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 A recent article in the New York Times says that US test scores are in a “generation-long decline.” This is not just a loss from the start of the COVID pandemic in 2020, as was previously assumed, but a decline that began five years earlier. New research from the Educational Opportunity Project at Stanford shows that across the US, 70% of school districts show math scores down over the past 10 years.  A report from the Education Scorecard describes this finding as a “learning recession.” It points to several factors that occurred around the same time, which they think contribute to the drop-off in math skills: the end of No Child Left Behind policies; the increase in smartphones, social media, and school laptops; and student absenteeism.
Brick Math can be part of your school’s program to bring test scores up. Here’s how:
 Try Brick Math today with your students. Sign up for the free Brick Math Lesson of the Month to receive a new lesson, and check the Brick Math website for instructional videos, more sample lessons, and much more.
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 Anyone who has ever taught students division knows how difficult it can be for some students to understand how to divide larger numbers. For May 2026, the Brick Math Free Lesson of the Month will help students learn how to divide longer numbers by modeling the math with bricks. Try it today by clicking here. You'll also get a new free Brick Math lesson every month after that.
 Since the first problem here is 222/2, students model the number 222 using two 1x3 bricks to show two hundreds, then two 1x2 bricks to show 2 tens, and two 1x1 bricks to show 2 ones. To divide the bricks by two, students break apart the model into two separate groups, each having one 1x3, one 1x2, and one 1x1 brick, modeling 111. The second problem uses the same methodology to divide a 4-digit number, and it also includes the result having a remainder. Modeling with bricks makes the whole idea of dividing larger numbers concrete rather than abstract, which is really helpful for students who struggle with the concept.  The Brick Math curriculum is divided into 13 separate content areas: Counting, Addition, Subtraction, Multiplication, Division, Basic Fractions, Basic Measurement, Fraction Multiplication, Fraction Division, Advanced Measurement and Geometry, Decimals, Data and Statistics, and Pre-Algebra.
Students can start anywhere in the curriculum. Brick Math can be used as a complete math curriculum or brought in as a supplement to help students who aren't having math success with other programs. Check BrickMath.com to learn more!  The Brick Math Lesson of the Month for April 2026 helps students learn the concepts of "more than" and "less than." Taken from the first book in the Brick Math series, Counting and Cardinality, the lesson teaches students to use the correct vocabulary and understand exactly what it means, by modeling with bricks. You can get this free lesson by clicking here. You'll also get a new free Brick Math lesson every month after that.  The lesson starts by modeling a square number, then adding one extra brick stud to show one more. Students are asked to describe the model, build their own models, and draw their models, all to firmly establish the concept of more than in the students' minds. If they are ready, the greater than symbol and terminology is introduced now as well. The lesson then continues with the complementary idea of less than.  If students are ready, the lesson ends with introducing the term compare by looking at different brick models. In this one simple lesson, students will learn a lot of basic math vocabulary and concepts to build on as they move on to Addition and Subtraction.  The Brick Math curriculum is divided into 13 separate content areas: Counting, Addition, Subtraction, Multiplication, Division, Basic Fractions, Basic Measurement, Fraction Multiplication, Fraction Division, Advanced Measurement and Geometry, Decimals, Data and Statistics, and Pre-Algebra.
Students can start anywhere in the curriculum. Brick Math can be used as a complete math curriculum or brought in as a supplement to help students who aren't having math success with other programs. Check BrickMath.com to learn more!  This month, the Brick Math Lesson of the Month teaches students the concept of missing terms in subtraction. The lesson is taken from Brick Math Subtraction, and you can get this lesson by clicking here. You'll also get a new free Brick Math lesson every month after that.  It's important for students to learn about the relationship between numerical operations. This lesson helps students understand the relationship between addition and subtraction, and develop their own strategies to solve related problems. This helps students later with mental math and fact recall.  This lesson starts with a problem where the missing term is the difference, which is what students will expect, but in the next problem, the missing term is the subtrahend. Using bricks plus the paper diagrams help students learn a sophisticated concept quickly and easily.  The Brick Math curriculum is divided into 13 separate content areas: Counting, Addition, Subtraction, Multiplication, Division, Basic Fractions, Basic Measurement, Fraction Multiplication, Fraction Division, Advanced Measurement and Geometry, Decimals, Data and Statistics, and Pre-Algebra.
