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Overview
Do The Math Now! reinforces the key foundational concepts that are critical for algebra. The yearlong course is designed for middle and high school students who need support in addition to their regular class instruction. Specifically developed to address these students' needs with the basics of numbers and operations, content is sequenced and paced to build understanding and skills.
Do The Math Now! rebuilds critical mathematical foundations for understanding and:
- Develops understanding of key concepts and skills with whole numbers and fractions—the essentials necessary for students to succeed in algebra and higher-level mathematics
- Provides lessons that balance developing understanding and learning procedures
- Strengthens students’ ability to make sense of concepts, solve problems, reason, and use appropriate tools
Program Structure
Do The Math Now! is organized into two volumes: Multiplication & Division and Fraction Fundamental. Each volume contains five units of fifteen 30-minute lessons that include step-by-step teaching support, games, suggestions for differentiation, and embedded assessments.
Multiplication & Division
Fraction Fundamentals
Implementation
Do The Math Now! complements your core instructional program as it provides foundational support for struggling older students and is ideal for Special Education, English language learners, and Tier 2 and 3 students.
Consistent Structure
Do The Math Now! is organized into two volumes: Multiplication & Division and Fraction Fundamentals. Content is introduced with a focus on meaning and number sense. Direct, explicit, teacher-led instruction is intentionally scaffolded and sequenced to build students' competence and confidence.
Instruction in Do The Math Now! connects content with practice through direct instruction, meaningful practice, suggestions for differentiation, and strategically placed formative assessments. Each unit follows the same progression from steps 1 through 5.
1Beginning-of-Unit Assessment
Students complete the assessment as a pre-unit snapshot of what they know.
2Prepare
The Unit Overview offers a summary of the content and instruction of the following 15 lessons. Planners are provided before each set of five lessons, along with a letter from Marilyn Burns explaining the context and goals of the upcoming lessons.
3Teach the Lessons
Each lesson begins with a sidebar containing the Lesson Summary, Objectives, Materials, Interactive Whiteboard tools, Preparation, and Language Development, followed by step-by-step instructions.
4Assess Student Understanding
Every fifth lesson is an opportunity to monitor student progress with Show What You Know WorkSpace pages. The CheckPoint page provides ideas for differentiating instruction and offers additional practice.
5End-of-Unit Assessment
This assessment measures student growth when compared with the performance of the Beginning-of-Unit Assessment.
Instructional Strategies
By focusing on whole numbers and fractions, Do The Math Now! rebuilds the most critical foundations for algebra. The carefully paced and connected content provides time for students to reason, reflect, and practice. Students spend time on key concepts over the course of multiple lessons, deepening understanding. As math begins to make sense, confidence and motivation increase.
Research-Based Intervention Practices
Lessons in Do The Math Now! integrate eight research-based instructional practices that are proven effective with struggling students. These instructional strategies enhance students’ capacity to learn.
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Scaffolded
ContentScaffolding the content makes the mathematics more accessible to students.
Do The Math Now! focuses on building deep understanding of Number and Operations. Each module is focused on a few objectives. The content is carefully scaffolded to ensure that students make connections and see the relationships between concepts. READ LESS...
Explicit
InstructionStudents benefit from instruction based on teaching for understanding.
Explicit instruction is a strategy in which the teacher:
(1) Demonstrates and provides clear models of how to solve a problem or learn a skill, (2) guides students to understand and articulate relationships, (3) provides extensive practice with timely feedback, (4) encourages students to verbalize their thinking, and (5) helps students make connections between their mathematical experiences and the concepts and skills. READ LESS...
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Multiple
Strategies &
Visual ToolsMultiple strategies and visual representations for developing concepts and skills support student learning.
To deepen students’ mathematics understanding, lessons engage students with each concept and skill in several ways and consistently integrate multiple representations of mathematical concepts.
- Manipulative materials provide students concrete experiences with abstract ideas.
- Games offer engaging situations where mathematical understandings and skills are reinforced.
- Children’s literature provides a springboard for instruction.
- Contexts make abstract mathematical ideas accessible.
Gradual
ReleaseFour-phase pedagogy built on gradual release prepares students for individual success.
In Gradual Release pedagogy, the focus of instruction is on the level of responsibility the teacher maintains during the first three phases to ensure that students have the mathematical understanding before releasing them to complete a task on their own. This process of moving through phases of dependence to independence has been shown to be an effective strategy, ensuring optimal learning and achievement. READ LESS...
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Student
InteractionResearch shows that students’ interaction such as “Think, Pair, Share” deepens student understanding.
Think: Students collect their thoughts individually.
Pair: Students discuss with a partner.
Share: Students report to the whole group, giving students the opportunity to express their ideas and hear others’ ideas and perspectives, which helps them to clarify their thinking.
The listening and speaking that occur during Think, Pair, Share can be especially valuable for students who are developing English language skills. READ LESS...
Meaningful
PracticeAssignments provide students opportunities to practice, strengthen, and extend their learning.
Practice is an essential part of every lesson. The written practice in the WorkSpace is always similar to what students experienced during the lesson and gives them the opportunity to record their thinking. The practice has been carefully sequenced to move from concrete experiences, to pictorial representations, to symbolic recording. READ LESS...
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Vocabulary
& LanguageScaffolded vocabulary instruction helps students develop effective communication about the math they are learning.
Vocabulary is introduced after students experience concepts. Vocabulary lessons follow a consistent routine: the teacher writes the vocabulary on the math vocabulary chart and provides an example; students see, hear, say, write, and read. The vocabulary is then incorporated throughout the lessons to support students’ learning. A glossary in the WorkSpace provides students a reference for definitions.
Key mathematics and academic vocabulary words are listed at the start of each lesson along with Spanish translations. Linking learning experiences to mathematical representations and language supports language development. READ LESS...
Assessment &
DifferentiationOngoing assessment and strategies for differentiation are built into the program to help teachers meet individual student needs.
During lessons, teachers observe students working in the whole group, with partners, and independently. Specific guidance for how to promote understanding and address student misconceptions is integrated into the lessons. Suggestions for differentiating instruction are included after every fifth lesson, both for students who need additional help and for those who are ready for additional challenges. READ LESS...
CLICK HERE for more information on the Research-Based Intervention Strategies.
