If you are curious, this methodology page explains the exact process I used to create these worksheets. Basically, what I end up with are 36 worksheets each with 10 problems from 10 distinct categories. Each week kids are presented with one problem from each category that keep getting progressively more difficult as the year goes on.

The 10 categories that my 7th-grade minimalist math curriculum covers are:

• Understanding Numbers
• Word Problems
• Graphs, Charts, and Tables
• Fractions
• Length, Area, and Volume
• Angles
• Ratios and Percents
• Statistics and Probability
• Algebra
• Calculations

The free printable 7th grade worksheets below do not include answers. The version of these worksheets that includes the answer key is available on Etsy. Especially for this 7th grade level, the answer key is morelike a solution guide for most problems. This is the first time that I didn’t even bother trying to type the answers, because it would have taken me like a year. An even better option than buying the full curriculum plus answer key on Etsy is to subscribe to my Patreon membership for $5 per month. Your on-going support helps me to create free resources in the long term. Patreon helps you because included in membership is access to my Minimalist Math Library (among other Patreon gifts), which has answer keys for ALL the grade levels and task cards with all 360 problems that are exclusive to Patreon. If money is an issue, you can download everything you need in the first month and unsubscribe. I won’t judge.

I’m kind of assuming that if you’re interested in these sheets, then you have probably used my curriculum for the younger grades and you know how this works, but just in case, the main idea behind my worksheets is that I have scoured various 7th grade curriculum to pull all the different types of problems that a kid would see in a year. I’ve organized these into 10 different problems per week from a wide range of areas of math. Since kids are not drowning in repetition, they can actually really think about these problems.

I always ask my kids to try all problems on their own first. I want to see if they have any ideas about where to start. Sometimes, they need definitions, like “per-cent” is really “per 100”. Honestly, I just tell my kids definitions and hope that over time they will start remembering those on their own, but you could also ask them to look it up. I don’t give my kids a lesson and then a bunch of a problems. I let them really interrogate these ten problems and then help guide them towards the solutions.

If families ask me if there are any resources I recommend to go along with this 7th grade curriculum, I always say Everything You Need to Ace Pre-Algebra and Algebra 1 in One Big Fat Notebook. I really love this series of books. I don’t actually use the math ones that much with my own kids as I’m good at math and feel like my guidance and making them think through the hard parts is a more valuable and efficient way to learn, but if I were going to hand them a book, this would be it. If there is something I forget, we will look through these books together.

This seventh grade curriculum really is equivalent to a pre-algebra curriculum. Many of the problems were taken from Saxon 8/7 which is meant to be followed by Algebra 1. My 2 older kid have moved successfully from this curriculum to a traditional Algebra 1 curriculum without difficulty. My third child is starting Algebra 1 this year after having used this curriculum last year. We are only on Chapter 2 (using Mr. D), but so far things are going smoothly!

Recommended Age Range: Seventh Grade
Time Required: about 30 minutes per week
Difficulty: starts off fairly easy and gets harder as the weeks progress
Cost: Free printable

Materials
paper

Instructions
Print out the curriculum and help your child complete one worksheet each week for each of the 36 weeks of school.

Free Printable
Minimalist Math – Seventh Grade Curriculum

Click here for all the Minimalist Math curricula available for different grade levels.

Related Links

Math Activities for Kids
Minimalist Math Curriculum Methodology
Learning Activities for Kids

The post 7th Grade Minimalist Math Curriculum appeared first on ResearchParent.com.

Updated to Add (May 2023): I now have the 7th grade curriculum complete. If you would like it, please join my Patreon page where you will find a library with the 7th Grade Minimalist Math worksheets and answer key along with other gifts and exclusive content. My oldest is now going into 8th grade and I am working on a Minimalist Algebra 1 curriculum for him with will be shared with patrons in August 2023. If the $5 Patreon cost is an issue, just email me.

If you would like to learn more about the process I used to make these curricula, you can check out my methodology here. Basically, what I do is take notes on three separate curricula (Saxon, Singapore, and Math Mammoth). I write all the different types of problems on notecards, then I sort them into 10 different categories and arrange them from easiest to hardest. I use these stacks of cards to create 36 problems in each of the 10 categories, one for each week of the school year.

