By Claire Neely, Senior Implementation Specialist Illustrative Mathematics’ redesigned IMplementation Reflection Tool (IRT) is a powerful, non-evaluative resource intended to shape the way your school adopts and implements...
Introducing IM 360: Taking Students Around the World of Mathematics
Oct 18, 2023
By William McCallum, IM CEO You asked, we listened, and now, we are preparing to deliver! I am excited to tell you today about our new curriculum, IM 360, which was developed based on your thoughtful feedback. IM 360 is the...
Getting Ready for 2023–2024 Back to School: Getting to Know Your Curriculum
Aug 22, 2023
By the IM Team And just like that, school is back in session! Whether you are implementing the IM curriculum for the first time or getting a fresh start as you experience year two or three, the beginning of the year is the...
Getting Ready for 2023–2024 Back to School: Building a Math Community
Jul 26, 2023
By the IM Team As summer winds down, we understand that you are not rushing toward the finish line of your summer break. Hopefully, there have been many lazy days, trips or adventures, and time spent with family and...
Exploring the Lesson Synthesis: When do I actually teach?
Mar 2, 2023
By Lizzy Skousen, 6–12 Curriculum Writer, IM Certified® Facilitator During a problem-based lesson, the teacher does a lot of listening while monitoring student learning. When teachers are introduced to a problem-based...
Help Students Know, Use, and Enjoy Quadratics
Nov 17, 2022
By Joseph Koelsch, IM Certified® Facilitator “I’ve said it before: equations are the devil’s sentences. The worst one is that quadratic equation, an infernal salad of numbers, letters, and symbols.” - Stephen Colbert Did...
Supporting Teachers During Implementation of Illustrative Mathematics: Big Ideas For Coaches and Teacher Leaders
Nov 8, 2022
By Sonja Twedt, IM Certified® Facilitator, 6–12 Special Projects Course Assistant Are you an instructional coach or teacher leader in a district that is adopting Illustrative Mathematics? If so, you’ve likely found yourself...
Strategies for Instituting Equitable Math Instruction
Oct 18, 2022
Dionne Aminata, Senior Director of Strategic Initiatives, Marketing, Illustrative Mathematics Rolanda Baldwin, Vice President of Mathematics, UnboundEd Illustrative Mathematics and UnboundEd both agree that achieving racial...
Tackling Wordy Problems: How the Three Reads Math Language Routine Supports Access for All Learners
Aug 9, 2022
by Joe Herbert “These problems are great, but they’re just so wordy. My students can’t handle all that reading!” Does this feel familiar? If so, you’re not alone! Many students and teachers struggle with the language...
Empowering Students with the Geometry Reference Chart
Jul 25, 2022
By Tina Cardone Geometry class can feel like word salad, with a heavy sprinkling of notation on top. Students need to both process and produce mathematical language in the vast majority of the tasks they work on. Here is a...
Making IM Centers Work: Joyful Practice, Meaningful Fluency, and Authentic Assessment
Jun 13, 2022
By Maureen D. O’Connell “How is it going with your implementation of IM K–5 Math Centers?” That’s my favorite question to ask during professional learning for IM K–5 Math. The response is a pedagogical temperature check...
Two Recommendations to Elevate Instruction
Mar 2, 2022
By Kate Nowak, IM Vice President of Curriculum Development and Portfolio “The more intensely interested a teacher is in a student’s thinking, the more interested the student becomes in his or her own thinking.”—Eleanor...
Math Language Routines: Discourse with a Purpose
Feb 17, 2022
By Dr. Kristen Taylor, IM Certified® Facilitator Math teachers can talk all day about math! We get super excited when we encounter someone else who enjoys these conversations as well. But too many of our students don't get...
Using IM K–5 Math™ to Support Cognitively Guided Instruction (CGI)
Nov 16, 2021
By Mike Henderson “The activities require skills that students are not taught prior to doing the activity. They’re expected to just jump right in. Why isn’t there more modeling or re-teaching of basic skills so students can...
Together Apart: Amplifying the “Gift of Student Thinking” in Distance Learning with IM
Oct 26, 2021
By Maureen D. O’Connell, IM K–5 Math™ Pilot Teacher,IM Certified® Facilitator for IM K–5 Math “The more intensely interested a teacher is in a student’s thinking, the more interested the student becomes in his or her own...
Multi-grade Classrooms and
IM K–5 Math™
Sep 8, 2021
By Jen Hawkins, IM Facilitator and IM K-5 Product Specialist Illustrative Mathematics believes that students can achieve success as mathematical thinkers by working through problems and consolidating their learning through...
A Love for Math Reignited
Jul 26, 2021
By Michael Ramirez, Director of Instructional Coaching, Partnership for Los Angeles Schools “Whenever students are being helped to see major concepts, big ideas, and general principles and are not merely engaged in the...
Differentiating Instruction with
IM 6–12 Math™
Jun 22, 2021
By Max Ray-Riek, Director of 6–12 Professional Learning In my role at IM, working with teachers and administrators, I am asked to help with the challenges of implementing an IM curriculum. We are often asked, “How can I...
Equitable Teaching Practices in IM 6–12 Math
Aug 11, 2020
by Tina Cardone The vision of Illustrative Mathematics is to create a world where learners know, use, and enjoy mathematics. This raises the question: Which learners? And what role do the authors of a curriculum play in...
Looking to the Fall, Part 2: Creating a Supportive Resource for K–5 Teachers
May 20, 2020
By Kristin Gray, Director K–5 Curriculum and Professional Learningand Kevin Liner, IM K–5 Professional Learning Lead In our previous post, we highlighted important considerations in planning to support students in the fall....
Shifting Practices: Helping Everyone—from Students to Administration—Find their Voice in the Math Classroom
Feb 29, 2020
It was easy to say yes! By Crystal Magers Last spring, I was approached by our Math Coordinator and asked about piloting a new math program. I knew my staff was ready for building-wide consistency and we were ready to try...
K–5 Curriculum Design Features that Support Equity and Inclusion
Feb 29, 2020
By Dionne Aminata Before I joined the K–5 curriculum writing team at IM, I was a K–8 regional math content specialist for a public charter organization that largely consisted of Title I schools, or schools receiving federal...
Building a Math Community with IM K–5 Math
Nov 2, 2019
“I’m not sure this is working. Only five of my students are participating and commenting each day. The rest sit there and look at me.” By Tabitha Eutsler This was my conversation with our math coordinator after my first few...
Which Vertex is the Center of a Triangle?
Sep 23, 2019
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...
Explicit Classroom Norms to Teach Kids How to Learn From Solving Problems
Jul 29, 2019
This blog post is the fourth in a series of four blog posts exploring the student experience of problem-based learning. The first three posts are available here: (1) “How Do Students Perceive Problem-Based Learning?” (2)...
Concrete Representations that Give Students a Way to Get Started
Jul 18, 2019
This blog post is the third in a series of four blog posts exploring the student experience of problem-based learning. The first two posts are available here: “How Do Students Perceive Problem-Based Learning?” and “Inviting...
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RECENT POSTS
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- Using the IMplementation Reflection Tool: Systemic Leadership (Part 1 of 3) November 26, 2024
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