Your son/daughter is enrolled in CHAT Geometry this fall. If you haven't already done so, please buy your textbook. You can purchase it new at Northwestern Bookstore, Rainbow Resource, BJU Press, etc. Or you might be able to find a used one online. You can use either the 2nd or 3rd edition. The books are almost identical, except for the numbering on some of the cummulative review problems. I have redone the assignment list and solutions packet so that either edition can be used. Both books are blue with pictures of a turtle and seashells on the front.

Please visit www.mcg.net/nelson/chatmath.htm. There you can view or download the course syllabus, homework expectations, assignment notes, and assignment list. Also available on the math website are files of the overheads that I have made for our weekly class times. These are good summaries of each week's material, and an excellent tool for reviewing for a test.

My goal is to cover 13 of the 14 chapters. I will be leaving out the 14th chapter on Trigonometry, which is covered in the Algebra 2 course. In every high school class I ever taught, we never covered the entire book. The rule of thumb for a high school credit is 75% of the text, which we will more than accomplish. I will not be covering the "extra" sections in each chapter entitled "Geometry Around Us," "Geometry Through History," and "Geometry and Scripture." I may touch on them briefly in class, but they will not be part of the assignments or tests. Feel free to do them at home if you wish.

The assignment list will be adjusted if necessary as we progress. You will notice that there are usually 5 assignments given per week. You can decide which 5 days you will use as assignment days. If there is a test to be taken it is considered one of the 5 assignments for the week. There are assignment notes posted on the CHAT math website which are designed to "tutor" your student through the homework problems that they do at home. Students have found them extremely helpful, so print them weekly and give them to your student before they start their assignments.

I have made a solutions packet for the assignments to be given. I will hand out the fall semester portion on the first day of class. It will be up to you to monitor your student's use of the these. Geometry requires logic and reasoning, and these processes are unfamiliar to many students. It is sometimes a great temptation to look at the answers without taking the time to really think through the problems. For this reason, I suggest that you be the "keeper of the keys." Assignments are to be corrected at home and will be handed in weekly.

When you see on the schedule that there is a test as part of the homework, you are to administer the test. They should then turn the test in to me the following week, along with their assignments. I will correct the test and return it to your student the following week with a percentage grade.

As with any math class I have ever taught, I cannot stress enough the importance of not letting your students fall behind. Math is very sequential in nature.

Please feel free to contact me with any questions or concerns you may have, both now and as we progress through the school year. If your son or daughter is working on an assignment and has a specific question, have them email me the page and problem number along with their question, and I will get it answered as soon as possible. I have found that email works quite well for this. They are welcome to call, but that can be hit or miss. Otherwise, we will always take time at the beginning of class to answer questions from the previous week.

Sincerely,

Kim Nelson, tutor
952-451-9901