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Building Blocks of Math: Moving Beyond Foundations

The Building Blocks of Math: Moving Beyond Foundations Educator Section includes tools as well as ready-to-use classroom materials. Educators can see how the Common Core State Mathematics Standards and the Common Core State Standards for Mathematical Practice align with the Building Blocks of Math: Moving Beyond Foundations books, organized by the grade level(s) they teach. In addition, educators will have access to reading resources such as discussion guides and comprehension checks. Provided classroom activities can be used to support students’ number sense understanding, flexibility with numbers, and overall confidence with math. Finally, the Educators Section also includes engaging lessons, centered around standards, with built-in differentiation options to support all learners as they continue to explore this content.

Building Blocks of Math Standards Alignment:

Use this section to view how the Common Core State Mathematics Standards and the Common Core State Standards for Mathematical Practice align to the Building Blocks of Math: Moving Beyond Foundations series.

Reading Resources

Each book in the Building Blocks of Math: Moving Beyond Foundations series comes with a Discussion Guide as well as a Comprehension Check! Each Discussion Guide includes 10 questions and is intended to be used during or after reading the text to help students better understand the content. Potential answers are also included. Each Comprehension Check also includes 10 questions and comes with an Answer Key. The Comprehension Check is intended to be used after reading and is a great assessment option.

Classroom Activities

These activities are designed for classroom use and can be used in both the small group and/or whole group setting. These activities bring some fun, engagement, and reflection to students’ learning!

I Have…, Who Has…? Expressions

In this interactive game, students will apply what they know about exponents, variables, standard form, word form, and equivalent expressions. It is suggested to use this activity after introducing these concepts to students as this activity can be used to review or to provide them with additional practice.

Operations with Decimal Numbers

This activity is designed for students in fifth grade, as well as any students working on strategies for using operations with decimal numbers. In this review activity, students will create a poster highlighting their favorite strategies for adding, subtracting, multiplying, and dividing decimal numbers. Students will also have the opportunity to show how they can employ those strategies to solve a variety of problems involving operations with decimal numbers.

Finding Common Denominators to Add and Subtract Fractions

This collaborative activity is designed to help students understand why finding common denominators is a necessary step when adding or subtracting fractions. Students will collaborate with their peers to identify errors in common mathematical thinking. This lesson also includes three leveled, independent assignments that can be used as extension opportunities, additional practice, or differentiated assessments of students’ ability to find common denominators to add and subtract fractions.

Lesson Plans

World Book has created lesson plans that can be used to help deepen students’ understanding of the Building Blocks of Math: Moving Beyond Foundations concepts. These full lesson plans are aligned to standards, include assessment options, describe possible differentiation considerations, and include a variety of ways for students to stay engaged in their learning. Many materials are included as quick and easy downloads for your convenience.

Geometry Hunt

This lesson has been designed for students in grades 3-5 with the purpose of reviewing common geometric terms. In addition, students will expand their recall abilities and develop a deeper understanding of how geometric terms and figures relate to one another. First, students will hunt through texts and their learning environment to define, sketch, and determine real-world examples of geometric terms. Next, students will apply that knowledge to complete one of four leveled, independent assignments.

Conversions with Ratio Tables

This lesson is designed for students in 4th through 6th grade and focuses on using one area of mathematics to think about and work with another. Here, students will use what they know about ratios and proportional reasoning to convert among different-sized standard measurement units within a given measurement system. In this lesson, students will engage with ratio tables to organize their thinking during whole group instruction, when collaborating with a peer, and when working independently.

Data Distributions

This lesson is designed for students in 6th grade, as well as any students working on data analysis skills. In this collaborative lesson, students will graph, determine measures of center and variability, and describe data sets related to the Summer 2020 Olympics in Tokyo, Japan (held during the summer of 2021). Students will determine the mean, median, mode, and range for given data sets, identify any outliers, and describe the shape and distribution of graphs they create using accurate and precise mathematical language. At the conclusions of this lesson, students will demonstrate their understanding by completing an independent assignment related to data analysis.