The Middle School Math Program is carefully structured to lead from the concrete arithmetical work that absorbs our younger students to the more abstract conceptual work presented in the seventh and eighth grades.
Knowing that it is vital for our students to develop the fundamentals of number and symbol sense, emphasis is placed in the fourth grade on their ability to understand number properties, estimation, problem solving, and patterns. Skills with all four operations for whole numbers continue to be developed. Fifth grade is the final year of basic arithmetic. While computational skills are strengthened, we place emphasis on the following areas: deductive and inductive reasoning, formulating the appropriate rule (algorithm) for a specific problem, and searching for patterns in problems. Students continue to develop a symbolic understanding so that they can translate from situations to equations and back again. The use of manipulatives, individual and whole group activities, and discussions add to the active and collaborative nature of the learning in the younger grades.
The sixth grade Pre-Algebra course utilizes a curriculum that recognizes the necessary arithmetic skills and the importance of abstract analytical training, both of which are essential for a solid foundation in mathematics. The basic arithmetic skills that are emphasized this year include: order of operations with integers, fractions, exponents, decimals, ratios, percents, and proportions. An introduction to the more conceptual and abstract language of mathematics and problem-solving includes work in the following subjects: variables, equations vs. inequalities, solving equations with inverse operations, integers and rational numbers, number theory, graphing, and geometry.
Throughout the year, students are given the opportunity to apply their knowledge of mathematical properties and their mathematical reasoning to multidisciplinary projects, thus strengthening the learned concepts.
In addition to their practicing basic skills and concepts, seventh graders spend part of the year studying advanced pre-algebra in preparation for a formal course in Algebra I in eighth grade. The rules of exponents and binary operations of polynomials are included. Geometry, the other major component of our seventh grade curriculum, encourages students to discover and think about relationships and develop their spatial sense through construction, drawing, measuring, visualizing, comparing, transforming, and classifying geometric figures. At this level, Geometry focuses on investigating and using geometric ideas and relationships rather than on memorizing definitions and formulas.
Dalton’s eighth grade Algebra program represents an extension of and a carefully constructed sequential step in the work the students explored in the seventh grade. The curriculum material models the content that one would find in a standard Algebra I course in both scope and sequence. Our students learn the material by analyzing and studying statements, illustrations, and examples. It is the active engagement in the material that helps to secure the students’ understanding of the concepts.
