* This is a FLEX class--No Live Classes!
* New! Price now includes 2-month access to IXL Math (https://www.ixl.com/math), a $20 value! IXL is a great tool for targeted skill practice and reinforcing learned concepts for students.  
* If your student does not want/need the IXL access, I will refund you $20 at enrollment

I designed this course to provide a full-year math curriculum for homeschoolers, but it is also a great option for 5th, 6th or 7th graders attending traditional school who need a little extra support and practice in math (or older students needing to review or catch-up). Additionally, if you are new to homeschooling, it's a great way to make sure you've got math solidly covered (I've found math to be the trickiest subject to try to teach your own child!!) without a fixed time commitment or heavy financial burden!

A full year of rigorous, individualized mastery method 6th grade math curriculum without the stress or fixed time commitment of trying to schedule live meetings! This is the first session of a FLEXIBLE SCHEDULED year-long 6th grade mastery method math course. There are NO live meetings for this class. Pre-recorded videos, interactive google slide presentations and links to Nearpod lessons and review games will all be posted in the Outschool Classroom, along with weekly homework assignments from the workbook, and special interactive assignments such as math scavenger hunts and create-your-own-story-problems. I will respond individually to each student with detailed video explanations and corrections to homework that is turned in, as well as provide written responses. Because of the small class size (6 students maximum), individual attention and individualized instruction is guaranteed!  This is a self paced class with each week's learning materials posted in the classroom at the beginning of the week.

In this first 8-week session, students will gain a deep understanding of exponents, place value, decimal numbers and metric measurements through visual slide presentations, interactive Nearpod lessons, student practice, real world problem solving and fun activities and games! In this first 8-week session, we will begin by building on our knowledge of multiplication as repeated addition, to discover that repeated multiplication can be expressed as exponents. We will then take a deep dive into place value and its key relationship to exponents (powers of ten), decimal numbers and the metric measurement system. We will use money to gain a real world understanding of decimals as we apply standard algorithms to add and subtract decimal amounts. 

We will utilize the Outschool Classroom to facilitate interaction and discussion. I will do this by posting critical thinking, math strategy questions, and expecting students to respond to both my questions and each others' responses. Learners will be asked to post a response to the weekly math scavenger hunt challenge, as well as weekly create-your-own-story-problems for fellow classmates to try to solve. This class is the equivalent of a class that meets three times per week, and I recommend that learners split their weekly math workload into at least 2-3 sessions, but learners are free to create their own weekly schedules for completing the work.

This session is Part 1 of a larger series titled, A Full Year of FLEX 6th Grade Mastery Method Math. Taken as a whole, this will offer a full year's worth of math at the general 6th grade level--focusing on the topics of exponents, place value, decimal numbers, percentages, measurement in the metric system, probability and basic geometry.  This is a Mastery approach to math--each concept will be demonstrated, explained and practiced in a meaningful, in-depth way to achieve full understanding before moving on and connecting to the next topic. This approach is ideal both for students who love math and want to take a deep dive into each concept, as well as anxious math learners who get easily overwhelmed by jumping quickly between concepts and prefer to take their time to fully learn and understand each concept. In both cases, the mastery method can build confidence, create a positive math identity and set students on a trajectory of math success. Because of the small size of this class, I will be able to give each student the individual attention needed to ensure mastery. This course is geared towards the 6th grade student, but because the mastery method builds on previously internalized concepts and skills, specific age or assigned grade level is not as important as the prerequisite foundations of mathematical understanding. 

**Specifically for this class, students should come with a solid number sense for both whole numbers and fractions (including comparing and finding equivalents) as well as performing basic operations (adding, subtracting, multiplying and dividing) on multi-digit numbers as well as fractions.  If you have questions about your learner’s placement level, please contact me. 

I want my students to feel fully engaged in the learning process--to find meaning, confidence (and yes, even joy!) in mathematical problem solving. To make math fun and engaging, I will be presenting lessons through interactive slides, which will include clear visual representations, virtual manipulatives, and connections to math in the real world. Additionally, I will be using applications such as Nearpod (nearpod.com) to create further opportunities for students to engage with the material and with one another. Activities will include collaborative idea boards, typed or drawn responses, polls, matching games, quizzes and embedded games. These activities provide not only engagement and fun for students, but also give me as the teacher the opportunity for ongoing, informal assessment. 

Most lessons will be split into 2 parts each week. I will post Part 1 by 8AM (Eastern Time) each Monday morning, and Part 2 by 8AM each Wednesday morning. Part 1 will usually consist of the video lesson, skill practice on assigned workbook pages, as well as fun practice activities/games on Google Jamboard, Nearpod, IXL, Blooket, and/or Gimkit. Part 2 will sometimes have a second video lesson plus more practice, and then the lesson test on Google Forms. 

Here is the break-down of topics for each week:

Week 1: Exponents
Part 1: Introduction to Exponents through Concrete Models
and Practicing Exponents through Written Equations
Part 2: Review Work & Word Problems: Fractions of a Number

Week 2: Place Value
Part 1: Introduction to Place Value through Visual Representation and Place Value as Powers of 10 & Decimal, Expanded, and Exponential Notation
Part 2: Review Work & Word Problems: Equivalent Fractions

Week 3: Decimal numbers
Part 1: Introduction to the concept of Decimals through Money, Expressing Decimals through Relationship to Fractions & Place Value; practice expressing decimals as money
Part 2: Review Work & Word Problems: Simplifying Fractions

Week 4: Adding Decimals
Part 1: Introduction to Adding Decimals Using Money story problems and Using Standard Algorithm to Add Decimals
Part 2: Review Work & Word Problems: Adding Fractions (different denominators)

Week 5: Subtracting Decimals
Part 1: Introduction to Subtracting Decimals Using Money story problems and Using Standard Algorithm to Subtract Decimals 
Part 2: Review Work & Word Problems: Subtracting Fractions (different denominators)

Week 6: Metric System 1
Part 1: Introduction to Metric Measurements and Units (Greek prefixes-bigger units) and Recognizing and Matching Metric Units to Types of Measurement and Prefixes to the Correct Place Value (power of 10)
Part 2: Review Work & Word Problems: Changing Mixed Numbers to Improper Fractions

Week 7: Metric System 2
Part 1: More Metric Measurements and Units (Latin prefixes-smaller units) and Recognizing and Matching Metric Units to Types of Measurement and Prefixes to the Correct Place Value
Part 2: Changing Improper Fractions to Mixed Numbers

Week 8: Metric Conversion Part 1
Part 1: Introduction to Metric Conversion Through Visual Representation of Place Value and Practice Converting Metric Units by Place Value, Recognizing Approximate Conversions Between Metric and U.S Customary
Part 2: Review Work & Word Problems: Adding Mixed Numbers