We get lots of questions from parents who want to try Brick Math with their children, either for homeschooling or as a fun supplement at home. They often ask how to determine where their child should start, what books to purchase, and what bricks to use. Here's a guide to getting started with Brick Math: Brick Math basics: Brick Math is based on teaching individual math subjects. The series starts with Counting and Cardinality, and works its way up to Advanced Measurement and Geometry. There are 11 subjects available that track the typical K - 6 curriculum. You can view all of them here: https://www.brickmathseries.com/products.html To get a sample lesson of any subject, click on the subject, click on any version of the book, then click "Download Sample Lesson" or "Look Inside!" Determining what subjects to start with: If your child has already starting learning with another math curriculum, determine what he/she has mastered and move on from there. For example, the typical K-2nd grade curriculum includes Counting, Addition, and Subtraction, plus part of Basic Measurement (telling time). If your child has mastered those, move to the subjects that are typically in the 3rd-4th grade curriculum: Multiplication, Division, and Basic Fractions, plus most of Basic Measurement. Teacher and Student Editions: We suggest you buy the Teacher and Student Edition of each subject. You will use the Teacher Edition to guide your child through the lessons, and your child will use the Student Edition to draw their brick models, answer questions, and complete chapter assessments, so you will feel confident that they are ready to move on. Each child learning with Brick Math needs their own Student Edition. Print books or PDFs: Either version will work, but you will need to print out all the pages of the Student books for your child to write in. The books average about 80 pages in length. The books are in full color so the illustrations of the brick models are easy to understand. This is more important for the Teacher books, which include illustrations of the brick models you will make as teacher, and of the models you can expect your child to make. Since many people don’t have easy access to a color printer, or find color printing much more expensive, the print book may be a less expensive alternative to a PDF if you plan to print out most of the pages. Bricks needed: You can use your own LEGO bricks if you have plenty of them, or you can buy our Brick Set, which includes all the bricks needed for the entire Brick Math program. Every chapter has a list of all the bricks you need for that chapter, and there is a suggested brick inventory for the whole program in each book and on our website at https://www.brickmathseries.com/uploads/7/1/0/2/7102647/brickinventory.pdf. More resources: The Brick Math website includes lots of videos to help you get comfortable with the program and see the Brick Math method being taught by the author of the series.
https://www.brickmathseries.com/videos.html For additional information, check the website section for parents/homeschool: https://www.brickmathseries.com/for-parentshomeschool.html
0 Comments
Many homeschool families are using Brick Math: Teaching Math Using LEGO® Bricks for the math curriculum for their children ages 5 – 12, or in grades K – 6. We recently gave a short virtual presentation about Brick Math to interested parents associated with the Heartwood Charter School, a public charter school for independent study in California. Watch the video to see how Brick Math works for homeschool families. If you homeschool your child and are looking for math curriculum, this video presentation about Brick Math shows you the materials, explains how you can get started, and gives a short demonstration of a lesson. You can check the website for more information about how Brick Math can work for you and your child. Please feel free to contact us if you have more questions about Brick Math as a homeschooling math curriculum.
