Samoa Year 6 School Curriculum - Mathematics

Number and Operations

• Whole Numbers: Students count, order, read, write, partition, regroup and record numbers of any size using place value. They select and apply appropriate mental, written or calculator strategies for the four operations and interpret their solutions within a problem's context. They also explore other counting systems, recognizing differences between Roman, Hindu-Arabic, and Samoan systems. Students record numbers in expanded notation and describe the role of zero in relation to positive and negative numbers.
• Addition and Subtraction: Students select and apply appropriate mental, written, or calculator strategies for addition and subtraction with counting numbers of any size.
• Multiplication and Division: Students model multiplication and division by choosing and applying appropriate and efficient strategies. They determine whether any given number is prime or composite and use formal written algorithms for multiplication (with operators limited to two-digit numbers) and division (with operators limited to two digits).
• Fractions and Decimals: Students model, compare, represent, order and calculate fluently with decimals and fractions (including ninths) with related denominators and other percentages. They express mixed numerals as improper fractions (and vice versa), add and subtract fractions where one denominator is a multiple of the other, multiply fractions by whole numbers, calculate unit fractions and percentages of quantities, add and subtract decimals to three decimal places, and solve problems involving the four operations and money in authentic situations.
• Chance: Students quantify, using fractions, decimals, and percentages, the likelihood of simple events occurring and order them on a number line. They compare and contrast the probability of outcomes from experiments and by reasoning from equally likely events, investigate variations in probabilities as chance experiments are repeated, and describe a general rule for finding probability.

Patterns and Algebra

• Patterns and Algebra: Students record, analyze, and describe geometric and number repeating and growing patterns that involve two operations using words, tables, and general rules. They construct, verify, and complete complex number sentences involving the four operations with a variety of numbers.

Data Analysis

• Data Analysis: Students construct divided bar graphs with scales of many-to-one, select appropriate displays for data, interpret a variety of graphs with scales of many-to-one correspondence, utilize data to find averages, and find the mean (average) for a small set of data.

Measurement

• Length: Students understand, select, and use units of appropriate size and work fluently with metric and imperial units of length, performing conversions between the two systems. They develop, understand, and use a formula to calculate perimeters of equilateral and isosceles triangles and use decimal notation up to three places to record lengths.
• Area: Students choose and use the appropriate unit to calculate areas of shapes, including triangles and surface areas of rectangular prisms. They determine the equivalence of area measures between metric and imperial systems, investigate general relationships between base length, perpendicular height, and area of triangles, read and interpret scales on maps and simple scale drawings to calculate area, and informally find the surface area of rectangular prisms.
• Volume and Capacity: Students identify and choose the appropriate method and unit to measure volume and capacity, investigate and demonstrate the relationship between cubic centimeters and milliliters and cubic inches and milliliters, choose appropriate formal units and tools to estimate, measure, and compare capacity and volume, explore the use of water displacement to determine the volume of irregular solids, convert measurements within each measurement system, and use formal units to record volume and capacity using decimal notation to three decimal places.
• Mass: Students select and use the appropriate unit and measuring device to find the mass of objects, work fluently within each measurement system and convert between kilograms and tonnes and between pounds and tons, explore and determine the mass of 1 liter or 1 pound of water, and use formal units to record mass using decimal notation to three decimal places.
• Time: Students use 24-hour time and notation in real-life situations, convert between 12-hour and 24-hour notations, solve authentic problems involving time duration, create and interpret a timeline of real-life events using a scale, and read and interpret timetables involving 24-hour time.

Space and Geometry

• Three-Dimensional Space: Students distinguish between, build, and sort 3D objects, including hexagonal prisms and pyramids, identify and explain their properties, and visualize, draw, and construct 3D objects given sketches of different views.
• Two-Dimensional Space: Students identify and draw regular and irregular 2D shapes from descriptions, identify and name parts of a circle, enlarge and reduce pictures and maps, identify shapes that have rotational symmetry, explore and generalize side and angle properties of 2D shapes (including parallelograms and rhombuses), investigate properties of circles, classify angles as acute, obtuse, reflex, or a revolution, measure in degrees and construct angles using a protractor.
• Position: Students use scales, legends, and compass directions to identify positions on a map and make simple calculations using scale. They also draw maps and plans from an aerial view.

Working Mathematically

• Interpreting &/or Posing Questions: Students interpret and/or pose questions when investigating mathematical situations and their mathematical experiences using Year 6 content.
• Strategically Thinking & Representing: Students select and apply appropriate problem-solving strategies, including technological applications, in undertaking investigations to solve mathematical problems.
• Reasoning & Justifying: Students integrate mathematical ideas, make connections with and generalizations about existing knowledge and understanding in terms of Year 6 content to justify their conjectures, answers, and solutions.
• Reflecting & Evaluating: Students critically reflect upon the results of their decisions, provide valid justifications, and present evaluations of why one method is preferred to another.
• Communicating Mathematically: Students use mathematical terminology and conventions in a variety of ways to describe their representations, mathematical understanding, and answers.