January 2024 Lesson of the Month -- Understanding Decimals

Happy New Year! We're starting off the year with a Brick Math lesson that demonstrates very clearly what "decimal" means. It's taken from Brick Math Decimals Using LEGO® Bricks. Typically, decimals are introduced in 4th grade, and the topic is explored extensively in grades 4 to 6. To get the January 2024 Brick Math Lesson of the Month, "Understanding Decimals," plus a new lesson each month, click here.  Each Lesson of the Month includes the Teacher Lesson Guide as well as the Student Workbook Pages that correspond to the lesson. 

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Decimals can be very tricky for students to understand at first. The method shown in this lesson, modeling a decimal within a 10 by 10 grid of bricks, clearly shows 100 as the whole and the decimal as a part of that whole. Like all Brick Math techniques, the models make the math both visual and tactile, which helps many students gain a deeper understanding of the mathematical concepts.

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Teachers and parents tell us all the time that they always wanted to use LEGO® bricks to teach math, but didn't know how to get started. 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 topics: 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. It 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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Brick Math works in many applications: for homeschooling, math intervention, enrichment, and as a whole-school program. Materials are simple and affordable.
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If you are a math teacher or a parent with a student at home who is learning K-8th 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. ​

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