In the Brick Math program, students use LEGO bricks to learn elementary and middle school math. The bricks are also known as manipulatives—items that the students actually touch and move to model the math. How do manipulatives work in teaching math? There are three major ways that manipulatives help students learn: 1. Manipulatives make math concrete. When you read math problems in a textbook, you are asked to envision abstract concepts—subtracting 5 from 7, or multiplying 10 by 3, for example. But using manipulatives to model a concept makes the math concrete and real. In our examples, use 7 bricks to model the number 7, then remove 5 of those bricks to see clearly that 2 are left. Or make 3 groups of 10 bricks each to model multiplication, to clearly show the solution as 30. Students “get” the math when they can see it! 2. Manipulatives are tools to solve math problems. Engineers and scientists approach new problems by building models and testing their solutions. Manipulatives work the same way for math problems. When given a math problem, students use bricks to work through the problem. Different solutions can be tested and compared. 3. Manipulatives make math fun. Doesn’t the idea of doing math with LEGO bricks seem like a lot more fun than memorizing multiplication facts or doing long division with pencil and paper? Students and teachers across the globe agree! Teacher Sally Gray told us: "Instead of indoor recess with puzzles and games, my class begged to continue working on multiplication with Brick Math!" Using the beloved LEGO bricks as math manipulatives in a complete curriculum of K-6th grade math helps students build deep and lasting math ability. 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. Studies show that up to 30 percent of people report moderate to high levels of math anxiety, according to author Malia Wollan in an article that appeared on March 27, 2022 in the New York Times. Children as young as 6 can show signs of anxiety about math. Many adults (parent and teachers) make the mistake of telling children they are bad (or good) at math, which can increase the child’s apprehension about math. One of the reasons students become anxious about math is that math is taught in a high-pressure situation, often by teachers who are uneasy about their own math skills. The Brick Math program can help reduce students’ math anxiety. Students “see” the math by building models with LEGO® or LEGO-compatible bricks. They engage with the math by drawing solutions to math problems and by explaining the process they used in writing or orally. In this program, students use a wide variety of sensory skills that reinforce how to solve math problems. Addition, subtraction, multiplication, division, and fractions come alive to students when they learn with LEGO® bricks. The New York Times article recommends, “When you work on calculations with children, try to do so with curiosity, playfulness and a sense of adventure.” When math becomes fun, the student’s anxiety level decreases. That’s the power of 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 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. Brick Math is used by schools around the country to help students improve their math skills. Students learn math through a three-part process: creating models of the math with LEGO®-compatible bricks, then drawing those models, and finally, writing and verbalizing how the models work. This process helps students really understand math and quickly build confidence in their math abilities. Teachers and parents are curious about how Brick Math works. Here are the answers to seven of the most frequently asked questions about Brick Math: 1. What grade levels work for Brick Math? Counting and Cardinality, Addition, and Subtraction are geared for students in kindergarten to 2nd grade. Multiplication, Division, Basic Fractions, and Basic Measurement are generally taught in grades 3 – 5. Fraction Multiplication, Fraction Division, Decimals, and Advanced Measurement and Geometry are most often part of the curriculum in grades 4 - 6. We are in the process of extending Brick Math through the middle school curriculum with the subjects Data and Statistics, Ratios and Proportions, and Pre-Algebra. These will be available for the 2022-2023 school year. Of course, lessons in all the books can be used in different grade levels, depending on your students. 2. Does Brick Math improve test scores? There have been several studies of the effectiveness of Brick Math as a teaching tool. For grades K - 2, Brick Math has been shown to improve students' test scores by an average of 4 points. For grades 3 - 5, studies found average test score increases of 7 - 9 points from pre-test to post-test after teaching with Brick Math methods. Further, studies show students’ increase in engagement and excitement about math, as well as increases in conceptual understanding of the content. Click here to learn more about Brick Math studies 3. Is Brick Math a stand-alone math curriculum or a supplement to curriculum? Both. Some schools have adopted Brick Math as their elementary math curriculum, and others are using Brick Math to supplement their current textbook materials. The program provides differentiation for learners at a variety of levels. Accommodations and modifications for different types of learners are provided with the program. Click here to learn more about the differentiation capabilities of Brick Math 4. Is Brick Math aligned with curriculum standards? Yes. Brick Math’s research-based math lessons are designed to help introduce foundational concepts and build mastery through hands-on engagement. The Brick Math curriculum is aligned to the Principles, Standards and Expectations of the National Council of the Teachers of Mathematics (NCTM). A vertical K-6 progression highlighting alignment is included with the Teacher Edition. Click here to learn more about Brick Math curriculum alignment 5. Does Brick Math include lesson plans? Yes. The Teacher Edition guides the teacher through the lessons clearly and in sequence. The Student Edition gives each student a workbook for drawing brick models and explaining thinking in writing. In addition, the Student Edition includes extra problems, activities, and an assessment for each chapter. The teaching methods can be used by teachers and parents without any special training. Click here for sample Brick Math lesson plans 6. Is professional development available for the Brick Math program? Yes. Although no special training is required, professional development is available for schools that would like it when implementing the program. Schools can order Brick Math materials and professional development as a package or separately. Contact us if you are interested in arranging for a custom package with professional development. 7. How do I order Brick Math? Books and brick sets can be purchased online direct from the publisher, Brigantine Media. The paperback books are also available on Amazon, and Kindle versions of each book are available on Amazon Kindle. PDF versions are also available on the website Teachers Pay Teachers. For schools ordering the Brick Math program in quantity, with or without professional development, discounts and free shipping are available by ordering online. 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. 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. |
Categories
All
Archives
July 2024
|