Lesson of the Month for January 2025: Change Unknown

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. ​

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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.
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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.

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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.

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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. 
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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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