Honors Math (Grades 6–8)

About the Course

This class is for students who enjoy maths and want to go beyond standard school exercises. It develops deep problem-solving skills, clear written solutions, and strong mathematical habits through rigorous, book-based enrichment. When appropriate, it can also support early contest preparation such as AMC 8.

Over time, students work from Prealgebra into the Intro series, building a very solid base in algebra, geometry, counting & probability and number theory. These books are widely seen as "must-reads" for strong middle-school students, and they make later courses like precalculus and calculus much easier to learn properly.

Depending on the student, we may work through one or more of:

• Prealgebra – arithmetic, fractions, integers, factors, equations and word problems
• Algebra – expressions, equations, systems, factoring and functions
• Geometry – triangles, circles, angles, similarity, area and more
• Counting & Probability – paths, arrangements, selections and probability puzzles
• Number Theory – divisibility, primes, modular arithmetic and remainders

How This Course Works

Most lessons are spent working together on selected problems from the book, especially the Challenge Problems. We quickly skip over routine exercises if the student can already handle them, and slow down on questions that require more creativity or careful explanation.

Alongside the book, students use AoPS Alcumus between sessions — an adaptive problem system that targets exactly the topics introduced in class. Over time, building a strong Alcumus rating in the key areas is a reliable signal of real understanding, not just surface familiarity.

After each session, clear written solutions and short summaries are prepared and made available to the student — organised by topic and easy to return to before tests or competitions.