The 10 categories that my 6th-grade minimalist math curriculum covers are:

• Understanding Numbers
• Word Problems
• Graphs, Charts, and Tables
• Geometry
• Fractions
• Ratios and Percentages
• Factors and Multiples
• Statistics and Probability
• Algebra
• Calculations

For each week, I have created a worksheet with 10 problems, one from each of these categories. Over the course of the 36 weeks of school, the problems get progressively more difficult. Even though my child is only covering 36 problems from each topic, I have made sure that those 36 problems are representative of the range of difficulties that my children encounter using a more traditional curriculum.

Each worksheet takes my child about 30 minutes. My kids start off looking through all 10 problems and seeing which ones they can figure out on their own in previous weeks. There will undoubtedly be problems that they do not know how to do since there is not a lot of repetition. In this case, I will sit with them and explain how to do it as best as I can, giving them hints until they find their way to the answer. My goal has always been to go over these same problems again later, but so far, I have never managed to do this and it still turns out okay. The following week they will have another problem that is similar, but a little harder, which gives them the chance to think through these concepts again.

What these worksheets lack is repetition which is a cornerstone of standard curricula. Does it matter? I can’t say for sure, but personally, I don’t think so. I do not want my kids to memorize procedures. I want them to understand conceptually what math problems are asking. They are getting repeated exposure week after week to the same concepts, so over time, I do find that my kids conceptually understand these concepts better.

The one part of math that I would like my kids to memorize is math facts. Therefore, I do have my kids practice math facts separately from these sheets. Here are some free multiplication practice sheets that I created. We also play math games to help my kids become more comfortable with these facts. Two that are particularly helpful for learning multiplication facts are Math Sprint and Multiplication Splat.

What my kids have gained by doing this minimalist curriculum is a whole lot of time. Especially while they are in elementary school, I want my homeschooled children to have plenty of time to just be kids. I feel like I have succeeded in this goal. Now that my oldest is in middle school, I am having him do a more traditional curriculum. So far he is enjoying Mr. D Math‘s pre-algebra class. In the beginning, he was a little overwhelmed with the quantity of work, but he adjusted over a month or two and grew to really like it.

While extended time sitting at the table doing math problems over and over was too much for him in first grade, now that he is 12 he doesn’t mind it. I am so thankful to say that all those years of only doing math for about 30 minutes each week do not seem to have harmed him in the least.

Another fun way to explore or practice the exact same problems as this Sixth Grade Minimalist Math curriculum is by using my math cards included in my Patreon membership community. Patrons can also download a mastery checklist to can keep track of which problems in the curriculum are tripping their students up. You can pull out specific cards to review later or to practice with through fun strategies such as Game Show Math or Treasure Hunt Math.

Recommended Age Range: Sixth Grade
Time Required: about 30 minutes per week
Difficulty: starts off fairly easy and gets harder as the weeks progress
Cost: Free printable

Materials
paper

Instructions
Print out the curriculum and help your child complete one worksheet each week for each of the 36 weeks of school.

Free Printable
Minimalist Math – Sixth Grade Curriculum

Click here for all the Minimalist Math curricula available for different grade levels.

Related Links

Math Activities for Kids
Minimalist Math Curriculum Methodology
Learning Activities for Kids

The post 6th Grade Minimalist Math Curriculum appeared first on ResearchParent.com.

These problems were written after I took notes on index cards on a variety of different curricula such as Saxon, Singapore, Kumon, and Mammoth Math. I then divided the problems into categories and arranged them in order of difficulty. I used my stack of cards for each category to create 36 problems in each category for each week of the school year. You can learn more about my methodology here.

The categories covered by this fifth-grade curriculum are:

• Understanding Numbers
• Word Problems
• Graphs, Charts, and Tables
• Geometry
• Fractions
• Decimals
• Units and Measurement
• Rounding and Estimation
• Ratios and Percentages
• Calculations

In addition to these worksheets, I also have my kid do a logic puzzle each week to help with their critical thinking. In the past, we have used Mind Benders (easier) and Logic Safari (much harder). My goal is to play math games with my kids a couple of times each month as well to help with their math facts, but this doesn’t always happen. My favorite math games for fifth graders are Zeus on the Loose and Prime Climb.

As my kids are getting older, I admit that I find myself questioning if they are doing enough. Because of the 2020 pandemic, my kids were not tested at the end of the last school year, so I do not know for sure if they are still on track. However, I do see progress. While my younger kids typically need help with all or most of their problems, I find that my oldest usually only needs help with 3 or 4 problems each week. For the other problems, I just check and explain if he made a mistake.

