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The results of national testing are in. Math scores for 13-year-olds are down by 9 points since just before the start of the pandemic. For lower-performing students, declines are even larger: 12-14 points. The NAEP’s Long-Term Trend Assessment for Mathematics looked at the math performance of 13-year-olds across the US in 2020 and again in 2023. In every region of the country, and in every gender and racial group, students have declined in their math performance.  According to Peggy Carr, commissioner of the National Center for Education Statistics, the pandemic accelerated the math decline, virtually wiping out the performance gains students made from the 1970s to 2020.  How do educators help students turn this around so kids can start building math success during the K-8th grade years? Brick Math is a solution that has been shown to increase test scores and improve students’ mathematical knowledge base. It’s a complete K-8 curriculum that teaches math by modeling math with LEGO® bricks. It’s fun to learn and easy to teach! The 13 math subjects in the Brick Math curriculum start with Counting and Cardinality for the earliest learners and go through Pre-Algebra (typically taught in late middle school). Students and teachers can start at any point in the curriculum. The materials are simple and very affordable:
In-person and online professional development is available for schools that want to fast-track the program into their curriculum. The 13 subjects in Brick Math include: Grades K - 2: Grades 3 - 4: Grades 5 - 6: Grades 7 - 8: Dr. Shirley Disseler, author of the Brick Math series, developed the concept after years of working with LEGO® Education. “I wanted to use LEGO® bricks to teach the basics of the math curriculum. It’s the perfect manipulative for teaching students the why behind the math to help them develop true mathematical understanding.”  Students and teachers around the world are using Brick Math: as a whole-school curriculum, for students who are struggling to learn math, and for gifted education. The program aligns with state and national standards and is based on research from the most respected educators in the field. Homeschoolers are also using Brick Math with great success. For more information, check BrickMath.com or contact [email protected].
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 Math scores for students across the US have declined since the start of the pandemic, according to the most recent National Assessment of Educational Progress (known as the “Nation’s Report Card”). For fourth graders, only 36 were found proficient in math. Even worse were the scores for eighth graders: only 26 percent proficient in math. The term “proficient” means that the students have demonstrate competency in the subject matter in their grade level.  What does this mean for schools? Students need to focus on academic recovery. Students need to get back their math knowledge, and fast. Since math instruction builds on what students have previously learned, more and more students will be set back if they aren’t given the tools to catch up first.  Brick Math is a perfect solution for schools, teachers, and parents who want to help their elementary and middle school students catch up in math. Brick Math teaches 11 subjects of basic math using LEGO® bricks. Modeling math with bricks helps students understand what the math means. The program is perfect for students who are struggling and haven’t learned through other teaching methods. It’s adaptable to all learning environments: whole-class instruction, small groups, and individual tutoring.  The school district of Davidson County, North Carolina, recently brought in Brick Math throughout the district to help bring their students back to levels of math proficiency. According to Dr. Deana Coley, Assistant Superintendent of Curriculum and Instruction for the district, “We asked our teachers which program students would have the most success with, and overwhelmingly, the teachers requested Brick Math.”  Brick Math is a K-6 math curriculum that uses LEGO® bricks to model 11 different math subjects: Counting, Addition, Subtraction, Multiplication, Division, Basic Fractions, Basic Measurement, Fraction Multiplication, Fraction Division, Advanced Measurement and Geometry, and Decimals. It works for math intervention, enrichment, as a whole-school program, and even homeschooling. Materials are simple and affordable. If you teach math or have a student at home who is learning K - 6th grade math, check brickmath.com. The website includes videos for both teacher training and direct instruction of students. You can learn more about how Brick Math improves students' math test scores and hear what people who are using Brick Math have to say about the program.
 There are a number of recent research studies that assess the effects of online and hybrid learning during the past three pandemic-affected school years. The studies show that math scores have dropped considerably during this time, even more than reading. According to an Education Week article, students are 12 weeks behind where they should be in math – about four months, or one-third of a typical 36-week school year.  There is a lot of federal funding available for academic intervention and support to help kids catch up. Many experts recommend a multi-pronged approach to helping students get back on track: tutoring, after-school programs, summer school, and/or lengthening the school year.  Brick Math is a very effective curriculum for math intervention and support in grades K – 6. The program teaches basic math by modeling with LEGO bricks, so the process is tactile, easy to understand, and fun! Brick Math is designed to work in different settings: whole-class, small group, and one-on-one. It is simple to adopt in any of the support approaches a school chooses, as a tutoring curriculum, or part of an after-school or summer program.  Recommendations also include the need for schools to implement their intervention strategies as soon as possible, and the funding timeline will help reinforce a speedy plan: schools have only two years to spend the money allocated to help students catch up. That's another plus for Brick Math -- the brick modeling techniques are easy for teachers to learn. There are only a few materials needed: a lesson book for the teacher, a student workbook for each student, and a brick set for every one or two students using the program. As schools try to get back to "normal" this year, the Brick Math curriculum can help bring your students back where they should be in math.  Brick Math is a K-6 math curriculum that uses LEGO® bricks to model 11 different math subjects: Counting, Addition, Subtraction, Multiplication, Division, Basic Fractions, Basic Measurement, Fraction Multiplication, Fraction Division, Advanced Measurement and Geometry, and Decimals. It works for homeschooling, math intervention, enrichment, and as a whole-school program. Materials are simple and affordable.
