Sixth Grade Math with Confidence Pilot Program Information

What’s Sixth Grade Math with Confidence Like?

Sixth Grade Math with Confidence is a comprehensive sixth-grade math curriculum. It’s a fun, hands-on, and straightforward program that helps kids learn math with confidence and helps parents teach math with confidence. The program includes:

• Complete coverage of all important sixth-grade math topics
• Hands-on, open-and-go, scripted lessons
• Independent workbook practice 
• Focus on one concept at a time, with continual review
• Friendly, approachable notes and tips that help you grow as a teacher
• Fun (but optional) enrichment lessons at the end of each unit

How Is the Curriculum Structured?

Sixth Grade Math with Confidence will have approximately 144 lessons, divided into 16 units. If you teach 4 lessons per week, the program will take you 36 weeks. Each unit includes an optional enrichment lesson, with a suggested real-life math project.

How Long Will the Lessons Take? 

Plan for about 10-15 minutes for parent-directed teaching and 20-25 minutes for independent practice in the workbook. This varies a lot depending on your kid, though! 

What Topics Does the Program Cover?

The Math with Confidence series is a “middle-of-the-road” program in terms of difficulty, with a strong focus on developing kids’ number sense and conceptual understanding. In Sixth Grade Math with Confidence, your child will learn to :

• Review addition, subtraction, multiplication, and division with whole numbers
• Understand exponents and square numbers
• Add, subtract, multiply and divide fractions, mixed numbers, and decimals
• Use ratios and proportional thinking to solve problems involving speed, rate, and unit prices
• Calculate percentages and use percentages to solve real-life problems
• Use variables to write and solve simple equations
• Add, subtract, multiply, and divide positive and negative integers
• Graph points on the coordinate plane and use the coordinate plane to solve problems
• Find the volume and surface area of solid figures
• Find the area of triangles and parallelograms
• Calculate the range, mean, median, and mode for data sets
• Create line plots, histograms, and box plots and reason about data distributions

What Will I Need? How Much Does It Cost?

You’ll need just a few basic household items to use this program. So far, I know you’ll need 2 decks of playing cards, dice, a ruler, and a protractor. There may also be a few other inexpensive math materials that you’ll need, and I’ll keep you updated as I make decisions.

You’ll also need to print out the worksheets for your child, so make sure to stock enough paper and ink. The workbook pages are in full-color and designed by a graphic illustrator, but you may print them in black-and-white if you don’t have a color printer. 

Other that, there’s no cost to you, and I provide all the digital lessons and worksheets completely free.

What Does My Child Need to Know Before Starting?

Here’s what your child should be able to do before beginning Sixth Grade Math with Confidence:

• Solve whole-number multiplication and division problems (up to three-digit times two-digit or four-digits divided by two-digits) 
• Find a fraction of a set or measurement unit
• Add and subtract fractions or mixed numbers with different denominators
• Multiply fractions and mixed numbers and solve simple fraction division problems
• Read, write, compare, and order decimals to the thousandths place
• Add and subtract decimals
• Multiply decimals by whole numbers and divide decimals by whole numbers
• Solve word problems that involve adding, subtracting, multiplying, or dividing fractions or decimals
• Find the volume of a rectangular prism
• Find the mean and median for a small data set

(Just a note that these skills are the minimum that kids should know before starting Sixth Grade MWC. Much more is covered in Fifth Grade MWC.)

Fifth-grade math programs generally cover all of these skills, so if your child completed a formal fifth-grade math program, you should be fine. 

How Does Pilot Testing Work?

If you participate, you’ll receive a free digital copy of the program, one unit at a time. (At this stage, the manuscript is a Word document, not a final typeset book, so it has only basic formatting.)

You’ll receive a few weeks of lessons at a time, spread over the course of the year. Before you receive each new unit, you’ll first need to provide feedback on the previous unit via an online feedback form. These feedback forms take 10-15 minutes per unit, and they’re invaluable to me as I revise the program to make it as comprehensive, clear, and parent-friendly as possible.

You’ll also be added to a private Facebook group where you can ask me questions and connect with other parents in the pilot program. The feedback forms are the main way I receive feedback, but the conversations on Facebook provide an important way for parents to compare experiences and offer suggestions.

The lessons are sent via email, but most communication happens in this Facebook group. I highly recommend that you have a Facebook account if you want to participate in the pilot test. The answer keys will only be posted in this FB group.  You only need to check in on the FB group weekly or so, and you don’t have to use your account for anything else. 

The first unit will be available in mid-August. After that, you’re free to move forward at whatever pace works best for your family. If you decide that it’s not a good fit for your family, you may withdraw from the pilot program. I just ask that you send me an email to let me know what didn’t work for you.

Also note: My goal is that if you start the program in mid-August, you will always have 4 lessons per week to teach. I do my best to make that happen, but life happens to me just like it happens to all of you. If your family is speedy and you stay at the leading edge of the unit release schedule, you may occasionally have a few school days without new lessons while I get the new unit finished.   

Is the Fourth Grade Program Available? Can I Participate in the Fifth Grade Pilot Program?

Fourth Grade MWC will be released June 11, 2024.  

The Fifth Grade MWC pilot program is over, and I’m not able to share any of the lessons or workbook pages for it at this time. Fifth Grade MWC will be available in spring of 2025. 

How Far Will Math with Confidence Continue?

Sixth grade will be the final level in the program. After I finish the book, I’ll share suggestions on math programs for seventh grade and beyond.  

How Do I Register for Pilot Testing?

Pilot test registration will open at 12:00 PM (noon Eastern time) on Tuesday, April 30. Spots are very limited, and they usually fill up within 10 minutes, so make sure you’re ready right at noon.

Register at this link: Sixth Grade Math with Confidence Pilot Test Registration. (The form will begin accepting registrations at 12:00 PM on Tuesday, April 30.)

Happy Math!

Kate