Since my kids do not have all the repetition found in a traditional curriculum, it takes a little longer for skills to be mastered. However, I find that they have to think more critically about the problems which may actually lead to a deeper understanding in the long run. They are definitely not doing their math on autopilot.

Occasionally, I find that I need to give my kids a concentrated lesson on a topic. Since there are so few problems, these sheets highlight areas that a child might be struggling with. Recently, I had to review simplifying fractions with my fifth grader. To make sure he understood, I had him do about 5 practice problems on scratch paper. Sometimes, repetition is undoubtedly valuable, but I still question whether it is always necessary.

While my family uses these sheets as our math curriculum for the year, I have had several families tell me that these worksheets are a great review either at the beginning or end of a school year. However you decide to use these sheets, I hope they are helpful to you!

Another fun way to explore or practice the exact same problems as this Fifth Grade Minimalist Math curriculum is by using my math cards included in my Patreon membership community. Patrons can also download a mastery checklist to can keep track of which problems in the curriculum are tripping their students up. You can pull out specific cards to review later or to practice with through fun strategies such as Game Show Math or Treasure Hunt Math.

Recommended Age Range: Fifth Grade
Time Required: about 30 minutes per week
Difficulty: starts off fairly easy and gets harder as the weeks progress
Cost: Free printable

Materials
paper

Instructions
Print out the curriculum and help your child complete one worksheet each week for each of the 36 weeks of school.

Free Printable
Minimalist Math – Fifth Grade Curriculum

Click here for all the Minimalist Math curricula available for different grade levels.

Related Links

Math Activities for Kids
Minimalist Math Curriculum Methodology
Learning Activities for Kids

The post Fifth Grade Minimalist Math Curriculum appeared first on ResearchParent.com.

The curriculum I created covers the same breadth and difficulty of problems as a traditional curriculum. However, it doesn’t have all the repetition. You can learn more about my minimalist math curriculum methodology here. To summarize, in order to create this minimalist curriculum I purchased and perused Saxon Math, Singapore, Kumon, and Mammoth Math curricula. I took notes on what I found in each curriculum. Then I divided the problems into 10 categories and created a 10 problem worksheet for each of the 36 weeks of school.

For fourth grade, these categories include:

• Understanding Numbers
• Word Problems
• Graphs, Charts, and Tables
• Telling Time
• Geometry
• Fractions
• Rounding
• Units and Measurement
• Decimals
• Calculations

Each week a child is presented with one problem from each of these ten categories. As the year goes on, the questions get progressively more difficult. Some of the problems will be very easy for children. Others will be much more difficult. Having so few problems to go through each week allows me to be very aware of what seems to come naturally for my kids, and what needs more attention.

When I give my child their weekly worksheet, I make sure I am always close by. Since there is not a lot of repetition, nearly every problem a child sees is new in some way. I like my kids to try to work through the problems on their own at first, but I don’t want them to become frustrated. I am quick to offer support before attitudes start going downhill. In this way, I hope to foster an open mind toward attempting new and unfamiliar problems.

It is my belief that if my fourth grader fully understands all 360 problems in this minimalist curriculum, they would have a solid understanding of all the math concepts that are taught in fourth grade. I think they would be at least as well off as if they had done the thousands of problems in a traditional curriculum.

The one caveat to this minimalist approach is that since kids are not spending a significant amount of time practicing simple math facts, they may be a little slow to add, subtract, multiply, and divide. As an engineer, I’m well aware that the real value of mathematics is critical thinking, not memorization of math facts.

However, if you would like your child to be faster at these drilled skills, you can always supplement this curriculum. I have a set of free printable multiplication practice sheets that might help. My kids and I have also enjoyed Kate Snow’s Math Facts that Stick series, though we focus more on the games than the worksheets. There are also several games which can get kids practicing some basic math such as Clumsy Thief or Prime Climb.

Another fun way to explore or practice the exact same problems as this Fourth Grade Minimalist Math curriculum is by using my math cards included in my Patreon membership community. Patrons can also download a mastery checklist to can keep track of which problems in the curriculum are tripping their students up. You can pull out specific cards to review later or to practice with through fun strategies such as Game Show Math or Treasure Hunt Math.

