![]() Journalist Jessica Grose has two recent op-eds in the New York Times that question the use of computers for children’s learning in subjects including mathematics. Students are using their school-issued Chromebooks and iPads to watch YouTube videos and play video games instead of following the teacher’s lesson. When kindergarteners learn to read only on iPads, not physical books, their comprehension suffers. Studies about technology-based education show that giving kids computers develops their computer proficiency, but not much else. Screens can help as practice tools, but they aren’t the best method for learning the basics of math and reading. ![]() Our solution: Brick Math. The curriculum was developed as a screen-free method of learning. With Brick Math, students build models of math problems with plastic building bricks in thirteen K - 8th grade math content areas that range from Counting to Pre-Algebra. The students draw a model with bricks and explain with words why the model shows the math. The brick model makes the math tactile and concrete. For many students, the physical process of building with bricks is the key to learning when a traditional curriculum hasn’t worked for them. ![]() Computers and screens may have their place in the classroom as “supports on the margins,” but their use seems limited. A screen-free program like Brick Math engages students fully and promotes true learning. 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. 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. ![]() Brick Math works in many applications: for homeschooling, math intervention, enrichment, and as a whole-school program. Materials are simple and affordable. For an innovative way to teach and learn 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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![]() Happy Spring! No April Fooling from us today -- it's time for a new FREE Brick Math Lesson of the Month! This lesson comes from Data and Statistics, which is part of the extension of the Brick Math curriculum into 7th-8th grade math subjects. It shows how to use bricks to model bar graphs and histograms, and maybe most importantly, to understand when to use the different types of graphs depending on the type of data. To get the April 2024 Brick Math Lesson of the Month, "Bar Graphs and Histograms" 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. ![]() This lesson really uses the bricks well to help students learn how to construct bar graphs and histograms when given a set of data. It reinforces a key piece of information about building graphs: that bar graphs are uses for discrete data and histograms are used for continuous data. Building graphs out of bricks and then drawing those graphs is part of the learning process that gives students confidence in their ability to represent data in graphical form. ![]() Data and Statistics and Pre-Algebra bring the Brick Math curriculum into 7th and 8th grade math. The topics are perfect for middle school students who are learning the topics for the first time, or for students who need some help learning because a more traditional curriculum has failed them. 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. 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. Brick Math works in many applications: for homeschooling, math intervention, enrichment, and as a whole-school program. Materials are simple and affordable.
For an innovative way to teach and learn 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. ![]() The FREE Brick Math Lesson of the Month for March 2024 comes from Pre-Algebra. It uses bricks to model an ingenious way to teach students how to solve two-step equations and inequalities. To get the March 2024 Brick Math Lesson of the Month, "Solving Two-Step Equations and Inequalities" 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. ![]() What's ingenious about the Brick Math method is the way specific bricks model specific parts of the equation. In the example shown, the green 1x2 bricks model two positive x terms. The red 1x1 brick models negative 1, and the green 1x1 bricks each model positive 1. The long yellow brick down the center models the equal sign. In this way, the model shows 2x - 1 = 7. Then the lesson shows how to manipulate the bricks to solve the equation. The lesson includes a chart of all the values each brick represents. ![]() Pre-Algebra sets the stage for all the high school math in the future, and many students learn the rote algorithms but never understand what they mean. Brick Math helps students develop a true understanding of math by approaching it in a concrete way. 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. 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. Brick Math works in many applications: for homeschooling, math intervention, enrichment, and as a whole-school program. Materials are simple and affordable. 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. ![]() The Brick Math Lesson of the Month for February 2024 helps students learn the value of coins by modeling with bricks. It's in Brick Math Basic Measurement Using LEGO® Bricks. Typically, coin values are introduced in 2nd or 3rd grade. To get the February 2024 Brick Math Lesson of the Month, "Coin Values," 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. ![]() In the lesson, one penny is modeled by one 1x1 brick. Five 1x1 bricks model a nickel, ten 1x1 bricks model a dime, and so on. The lesson goes on to have students identify the total amount of money shown by their brick models. They learn the value of each coin as well as how to add up values of several coins. So simple, and so effective! 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. 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. ![]() Brick Math works in many applications: for homeschooling, math intervention, enrichment, and as a whole-school program. Materials are simple and affordable. 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. ![]() 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. ![]() 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. 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. ![]() Brick Math works in many applications: for homeschooling, math intervention, enrichment, and as a whole-school program. Materials are simple and affordable. 