THE SIMMS

MATHEMATICS
CURRICULUM
A non-traditional
classroom style for
learning Mathematics at
Newton North High
School

WHO IS SIMMS FOR?

Problem Solvers
Creative Minds
Good at Sharing Ideas
Effective Collaborators
Bored with Repetition
Dont need to be an Honors Student
Any 8A student or 8R student (earning a B-

or better)

WHY SIMMS?

What are the

ADVANTAGES of SIMMS
Math compared to a more
traditional curriculum?

WHY SIMMS?
Problem Solving Skills

WHY SIMMS?
Community

and
Collaboration

WHY SIMMS?
Learning through Experiments and Activities
(not a lecture-based class)

WHY SIMMS?
Curriculum will cover through PRE-CALC

by the end of 12th grade.

WHY SIMMS?
A Modeling Approach
Real World Data

WHY SIMMS?
This curriculum focuses on the process of

Mathematics, not just on finding a Correct

answer.

WHY SIMMS?
SAT, ACT, and MCAS scores have been

comparable to peers in other Advanced

College Prep. courses.

WHY NOT SIMMS?

What are some of the

DRAWBACKS or
INTIMIDATIONS to the
SIMMS style of learning Math?

WHY NOT SIMMS?

There is a fair amount

of READING in the
SIMMS curriculum.
Almost exclusively
WORD PROBLEMS.

WHY NOT SIMMS?

In most cases, answers are not just

Correct or Incorrect.

WHY NOT SIMMS?

The format of the SIMMS curriculum doesnt

build in a lot of PRACTICE and

REPETITION of a skill.

WHY NOT SIMMS?

The SIMMS learning

process doesnt always

provide a FORMULA or
ALGORITHM for
problems.
Each Problem is different
from the others.

THE SIMMS TEXTBOOK

How is the SIMMS textbook

different from a more

traditional textbook?

THE SIMMS TEXTBOOK

The book contains EXPERIMENTS and

ACTIVITIES to be done with collaborative

groups in class.

THE SIMMS TEXTBOOK

Class activities generate data to be used

DEVELOP UNDERSTANING.

A study of Surface Area and Volume

through the context of construction.

THE SIMMS TEXTBOOK

Traditional

Textbooks have
EXAMPLES to
follow and
replicate.
The SIMMS Textbook has
MATH NOTES that
clarify and reinforce main
concepts and skills.

THE SIMMS TEXTBOOK

Most Practice

Problems are
CONTEXT BASED
(WORD PROBLEMS).

THE SIMMS TEXTBOOK

Practice Problems are NOT REPETATIVE, all

are slightly different from each other.

THE SIMMS TEXTBOOK

All topics and content are taught through

the context of an OCCUPATION.

Maybe this will provide an interest for later
in life.

IS SIMMS THE RIGHT CHOICE

FOR YOU?
YES

NO

Problem Solvers
Creative Minds
Good at Sharing Ideas
Effective Collaborators
Bored with Repetition
Any 8A student or any 8R
student earning a B- or better

Prefer to Work Alone

Prefer lots of Examples to
Follow
Dislike / Fear WORD
PROBLEMS
Prefer when Answers are either
CORRECT or INCORRECT