Wayland Academy of Framingham

In mathematics, a strong emphasis is placed on the mastery of the basics:
addition, subtraction, multiplication, and division.  Over the years, we
have found that most students that have difficulty in math have a poor command
of the basic facts.  Some primary teachers do not devote sufficient time to
the basic facts because they find them boring and therefore their students are
not comfortable and fluent with math because they are very slow at computing and
must rely on their ten fingers to do even the very basic processes of addition
and subtraction.  A dynamic and resourceful primary grade teacher will
introduce many math game activities to make the basic facts interesting and to
devote sufficient time with all students until they have mastered these vital
keys to success in math.

Student's computation involves whole numbers, fractions, and decimals.  
Stress is laid on word problems and reasoning through ratios, percentages,
proportions, geometry, and math word games.  Cuisenaire rods, geoboards,
and other manipulative materials are used to introduce and reinforce various
math concepts.  Frequent use of our computers and the many computer math
games are an integral part of the math program.

At Wayland Academy, the math program is personalized as much as possible so
that each student is working at a pace that is adjusted to the child's strengths
and weaknesses while at the same time being both stimulating and challenging. 
Children proceed at their own pace under the guidance of the math teachers and
are not slowed down or unnecessarily accelerated by other members of the group
or class.  If a student needs more attention or personalized help on a
certain concept, he or she doesn't experience the fear or anxiety that arises
when one feels concerned about falling behind the class.  In addition,
students are tested on a continued basis with teacher-made tests which include a
brief review of all important math processes and concepts and not just those
learned recently.  This continuous testing helps to inform the teacher
whether each individual is proceeding at an appropriate pace that is tailored to
the student's ability.

At all times, the math program incorporates real life math situations, so
that children are made aware of the need for math in many areas of everyday
life: measuring in cooking, sewing, and building; counting change, figuring
prices and taxes on items purchased, figuring discounts for items on sale,
balancing checking accounts, etc.

In the upper class (grades 5 and 6), a unit on the stock market is included
in the curriculum.  The unit begins with the students receiving some
background information on the how's and why's of the stock market and how it
came about.  The students are then given a sum of play money to purchase
stocks.  They are encouraged to think about products they or their family
may use to help in making choices on what stock to buy.  They learn to read
the stock pages in the newspaper and how to interpret the performance of their
stocks.  At an agreed upon time, they sell their stocks and figure their
profits and losses.  During the course of the unit, a stock broker is
invited to speak to the class to make the unit more interesting and realistic.