Mathematics at St. Francis Solano School moves through the continual spiral of the five strands of the California State Standards for Mathematics:  Number Sense; Algebra and Functions; Geometry and Measurement; Statistics and Data Analysis; and Mathematical Reasoning.  Math is not only a practical and necessary tool for daily living but it helps us recognize patterns, predict trends and think logically and creatively to solve non-math-related problems.  St. Francis Solano School meets or exceeds California state standards in mathematics, while making sure that the individual educational needs of each of our students are met in the process. If a student is advanced in math, there is potential for them to move ahead in Middle School (Gr 6-8) in order to take Algebra in the 8th grade.  In extremely rare cases, some students are ready for Algebra in 7th Grade, after which they must take the High School Algebra 1 final and then may qualify for a Geometry class in 8th grade.  This may be done in-house or in conjunction with other local schools and Soloquest learning center.  We do not "move up" students in the lower grades as this poses scheduling problems and potential socialization issues.  With advanced students in these grades, the Teachers will provide extra, challenging math curriculum for those students, and the aides will also help the student to progress and maintain interest in math. 

Looking ahead to high school, students top out at Calculus AP.  If they start at anything beyond Geometry, they will run out of math classes in high school. Students that talented in math will most likely do a math-related major in College,  so sitting out a year during the senior year in high school is not a good idea. Since there is no JC in Sonoma, that road is not an easy one to travel down.  So, it is best to learn each unit of math as well as possible at each grade level and not worry about moving up too far, too fast....

Kindergarten: Kindergarteners begin their journey with Math by learning shapes. We then begin patterning, recognizing numbers and their quantities. Mid-year we challenge our students with addition sentences and towards Spring subtraction. A  large part of Kindergarten Math is vocabulary and we spend all year learning this vocabulary; we apply this new language whenever we can. Regardless of the subject matter; Math is fun and can be applied in many ways.

1st Grade:  First grade students continue their study of addition and then learn subtraction strategies.  We study place value, counting patterns, making and interpreting graphs, identity of money, time, measurement and story problems.

2nd Grade: We study  single, double and triple addition and subtraction, identify the value of coins and count with them, use measurement in standard and nonstandard units, fractions, and introduce multiplication and division.

3rd Grade: The Third Graders learn multiplication, division, fractions, decimals, money, and geometry, all using the California State Standards.

4th Grade: A comprehensive curriculum, using state standards including number sense, place value, multiplication, division, introduction to algebra theory, geometry, fractions, decimals, order of operations, logic, graphing.

5th Grade: Operations with decimals, fractions; algebra expressions and equations; two and three-dimensional geometry

6th Grade:  In 6th grade students continue and deepen their explorations with mathematics.  Fractions, terminating decimals, and integers are now known as rational numbers. The concept of irrational numbers is introduced. Mastering of fractions becomes key by this grade and applications of proportions, fractions, percent and geometry are all covered in greater depth. Algebra concepts such as expressions, equations and graphing are also explored.

7th Grade:  Integers, rational numbers, expressions, equations/inequalities and graphing are the focus most of the year. Just like whole numbers, fractions and decimals are a building block for middle school math, these topics are a building block for Algebra 1. Geometry is also studied at depth in 7th grade so students will have a good base when they enter Geometry in high school.

8th Grade:  Both Prealgebra and Algebra 1 are offered to students in grade 8.  Those who have progressed successfully through 7th grade math and are ready for the rigors of Algebra 1 are placed there. Those who still need to master some Prealgebra topics study at the Prealgebra level and are slowly introduced to increasingly more Algebra. This necessity of mastery and the familiarization of early topics in Algebra 1 allow for an easy transition to high school math.

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