Fifth Grade Families, This week in math, students are stepping into the role of codebreakers as we begin learning about variables . Don’t worry, this is a gentle introduction to algebra, and students are going to do a a great job with it! A variable is just a letter or symbol that stands for a number we don’t know yet. Mathematicians use variables to help describe real-life situations. For example, imagine your child is buying apples, but they haven’t decided how many yet.