Numeracy

The New MAth curriculum

The curriculum will teach students fundamental math skills and connect them to real life to prepare students for success – now and in the future.

The new curriculum describes the knowledge and skills that students are expected to learn in each grade. It is organized in five areas with social-emotional learning skills and mathematical processes being taught and assessed through all areas.

The 6 Strands

Number

Students learn about the world of numbers and develop fundamental skills, including understanding basic number facts, such as 5 × 5 = 25 and how to solve mathematical problems in everyday life.

Students will:

understand fundamental concepts and skills across all elementary grades so they are equipped to perform efficient and accurate mathematical calculations both mentally and on paper
increase their confidence with different types of numbers – whole numbers, fractions, decimals and integers – and build the skills to use them for a variety of purposes and real-life applications
start developmentally-appropriate fraction concepts earlier

Algebra

Students learn about patterns and algebraic expressions. Students analyze real-life situations using coding and apply the process of mathematical modelling. For example, in Grade 1, students could plan and track class donations to a food bank and by Grade 8, students could develop a strategy to reduce waste at school.

Students will:

be introduced to mathematical modelling and learn how math can be used to better understand and make predictions about real life
develop algebraic reasoning skills throughout the grades, as students work with patterns, relationships and expressions

Data

Students learn how to collect, organize, display and analyze data to make convincing arguments, informed decisions and predictions.

Students will:

learn to be critical consumers of data and how to determine when data is being misrepresented
develop skills to create infographics to tell a story using data
make connections between the use of data and understanding the chance that something might happen, for example, weather forecasts

Spatial Sense

Students learn about measurement and geometry to help them describe and explore the world around them.

Students will:

make connections between measurement and geometry in order to describe objects and their relationships to the space around them
recognize how spatial sense informs graphic design, the planning of structures, and coding
learn to estimate measures and use measurement tools accurately
better understand different measurement units that are commonly referenced in the digital world today, including large measurement units, such as terabytes, and very small measurement units, such as nanoseconds

Financial Literacy

Students will build their skills and knowledge about the value and use of money, how decisions impact personal finances, as well as develop consumer and civic awareness.

Students will:

learn how to manage finances responsibly, such as creating a budget to help save enough money to buy something they want such as a book, toy or a video game
begin to develop a greater awareness as consumers and contributors in the local and broader economic system

Social-Emotional Learning Skills and Mathematical Processes

Social-emotional learning skills help students develop confidence, cope with challenges and think critically. This learning reflects current research and the government’s commitment to student well-being and skill-building to help students see themselves as capable and confident math learners.

Students will develop social-emotional learning skills and use math processes (for example, problem solving and communicating) across the math curriculum. Students will learn to:

make connections between math and everyday life, at home and in the community
recognize mistakes and learn from them
use strategies to be resourceful in working through challenging problems

Grade 5

Here are some of the knowledge and skills that students are expected to learn.

Number

Students continue to work with numbers up to 100,000. Students are introduced to per cents and continue to build their understanding of decimals and fractions. Students are introduced to adding and subtracting fractions with the same denominator. Students are expected to know multiplication facts from 0 × 0 to 12 × 12. They also solve problems involving more than one operation with whole and decimal numbers.

Algebra

Students continue to classify patterns as repeating, growing and shrinking. Students begin to write and solve algebraic equations involving whole numbers, such as 3 + x = 24 - 5. Students apply their understanding of multiplication and ratios to create and execute code for patterns that grow. They use the process of mathematical modelling to solve problems drawn from real-life, such as creating a design for a school playground and calculating how much the play structures they have chosen would cost.

Data

Students learn about the importance of using various sampling techniques to get “good” data. They create infographics and learn how to identify when graphs are misleading. Students begin to use experiments to understand the concept of probability.

Spatial Sense

The development of spatial sense continues as students study the triangle. Students learn the characteristics and properties of different kinds of triangles, including their angles and measurements. Work continues in understanding and using the metric system to measure length, area, mass and capacity, and to convert from larger units to smaller ones.

Financial Literacy

Students learn about different ways to transfer money between people and organizations, such as e-transfers and cheques. They calculate the total cost and change required for cash transactions involving items priced in dollars and cents, using mental math and other strategies. Students learn how to determine the best value for an item – for example, five apples for $1.00 versus three apples for 75 cents. Students prepare basic budgets and learn about the concepts of credit and debt.

Social Emotional Learning Skills and Mathematical Processes

Students continue to develop healthy relationship skills while working with numbers. Students play games with classmates that involve fractions, decimals and whole numbers. They also learn how to have positive interactions and be patient with others as students take different amounts of time to figure out the answer when it is their turn.

Sample Questions

* How does this problem remind you of a problem you have solved before?

* What are the connections between this problem and (cite specific problem) we solved last week?

* Which strategies can you combine to help you solve this problem?

Communicating Thinking

Students are encouraged to use pictures, numbers and words to solve math problems. A complete answer uses all three of these methods to communicate the students' math knowledge.

"Pictures" may take the form of diagrams, charts, symbols, etc.

"Numbers" is the area where students write down their math sentences, show counting, or any other strategies involving numbers.

The section called "Words" is an area where students should explain the strategies they used to answer the question. This is not an area where students should restate the answer to their problem. This section may be a numbered list of the steps they

took to obtain the answer or a few sentences explaining why they came up with the answer they did.

Report abuse