CircleUp Planner · Math
Planning a year of Math-U-See
Math-U-See does not have a lesson a day. Each level has about 30 lessons, and a child moves on when they can teach the lesson back. That makes it the hardest math program to put on a calendar, and the easiest to fall behind on without noticing.
Every level, laid out
What the Planner lays out for each level at its usual pace, before you add breaks, co-op days or days off.
| Level | What it holds | Days a week | School days | Weeks |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Primer | 30 lessons, about 5 days each | 5 | 150 | 30 |
| Alpha | 30 lessons, about 5 days each | 5 | 150 | 30 |
| Beta | 30 lessons, about 5 days each | 5 | 150 | 30 |
| Gamma | 30 lessons, about 5 days each | 5 | 150 | 30 |
| Delta | 30 lessons, about 5 days each | 5 | 150 | 30 |
| Epsilon | 30 lessons, about 5 days each | 5 | 150 | 30 |
| Zeta | 30 lessons, about 5 days each | 5 | 150 | 30 |
| Pre-Algebra | 30 lessons, about 5 days each | 5 | 150 | 30 |
| Algebra 1 | 35 lessons, about 5 days each | 5 | 175 | 35 |
| Geometry | 30 lessons, about 5 days each | 5 | 150 | 30 |
| Algebra 2 | 31 lessons, about 5 days each | 5 | 155 | 31 |
| PreCalculus | 30 lessons, about 5 days each | 5 | 150 | 30 |
| Calculus | 30 lessons, about 5 days each | 5 | 150 | 30 |
How a mastery program goes on a calendar
The Planner gives each Math-U-See lesson five days, the common "about a lesson a week" pace, so a 30-lesson level fills 150 school days. Those days are a target, not a promise. Every day reads "Work on Lesson 7" rather than a page number, and the lesson stays on the plan until you mark it mastered. If Lesson 7 takes eight days, Lesson 8 starts on day nine and the finish date moves to match.
Each lesson ends in a lesson test, and the test booklet adds unit tests and a final. The Planner does not schedule those separately; they are part of the lesson's week.
The secondary levels
Algebra 1 has 35 lessons and Algebra 2 has 31, so they run 175 and 155 days at the same pace. Both are the Legacy Edition. Demme's newer Principles of Secondary Mathematics books are structured differently and are not the ones laid out here.
The first weeks of Math-U-See Gamma
As the Planner shows them, 5 days a week from a Monday start.
Week 1
- Mon
- Work on Lesson 1
- Tue
- Work on Lesson 1
- Wed
- Work on Lesson 1
- Thu
- Work on Lesson 1
- Fri
- Work on Lesson 1
Week 2
- Mon
- Work on Lesson 2
- Tue
- Work on Lesson 2
- Wed
- Work on Lesson 2
- Thu
- Work on Lesson 2
- Fri
- Work on Lesson 2
Week 3
- Mon
- Work on Lesson 3
- Tue
- Work on Lesson 3
- Wed
- Work on Lesson 3
- Thu
- Work on Lesson 3
- Fri
- Work on Lesson 3
When the week does not go to plan
Tap “didn’t get to it” and choose: catch up on Saturday, double up, spread it out or push it back. You see the new finish date before anything moves. If your co-op runs on CircleUp, its days and breaks are planned around by themselves.
Questions
What if my child masters a lesson in three days?
Mark it mastered and the next lesson starts the following day. The plan pulls forward, and the finish date shows how much time you have banked.
Will the Planner make us move on before we are ready?
No. A mastery lesson is never used up by its estimate; it stays on the plan until you mark it mastered. The Planner tells you if the year is running long, and lets you decide what to do about it.
Can I change five days a lesson to something else?
Yes. Set your own pace for the curriculum and the rest of the level is laid out again at that rate.
Where the counts come from
- Primer, Alpha, Beta, Delta, Epsilon, Zeta, Pre-Algebra, Geometry, PreCalculus, Calculus: 30 lessons, per the publisher's scope and sequence (Checked 2026-10-17). Mastery-paced: move on when the student can teach it back; commonly about a lesson a week. Each lesson ends in a lesson test, and the test booklet adds unit tests and a final (Cathy Duffy); tests are not scheduled separately here.
- Gamma: 30 lessons, per the publisher's scope and sequence (checked 2026-10-17). Mastery-paced: about a lesson a week, 2–10+ days each; the five-day estimate per lesson is ours. The test booklet has a test per lesson, unit tests after lessons 6, 14, 20 and 30, and a final.
- Algebra 1: 35 lessons, per the publisher's scope and sequence (Checked 2026-10-17). Mastery-paced: move on when the student can teach it back; commonly about a lesson a week. Each lesson ends in a lesson test, and the test booklet adds unit tests and a final (Cathy Duffy); tests are not scheduled separately here. This is the Legacy Edition; Demme's newer Principles of Secondary Mathematics Algebra 1 is a different book (5 units, 30 lessons).
- Algebra 2: 31 lessons, per the publisher's scope and sequence (Checked 2026-10-17). Mastery-paced: move on when the student can teach it back; commonly about a lesson a week. Each lesson ends in a lesson test, and the test booklet adds unit tests and a final (Cathy Duffy); tests are not scheduled separately here. This is the Legacy Edition; Demme's newer Principles of Secondary Mathematics Algebra 2 is a different book (about 42 lessons).
Also in the Planner: Saxon Math · The Good and the Beautiful Language Arts and the rest of the catalog.
Lay out Math-U-See around your own year
Pick your school days, your breaks and your co-op, and every lesson is placed. 30 days free, no card needed.