Try DreamBox Learning Math Lessons

With a mathrack virtual manipulative, students learn that you can build the same number in several different ways, e.g. 10+3 = 7+6. Students can use a variety of strategies to solve these problems, including the commutative property (10+4 = 4+10), doubles or near doubles (10+4 = 7+7), and more.

Virtual tools push students beyond counting by ones to using groups of 2, 3, 5 and 10. After successfully building numbers, students are given more “restrictions,” like building numbers from a number other than 0.

Early learners often struggle to “wrap” or move to the next row on a hundreds chart. The distance between numbers can be hard to grasp. For example, the number 30 is just one space away from 40 on a hundreds chart. 

Snap Blocks lessons let students build and evaluate expressions with multiple addends to build understanding of the equal sign. The difficulty is increased by the number of addends on each side of the equation.

Turn hard problems into “friendlier” problems by making one of the addends a multiple of 10. Students start with smaller 2-digit addends, and when they’re ready they use 3-digit addends. It’s an efficient mental math strategy.

Students visualize making jumps on a number line and use a variety of strategies for both addition and subtraction. Strategies include “Making Jumps of 10” (e.g. 79+33 = 79+10+10+10+3) and “Using Landmark Numbers” (e.g. 79+33 = 79+1+20+10+2).

Students create shapes with a specific side length, then measure the other sides using a ruler. They construct triangles, quadrilaterals, and polygons, and use a ruler to measure their sides.

In a series of activities, a given rectangle is covered using smaller rectangles. As grid lines are removed, students work with open arrays. As rectangles are moved, students explore ideas in multiplication: distributive, associative, and commutative properties.

A number line representation ensures students can compare and order fractions apart from any specific part-whole context. Students use landmark fractions and numbers to place fractions on number line from 0 to 1 and from 0 to 2.

Students create a specific type of triangle, utilizing knowledge from previous game set. Students construct different types of triangles, quadrilaterals, and polygons, using a ruler and protractor to measure side lengths and angles.

This lesson helps students think conceptually, not procedurally, about subtracting fractions by using the “removal” or “take away” strategy. This enables skill of subtracting mixed numbers and improper fractions fluently, mentally, and easily.

These lessons engage students in learning the standard algorithm as another approach to solving subtraction problems. A warehouse shipment example gives concrete place value connection to the steps in the algorithm, so students learn appropriate notation.

Students use the order of operations to evaluate expressions involving addition, subtraction, multiplication and division.

Students learn to locate both positive and negative decimal numbers on a number line by “zooming in” and “zooming out” to a specific range using magnifying glasses that scale the number line by either 10 times or 100 times.

Students define and use a Cartesian coordinate grid to locate points and measure distances between points.

Students fluently simplify expressions involving exponents.

Students are given a shape with marked angles and side lengths, then asked to create a new shape using scale factor by constructing different types of triangles, quadrilaterals, regular polygons, and scaled polygons.

Students use the order of operations to evaluate integer expressions involving addition, subtraction, multiplication and division.

Students deepen understanding of angle measurement and rotation while fluently reasoning about and using supplementary and vertical angle relationships. Students use deductive reasoning to make rotations, aim for targets, and determine angle measurements.

Students interpret the equation y = mx+b as defining a linear function, whose graph is a straight line.

Students determine the rate of change from two (x,y) values, including reading these from table or from a graph.