The Mathematics Curriculum in Primary and Lower Secondary Grades
Mathematics is a mandatory subject area at all education levels and in all types of schools. In the National Curriculum the objective for teaching mathematics in Grades 1 to 3 is encapsulated in a single statement: “providing children with knowledge and skills needed in everyday life and at school and helpful with solving problems.”3
Mathematics instruction at this level includes:
- Spatial relations, ordering, and classification
- Counting (counting objects, independence of the number of objects from the counting method, comparing sizes of sets)
- Number notation up to 1,000 (including decimal notation)
- Arithmetic operations (addition, subtraction, multiplication, and division)
- Measuring, weighing, counting money, and using the calendar
- Describing concrete situations with mathematics, solving single-operation and simple multiple-operation word problems
- Geometric figures (e.g., triangles, squares, rectangles, and circles)
At the primary level (Grades 4 to 6), the general objectives for mathematics instruction involve using information given, creating new information, mathematical modeling, reasoning, and developing strategies for solving mathematical problems. Expected learning outcomes comprise natural numbers (algorithms of written operations, Roman numerals up to 30, division with remainders, prime and complex numbers, squares and cubes of natural numbers, order of operations), whole numbers, simple fractions, decimal fractions, percentages, conversion of measurement units, area, volume, algebraic notation (including simple equations with one variable on one side), basic properties of triangles and quadrilaterals (including measuring area and perimeter), and finding prisms, spheres, cylinders, and cones (including prism nets and pyramid nets).
At the lower secondary level (Grades 7 to 9), mathematics is seen as a tool for solving problems in various academic subjects and in everyday life. Teaching mathematics also is deemed necessary for the development of spatial awareness. Mathematics instruction at this level includes the following:
- Rational numbers, percentages, and whole number exponents and roots
- Decimal approximations and examples of irrational numbers
- Algebraic expressions, including notation and calculation
- Examples of functions, and recognizing and determining properties of functions from graphs
- Linear equations and collecting, processing, and presenting data
- Simple random events
- Polygons, circles, bisectors, central and inscribed angles, triangle congruence, and inscribed and circumscribed triangles
- Examples of geometric transformations
- Polygon and circle circumference and area
- Relationships between sides and angles in figures, the Pythagorean theorem, perpendicularity and parallelism in space, prisms, pyramids, solids of revolution (cylinders, cones, and spheres), and calculating the area and volume of these figures