Students can start anywhere in the curriculum. Brick Math can be used as a complete math curriculum or brought in as a supplement to help students who aren't having math success with other programs. Check BrickMath.com to learn more!  Brrr! It's cold out there! But luckily, we're not living through Groundhog Day every day, so we know eventually it will warm up in time for spring (at least, we always hope for it here in Vermont!). While you and your students may be stuck indoors, here's a multiplication game you can play that will help them practice multiplication facts and remind them WHY multiplication works the way it does. It's from Brick Math Multiplication , and you can get this lesson by clicking here. You'll also get a new free Brick Math lesson every month after that.  The Blocks and Bricks Game is best played with two players. To start, each player has some bricks and a baseplate, along with a scoring sheet. They need one die to share. Player 1 starts by rolling the die twice: the first number is the multiplier, which the player models by building that number of blocks of space on their baseplate. The second number is the multiplicand, which the player models by putting the correct number of bricks in each block of space. Then the player counts all the bricks used, which answers the multiplication problem, and completes their scoring sheet for this roll. Player two does the same using the numbers rolled by Player 1. Then it's Player 2's turn to roll to start the next round.  In the game play directions, we suggest four rounds of play. At the end, the players add up the total number of studs in the solution column. If the players have compared and discussed their answers, they should have the same number in the solution column -- a tie game!  The Blocks and Bricks Game is a great way to introduce Brick Math to your students while they earn basic multiplication concepts. Modeling math with plastic bricks makes learning fun for everyone!
The Brick Math curriculum is divided into 13 separate content areas: Counting, Addition, Subtraction, Multiplication, Division, Basic Fractions, Basic Measurement, Fraction Multiplication, Fraction Division, Advanced Measurement and Geometry, Decimals, Data and Statistics, and Pre-Algebra. Students can start anywhere in the curriculum. Brick Math can be used as a complete math curriculum or brought in as a supplement to help students who aren't having math success with other programs. Check BrickMath.com to learn more!  Welcome to 2026! The FREE Lesson of the Month from Brick Math is on Factors, and it's from Brick Math Basic Fractions. To get this lesson, click here, and you'll also get a new free Brick Math lesson every month after that. This lesson is a perfect demonstration of the way Brick Math works to help students SEE the math. It's the clearest way to describe factors I can think of, allowing students to build the math concepts using plastic bricks as the manipulative.  The lesson teaches students about factors of 16, and it starts with a brick that has 16 studs on it. Each step of the lesson breaks the number down into smaller and smaller factors of 16, using bricks to illustrate how the math works.  Try this Brick Math lesson on Factors with your students today! I think you'll find many of the students who didn't understand the concept of factors will get it perfectly with this lesson.  The Brick Math curriculum is divided into 13 separate content areas: Counting, Addition, Subtraction, Multiplication, Division, Basic Fractions, Basic Measurement, Fraction Multiplication, Fraction Division, Advanced Measurement and Geometry, Decimals, Data and Statistics, and Pre-Algebra.
Students can start anywhere in the curriculum. Brick Math can be used as a complete math curriculum or brought in as a supplement to help students who aren't having math success with other programs. Check BrickMath.com to learn more!  The FREE Brick Math Lesson of the Month for December 2025 is in response to a question from a teacher: "Can you help me explain regrouping to my students?" We certainly can! Decomposing is another term for regrouping, and this lesson helps student understand the concept. The lesson comes from Brick Math Addition. To get this lesson, click here, and you'll also get a new free Brick Math lesson every month after that.  It's important that students start thinking in terms of groups of ten as early as possible, since our number system is base ten. The lesson here shows students how to add, and it also shows the answer in terms of ten. The problem adds the numbers 4 and 9, and shows the answer as 10 + 3, or 13.  Students will use this knowledge as they move forward learning to add and subtract. Using bricks to model the base ten concepts makes them easy for students to understand, and also makes it easy for teachers to teach! The lesson starts with the Teacher lesson plans for the first four pages, followed by the three corresponding pages in the Student workbook. Try this lesson of the month with your students to see the power of Brick Math in action!  The Brick Math curriculum is divided into 13 separate content areas: Counting, Addition, Subtraction, Multiplication, Division, Basic Fractions, Basic Measurement, Fraction Multiplication, Fraction Division, Advanced Measurement and Geometry, Decimals, Data and Statistics, and Pre-Algebra.
