The Math Learning Center Blog

In collaboration with the Association of Mathematics Teacher Educators (AMTE), The Math Learning Center is offering an Elementary Mathematics Specialist Scholarship. This scholarship provides financial assistance for educators seeking to become elementary math specialists, teacher leaders, or instructional coaches. Three $2,000 scholarships are awarded each year to current elementary educators...

I assume that you teach math to elementary school students or are very interested in this aspect of schooling. Here is a pop quiz. Name some people who have made major, lasting contributions to the discipline of math education, and say what they contributed. (Think about this a little before going on to the next paragraph.) If I asked this question about the discipline of science, you might think...

The Learning to Think Mathematically series, written by Dr. Jeff Frykholm, is now available free from The Math Learning Center. These insightful books provide families and educators with innovative resources and novel strategies to help young learners develop powerful mathematical insights and problem-solving strategies. The premise underlying the Learning to Think Mathematically series is that...

Last year we added Math and the Mind’s Eye to our collection of free resources. Math and the Mind’s Eye is a supplemental program based on visual models that can be taught in sequence or used as individual lessons. The 14 units that make up this program cover math concepts typically taught in middle school but extend into upper and lower grade levels as well. To round out our secondary offerings...

You may have noticed some changes to our website recently. These changes were made in an effort to simplify the content and improve navigation. The biggest change by far is to our collection of free, downloadable materials. Not only did we move these materials from our online catalog, but we also expanded the collection. Most notably, we added two programs, Visual Mathematics and Algebra Through...

The second edition of Bridges and Number Corner launched in 2013, and since then The Math Learning Center has continued to offer materials and support for first edition users. We will continue to produce kits upon request through December 31, 2018, after which we will consider the product line retired. Consumable student books will also be discontinued at that time. Note that we currently offer...

I was recently at a workshop where the leader brought up the base-ten area pieces on the document camera. She asked the teachers seated in the audience, “What do you notice?” Area models and the place value number system Once you notice one thing, notice something else. Keep going. What’s the pattern? What will the next-larger one look like? What will the next-smaller one look like? Take a moment...

In his August 2016 President’s Message , current NCTM President Matt Larson examines the relationship between the growing availability of open educational resources and curricular coherence. He explains that “[a] critical feature of high-quality curricular materials is that they are coherent. Coherence, with respect to mathematics curriculum, generally means that connections are clear and receive...

Math vocabulary equips students to understand concepts, extend their learning, and engage in deeper communication. Word Resource Cards help you create a rich environment for mathematical exploration. Here are examples from my own classroom: MP.3 Construct viable arguments and critique the reasoning of others — Vocabulary enhances student discussions. Just yesterday, students in my fifth grade...

While preparing to teach a fifth grade lesson using clock fractions, I ran across a photo on Pinterest that inspired me to try a little paper plate math. How to Assemble: Get two plates in two different colors. Mark the center and make one straight cut from the edge to the center point. I stacked the plates on top of each other and cut them at the same time. Slide the plates together so that the...