Recommended Age Range: Fourth Grade
Time Required: about 20 minutes per week
Difficulty: starts off fairly easy and gets harder as the weeks progress
Cost: Free printable

Materials
paper

Instructions
Print out the curriculum and help your child complete one worksheet each week for each of the 36 weeks of school.

Free Printable
Minimalist Math – Fourth Grade Curriculum

Click here for all the Minimalist Math curricula available for different grade levels.

Related Links

Math Activities for Kids
Minimalist Math Curriculum Methodology
Learning Activities for Kids

The post Fourth Grade Minimalist Math Curriculum appeared first on ResearchParent.com.

First, I took notes on several different purchased curricula, such as Saxon Math, Singapore, Mammoth Math, and Kumon. I made sure to note the range in difficulty of the problems for each area covered. Then I used my notes and my own math knowledge to create a single 10 problem math worksheet for each of the 36 weeks of school. Each worksheet covers a problem from each of ten subject areas. For my third grade minimalist math curriculum, those areas are:

• Understanding Numbers
• Word Problems
• Patterns and Sequences
• Graphs, Charts, and Tables
• Telling Time
• Geometry
• Fractions
• Multiplication
• Units and Measurement
• Calculations

For more details on how I created these worksheets, see my post on my “minimalist math” curriculum methodology. It is my belief that if a child has mastered these 360 problems during the school year, then they do not need the repetition of thousands of problems found in a traditional curricula. So far, all of my children are testing at or above grade level. (Though it should be noted, that I do not approve of tests for kids this age. Since we were allowed to opt out of testing due to the pandemic, I did not make them test this past spring.)

It should also be noted that since children are not given a lot of repetition of similar problems, it is to be expected that they will need help completing these sheets. My original plan was to make note of which problems my kids struggled with and revisit them later. So far I have not succeeded in doing this. Math repeats enough from year to year that even with this minimalist approach, kids will eventually fully grasp concepts.

I would also like to point out that a basic weakness of this approach is that it does not lead to memorization of math facts. If you want your kids to be fast with basic addition, subtraction, multiplication, and division, you will need to supplement. This could be with some basic worksheets, like my free printable multiplication practice sheets. You could also check out Kate Snow’s Math Facts that Stick series. I am also a fan of games, such as Clumsy Thief or Prime Climb, to get kids eagerly practicing math calculations.

Another fun way to explore or practice the exact same problems as this Third Grade Minimalist Math curriculum is by using my math cards included in my Patreon membership community. Patrons can also download a mastery checklist to can keep track of which problems in the curriculum are tripping their students up. You can pull out specific cards to review later or to practice with through fun strategies such as Game Show Math or Treasure Hunt Math.

Recommended Age Range: Third Grade
Time Required: about 20 minutes per week
Difficulty: starts off fairly easy and gets harder as the weeks progress
Cost: Free printable

Materials
paper

Instructions
Print out the curriculum and help your child complete one worksheet each week for each of the 36 weeks of school.

Free Printable
Minimalist Math – Third Grade Curriculum

Click here for all the Minimalist Math curricula available for different grade levels.

Related Links

Math Activities for Kids
Minimalist Math Curriculum Methodology
Learning Activities for Kids

The post Third Grade Minimalist Math Curriculum appeared first on ResearchParent.com.

Basically, I created 36 worksheets for my kids, one for each week of school. Each worksheet has 10 problems from 10 different areas of math. The problems get progressively more difficult as the year goes on. Therefore, rather than do math every single day, my kids do 10 problems once a week. I created these problems after taking notes on various second-grade curricula to be sure that I was covering the same variety of problems that a child would see using a more traditional approach. You can learn more about my methodology here.

Because we don’t have formal math lessons and they will not be repeating the same problems over and over, kids will likely need help completing these worksheets. I recommend sitting next to the child for the 20 or so minutes per week it takes to complete these worksheets. Your presence and gentle assistance will reduce frustration and make kids more willing to attempt unfamiliar problems.

It is my belief that if kids can master the 360 problems in this curriculum, they will be at least as well off as if they had completed the thousands of problems in a traditional curriculum. So far, all of my children test at or above grade level in math even though they spend far less time on math than their peers.

This second grade minimalist math curriculum covers the following 10 topics. Each week a child does one problem from each of these categories.

