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 Happy summer, everyone! The Brick Math Lesson of the Month for July 2025 is on Partitive Division, which means dividing into equal shares. To get this lesson, click here, and you'll also get a new free Brick Math lesson every month after that. Partitive division is the kind of division that takes a whole and breaks it into equal parts. It's a great introduction to fractions as well as division.  In this lesson, the concept of division is presented as a real-world problem: sharing pieces of candy equally among friends. The bricks, with their easy-to-count studs, make it clear how many pieces will be in each group, as well as how many groups will be created. This is one of the most basic ideas in learning division, and it is illustrated so well using bricks! This Lesson of the Month shows pages from the Division Teacher Edition first, and then shows the corresponding workbook pages for students to use from the companion Division Student Edition. Students move from a concrete representation of the math to a more abstract representation by drawing the models, then finally to a fully abstract understanding of the math when they describe it in words. In this way, Brick Math helps students gain a deep, true understanding of math, which sets them up for future success as they move through the K-8 curriculum.  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.
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 The FREE Brick Math Lesson of the Month for June 2025 comes from Basic Fractions, and it teaches students about equivalent fractions. To get this lesson, click here, and you'll also get a new free Brick Math lesson every month after that. Understanding the concept of equivalent fractions is important for learning to simplify fractions, a key skill. It's especially important when students are learning to add and subtract fractions with unlike denominators.  In this lesson, students learn the meaning of equivalent, then model equivalent fractions of sixteenths and twelfths. After students have mastered this concept, they will move to the next lesson, which is learning to find a common denominator so a fraction can be added and subtracted.  This Lesson of the Month shows pages from the Basic Fractions Teacher Edition first, and then shows the corresponding workbook pages for students to use from the companion Basic Fractions Student Edition. Students move from a concrete representation of the math to a more abstract representation by drawing the models, then finally to a fully abstract understanding of the math when they describe it in words. In this way, Brick Math helps students gain a deep, true understanding of math, which sets them up for future success as they move through the K-8 curriculum.  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 just read in the New York Times about the latest results of the NAECP tests, showing a startling decline in math scores among the lowest-performing students since 2013. No, this isn't a COVID story -- it goes much further back.  According to the article, eighth-grade students scoring at the bottom of standardized math tests were making slow but steady improvements since about 2000. In fact, all students seemed to be bringing their scores up, until 2013. Then the lowest-performing students' scores started to dip down, and those scores continue to nosedive through today. What's the reason for the drop in math scores? Researchers point to a variety of possible causes. One is the end of the No Child Left Behind program instituted in 2002. The program was controversial and eventually was discontinued because many felt it over-emphasized math and English to the exclusion of all other subjects. Another theory is the rise in smartphones. Before 2013, less than half of the adult population in the US had smartphones. Today, 90 percent of adults and teenagers have smartphones. The article points out the "one in three 9-year-olds" has a smartphone. We all how much time a smartphone can take away from other activities. Further, school funding was cut in years 2011-2012, and the effects of that began to appear shortly afterward. But most likely, says the article, we are not focusing on our lowest-performing students anymore, and they are suffering from the lack of attention. A look at results in Mississippi, traditionally one of the worst states for student performance, shows that because of efforts being made for the bottom 25th percentile of students, scores are on the rise.  Here's what we at Brick Math take away from this research: your lowest-performing students can improve, but only if you find instruction methods that work for them. Brick Math helps students learn K-8th grade math when other teaching methods have failed them. By allowing students to "see the math," they develop a foundational understanding of basic math concepts. As they continue throughout the Brick Math curriculum, they build on their mathematical knowledge and they really learn the math, often for the first time in their experience. It's exciting to have students who beg their teachers to stay in for recess and keep doing Brick Math (true story!). And we love hearing from students who say, "I finally understand math! I can SEE it!"  Brick Math is a complete math curriculum for kindergarten through 8th grade that models the math with bricks. The 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!
 No April Fool's here -- money is on everyone's mind! This free Brick Math Lesson of the Month teaches students the value of coins: pennies (while we still have them), nickels, dimes, and quarters. To get this lesson, from Brick Math Basic Measurement, click here, and you'll also get a new free Brick Math lesson every month after that.  Modeling with bricks gives students a tangible representation of the math concepts. In this lesson, students create models of the various values of coins with each stud on the bricks standing for one cent. Then the lesson shows how many nickels are in a quarter, as well as dimes in a quarter. You can extend the concept by having students create other money values, or by adding monetary values together. It's an easy yet powerful way for students to learn coin values, and they won't forget them!  This Lesson of the Month shows pages from the Basic Measurement Teacher Edition first, and then shows the corresponding workbook pages for students to use from the companion Basic Measurement Student Edition. Students move from a concrete representation of the math to a more abstract representation by drawing the models, then finally to a fully abstract understanding of the math when they describe it in words. In this way, Brick Math helps students gain a deep, true understanding of math, which sets them up for future success as they move through the K-8 curriculum.  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 uncertainty around funding education is growing around the US. If the federal Department of Education is eliminated or greatly reduced, many educators are questioning whether Title I and other funds will be affected. At a time when budgets are tight, we’re pleased that Brick Math remains a very affordable curriculum for supplemental math instruction in grades K – 8. The program teaches math by utilizing plastic building bricks as manipulatives. It’s easy to teach and fun to learn!  The components of Brick Math are simple: For each of the thirteen math subjects, the teacher uses a Teacher Edition book of lesson plans, and each student uses a Student Edition workbook. Brick sets curated for the entire Brick Math program can be used by one student or shared between two students.  That’s it. There are no other materials to purchase. Paperback Teacher Editions cost $19.95 each and Student Editions cost $14.95 each. PDF versions of the books cost $4.95 each. The Brick Set costs $60. We offer the materials at a discount when grouped in “bundles” for grades K-2, 3-4, 5-6, and 7-8. We also offer discounts for schools for large purchases. Even when money is tight, schools still need to find the best ways to help their students learn. We think you’ll find that Brick Math is a very effective, as well as a very affordable program to help your students build math success.
