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Course Guides and Frameworks

Overview

The Pre-AP Algebra 1 course focuses deeply on mastery of linear relationships. Linear functions and linear equations are the basic building blocks of many advanced topics in mathematics. Therefore, Pre-AP Algebra 1 is streamlined to give students the time and space to thoroughly develop both procedural fluency and deep conceptual understanding of these concepts and skills.  This instructional focus fuels students’ growth and confidence in mathematics. 

Areas of Focus

Each Pre-AP course focuses on a small set of discipline-specific instructional priorities that support both teacher practice and student learning within the discipline. These areas of focus reflect research-supported reasoning practices that should receive greater emphasis in instructional materials and assessments than they often do. Pre-AP recognizes that many teachers and schools already embrace these disciplinary practices, and now we are offering resources that specifically emphasize these areas of focus.

Pre-AP Algebra 1 Areas of Focus:

  • Mastery of linear equations and linear functions: Students develop a deep and robust understanding of linear relationships from procedural, conceptual, and applied perspectives.
  • Greater authenticity of applications and modeling: Students create and use mathematical models to understand and explain authentic scenarios.
  • Engagement in mathematical argumentation: Students use evidence to craft mathematical conjectures and prove or disprove them.

Underlying Unit Foundations

These big ideas are addressed across units:

  • The structure of real numbers
  • Functions
  • Solutions

Course at a Glance

The table below shows the four main units in Pre-AP Algebra 1, the recommended length for each unit, and the key topics in each.

Unit 1: Linear Functions and Linear Equations 
Timeframe: 9 weeks

Key concepts:

  • Direct Variation
  • Slope and Rate of Change
  • Linear Functions
  • Linear Equations
  • Scatterplots and Lines of Fit
  • Linear Inequalities
Unit 2: Linear Functions and Linear Equations 
Timeframe: 9 weeks

Key concepts:

  • Direct Variation
  • Slope and Rate of Change
  • Linear Functions
  • Linear Equations
  • Scatterplots and Lines of Fit
  • Linear Inequalities
Unit 3: Systems of Linear Equations and Inequalities
Timeframe: 5 weeks

Key concepts:

  • Graphical and Numerical Solution Techniques
  • Algebraic Solution Techniques
  • Systems of Linear Inequalities
  • Modeling with Systems of Equations and Inequalities
Unit 4: Quadratic Equations and Functions
Timeframe: 9 weeks

Key concepts:

  • Modeling with Quadratic Functions
  • Algebraic Forms of a Quadratic Function
  • The Graph of a Quadratic Function
  • Solving Quadratic Equations

Instructional Resources

Schools that officially implement a Pre-AP course will receive access to instructional resources for each unit. These resources don’t constitute a full day-by-day curriculum. Instead, they provide support and model lessons as teachers design instruction for each unit.

Pre-AP Algebra 1 instructional resources include:

  • A course framework, model lessons, and practice problem sets for key concepts within each unit that provide guidance and support for teaching the course.
  • 1-2 practice performance tasks for each unit
  • Recommendations for targeted Khan Academy® practice to support students in building foundational skills across the units.

Learning Checkpoints

Each unit contains:

  • 2 short online quizzes featuring multiple-choice questions modeled closely after the types of questions students encounter on SAT tests and AP exams. Unit quizzes require students to examine graphs, data, and short texts—all set in authentic contexts—to respond to a targeted set of questions that measure concepts and skills from the unit.
  • 1 performance task. These tasks engage students in sustained problem solving and ask them to synthesize skills and concepts from across the unit to answer questions about a novel context.