• Understanding Numbers
• Word Problems
• Spatial Sense
• Geometry
• Patterns & Sequences
• Units & Measurement
• Telling Time
• Fractions
• Graphs, Charts, and Tables
• Calculations

Be aware, one potential problem with not having the repeated exposure found in traditional curricula is that kids may be a little slower at basic math facts. For example, when my son was in third grade, he had good accuracy and he was open-minded about tackling difficult problems, but it took him a minute to add single digits like 7 plus 8. Personally, I feel that this can be remedied when kids are older. However, if speed is a concern, I recommend supplementing this curriculum with Kate Snow’s Math Facts that Stick series.

You are also welcome to check out this site’s free addition and subtraction resources to give kids extra practice. Another way to improve kids’ speed is through math games. Our family likes Clumsy Thief (for adding to 100) and Clumsy Thief in the Candy Shop (for adding to 20).

Another fun way to explore or practice the exact same problems as this Second Grade Minimalist Math curriculum is by using my math cards included in my Patreon membership community. Patrons can also download a mastery checklist to can keep track of which problems in the curriculum are tripping their students up. You can pull out specific cards to review later or to practice with through fun strategies such as Game Show Math or Treasure Hunt Math.

Recommended Age Range: Second Grade
Time Required: about 20 minutes per week
Difficulty: starts off fairly easy and gets harder as the weeks progress
Cost: Free printable

Materials
paper

Instructions
Print out the curriculum and help your child complete one worksheet each week for each of the 36 weeks of school.

Free Printable
Minimalist Math – Second Grade Curriculum

Click here for all the Minimalist Math curricula available for different grade levels.

Related Links

Math Activities for Kids
Minimalist Math Curriculum Methodology
Learning Activities for Kids

The post Second Grade Minimalist Math Curriculum appeared first on ResearchParent.com.

You can learn more about my methodology and my reasons for creating this curriculum here. Basically, I have created 36 worksheets for my children to complete during the school year. Each worksheet consists of 10 different types of problems. As the year goes on, the problems progress in difficulty. Rather than doing math daily, my kids do one 10 problem worksheet each week.

Kids will likely need help completing this 10 problem worksheet. I recommend sitting next to them and taking the time to explain the concepts. My kids look forward to doing math with me because they know they will have my full attention for those 20 minutes.

If kids can master these 360 problems during the year, I believe they will be as good at math as if they had done a full, traditional curriculum. So far, my kids all test at or above grade level in math despite spending much less time on the subject.

This first-grade minimalist math curriculum covers the following 10 topics. Each week a child does one problem from each of these categories.

• Understanding Numbers
• Word Problems
• Spatial Sense
• Geometry
• Patterns & Sequences
• Units & Measurement
• Telling Time
• Fractions
• Graphs, Charts, and Tables
• Calculations

One weakness of this curriculum is that they will be slower at basic math operations such as addition and subtraction, because they are not practicing these memorization facts regularly. For my oldest, I just let him be a little slower and did not try to remedy the speed issue until he was in fourth grade. He might have been a little slower than other kids while testing, but since he understood the concepts of addition and subtraction I do not think it affected his accuracy.

However, if you are concerned about their fluency with basic math facts, you can check out some of my free addition and subtraction resources. My kids also like the games in Kate Snow’s Addition Facts that Stick. In addition to fun games for you and your child to play together, it also includes practice worksheets to help your kids master their basic addition facts. The game Clumsy Thief in the Candy Shop is another fun way to build fluency in counting to 20.

Another fun way to explore or practice the exact same problems as this First Grade Minimalist Math curriculum is by using my math cards included in my Patreon membership community. Patrons can also download a mastery checklist to can keep track of which problems in the curriculum are tripping their students up. You can pull out specific cards to review later or to practice with through fun strategies such as Game Show Math or Treasure Hunt Math.

Whether you are planning to use this free set of worksheets as your full curriculum or just as a supplement to check for gaps, I hope it is helpful to you!

Recommended Age Range: First Grade
Time Required: about 20 minutes per week
Difficulty: starts off fairly easy and gets harder as the weeks progress
Cost: Free printable

Materials
paper

Instructions
Print out the curriculum and help your child complete one worksheet each week for each of the 36 weeks of school.

Free Printable
Mimimalist Math – First Grade Curriculum

Click here for all the Minimalist Math curricula available for different grade levels.

Related Links

Math Activities for Kids
Minimalist Math Curriculum Methodology
Learning Activities for Kids

The post First Grade Minimalist Math Curriculum appeared first on ResearchParent.com.