Academics: Mathematics

Sixth and Seventh Grades
The mathematics taught at Indian Valley Middle School will prepare students to effectively deal with quantitative situations in their lives outside school and to lay a solid foundation for their study of mathematics in high school. During adolescence, many students will solidify conceptions about themselves as learners of mathematics - about their competence, their attitude, and their interest and motivation. Therefore, at Indian Valley, sixth and seventh graders should see mathematics as an exciting, useful, and creative field of study.

The four main mathematical concepts taught at Indian Valley are as follows:

• Thinking flexibly about relationships among fractions, decimals, and percents
• Exploring algebraic representations of equations, tables, and graphs
• Working with proportionality in various settings - e.g. scaling, percents, slope, probability, and similarity
• Connecting geometrical reasoning and algebraic thinking to solve and model problems involving graphs, shapes, and equations

These concepts will be taught over two years in a standards-based curriculum that emphasizes integration and connection of mathematical thinking. Students will also be regularly engaged in thoughtful problem-solving activities that foster their emerging capabilities of conjecturing and verifying, thinking hypothetically, comprehending cause and effect, and abstracting and generalizing.

Integration of other subject areas has involved the math students in such school-wide units such as the Univest Race, the Olympics, and elections. The use of calculators allows the student and teacher time to explore math in real-life situations rather than by the conventional textbook method. Students learn to do comparison shopping, budget, plan a trip, invest, analyze sports statistics, understand charts and graphs presented in newspapers, choose the correct amount of paint needed to paint a certain size house, and conduct a fund-raiser. Students often work in teacher-assisted cooperative-learning groups, helping each other gather the information, analyze the data, and make appropriate decisions. Students keep math journals to verbalize what they've learned during the class period, allowing a place for goal-making decisions and self-reflection.

In order for all four mathematical concepts to be taught fully, an additional one marking period class, called Geometry, has been added for all seventh graders. Facility in introductory geometrical thinking is essential to success in the later study of mathematics and also in many situations that arise outside the mathematics classroom. This class allows students additional time to see the value of interpreting both algebraically and geometrically such important mathematical ideas as the slope of a line and the Pythagorean relationship.

Mathematically talented students in sixth grade are offered to take a Pre-Algebra curriculum that prepares students for an accelerated math sequence. In seventh grade, talented students can take the Pre-Algebra course or may advance into a full Algebra I curriculum. To be eligible for these accelerated courses, students must meet predetermined criteria and be willing and ready to work diligently in their studies. At Souderton Area, all students will be enrolled in either a one year Algebra I or a two-year Algebra course by eighth grade. By teaching algebraic concepts earlier to all students, they will be better prepared to complete high school with the mathematical competencies needed to have numerous opportunities of success.

At Indian Valley, there are also opportunities for math enrichment. Challenge 24 and Online Challenge 24 are eighth-period clubs designed for mathematical enthusiasts in grades six and seven, encouraging and fostering numerical relationships. MathCounts is an after-school activity which teaches creative problem-solving in individual and team oriented competitions. A Mathematical Hall of Fame has been created on some teams to encourage students to do careful work in order to achieve a 100% average.

For students in need of extra help, remediation and reinforcement of concepts is available eighth period for students in both grades. It is imperative in mathematics that students need to master the information taught before they are ready to learn the next topic. Additional remediation times may also be available at an early bird study hall prior to school or after school.