K-8th grades

4th grade is the time to start really fine-tuning your arithmetic skills. Not only will you be a multi-digit addition and subtraction rockstar, but you'll extend the multiplication and division that you started in 3rd grade to several digits. You'll also discover that you sometimes have something left over (called a "remainder") when you divide. In 3rd grade you learned what a fraction is. Now you'll start adding, subtracting, multiplying, and comparing them. You'll also see how they relate to decimals. On other fronts, you'll learn how to convert between different units (which is super important when comparing the size and speed of robot unicorns in different countries) and continue your journey thinking about various shapes in two dimensions. Some of the foundational concepts of geometry (like lines, rays and angles) also get introduced. As always, we'll round this out with a healthy dose of applied word problems and explorations of number patterns and properties (including the ideas of factors, multiples and prime numbers). The fun must not stop! (Content was selected for this grade level based on a typical curriculum in the United States.)

In 5th grade, you'll continue to learn about the decimals you learned about in 4th grade, but you'll learn to perform the operations of arithmetic on them: addition, subtraction, multiplication, and division. Whether you are a robot, possum, magic unicorn, or just a normal human being, 5th grade is incredible! You will deepen your knowledge of the decimals that you were first exposed to in 4th grade. In particular, you'll learn to do all the arithmetic operations--addition, subtraction, multiplication, division--with them and really understand what a decimal represents. This will be complemented by building your fraction muscles where you'll learn to add, subtract, and multiply any fractions (and begin to divide them). On the measurement front, you'll explore volume (or how much "space" something takes up) and continue the unit conversion journey begun in 4th grade. 5th grade is also the first time that you get exposed to the fundamental concept of graphing points on a coordinate plane, and you'll get a very brief exposure to the concept of exponents (when exploring "powers" of 10)! (Content was selected for this grade level based on a typical curriculum in the United States.)

By the 6th grade, you're becoming a sophisticated mathemagician. You'll be able to add, subtract, multiply, and divide any non-negative numbers (including decimals and fractions) that any grumpy ogre throws at you. Mind-blowing ideas like exponents (you saw these briefly in the 5th grade), ratios, percents, negative numbers, and variable expressions will start being in your comfort zone. Most importantly, the algebraic side of mathematics is a whole new kind of fun! And if that is not enough, we are going to continue with our understanding of ideas like the coordinate plane (from 5th grade) and area while beginning to derive meaning from data! (Content was selected for this grade level based on a typical curriculum in the United States.)

7th grade takes much of what you learned in 6th grade to an entirely new level. In particular, you'll now learn to do everything with negative numbers (we're talking everything--adding, subtracting, multiplying, dividing, fractions, decimals... everything!). You'll also take your algebraic skills to new heights by tackling two-step equations. 7th grade is also when you start thinking about probability (which is super important for realizing that casinos and lotteries are really just ways of taking money away from people who don't know probability) and dig deeper into the world of data and statistics. Onward! (Content was selected for this grade level based on a typical curriculum in the United States.)

8th grade is all about tackling the meat of algebra and getting exposure to some of the foundational concepts in geometry. If you get this stuff (and you should because you're incredibly persistent), the rest of your life will be easy. Okay, maybe not your whole life, but at least your mathematical life. Seriously, if you really get the equations and functions stuff we cover here, most of high school will feel intuitive, even relaxing. (Content was selected for this grade level based on a typical curriculum in the United States.)