 The FREE Brick Math Lesson of the Month for November 2021 is on adding fractions with like denominators, using LEGO bricks to model the fractions. To get the November 2021 Lesson of the Month, plus a new lesson each month, click here. It's accompanied by a quick video of this same lesson, to help you understand how to teach with the Brick Math method. You'll find it is easy to teach and fun to learn!  This lesson perfectly illustrates the idea of adding two fractions that have the SAME denominator. The simple trick of using bricks of the same color to show the like denominators of the fractions really helps students grasp the concept. Students will quickly understand the idea when you teach it this way. 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 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.
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 Wow -- it's fall already! For October 2021, the Brick Math Lesson of the Month is a treat for learning basic subtraction concepts. To get the October 2021 Lesson of the Month, plus a new lesson each month, click here.  Subtraction can be tricky for a young student to learn. Addition makes sense -- adding to or joining -- but subtraction is taking away, or the inverse of addition, and students need to understand the concept clearly. That's where Brick Math comes in. The lesson shows how to model the action of subtraction in a hands-on way that makes subtraction concrete and real.  The lesson includes both the Teacher's Lesson Guide and the corresponding Student Workbook pages. And the lesson also includes a link to a video of Brick Math author Dr. Shirley Disseler demonstrating first addition, and then subtraction lessons using this technique. Read the lesson, watch the video, and then try it with your own student(s)!  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.  The September 2021 Brick Math Lesson of the Month teaches addition using ten-frames to model the math. To get the September 2021 Lesson of the Month, plus a new lesson each month, click here. Since our number system is based on 10, ten-frames are a great way to teach addition within a general framework of the number 10. They really help students "see" more than and less than 10, which is vital for building conceptual understanding of addition and subtraction.  This basic lesson demonstrates adding 3 + 4 = 7, using two ten-frames to model the problem, and a third ten-frame to show the result. Notice that when modeling on a ten-frame, it helps to build the answer as a full row of 5 studs and a second partial row of 2 studs. This further reinforces the concept of the ten-frame.  Two videos are included with this lesson of the month. In the first video, author Dr. Shirley Disseler shows how to build ten-frames with bricks, and in the second video, she demonstrates this lesson. Watching Dr. Disseler teach Brick Math lessons is a great way to get comfortable teaching lessons to your student(s). 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.  The August 2021 Lesson of the Month comes from the Decimals book. To get the August 2021 Lesson of the Month, plus a new lesson each month, click here. For the first time, we’re showing you Part 2 of a lesson, or “Show What You Know.” This comes after the teacher has demonstrated the skill in Part 1 of the lesson (“Show Them How”), with the students working along with their own bricks. In Part 2, the teacher poses a problem for the students to work out while the teacher observes and coaches.  In Part 1, students have learned how to model decimals in a 100 x 100-stud decimal grid. In Part 2, students are first asked to model 0.42 in a decimal grid with bricks. Next, they are asked to try modeling any combination of studs that adds up to 0.30. In the Decimals book, the example illustrated is 0.14 + 0.16. The 100 x 100 decimal grid is a very useful tool to explain the concept of decimals to the one-hundredth place. Author of the Brick Math series, Dr. Shirley Disseler, demonstrates how to teach this decimal addition lesson in a one-minute Brick Math video, which is also part of the August 2021 Lesson of the Month. Watching the videos on the website really helps a teacher or parent understand how to guide a student through the Brick Math curriculum. 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.  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.  Happy summer to everyone! It's been a looooong school year for teachers, students, and parents—not one we hope to repeat again! Here's a new Brick Math Lesson of the Month for you to try. We think the Brick Math program will be especially helpful in the upcoming school year for kids who have lost some math skills during the pandemic year.  