IM Certified® Blog
Empowering Multilingual Learners in Math
By Rabell Afridi, Math Coach and Lindsey Duff, Gr. 3 SEI Teacher In our multilingual 3rd grade math classroom one afternoon, students hurried to their desks, eager to get started on a problem. Before they were even seated, they were already debating their ideas. The...
What LEGO Taught Us About Play-Based Learning in Transitional Kindergarten
By Cherelle McKnight, Director, PK–6 Content During a virtual writing retreat, IM’s PK–6 content team gathered on Zoom and . . . played. My desk was covered with loose parts—small objects meant for building, arranging, and imagining. At one point, we were invited to...
Staying Curious in Transitional Kindergarten: What Inquiry Play Reveals About How Students Think
By Lindy Olejniczak, PK–6 Content Specialist This past year, I was playing with my friend’s 2.5-year-old sons. The “game” started with bringing colored balls from a ball pit and tossing them to me. As I caught each one, I began arranging them in different ways. At one...
Fluency Development Within and Across the Grades in IM® K–5 Math Part 4: Multiplication and Division
By Sarah Caban, Director, PK–12 Learning Experiences and Dionne Aminata, Former Grade 2–5 Lead Writer“Some students are never given the opportunity to engage with mathematics in rich and meaningful ways that emphasize critical thinking and problem solving. Moreover,...
Fluency Development Within and Across the Grades in IM® K–5 Math Part 3: Multiplication and Division
By Sarah Caban, Director, PK–12 Learning Experiences and Dionne Aminata, Former Grade 2–5 Lead Writer “The idea of being a ‘math person’ is based on two pervasive world views; first, the so-called ‘fixed’ mindset, that what one knows about math cannot change...
Fluency Development Within and Across the Grades in IM® K-5 Math Part 2: Addition and Subtraction
By Sarah Caban, Director, PK–12 Learning Experiences and Dionne Aminata, Former Grade 2–5 Lead Writer “We have to break from the notion that learning mathematics must be a linear and procedural endeavor mastered through rote practice and memorization. Instead, we must...
Fluency Development Within and Across the Grades in IM® K–5 Math Part 1: Addition and Subtraction
By Sarah Caban, Director, PK–12 Learning Experiences and Dionne Aminata, Former Grade 2–5 Lead WriterWhen do students practice their math facts? How is math fluency assessed?We appreciate these questions for a couple of reasons: 1) We took great care in thinking...
Pittsburgh Public Schools Part 2: The Coherence and Data Behind the Gains
By the Illustrative Mathematics team Pittsburgh Public Schools’ (PPS) third-grade proficiency rates nearly doubled just two years into implementing IM® Math through Imagine Learning, one of our IM Certified® curriculum distribution partners. But behind these recent...
Pittsburgh Public Schools Part 1: Third-Grade Math Proficiency Nearly Doubles with IM® Math
By the Illustrative Mathematics team In the 2024–2025 school year, 40.7% of Pittsburgh Public Schools (PPS) third-grade students scored proficient or advanced in mathematics, surpassing the district’s interim goal of 33.4% and nearly doubling proficiency rates from...
Staying Grounded in Classrooms: A School Visit to PS 121 in the Bronx
By the Illustrative Mathematics team In February, a group of Illustrative Mathematics (IM) leaders spent a day at PS 121, an elementary school in NYC Public Schools District 11 located in the Bronx. The purpose of the visit was straightforward but meaningful. We...
