By the Illustrative Mathematics team East Hartford Public Schools didn’t start its math improvement journey by choosing a new curriculum. It started by asking a more fundamental question: What should mathematics instruction look like, and why? That distinction...
By Hannah Herbert, PK–6 Content Specialist In one corner of a transitional kindergarten classroom, a small group of children sorts a pile of buttons—some by size, some by color—while their teacher listens in and asks what they notice. Nearby, two students negotiate...
By the Illustrative Mathematics team Every new school year brings both excitement and plenty of questions. Whether you’re teaching with IM® Math for the first time, returning after summer break, or supporting teachers as a coach, we’ve gathered some of our most...
by Fattama Alkaysi, Content Specialist, PK–6 In this series of blog posts—The Anatomy of an IM® Math Lesson—we’ll take a closer look at each part of an IM Math lesson and how it contributes to meaningful student learning. After exploring the launch in our first post,...
By Cristina Roof, Math Specialist, Lexington Public Schools What are students thinking as they sit on the rug during a whole-class lesson? How much are they learning? How much are they simply just sitting quietly in their own world? These questions became the focus of...
By Neal Tucker, Director of Marketing, with Linelle Brunson, EdD., Senior Specialist in Partnerships When I got home from the District 7 New York City Public Schools Math Showdown in the Bronx, I brought back a painted rock that says ”I’m a math person.” The IM is the...
By the Illustrative Mathematics team When we think about math class, it’s easy to picture students sitting at desks, working through problems on paper or screens. But some of the most powerful math learning happens when students are moving, talking, gesturing, and...
Catherine Castillo, Sr. Implementation Specialist Brea Jimenez, Sr. Specialist, Facilitator Certification and Quality Assurance What do you notice about this NCTM framework for mathematics teaching? What do you wonder? You likely noticed that four of these teaching...
Jennifer Cullen, Math Instructional Coach/Interventionist, Hortonville Area School District How do you transform math instruction to reach every student—from those who struggle to those who soar? We recently sat down with Jennifer Cullen, an experienced instructional...
Deepa Bharath, District Instructional Lead Teacher, Mathematics at Cambridge Public Schools Sarah Caban, Interim Director, K–5 Teacher Learning at Illustrative Mathematics “Illustrative Mathematics is a problem-based curriculum that fosters the development of...
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