Based on the work of Marilyn
Burns

DETERMINE AND SCAFFOLD THE
ESSENTIAL MATHEMATICS CONTENT
Essential Content
Tiered Lessons

PACE LESSONS CAREFULLY
Stop when confusion reigns.
Move on when students are ready.
Provide extra time for practice.
Provide appropriate type, level and amount of practice.

BUILD IN A ROUTINE OF SUPPORT
Teacher models and thinks aloud.
Teacher models again with student responses.
Students work in pairs and the whole class shares.
Students work independently.

FOSTER STUDENT INTERACTION
Giving students opportunities to voice their ideas and explain them to others helps extend and cement their learning.
Integrate student interaction into every math lesson in a variety of ways.

MAKE CONNECTIONS EXPLICIT
Math is about connections and patterns.
Students who struggle often don’t make the connections independently.
Once a connection is made it must be practiced in various ways and contexts.

ENCOURAGE MENTAL CALCULATIONS
Calculating mentally builds students’ ability to reason and fosters their number sense.
Mental calculation is essential for estimating which is crucial for problem solving.

HELP STUDENTS USE WRITTEN
CALCULATIONS TO TRACK THINKING
Paper and pencil are tools for keeping track of how students think.

PROVIDE PRACTICE
Levels of Practice
• Guided Practice
• Massed Practice
• Distributed Practice
Consider the value of games for practice.

BUILD IN VOCABULARY INSTRUCTION
Many students who struggle in math have weak math vocabularies.
Teach vocabulary explicitly and in connection with the learning activity.
Use appropriate math vocabulary consistently.