If you teach math or have a student at home who is learning K - 6th grade math, check brickmath.com. The website includes videos for both teacher training and direct instruction of students. You can learn more about how Brick Math improves students' math test scores and hear what people who are using Brick Math have to say about the program.  During the pandemic, the math skills of many elementary school students have dropped significantly. In the coming school year, educators are faced with the challenge of helping students both regain skills and learn new material. The latest thinking on how to help students who have lost math skills during the COVID year is to accelerate instruction rather than hold back. Guidance from the US Department of Education is to move ahead with grade-level math instruction, but include new strategies for learning where students show deficits.  Brick Math is the perfect solution for teachers and schools looking for a way to help students whose math skills have faltered in the past year. The K – 6th grade program uses LEGO bricks to model math, an innovative approach that helps students quickly learn mathematic basics that range from Counting through Advanced Geometry. Since the program is modular, it can be brought in to address specific learning deficits a student may have. For example, if a teacher finds that a student missed out on learning decimals last year, the Brick Math program of instruction for Decimals will help that student move back up to grade level work quickly.  Here’s how Brick Math can help a student who has lost math skills over the past year: 1. Determine what area of math the student is having trouble with (for example, understanding decimals). 2. Bring in the Brick Math subject area as needed (in the example, use the methods in the Decimals Teacher and Student books). The program focuses on helping the student quickly understand and master the topic. 3. Now the student is ready to rejoin the whole class in grade-level math. Brick Math is a K-6 math curriculum that uses LEGO® bricks to model 11 different math subjects: Counting, Addition, Subtraction, Multiplication, Division, Basic Fractions, Basic Measurement, Fraction Multiplication, Fraction Division, Advanced Measurement and Geometry, and Decimals. It works well for homeschooling, math intervention, enrichment, and as a whole-school program. Materials are simple and affordable.
If you teach math or have a student at home who is learning math, check brickmath.com. The website includes videos for both teacher training and direct instruction of students. You can learn more about how Brick Math improves student math test scores and hear what people who are using Brick Math have to say about the program.  It’s great to see that schools are in gear again, assessing new curriculum for the 2021-22 school year, and deciding to use Brick Math with their students! Schools in Tennessee, South Carolina, California, Pennsylvania, and North Carolina have recently added Brick Math to their K - 6 math curriculum. Administrators and teachers tell us why they have chosen Brick Math: Teaching Math Using LEGO® Bricks for the upcoming school year:  Reason # 1 – It works! The Brick Math program is a tried-and-tested method for learning K – 6 math for the past five years. Students “see” the math by building brick models. The Brick Math method helps students really understand the “why” behind the math by drawing the models they have created and explaining the process in words.  Reason # 2 – Brick Math allows teachers and students to focus on one subject at a time. Whether it’s Addition, Basic Fractions, Division, Measurement, Decimals or one of 11 different math topics, Brick Math helps students learn the math concepts they have haven’t grasped yet or leap ahead when they are ready. It can be taught in a small group or a whole classroom.  Reason # 3 – Schools, teachers, and parents love Brick Math because it helps students catch up on math they missed during the pandemic. Click here to learn more about how Brick Math can help students bring back the math skills they left behind during virtual or hybrid classes.  Reason # 4 – It’s fun! Who wouldn’t enjoy learning math when LEGO® bricks are involved?
