The mission of the Maumee Valley Math department is to provide students with a solid base of mathematical knowledge based on a sound sense of mathematics developed in a cooperative atmosphere of active exploration and constructivist learning.  We will develop persistent and confident students who use multiple strategies to solve real-world problems, effectively communicate their logical solutions, and understand math’s global impact and importance.  

Math in the Lower School is taught using a method of mini-lesson, independent or small group work, conferring with the teacher and peers, and whole-group share.  Students are pre-assessed at the beginning of each unit so that instruction is tailored to the individual student’s level of understanding. Depth of knowledge is emphasized over speed and coverage of content.  Students leave with a strong conceptual understanding of math, the ability to problem-solve, and an appreciation for the mathematics that surrounds them in the real world.

Students in first grade use a variety of models to assist in deepening their understanding of whole numbers, addition, and subtraction.  They are able to draw conclusions and explain the relationship of whole numbers to measurement units and compare the sizes of objects. First-grade students are able to tell time using analog and digital clocks with precision to the hour and half hour.  They can organize, represent, and interpret data with up to three categories. Students are able to find examples of 2D and 3D shapes in the environment, in addition to identifying simple relationships between shapes.

Second-grade students use their understanding of addition to develop their fluency of addition and subtraction within 100.  They solve problems using models and mental math with the ability to consider whether an answer is reasonable. Students are able to explain that digits in each place of multi-digit numbers up to 1,000 represent amounts of thousands, hundreds, tens, or ones.  They deepen their understanding of linear measurement, telling time, and counting money. Students are able to represent and analyze data in bar graphs and can ask questions to better understand the data. They are able to find patterns or symmetry in everyday life.

Third-grade students develop an understanding of the meanings of multiplication and division of whole numbers.  They can use multiplication and division within 100 to solve word problems and are able to explain why an answer is reasonable.  In third grade, students also develop an understanding of fractions. They understand that the size of a fractional part is relative to the size of a whole through the use of visual models and representations.  Students further their understanding of measurement as they are introduced to perimeter and area as an additive, with the ability to apply addition and multiplication to the real world. By the end of third grade, students can relate their fraction work to geometry by expressing the area of part of a shape as a unit fraction of the whole.

Students in fourth grade are able to use mental math to solve more complex mathematical problems using whole numbers with multiplication and division.  They can apply an appropriate method for finding products or quotients involving multi-digit numbers and explain their thinking. They deepen their understanding of fractions by comparing them to numbers with decimals. Through building, drawing, and analyzing two-dimensional shapes, students deepen their understanding of the properties of two-dimensional objects and the use of them to solve problems involving symmetry.

Fifth-grade students begin to deduce new information from existing information to solve and explain mathematical problems.  They can apply the meaning of fractions, multiplication, and division, and the relationship between multiplication and division to explain the logic behind the process of multiplying and dividing fractions.  By the end of fifth grade, students are able to accurately compute products and quotients of decimals to hundredths. They can apply their understanding of decimal placement by conversions of standard measurement units within the same metric system.  Students explore mathematical sequences more deeply, can graph ordered pairs on a coordinate plane, and understand that graphing points in the first quadrant of the coordinate plane can represent real-world mathematical problems. 

Sixth-grade students connect their understanding of multiplication and division with ratios and rates, and ratios and fractions.  They are thus able to solve a wide variety of mathematical problems and explain their reasoning. Students extend their understanding of numbers and the ordering of numbers to the full system of rational numbers; they can reason about the order and absolute value of rational numbers and about the location of points in all four quadrants of the coordinate plane.  By the end of sixth grade, students can write expressions and equations that correspond to given situations, evaluate expressions, and use expressions and formulas to solve problems. They can construct and analyze tables and can use equations to describe relationships between quantities. Students can solve problems involving area, surface area, and volume and prepare for future work on scale drawings through drawing polygons in the coordinate plane.