Building Math Mastery (Ages 8 – 10)
Course Overview
Detailed Curricululm
- Shapes – Angles (acute, obtuse, right); triangles (scalene, isosceles, equilateral); quadrilaterals (squares, rectangles, parallelograms, trapezoids, rhombi); other polygons (pentagons, hexagons); puzzles with polyominoes.
- Skip-Counting – Skip-counting by 2s, 3s, 4s, 5s, 6s, 7s, 8s, 9s, and 10s; patterns in skip-counting; connecting skip-counting to multiplication; using skip-counting to solve problems.
- Perimeter and Area – Finding perimeter of polygons; understanding area as covering a region; counting square units; area of rectangles; comparing perimeter and area; problem-solving with area and perimeter.
- Multiplication – Times tables (0–12); the commutative property of multiplication (order doesn’t matter); the associative property of multiplication (grouping doesn’t matter); multiplying numbers that end in zeros; multi-digit multiplication strategies.
- Perfect Squares – Understanding perfect squares (1, 4, 9, 16, 25, etc.); visualizing squares as arrays; patterns in perfect squares; using perfect squares in problem-solving.
- The Distributive Property – Breaking apart numbers to multiply; using the distributive property to make multiplication easier (e.g., 7 × 8 = 7 × (5 + 3) = 7 × 5 + 7 × 3); applying the distributive property to solve problems; connecting to area models.
- Mid-Year Exam
- Variables – Understanding what a variable is (a symbol that stands for a number); writing expressions with variables (e.g., n + 5, 3 × m); evaluating expressions by substituting values for variables; writing and solving simple equations (e.g., x + 7 = 12).
- Division – Understanding division as the inverse of multiplication; division as fair sharing and grouping; dividing by 1-digit numbers; division with remainders; applying division to solve word problems.
- Measurement – Measuring length (inches, feet, yards, centimeters, meters); measuring capacity (cups, pints, quarts, gallons, liters); measuring weight/mass (ounces, pounds, grams, kilograms); telling time to the minute; elapsed time problems.
- Fractions – Unit fractions (1/2, 1/3, 1/4, etc.); fractions on the number line; fractions greater than 1; mixed numbers; equivalent fractions; parts of a whole and parts of a set; comparing and ordering fractions; simplifying fractions.
- Estimation – Rounding to the nearest 10, 100, or 1,000; estimating sums and differences; estimating products; using estimation to check reasonableness of answers; front-end estimation; compatible numbers.
- Area (Advanced) – Finding area of rectangles using multiplication; finding area of complex shapes by breaking them into rectangles; missing side length problems; same perimeter, different area problems; same area, different perimeter problems.
- Problem-Solving & Logic Puzzles – Multi-step word problems; logical reasoning puzzles; pattern recognition; systematic counting; making organized lists and tables; working backwards; guess and check strategies.
- Final Exam
Instructor
