Eighth Grade Arithmetic (1880)
Complete mastery of practical arithmetic with emphasis on mental calculation, business mathematics, and real-world problem solving. Students were expected to solve complex problems without calculators.
6
Hours/Week
8
Skills Expected
Gilded Age
Era
Post-Civil War America emphasized practical education. Most students completing 8th grade would enter the workforce, so arithmetic skills were directly applicable to commerce, farming, and trades.
Gilded Age (1880-1889)
Mental discipline through rigorous study. Memorization and recitation emphasized character formation.
- Mental arithmetic with speed and accuracy
- Square and cube roots by hand
- Complex fractions and decimal operations
- Percentage, profit, loss, and discount calculations
- Simple and compound interest
- Ratio, proportion, and partnership problems
- Mensuration: areas and volumes of all common shapes
- Basic bookkeeping and accounting principles
- Ray's Higher Arithmetic
- Robinson's Progressive Higher Arithmetic
- Greenleaf's Complete Arithmetic
Free Resources (5)
Ray's Arithmetic Series (Complete)
America's most popular math curriculum from 1834-1913. Emphasizes mental math, practical word problems, and mastery before advancing. Known for producing exceptional math skills.
Ray's New Primary Arithmetic
Beginning arithmetic focusing on counting, addition, subtraction with strong mental math emphasis.
Ray's New Intellectual Arithmetic
Mental arithmetic problems designed to be solved without pencil and paper. Builds strong number sense.
Internet Archive - Historical Textbooks
Massive collection of scanned historical textbooks from 1800s-1900s. Free to read and download.
Premium Curricula (3)
Ray's Arithmetic (Mott Media Reprint)
Complete reprints of Ray's Arithmetic series with answer keys. The classic mental math approach.
Memoria Press Classical Curriculum
Complete classical curriculum based on the Trivium (grammar, logic, rhetoric). Uses many historical texts and methods.
Classical Conversations
Classical homeschool community program using memorization, discussion, and rhetoric. Based on historical Trivium model.