Students can start anywhere in the curriculum. Brick Math can be used as a complete math curriculum or brought in as a supplement to help students who aren't having math success with other programs. Check BrickMath.com to learn more!  The free Brick Math Lesson of the Month for November 2025 covers a topic that many students find difficult to understand -- working with fractions that have different denominators. This lesson is taken from Brick Math Basic Fractions. To get this lesson, click here, and you'll also get a new free Brick Math lesson every month after that.  After students have learned to add and subtract fractions that have the same denominators (for example, 3/8 + 2/8), it's time for them to learn how to add two fractions that have different, or unlike, denominators. In this lesson, students model the addition of 1/4 + 2/3. Before they can add the numerators, they must learn to find the Least Common Denominator to make the denominators the same. This lesson uses a wonderful technique called the "fraction train" to show clearly how to find the Least Common Denominator.  Using the studs on the bricks, students learn that the Least Common Denominator for this problem is 12. They model the two fractions with that denominator, then add the numerators. Along the way, students answer questions and explain in words why the math works. The Brick Math methods help students develop a deep understanding of math. The lesson starts with the Teacher lesson plans for the first four pages, followed by the three corresponding pages in the Student workbook. Try this lesson of the month with your students to see the power of Brick Math in action!  The Brick Math curriculum is divided into 13 separate content areas: Counting, Addition, Subtraction, Multiplication, Division, Basic Fractions, Basic Measurement, Fraction Multiplication, Fraction Division, Advanced Measurement and Geometry, Decimals, Data and Statistics, and Pre-Algebra. Students can start anywhere in the curriculum. Brick Math can be used as a complete math curriculum or brought in as a supplement to help students who aren't having math success with other programs. Check BrickMath.com to learn more!  Brick Math is an innovative way to teach K-8th grade math, using bricks to model the math. It’s hands-on and fun for students, and it’s easy to teach. We often get questions about seeing the program in action. It’s so much easier to understand the power of Brick Math when you see how it works. Well, we've got you covered!  The Brick Math website offers lots of videos that show lessons from different math subjects. There are video lessons for students to watch, which can be a great way to try out a lesson with your students. There are also teacher training videos, specifically geared to showing teachers how to present a Brick Math lesson to students. Finally, there are quick video lessons that clearly show how well the bricks work to model the math concepts.  Once you’ve watched one or more of the Brick Math videos, you’ll get a good sense of how to teach with the program. You’ll quickly understand why so many educators are adding Brick Math as part of their curriculum for teaching K-8 math!  The Brick Math curriculum is divided into 13 separate content areas: Counting, Addition, Subtraction, Multiplication, Division, Basic Fractions, Basic Measurement, Fraction Multiplication, Fraction Division, Advanced Measurement and Geometry, Decimals, Data and Statistics, and Pre-Algebra.
Students can start anywhere in the curriculum. Brick Math can be used as a complete math curriculum or brought in as a supplement to help students who aren't having math success with other programs. Check BrickMath.com to learn more!  We're well into the swing of the new school year, and Brick Math is the choice of so many educators and homeschoolers for their K-8 math curriculum. It works as a general curriculum, and also for intervention, supplement, and enrichment. This month's free Brick Math Lesson of the Month is on quotitive division and comes from Brick Math Division. To get this lesson, click here, and you'll also get a new free Brick Math lesson every month after that.  Students need to learn both quotitive and partitive division. Partitive division involves taking a group of objects and dividing the objects into equal groups of a certain number. Quotitive division looks at the concept of division in a different way. It demonstrates how division is actually repeated subtraction. Quotitive division helps students connect division to subtraction in the same way that they learn to connect multiplication to addition.  This lesson about quotitive division starts with modeling a whole of 20, then counting down by 4s to zero. Each step is represented by a brick with 4 fewer studs, clearly showing students the repeated subtraction. At the end of the problem, the subtraction sentence 20 - 4 - 4 - 4 - 4 - 4 = 0, shown by the brick model that has been built, converts to the division sentence 20 ÷ 4 = 5. The lesson then continues with a second problem, starting with a new whole of 16 and counting down by 2s to zero, demonstrating 16 ÷ 2 = 8. The lesson starts with the Teacher lesson plans for the first four pages, followed by the three corresponding pages in the Student workbook. Try this lesson of the month with your students to see the power of Brick Math in action!  The Brick Math curriculum is divided into 13 separate content areas: Counting, Addition, Subtraction, Multiplication, Division, Basic Fractions, Basic Measurement, Fraction Multiplication, Fraction Division, Advanced Measurement and Geometry, Decimals, Data and Statistics, and Pre-Algebra.
Students can start anywhere in the curriculum. Brick Math can be used as a complete math curriculum or brought in as a supplement to help students who aren't having math success with other programs. Check BrickMath.com to learn more! |