Brick Math is ready to help schools with a program that can accelerate students’ math skills. If your students have fallen behind in math, please visit BrickMath.com to find out more about how Brick Math can help your students recover from math learning losses over the past year. The website includes training videos, testing results, research findings, and much more.  We’re putting the 2020-2021 school year in the rear-view mirror and looking ahead to new resources for students as they go back to in-person learning. Students will need something extra to regain the math skills they’ve lost in the past school year. That’s why the 2021-2022 school year is “The Year of Brick Math”!  There’s never been a better time for Brick Math: Teaching Math Using LEGO Bricks. The innovative K – 6 math curriculum utilizes kid-friendly LEGO bricks to model math with direct, hands-on techniques that are easy to teach and fun to learn. The method is as far from Zoom screens and worksheets as it could be. The lessons are engaging and effective. Many students have lost significant ground in math during the past year. And parents are very concerned about their children’s lack of academic progress.  The Brick Math program can help strengthen students’ math skills. Any or all of the 11 different K – 6 math subjects can be added to an existing math program to help struggling students. Thousands of schools, teachers, and parents use Brick Math in various ways: as a complete math curriculum, for instruction in specific content areas, for remediation, in small-groups, or working one-on-one. Brick Math school programs can include professional development, coaching, and individual support for teachers.  Learning math with LEGO bricks is a proven method that gets powerful results. Research has shown that students who learn with Brick Math improve their test scores dramatically. Right now, students need innovative learning solutions that work.
Brick Math is the solution to help students rebuild the math skills they have lost in the past year. Make 2021-22 your Year of Brick Math! Visit www.brickmath.com or call 802-751-8802 for more information. It’s been a tough year for schools and students, especially for math instruction. Many students have lost substantial math skills during this past school year because virtual learning is a poor substitute for in-class, hands-on learning. Research shows the deficits are far greater for math than for reading.  But there is a solution. Brick Math: Teaching Math Using LEGO Bricks is a program used by thousands of schools around the country to help K – 6 students catch up in math skills they desperately need. Brick Math has programs for schools to jump-start the math curriculum with specific, hands-on instruction in 11 math subjects. This proven program engages students with LEGO-compatible bricks to help students quickly gain back what they've lost and move ahead in their math skills. Brick Math programs can include professional development, coaching, and individual support for teachers.  We’re calling the 2021-2022 school year “The Year of Brick Math,” because it’s the perfect curriculum to help K – 6 students rebuild their lost math skills. Brick Math uses LEGO bricks to model the math, which results in higher engagement with the lessons and deeper understanding of the math. Here’s why Brick Math works to bring students' math skills back to where they need to be: • Modular Components: The program is modular, so it can be brought in at whatever level students need to make up for the math they didn’t learn this past year. The K - 6 curriculum is divided into 11 different subject areas, starting with Counting and Cardinality in the earliest grades, and moving through Advanced Geometry and Measurement in grades 5 - 6. • No Screens Necessary! The hands-on nature of Brick Math is just right for screen-exhausted students. They build models of the math with their own set of bricks as they learn, and they utilize pencil and paper to draw the models and explain their thinking process. • Easy to Get Started Teaching techniques are easy to learn and straightforward. Professional development for implementation and periodic coaching of staff throughout the year are available to ensure that teachers are comfortable teaching with Brick Math. • Proven Results Research shows that students who learn with Brick Math improve their test scores dramatically. Learning math with LEGO bricks is a proven method that gets powerful results. Brick Math is the curriculum solution for schools that need to help students rebuild the math skills they have lost in the past year. Visit www.brickmath.com or call 802-751-8802 for more information.
 It’s an exciting time for American schools. Tomorrow President Biden will sign the COVID relief bill, which allocates $128 billion for state and local education. Twenty percent of those funds must address learning loss by students who have struggled to learn in virtual or hybrid settings. According to research, students have fallen far behind in math since March 2020, with much more severe learning losses in math than in reading. There are five key ways that a math curriculum can help students who have fallen behind in math:  1. Students have fallen behind in math at different rates and in different subjects. Brick Math is a modular program that allows students to catch up in any of 11 specific K-6 math areas (Counting and Cardinality through Advanced Measurement and Geometry). 2. As students move back to full-time classroom learning, teachers can now take advantage of teaching methods that work well in the classroom setting. Brick Math works especially well in a classroom environment because it is hands-on. Students build models of the math with LEGO bricks, and teachers can quickly scan the room to make sure students are correctly learning the concepts.  3. K – 6 math is often taught using small groups of students whose math skills are at the same level. Brick Math works well in small groups because teachers can target specific areas of learning needs and help students with quick adjustments. 4. Students learn math best through a variety of methods. With Brick Math, students think through problems under the guidance of the teacher. Then they build models of the math with bricks. They then draw their models and explain the math concept in writing. These steps help solidify students’ learning.  5. Research shows that kids learn more when they are engaged and stay longer on the task. With Brick Math, students have fun while they learn, so their level of engagement is high. Many teachers report that students ask for “more Brick Math,” even when it’s time to move on to another subject! Brick Math is ready to help schools with a program that can accelerate students’ math skills. If your students have fallen behind in math, please visit BrickMath.com to find out more about how Brick Math can help your students recover from math learning losses over the past year. The website includes training videos, testing results, research findings, and much more. |
