Foundational Math V
Enrollment and Placement
To help ensure that students enroll in the correct course levels, Scholé Academy requires many students to complete placement evaluations. Placement evaluations are only provided to students after the corresponding course registration has been completed. A placement assessment will be required in the following situations:
- if the student falls outside of the stated age/grade range for the class.
- if the student needs to demonstrate a certain level of skill and proficiency for the course.
- if the student has completed prerequisite requirements somewhere other than Scholé Academy (e.g., at home or with another school). In this case, our instructors will need to verify that the student has adequately fulfilled the prerequisite requirements.
- if a placement assessment has been recommended by a Scholé Academy instructor.
First, read the available course descriptions, noting prerequisites, target grades, and course objectives. If you think your student is prepared for the course, go ahead and register. After registration, a placement assessment may be provided to students, depending on the course and the student’s previous enrollment with Scholé Academy. Parents are encouraged to connect with the Scholé Academy Principal and/or with the course instructor to make the best enrollment decision for their student.
Registration is not finalized until the student’s placement assessment has been returned by the course instructor with placement confirmation.
There is a $75 deposit built into the cost of each course.
- Withdrawals requested before May 1 are granted a full refund, including the full $75 deposit.
- On May 1 and before July 31 withdrawals are granted a full tuition refund less the $75 deposit.
- On August 1 and before the drop/add deadline, withdrawals are granted a ½ tuition refund
View our full assessment policies and enrollment and withdrawal policies in the Student-Parent Handbook.
- Description
- Scholarship Skills and Prerequisites
- Course Texts
- About the Instructors
- Technical Requirements
By the end of 4th grade a student should have a good grasp of the four basic operations (addition, subtraction, multiplication and division) along with some foundational concepts in geometry and measurement. The emphasis in Math V is to take this foundation and built upon it with more complexity and then expand into those pesky fractions.
God created a world that doesn’t fit into tidy whole numbers and perfect division problems with no remainders. As such, we rarely make measurements that don’t require just a little more or a little less than what we prefer as simple math (think of 8 ½ x 11 notebook paper). Let’s embrace that complexity and slay the dragon. Additionally, we will introduce decimal fractions and a whole host of other fun topics. My favorite aspect of the class is to learn how to take real world problems that are described with words and translate into our mathematical problem-solving language. You may have called these word problems when you did them. I like to describe this aspect of learning as a form of reading comprehension that just so happens to include numbers and number relationships.
My goal in math classes is always to help create a love of numbers and calculations; an almost addictive fascination with finding the answer to a problem that satisfies the soul and helps us to see that God is a god of order. By learning math, we get to know an aspect of God that some never see or fully appreciate.
The Course Map Includes:
- Multi-Digit Whole Numbers
- The Four Operations with Whole Numbers
- Relationships between fractions and decimals
- Computation with fractions and decimals
- Word Problems with fractions and decimals
- Volume
- Properties and Classification of 2-D Shapes
- Line Plots and the Coordinate Plane
- Number Patterns and Relationships
- Understand Powers and Exponents
Syllabus
Required Course Texts:
There are four Singapore Math books for the year.
- Primary Mathematics Student Book 5A (Revised edition – 2022 Edition)
- Primary Mathematics Student Book 5B (Revised edition – 2022 Edition)
- Primary Math 2022 Additional Practice 5A
- Primary Math 2022 Additional Practice 5B
Other Resources:
• Digital tablet –Wacom Intuos Tablets (or similar)
• Three-ring Binder
• Loose-leaf Filler Graph Paper
• Sharpened Pencils and Erasers
• Ruler with Customary and Metric Markings
• Personal Size Dry-erase Board with Markers
• Additional materials and/or manipulatives may be requested prior to a particular class session
Steve Maus has been a teacher in Classical Christian Schools for the last 10 years both online and in Spokane, WA. Prior to teaching, he served as a US Air Force helicopter pilot for 22 years, including twelve years in special operations (with deployments to Kuwait, Bosnia, Afghanistan and other exciting places).
Steve has a Bachelor of Science in Astronautical Engineering from the US Air Force Academy and a Masters Degree in Information Systems Management from Webster University. His interests are in environmentally responsible, ecologically beneficial, permanent agriculture, theology, geeky math stuff, physics, music and music history.
Steve and his much-loved wife, Amy, have been married for 30+ years, are the homeschooling parents of 18, grandparents of 5 and are the owners of Autumn Creek Ranch near Spokane, WA.
Computer: You will need a stable, reliable computer, running with a processor with a speed of 1 GHz or better on one of the following operating systems: Mac OS X with Mac OS 10.7 or later; Windows 8, 7, Vista (with SP1 or later), or XP (with SP3 or later). We do not recommend using an iPad or other tablet for joining classes. An inexpensive laptop or netbook would be much better solutions, as they enable you to plug an Ethernet cable directly into your computer. Please note that Chromebooks are allowed but not preferred, as they do not support certain features of the Zoom video conference software such as breakout sessions and annotation, which may be used by our teachers for class activities.
High-Speed Internet Connection: You will also need access to high-speed Internet, preferably accessible via Ethernet cable right into your computer. Using Wi-Fi may work, but will not guarantee you the optimal use of your bandwidth. The faster your Internet, the better. We recommend using a connection with a download/upload speed of 5/1 Mbps or better. You can test your Internet connection here.
Webcam: You may use an external webcam or one that is built in to the computer. Webcam Recommendations: Good (PC only) | Best (Mac and PC)
Headset: We recommend using a headset rather than a built-in microphone and speakers. Using a headset reduces the level of background noise heard by the entire class. Headset Recommendations: USB | 3.5mm
Zoom: We use a web conferencing software called Zoom for our classes, which enables students and teachers to gather from around the globe face to face in real time. Zoom is free to download and easy to use.
To download Zoom:
- Visit zoom.us/download.
- Click to download the first option listed, Zoom Client for Meetings.
- Open and run the installer on your computer.
- In August, students will be provided with instructions and a link for joining their particular class.
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First, read the available course descriptions, noting prerequisites, target grades, and course objectives. If you think your student is prepared for the course, go ahead and register. After registration, a placement assessment may be provided to students, depending on the course and the student’s previous enrollment with Scholé Academy. Registration is finalized when the student’s placement assessment has been returned by the course instructor with placement confirmation.
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Read the Student-Parent Handbook.
Please take careful note of our teaching philosophy, our technology requirements, our school policies, the parent agreement, and the distinctions between our grade levels.
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Make sure they don't conflict with other activities in your schedule or other courses you are purchasing. Our system will not catch double-bookings!
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Our Assistant to the Principal will be in touch with you after your enrollment to help you with next steps, including any placement evaluations that may be required for your course selections.
This registration will be finalized when the student's placement assessment has been returned by the course instructor with placement confirmation.