The Brick Math Lesson of the Month for July 2021 is on Division Basics. It's a great way to introduce the concept of division to a student. The lesson uses LEGO bricks to model three basic division problems: 4 ÷ 2 = 2; 8 ÷ 4 = 2; and 6 ÷ 3 = 2. When a student builds the problems with bricks and counts the studs on each brick, the idea of division is made simple to learn. To get the July 2021 Lesson of the Month, plus a new lesson each month, click here. The lesson is accompanied by a short video that illustrates the brick building process for each problem. Watch it before you teach the lesson to your student(s), or watch it along with your student(s)!  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.  See if you are smarter than a fifth grader! Adding decimals is typically part of the fifth grade math curriculum. Try this problem from Brick Math’s Decimals Using LEGO® Bricks: Solve 0.14 + 0.16 = ? Use bricks to model the solution. Watch Brick Math author Dr. Shirley Disseler teach this lesson. You can pause the video while you build your model of the math problem, then continue playing the video to check your answer. The lesson also includes more problems about adding decimals: 0.40 + 0.2. + 0.04 = ? 0.41 + 0.32 = ? 0.2 + 0.34 = ? Use bricks to model the solution Once you’ve solved all these problems, you’ll know how to add decimals, and you’ll be…as smart as a fifth grader! 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.  Acclaimed science writer Annie Murphy Paul wrote about the tremendous value in solving problems using real, 3-D objects in the New York Times Sunday, June 13. It’s so applicable to Brick Math, we just had to quote a little of the article: “Three-dimensional space offers additional opportunities for offloading mental work and enhancing the brain’s powers. When we turn a problem to be solved into a physical object that we can interact with, we activate the robust spatial abilities that allow us to navigate through real-world landscapes. This suite of human strengths, honed over eons of evolution, is wasted when we sit still and think. “This holds true for a wide variety of problem types — including basic arithmetic, complex reasoning, planning and challenges that require creative insight. People who are permitted to manipulate concrete tokens representing elements of the problem to be solved bear less of a cognitive load and enjoy increased working memory. They learn more and are better able to transfer their learning to new situations. They are less likely to engage in symbol pushing, or moving numbers and words around in the absence of understanding. They are more motivated and engaged and experience less anxiety. They even arrive at correct answers more quickly.” [italics and boldface are ours]  This is the essence of the Brick Math method. Students model K – 6th grade math problems using LEGO bricks, and in doing so, they activate their brains and really learn what the math means. Imagine building this brick model of dividing 24 by 6:  The brick model demonstrates the concept of dividing a set of 24 into 4 sets of 6. Using the 3-D bricks to model the problem helps a student, in the words of writer Paul, "navigate through real-world landscapes." Students put this another way: "I can SEE the math!" Later, the teacher introduces the number sentence 24 ÷ 6 = 4 so students learn how to write the problem using numerals. This problem is from Division Using LEGO® Bricks. Brick Math methods are based on learning theory from a number of leading experts. The program has been tested on students and shown to improve how well they learn 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.  This month's free Brick Math Lesson of the Month is simple but powerful. It demonstrates the idea of fact families and shows students how to model them using LEGO® bricks so they can fully grasp the concept. This lesson, "Fact Families," from Multiplication Using LEGO® Bricks, includes pages from the Teacher and Student books, along with a video demonstrating the lesson. To get the June 2021 Lesson of the Month and a link to the video lesson, plus a new lesson each month, click here.  Knowing fact families is a big step toward learning multiplication facts. In this lesson, students are asked to model the fact families for the numbers 6 and 8 using bricks. The lesson also gives teachers a very clear way to demonstrate the meaning of "4 sets of 2" (4 x 2) versus "2 sets of 4" (2 x 4). Besides showing the commutative property of multiplication, the concept of sets is important in many applications , including engineering, as well as a simple application such as sharing!  This lesson is from Chapter 3 of Multiplication Using LEGO® Bricks in the Brick Math series. Students typically learn this skill in grades 2-3. Try the free lesson with your students to see how much fun it is to learn with 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 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. |
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