The Mathematics Curriculum in Primary and Lower Secondary Grades

In primary schools, mathematics education includes a number of areas of emphasis, and is designed to help students achieve the following:

Acquire basic mathematical knowledge, insights, and skills (with respect to symbols, terms, concepts, and procedures), which are necessary to function in society and which constitute an essential foundation for future study
Apply acquired mathematical knowledge, insights, and skills to meaningful and real world situations, as well as to other areas of learning
Understand the language of mathematics
Develop critical thinking and investigative skills that may be applied to analyzing mathematical relationships, patterns, and structures
Use appropriate research strategies to solve mathematical problems
Learn to regulate their own mathematical reasoning and learning processes and to reflect on them
Display a constructively critical attitude toward mathematics
Develop a positive attitude toward mathematics as a discipline

Exhibit 1 presents the domains and objectives in the mathematics curriculum at the primary level (Grades 1 to 6).

Exhibit 1: Domains and Objectives in the Mathematics Curriculum in Primary School⁶

Grades 1 to 6

Numbers (and Operations)

Knowledge of the concept of quantity, and of the various ways of expressing quantities with numbers (e.g., whole numbers, decimal numbers, and fractions)
Mental and written arithmetic operations (i.e., addition, subtraction, multiplication, and division)
Estimating and computing ratios and percentages, and using a calculator

Measurement

Measuring physical objects, including various skills for use outside the classroom
Measuring physical variables (e.g., distance, mass, time, and temperature), and using a scale
Reading and using units of measurement to measure geometric variables (e.g., perimeter and surface area)
Working with units of measurement
Estimating measurement results

Geometry

Understanding concepts related to orientation and location in two-dimensional space
Recognizing and naming shapes
Reasoning from geometric properties
Finding connections between shape and size (e.g., similarity and congruence)
Making simple geometric constructions

Strategies and Problem Solving Skills

Recognizing the process- and problem-oriented nature of mathematics
Applying acquired insights and concepts (e.g., the practical value of mathematics and problem solving)

Attitudes

Belgium (Flemish)