IM Certified® Blog
Using Diagrams to Build and Extend Student Understanding
When students notice things, we often ask, ‘Why is that happening?” but it can be challenging to explain why beyond the procedure one followed.
But fifth graders are brilliant.
The 5 Practices: Looking at Differentiation Through a New Lens
By Catherine Castillo Our district had seen a downhill trend in standardized test scores in mathematics. This forced us, as educators, to take an intentional look at our teaching practices. The past few years have been an exciting time in math instruction. Research on...
Learning through Teaching
By William McCallum I was in New Orleans a couple of weeks ago visiting a school using IM 6–8 Math and was inspired by the efforts the school was making to implement problem-based instruction. I saw teachers at different stages on a learning curve with the...
Creating an Accessible Mathematical Community with IM K–5: the power of “yet” for students and adults
Does the perfect elementary math curriculum exist? Armed with a growth mindset and the Alpha IM K–5 curriculum, teachers in Ipswich Public Schools push their thinking to reach all mathematicians. By Maureen D. O’Connell I preach growth mindset daily. When my students...
Using Instructional Routines to Inspire Deep Thinking
We want students to think about math deeply. Creatively. Analytically. Instead, what often happens is that students race towards quick solutions. So what can we do to support this other kind of thinking in class—the slow, deep kind? By Jenna Laib One way is through...
Making Authentic Modeling Possible
The first thing you have to understand is that asking people to model with mathematics makes them mad. Not in all contexts, though! At a social gathering with a generally amiable and curious group of people, you might try floating a question like: I wonder if...
Which Vertex is the Center of a Triangle?
By William McCallum I am sometimes asked what is the secret to the success of our curriculum, what is the special property that sets it apart from other curricula. That question is like the one in the title of this blog post, “Which vertex is the center of a...
Updates to Supports for Students with Disabilities and English Language Learners in IM 6–8 Math
At Illustrative Mathematics we are committed to creating a world where learners know, use, and enjoy mathematics. We believe that every student can learn grade-level mathematics with the right opportunities and support. Our approach is to remove unnecessary barriers...
Preparing for the School Year, Updated with Tips for Staying on Pace
Last year, we put together some reading to help people get started planning their year with IM 6–8. Now, we have another year’s worth of blog posts to choose from, plus a shiny, new high school curriculum! So once again, we’ve gathered some posts from IM’s blog with...
Co-Creating Classroom Norms with Students
Establishing norms is critical to creating an environment where all students see themselves as knowers and doers of mathematics. Reflecting on the Illustrative Mathematics mission statement, Creating a world where learners know, use, and enjoy mathematics, how can we...