 We recently had a question from an elementary math teacher in Hawaii who wanted to know if Brick Math was suitable for RTI in grades 1 - 6. It’s a good question, and we thought we’d give everyone more information about using Brick Math for intervention.  The program is built on separate math subject matter, starting with Counting and Cardinality for the earliest learners, and going to Pre-Algebra. You choose the subject(s) that your students are working on. You can go straight through a lesson book from start to finish, or begin anywhere in the lesson book that you choose based on what your students already know. It’s a modular kind of program and very flexible. The brick sets are designed to work for all the subjects in the program. They can be used by one individual student or shared between two students.  Teachers often tell us that Brick Math has worked well in an intervention setting because it presents the math in a different way than the students have seen it before. It’s tactile, and it engages students first because they enjoy working with the bricks, but also because it requires them to translate the 3-D brick models to 2-D drawings and then into words.  Brick Math Teacher Editions are the lesson books that the teacher uses. The Student Editions are the workbooks that students write in to record their math work, as well as completing chapter assessments. They also include a chart to track students’ progress toward mastery, which is useful for teachers who see RTI students regularly. 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!  Baby, it's cooooold outside (at least where we are)! So here's something to warm up your students: a free lesson that shows the meaning of multiplying by bundling bricks into sets of 10. From Brick Math Multiplication, the lesson is called "Place Value/Bundling Multiplication". To get this lesson, click here, and you'll also get a new free Brick Math lesson every month after that.  There are two math problems in this lesson of the month to show how the bundling technique works: first, 2 x 25, and second, 3 x 12. In both problems, the math is modeled to show the sets. The problems also show the difference in modeling if the numbers are reversed; i.e., 25 x 2 or 12 x 3. This Lesson of the Month shows 4 pages from the Multiplication Teacher Edition first, and then the corresponding workbook pages for students to use from the companion Multiplication Student Edition.  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!  Happy 2025! Let's start off the year with a free Brick Math lesson from Addition. It teaches the concept of adding with the "change" number unknown; for example, 2 + ___ = 5. To get this lesson, click here, and you'll also get a new free Brick Math lesson every month after that. An important concept to learn in addition is being able to determine the solution when any one part of the equation is unknown. In the Brick Math program, students start learning to add with an unknown result. They then learn to add when the change number is unknown, and then, when the start number is unknown. In this way, students learn the part-part-whole relationships between numbers.  The "Change Unknown" lesson models an equation with bricks, leaving the "change" term blank. Then students develop their own strategies to determine what the change number is, by counting up, one-to-one correspondence, or by matching studs. The lesson shows students how to move the studs from the start location and place them on the result location, comparing uncovered studs that show the number that will be in the change location. The lesson also gives students practice using the addition vocabulary words addend and sum.  The second half of the Lesson of the Month comes from the Student workbook for Brick Math Addition. These are the pages students will use as they follow the teacher's lesson. In these pages, the students respond to questions and draw the brick models as they build them. This is all part of the Brick Math learning method, which starts with building brick models, then drawing the models, and then explaining the math in words. It's a proven method that gets real results with students.  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 2024 comes from Brick Math's Subtraction. To get this lesson, click here, and you'll also get a new free Brick Math lesson every month after that. This lesson teaches students how to subtract within 20 and uses a strategy called "ten-frames," which helps students see the numbers as they relate to the number 10. Ten-frames are a wonderful way to introduce the base ten system early on.  The lesson starts with pages from the Teacher Edition of Brick Math Subtraction. Modeling with bricks, the teacher shows the concept of subtracting 6 minus 4, and then 12 minus 8. In each case, the models are built on ten-frames, which help to show the numbers as part of the base ten system. The lesson uses important subtraction vocabulary words like subtrahend and difference.  The second half of the Lesson of the Month comes from the Student workbook for Brick Math Subtraction. These are the pages students will use as they follow the teacher's lesson. In these pages, the students respond to questions and draw the brick models as they build them. This is all part of the Brick Math learning method, which starts with building models, then drawing the models, and then explaining the math in words. It's a proven method that gets real results with students.  Try this subtraction lesson with your students. We think you'll find that they love learning with Brick Math. As one student told us, "Now I can SEE the 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!
 This month's free Brick Math Lesson of the Month teaches students how to subtract fractions that have like denominators. To get this lesson, click here, and you'll also get a new free Brick Math lesson every month after that. For many students, the first time they encounter the concept of subtracting a fraction from another fraction can be very confusing. This method, modeling with plastic bricks, breaks down the steps and makes it easy to understand.  The modeling technique clearly shows the meaning of fraction, and also uses the colors of the bricks to show that the denominators are the same. These seemingly small details really help students grasp the concept of what it means to subtract one fraction from another. The method works well for students new to subtracting fractions, or for those who haven't been able to learn the concepts through more traditional curricula.  The September 2024 Lesson of the Month is taken from Brick Math Basic Fractions and includes pages from the Teacher's lesson guide and the corresponding pages from the Student Workbook. Brick Math is a complete math curriculum for kindergarten through 8th grade that models the math with bricks. The 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!
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