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. Math scores in US are still lower than most other industrialized countries, according to the results of the PISA exam, given to students around the world. While reading scores have improved a bit, math still lags far behind in this test of 15-year-olds. In fact, in math, the US ranks 28th out of 37 participating countries. Why the discrepancy between the US and other countries? According to the New York Times, other countries consider math to be a learned skill, but in the US, math is seen more as a talent. This type of thinking can be very detrimental to students who may be pigeonholed early as not being a “math kid.” ![]() At Brick Math, we firmly believe that every student can learn math. According to author Dr. Shirley Disseler, “There is no such thing as a student who is bad in math. They just need to be taught with methods that work.” ![]() Brick Math uses LEGO® bricks to model math in 13 subjects from kindergarten through eighth grade. Students learn the “why” behind the math, which is key to building their math skills over time. The Brick Math program is perfect for visual and tactile learners. It makes math, which is an abstract concept, into concrete representations that students can see and feel. Brick Math is a modular program that can be brought in wherever students are falling behind in any of the 13 subjects in the K-8 math curriculum. ![]() Brick Math is a K-8 math curriculum that uses LEGO® bricks to model 13 different math subjects: Counting, Addition, Subtraction, Multiplication, Division, Basic Fractions, Basic Measurement, Fraction Multiplication, Fraction Division, Advanced Measurement and Geometry, Decimals, Data and Statistics, and Pre-Algebra. Brick Math works in many applications: for homeschooling, math intervention, enrichment, and as a whole-school program. Materials are simple and affordable. 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. ![]() The FREE Brick Math Lesson of the Month for December 2023 is all about a tricky subject: Fraction Division. It comes from Fraction Division Using LEGO® Bricks and helps students understand a math subject area typically taught in grades 4-6. To get the December 2023 Brick Math Lesson of the Month, "Understanding Fraction Division," 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. ![]() The Lesson of the Month comes from Chapter 1 of Fraction Division. It's a great way to demonstrate the meaning of dividing fractions. Often students don't understand what dividing by a fraction really is, even if they can handle the mathematical algorithm of multiplying by the reciprocal. This lesson clearly shows the concept and relates it to division by whole numbers. ![]() The lesson starts with a review of division by whole numbers, reminding students that "16 divided by 8" means breaking 16 into 8 groups , with 2 in each group. Then the lesson moves to an example with fractions, using the same terminology so students easily make the connection. The brick models help to demonstrate the concept. And this lesson includes two fraction division problems to help your students solidify the learning. Brick Math is a K-8 math curriculum that uses LEGO® bricks to model 13 different math subjects: Counting, Addition, Subtraction, Multiplication, Division, Basic Fractions, Basic Measurement, Fraction Multiplication, Fraction Division, Advanced Measurement and Geometry, Decimals, Data and Statistics, and Pre-Algebra. ![]() Brick Math works in many applications: for homeschooling, math intervention, enrichment, and as a whole-school program. Materials are simple and affordable. 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. ![]() The free Brick Math Lesson of the Month for November 2023 is a way to teach early learners about the value of money -- specifically, pennies, nickels, and dimes. To get the November 2023 Brick Math Lesson of the Month, "Understanding Money," 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. ![]() Using bricks to model coins is a simple and effective way to explain to students how much each coin is worth and to start their knowledge of our monetary system. A 1x1 brick represents one cent, and groups of five and ten are easy ways to show the value of a nickel and a dime. Students will quickly learn how to model various coins and will begin to understand how to count money using the techniques in this lesson. ![]() Brick Math is a K-8 math curriculum that uses LEGO® bricks to model 13 different math subjects: Counting, Addition, Subtraction, Multiplication, Division, Basic Fractions, Basic Measurement, Fraction Multiplication, Fraction Division, Advanced Measurement and Geometry, Decimals, Data and Statistics, and Pre-Algebra. Brick Math works in many applications: for homeschooling, math intervention, enrichment, and as a whole-school program. Materials are simple and affordable. 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.
![]() The October 2023 FREE Brick Math Lesson of the Month comes from Addition Using LEGO® Bricks. It helps students understand that there are many ways to combine numbers. To get the October 2023 Brick Math Lesson of the Month, "How Many Ways to Make 6?" 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. ![]() In the lesson, students model all the different ways numbers can be combined that total 6: 6 + 0, 5 + 1, 4 + 2, etc. Building a tower of bricks, students begin to understand what addition really means. It's a foundational skill that early learners need to have, and this Brick Math lesson turns the numbers from abstract to concrete. ![]() Brick Math is a K-8 math curriculum that uses LEGO® bricks to model 13 different math subjects: Counting, Addition, Subtraction, Multiplication, Division, Basic Fractions, Basic Measurement, Fraction Multiplication, Fraction Division, Advanced Measurement and Geometry, Decimals, Data and Statistics, and Pre-Algebra. Data and Statistics and Pre-Algebra expand the Brick Math curriculum to include grades 7 - 8. Brick Math works in many applications: for homeschooling, math intervention, enrichment, and as a whole-school program. Materials are simple and affordable. 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.
![]() The Brick Math FREE Lesson of the Month for September 2023 is about Mixed Numbers and is taken from Basic Fractions Using LEGO® Bricks. The concept of a mixed number (a whole number and a fractional part) can be difficult for students to grasp, but modeling with bricks makes it so easy to learn. To get the September 2023 Brick Math Lesson of the Month, "Mixed Numbers," 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. ![]() The lesson on mixed numbers first shows that a whole number can be divided into equal parts, and then shows how one more of that fractional part is added to the whole to make the mixed number. It's a very effective way to teach the concept of mixed numbers. It also shows the power of the Brick Math program, which makes math concepts visual and tactile so all students can learn them. ![]() Brick Math is a K-8 math curriculum that uses LEGO® bricks to model 13 different math subjects: Counting, Addition, Subtraction, Multiplication, Division, Basic Fractions, Basic Measurement, Fraction Multiplication, Fraction Division, Advanced Measurement and Geometry, Decimals, Data and Statistics, and Pre-Algebra. Data and Statistics and Pre-Algebra expand the Brick Math curriculum to include grades 7 - 8. Brick Math works in many applications: for homeschooling, math intervention, enrichment, and as a whole-school program. Materials are simple and affordable. 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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