Lesson of the Month for May 2024 — Place Value Addition

The free Brick Math Lesson of the Month for May is from Brick Math Addition, and it’s the first time in the series that the concept of place value is introduced.  To get your free lesson on Place Value Addition, plus a new lesson each month, click here. 
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Place value is an important idea for students to learn early on. Modeling with bricks makes it easy. Here’s the idea: 1×1 bricks model the ones place, 1×2 bricks model the tens place, and 1×3 bricks model the hundreds place. That’s as far as we go in this lesson, but soon we will extend the place value modeling idea to thousands, ten-thousands, hundred-thousands, and more!

This lesson shows students how to model place value with bricks, and then it uses those models to show addition within the place values. Students start by modeling the numbers 25 and 123 with bricks. Once they understand the concept, they move to adding two numbers. When students model the math with bricks to show place value, the math becomes clear and concrete. 
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This lesson first shows the pages from the Addition Teacher Edition, with the step-by-step lesson guide for the teacher to follow. Then the rest of the lesson are the corresponding pages from the Student Edition, which have written instructions and give students a place to draw the models they are building. Try this lesson to introduce your students to the concept of place value. The hands-on nature of building with bricks will help them understand the meaning of place value quickly.
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Brick Math is a complete math curriculum for kindergarten through 8th grade that models the math with bricks. The curriculum is divided into 13 separate content areas: Counting, Addition, Subtraction, Multiplication, Division, 
​Basic Fractions,   Basic Measurement, Fraction Multiplication, Fraction Division, Advanced Measurement and Geometry, Decimals, Data and Statistics, and Pre-Algebra. Students can start anywhere in the curriculum. It can be used as a complete math curriculum or brought in as a supplement to help students who aren’t having math success with other programs.
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Brick Math works in many applications: for homeschooling, math intervention, enrichment, and as a whole-school program. Materials are simple and affordable.

For an innovative way to teach and learn K-8th grade math, check brickmath.com. The website includes videos for both teacher training and direct instruction of students. You can learn more about how Brick Math improves students’ math test scores and hear what people who are using Brick Math have to say about the program. ​