.
If there are certain skills that math teachers want their students to have mastered, they need to give students the opportunity to continue practicing these below-grade-level skills so that they can stay sharp.
That is why I created this Algebra 1 summer review packet ⬇︎
This getting ready for Algebra 1 prep packet is broken down into bite sized lessons and review activities to keep your students’ math skills sharp over the summer. I’ve curated an 8 week summer curriculum plan with the most essential skills that your students will need to be successful in Algebra 1.
How does this Algebra 1 summer review packet work?
Once you receive the Google Drive folder with all of the Algebra 1 practice worksheets and activities, you have two options for how to use it. You can choose what will work best for you to ensure your students are ready for Algebra 1!
Print and go option:
The low prep version of this packet is as simple as print and go! You’ll download the PDF file, print, copy, then staple it to send home with your students. You can decide whether you want your students to have a printed pacing guide for keeping track of their work or just a digital version to access the digital activities.
Customizable option:
This Algebra 1 summer review packet includes a pacing guide template for you to add in any resources, activities, or practice worksheets that you want your students to complete over the summer. You can also create your own customized printable packet to send home with students!
Supplemental Materials
In the pacing guide you will also get a breakdown of each activity and a list of free supplemental materials. The standards-aligned Khan Academy videos and activities are a great way to make your students feel supported while they are working from home.
8-Week Pacing Guide Break Down:
Week 1: Order of Operations
Week 2: Expressions and Exponents
Weeks 1 and 2 focus on simplifying expressions and reviewing the product of a power and power of a power exponent rules. This mini unit tests your students’ number sense and gets them thinking about how variables and expressions are represented.
Week 3: Fraction Operations
Week 4: Ratios and Proportions
Weeks 3 and 4 of the Algebra 1 summer review packet are my favorite because of the variety of activities your students will complete. This unit includes a digital mystery picture puzzle, practice worksheets and review, and real world applications.
Week 5: One and Two Step Equations
Week 6: Multi-Step Equations with Variables on Both Sides
Solving equations is typically the first unit that is covered in Algebra 1 which is why weeks 5 and 6 both focus on that one topic. Although equations is a unit in 8th grade math and pre algebra, many students come back to school and need to brush up on their skills again. This mini unit includes one-step equations, multi-step equations, and dabbles in word problems.
Week 7: Coordinate Plane and Building Functions
Week 8: Graphing Linear Equations
Algebra 1 goes much more in depth on graphing linear equations and each form (slope-intercept, point-slope, and standard forms). It is essential for incoming high school students to know how to plot points on a coordinate plane and understand the foundations of linear functions. This will make the graphing unit in Algebra 1 much less daunting and overwhelming for them.
Final thoughts about the Algebra 1 summer review packet
Not only is this Algebra 1 summer review packet ideal for Algebra 1 teachers, it can also be used for summer school teachers who want a ready to go curriculum. The customizable template is perfect for summer school teachers who want to embed their own curriculum into the pacing guide or change the pacing all together to fit into a shorter time period.
In these Algebra 1 practice worksheets, your students will practice all of the essential, foundational skills they need to be successful in Algebra 1, so that you don’t have to spend the first three weeks of class reviewing with them. When the first day of school rolls around, you’ll be able to dive right into the Algebra 1 curriculum!