Students in the first grade use mathematics and relate it to real-world situations. In mathematics class, children develop a sense of what a number is as well as the various strategies that are used to count numbers. Addition and subtraction concepts are discussed at this grade level. Students study measurement and the proper units that should be used. Children in the first grade are also introduced to geometry and study topics concerned with congruency and symmetry.
Second-grade mathematics allows your children to continue their work with numbers, such as place value, number notation and number representation. A series of strategies should be taught to students to solve addition and subtraction problems that now involve two- and three-digit numbers (a bit more complicated than the first grade). Students will also be solving problems that require the use of writing number sentences to represent mathematics relationships.
During the third grade, students must organize, interpret and compare mathematical information using tables, bar graphs and patterns. The basics of the area and perimeter of different shapes are discussed at this grade level. Your children should demonstrate a concrete understanding of multiplication and division using the numbers zero, two, five and 10. Additionally, students will explore and work with two- and three-dimensional figures.
The mathematics concepts discussed in fourth grade introduce students to organizing data in line graphs, circle graphs and plotting lines. Your children will also be taught how to determine the mean, median and mode within a given set of data. In this grade, students learn the commutative and associative properties as well as the relationship between fractions and decimals. Continual practice is given to problems involving multiplication and division of two- and three-digit numbers to develop proficiency in these topics.
The last mathematics course offered at the primary educational level is during the fifth grade. Students will further increase their knowledge and understanding of factors and multiples while learning about divisibility, prime numbers, the greatest common factor and the least common multiple. The topic of geometry is expanded to encompass points, lines, planes, angle measurement and also the geometric properties of different shapes. In the fifth grade, students will be required to compute percentages of different numbers, write and evaluate expressions with one variable, and study negative integers.