The mathematics program emphasizes problem-solving and critical thinking skills. Students are actively engaged in skill- and concept-building exercises and activities in individual, small group, and whole-class lessons at every grade level. Our program focuses on real-world experiences, integrating our outdoor education center, projects lab, and other classes in lessons and projects to support the development of higher-level thinking skills. Our problem-solving and critical thinking based curriculum teaches step-by-step approaches to solving problems while encouraging students to develop and utilize their own problem-solving strategies.
All grade levels junior kindergarten through fourth grade address developmentally appropriate benchmarks following the following strands: number sense, geometry, measurement, operations and computation, patterns and functions, and data and probability.
The junior kindergarten through fourth grade classes use the Bridges in Mathematics from The Math Learning Center. The program focuses on math literacy, emphasizes problem-solving and critical thinking, and utilizes hands-on, real-world components. “Number Corner,” a component of Bridges in Mathematics, is an integrated daily calendar activity which focuses on patterning, prediction, problem-solving, and critical thinking. Math support specialists from the Learning Resource Center provide student support, and also work with small groups and individuals to be sure all students are receiving individualized instruction (enrichment or remediation) as needed.
In addition to classroom mathematics instruction, students work in the Projects Lab and use measurement, computation, and problem-solving skills to build woodworking projects. This allows our students to apply their mathematical knowledge to something relevant and meaningful and experience math in the real world. Junior kindergarten and kindergarten children build small boats and a project of choice. First graders work on a more complicated paddle boat and a project of choice. Second graders spend the year working on building and learning to play a box guitar, even measuring the proper distance for the placement of the frets. Third and fourth graders use their skills to build projects of choice, and depending on the level of difficulty, might create one to three projects during the course of a school year. Through the primary school years, students have the opportunity to create something from scratch, using math, problem-solving, and collaboration with their peers.
In junior kindergarten, students participate in hands-on, interactive learning experiences using concrete materials. This helps the students develop an understanding of and insight into the patterns of mathematics. Some specific math activities include sequencing, counting, sorting, shape identification, and problem solving.
Goals and Objectives
Number Sense:
- Identify and writes numbers to 10
- Count by ones to 20
- Count with one to one correspondence to ten
- Identify numbers greater than or less than to 10
- Sequence numerals to 10
- Skip count by 10
Measurement:
- Compare objects by size
Geometry:
- Sort concrete objects by one attribute
- Discuss and interpret data in simple bar graphs
- Create and identifies AB patterns
- Identify one dimensional shapes (circle, square, triangle, rectangle);
- Sort objects in 2-4 groups