William J. Johnston Middle School

Mathematics

Welcome!

Our practices encourage innovative approaches to problem-solving. Students make sense of problems and persevere in solving them while attending to precision. They notice patterns and apply mathematical rules. Appropriate tools are strategically used when reasoning abstractly and quantitatively. Students will also use communication skills to critique the reasoning of others and construct viable mathematical arguments.

The 6th grade math course follows the Common Core State Standards in both content and practice. Content focuses on four major topics:
- connecting ratio and rate to whole number multiplication and division and using concepts of ratio and rate to solve problems;
- completing understanding of division of fractions and extending the notion of number to the system of rational numbers, which includes negative numbers;
- writing, interpreting, and using expressions and equations;
- developing an understanding of statistical thinking.
The 7th grade math course follows the Common Core State Standards in both content and practice. Content topics include:
- number system - addition, subtraction, multiplication, and division of rational numbers (positive and negative integers, fractions, and decimals)
- ratios and proportional relationships - rates, ratios, proportions, scaling, and percent
- expressions and equations - using numerical and algebraic operations
- geometry - two and three-dimensional operations involving angle measure, area, surface area, and volume
- statistics and probability - using sampling to draw inferences about a population and examining theoretical and experimental probability to develop a probability model.
An accelerated math class is offered to students who have demonstrated the aptitude and the drive to meet the demands of a faster-paced curriculum allowing time for increased depth into each common core standard.
The 8th Grade Pre-Algebra course follows the Common Core State Standards in both content and practice. Content focuses on three major topics:
- formulating and reasoning about expressions and equations, including modeling an association in bivariate data with a linear equation, and solving linear equations and systems of linear equations
- grasping the concept of a function and using functions to describe quantitative relationships
- analyzing two and three-dimensional space and figures using distance, angle, similarity, and congruence, and understanding and applying the Pythagorean Theorem.