Ottoson Course Descriptions

In Math 7, instructional time should focus on four critical areas: (1) developing understanding of and applying proportional relationships; (2) developing understanding of operations with rational numbers and working with expressions and linear equations; (3) solving problems involving scale drawings and informal geometric constructions, and working with two- and three-dimensional shapes to solve problems involving area, surface area, and volume; and (4) drawing inferences about populations based on samples.

Students extend their understanding of ratios and develop understanding of proportionality to solve single- and multi-step problems. Students use their understanding of ratios and proportionality to solve a wide variety of percent problems, including those involving discounts, interest, taxes, tips, and percent increase or decrease. Students solve problems about scale drawings by relating corresponding lengths between the objects or by using the fact that relationships of lengths within an object are preserved in similar objects. Students graph proportional relationships and understand the unit rate informally as a measure of the steepness of the related line, called the slope. They distinguish proportional relationships from other relationships. All students will engage in mathematical practices such as reasoning abstractly and quantitatively, looking for and expressing regularity in repeated reasoning, and looking for and making use of structure.

Students in this course will engage in the same material as that of Math 7 in addition to other topics that will prepare the students for Algebra 1 in 8th grade, such as graphing non-proportional relationships, understanding the measure of the steepness of the related line, called the slope, and solving multi-step linear equations.

In grade 8, instructional time should focus on three critical areas: (1) formulating and reasoning about expressions and equations, including modeling an association in bivariate data with a linear equation, and solving linear equations and systems of linear equations; (2) grasping the concept of a function and using functions to describe quantitative relationships; (3) analyzing two- and three-dimensional space and figures using distance, angle, similarity, and congruence, and understanding and applying the Pythagorean Theorem.

All students will engage in mathematical practices such as reasoning abstractly and quantitatively, looking for and expressing regularity in repeated reasoning, and looking for and making use of structure.

In the Algebra I course, instructional time should focus on four critical areas: (1) deepening and extending understanding of linear and exponential relationships; (2) contrasting linear and exponential relationships with each other and engage in methods for analyzing, solving, and using quadratic functions; (3) extending the laws of exponents to square and cube roots; and (4) applying linear models to data that exhibit a linear trend.

Students also learn function notation and develop the concepts of domain and range. They focus on linear, quadratic, and exponential functions, including sequences, and also explore absolute value, step, and piecewise-defined functions; they interpret functions given graphically, numerically, symbolically, and verbally; translate between representations; and understand the limitations of various representations. Students build on and extend their understanding of integer exponents to consider exponential functions. They compare and contrast linear and exponential functions, distinguishing between additive and multiplicative change. Students explore systems of equations and inequalities, and they find and interpret their solutions. They interpret arithmetic sequences as linear functions and geometric sequences as exponential functions.

All students will engage in mathematical practices such as reasoning abstractly and quantitatively, looking for and expressing regularity in repeated reasoning, and looking for and making use of structure.

Geometry Curriculum H is the first course in a four-year honors sequence. The students demonstrate higher order thinking skills in solving non-routine problems, and in discovering and writing inductive, deductive, indirect, and coordinate proofs. This accelerated course addresses the requirements of the current state framework, with major emphasis on the Geometry domain. Major content areas from this domain include the study of angles, polygons, polyhedrons, and circles, recognizing and applying properties of similarity and congruence, calculating measurements, and demonstrating and applying transformations. Students will also identify and apply trigonometric ratios and the Pythagorean theorem. The Statistics and Probability domain is addressed as students determine sample spaces using counting principles to find probability. Additionally, all students will participate in the year-long Math Fair project. The focus for Geometry students will be research skills and presentation skills.

Suggested Entry Criteria: Mastery of the concepts and skills of Algebra I.

The focus of this small group Mathematics Support class is to improve foundational skills and concepts required for developing mathematical fluency. Students meet with a mathematics teacher in small groups to work on skill fluency, to prepare for upcoming assessments and assignments, and to develop communication skills within mathematics.

Students are identified for this level of support if they are performing on or below grade level AND scoring Partially Meeting Expectations on the Mathematics MCAS. In addition, students may be recommended for this class based on various local mathematics assessments, IEP testing results, and/or a demonstration of overall low foundational mathematics skills. Recommendations from the students’ prior mathematics teacher will also be considered for this level of support. All of the lessons are aligned to the 2017 Massachusetts Curriculum Framework for Mathematics of both content and practice.

The course is offered to all eligible seventh and eighth graders. The class meets Ottoson Middle School for the entire year. Parent may choose to opt their child out of the Mathematics Support class, but it is not recommended.