The Mathematics Curriculum in Primary and Lower Secondary Grades
The mathematics curriculum in UAE public schools has been developed around four strands that comprise the knowledge and skills that should be learned by students in Grades 1 to 12: Numbers and Operations, Algebra and Patterns, Geometry and Measurement, and Data Analysis and Probabilities. An additional five strands comprise the skills that students will use in a variety of situations in mathematics and other subject areas, and apply to activities in their daily lives: Problem Solving, Reasoning, Proof, Communication, and Representation.
By the end of fourth grade, students in public schools should have been taught the following topics:
- Numbers and Operations—Place value up to millions; comparing and ordering whole numbers, fractions, and decimals; adding and subtracting whole numbers; multiplying two-digit whole numbers; dividing three-digit numbers by two-digit numbers; rounding whole numbers to the nearest 10, 100, or 1,000; rounding decimals to the nearest tenth or hundredth; and factoring whole numbers into prime factors
- Algebra and Patterns—Finding the missing terms in a sequence or series; describing and finding rules for patterns from tables; and solving simple equations
- Geometry and Measurement—Identifying and comparing angles (acute, right, obtuse, and straight); identifying and classifying triangles by angles and by sides; identifying and classifying quadrilaterals (squares, rectangles, parallelograms, trapezoids, and rhombuses); identifying congruent figures; identifying time periods using a calendar; recognizing transformations (translations, line of symmetry and reflections, and rotations) of simple shapes; calculating area and perimeter of squares and rectangles; and describing solids (cubes, rectangular prisms, spheres, cones, pyramids, and cylinders)
- Data Analysis and Probabilities—Reading and interpreting data from tables, bar graphs, pictograms, histograms, and line plots; finding range, mean, mode, and median for a set of data; judging the probability of an outcome as certain, more likely, equally likely, less likely, or impossible; and locating and reading points in the first quadrant of the Cartesian plane
By the end of eighth grade, students in public schools should have been taught the following topics:
- Numbers and Operations—Whole numbers, integers, fractions, decimals, and mixed numbers; properties of numbers; estimation strategies for numbers; comparing and ordering numbers; the four arithmetic operations and the order of operations; ratio and proportion; unit rates; percent and applications of percent; and approximation of square roots
- Algebra and Patterns—Identifying patterns, graphs, and number sequences; solving pattern problems; understanding function rules; interpreting graphs; transforming formulas; evaluating and writing algebraic expressions; solving two step linear equations by using the four arithmetic operations; and graphing, writing, and solving inequalities
- Geometry and Measurement—Classifying angles and parallel lines; lines and planes; similar figures; maps and scale drawing; the Pythagorean theorem; viewing solids and surfaces; area and perimeter of two-dimensional shapes (regular and irregular); surface area and volume of prisms, pyramids, cylinders, and spheres; graphing linear equations; solving simultaneous linear equations by graphing; tables and graphs; the slope of a line; graphing nonlinear relationships; transformations (translations, line of symmetry and reflections, and rotations); and tessellations
- Data Analysis and Probabilities—Using spreadsheets and data displays; using stem and leaf plots; understanding random samples; using graphs (e.g., pie graphs) to analyze data (range, mean, mode, and median); estimating population size; using data to persuade; exploring scatter plots; experimental and theoretical probability; sample space; and understanding compound events, counting principles, permutations, and combinations