Rationale
Learning mathematics creates opportunities for and enriches the lives of all Australians. The Australian Curriculum: Mathematics provides students with essential mathematical skills and knowledge in number and algebra, measurement and geometry, and statistics and probability.Aims
The Australian Curriculum: Mathematics aims to ensure that students:are confident, creative users and communicators of mathematics, able to investigate, represent and interpret situations in their personal and work lives and as active citizens.
Key ideas
In Mathematics, the key ideas are the proficiency strands of understanding, fluency, problem-solving and reasoning. The proficiency strands describe the actions in which students can engage when learning and using the content.Structure
The Australian Curriculum: Mathematics is organised around the interaction of three content strands and four proficiency strands.The content strands are number and algebra, measurement and geometry, and statistics and probability. They describe what is to be taught and learnt.
PDF documents
Resources and support materials for the Australian Curriculum: Mathematics are available as PDF documents.Mathematics: Sequence of content
Mathematics: Sequence of achievement
Glossary
Year 5
Year 5 Level Description
The proficiency strands understanding, fluency, problem-solving and reasoning are an integral part of mathematics content across the three content strands: number and algebra, measurement and geometry, and statistics and probability. The proficiencies reinforce the significance of working mathematically within the content and describe how the content is explored or developed. They provide the language to build in the developmental aspects of the learning of mathematics. The achievement standards reflect the content and encompass the proficiencies.
At this year level:
- understanding includes making connections between representations of numbers, using fractions to represent probabilities, comparing and ordering fractions and decimals and representing them in various ways, describing transformations and identifying line and rotational symmetry
- fluency includes choosing appropriate units of measurement for calculation of perimeter and area, using estimation to check the reasonableness of answers to calculations and using instruments to measure angles
- problem-solving includes formulating and solving authentic problems using whole numbers and measurements and creating financial plans
- reasoning includes investigating strategies to perform calculations efficiently, continuing patterns involving fractions and decimals, interpreting results of chance experiments, posing appropriate questions for data investigations and interpreting data sets.
Year 5 Content Descriptions
Number and place value
Fractions and decimals
Patterns and algebra
Using units of measurement
Shape
Location and transformation
Geometric reasoning
Chance
Data representation and interpretation
Year 5 Achievement Standards
By the end of Year 5, students solve simple problems involving the four operations using a range of strategies. They check the reasonableness of answers using estimation and rounding. Students identify and describe factors and multiples. They identify and explain strategies for finding unknown quantities in number sentences involving the four operations. They explain plans for simple budgets. Students connect three-dimensional objects with their two-dimensional representations. They describe transformations of two-dimensional shapes and identify line and rotational symmetry. Students interpret different data sets.
Students order decimals and unit fractions and locate them on number lines. They add and subtract fractions with the same denominator. Students continue patterns by adding and subtracting fractions and decimals. They use appropriate units of measurement for length, area, volume, capacity and mass, and calculate perimeter and area of rectangles. They convert between 12- and 24-hour time. Students use a grid reference system to locate landmarks. They measure and construct different angles. Students list outcomes of chance experiments with equally likely outcomes and assign probabilities between 0 and 1. Students pose questions to gather data, and construct data displays appropriate for the data.
Year 5 Work Sample Portfolios
Year 6
Year 6 Level Description
The proficiency strands understanding, fluency, problem-solving and reasoning are an integral part of mathematics content across the three content strands: number and algebra, measurement and geometry, and statistics and probability. The proficiencies reinforce the significance of working mathematically within the content and describe how the content is explored or developed. They provide the language to build in the developmental aspects of the learning of mathematics. The achievement standards reflect the content and encompass the proficiencies.
At this year level:
- understanding includes describing properties of different sets of numbers, using fractions and decimals to describe probabilities, representing fractions and decimals in various ways and describing connections between them, and making reasonable estimations
- fluency includes representing integers on a number line, calculating simple percentages, using brackets appropriately, converting between fractions and decimals, using operations with fractions, decimals and percentages, measuring using metric units and interpreting timetables
- problem-solving includes formulating and solving authentic problems using fractions, decimals, percentages and measurements, interpreting secondary data displays and finding the size of unknown angles
- reasoning includes explaining mental strategies for performing calculations, describing results for continuing number sequences, explaining the transformation of one shape into another and explaining why the actual results of chance experiments may differ from expected results.
Year 6 Content Descriptions
Number and place value
Fractions and decimals
Money and financial mathematics
Patterns and algebra
Using units of measurement
Location and transformation
Geometric reasoning
Chance
Data representation and interpretation
Year 6 Achievement Standards
By the end of Year 6, students recognise the properties of prime, composite, square and triangular numbers. They describe the use of integers in everyday contexts. They solve problems involving all four operations with whole numbers. Students connect fractions, decimals and percentages as different representations of the same number. They solve problems involving the addition and subtraction of related fractions. Students make connections between the powers of 10 and the multiplication and division of decimals. They describe rules used in sequences involving whole numbers, fractions and decimals. Students connect decimal representations to the metric system and choose appropriate units of measurement to perform a calculation. They make connections between capacity and volume. They solve problems involving length and area. They interpret timetables. Students describe combinations of transformations. They solve problems using the properties of angles. Students compare observed and expected frequencies. They interpret and compare a variety of data displays including those displays for two categorical variables. They interpret secondary data displayed in the media.
Students locate fractions and integers on a number line. They calculate a simple fraction of a quantity. They add, subtract and multiply decimals and divide decimals where the result is rational. Students calculate common percentage discounts on sale items. They write correct number sentences using brackets and order of operations. Students locate an ordered pair in any one of the four quadrants on the Cartesian plane. They construct simple prisms and pyramids. Students describe probabilities using simple fractions, decimals and percentages.