Thinking Blocks™ Develops Algebraic Reasoning Skills

Thinking Blocks is an engaging, interactive math tool developed by classroom teachers to help students learn how to solve multistep word problems. Using brightly colored blocks, students model the relationships among the components of each word problem. With the help of a virtual teacher, students walk through a simple problem solving process and arrive at a solution. When building the models, students must identify information that is given as well as information that is unknown. Identifying and solving for an unknown quantity is a key concept in algebra. Thinking Blocks encourages students to look beyond the surface to discover the concepts and relationships that are at the core of every math problem.

Key Features

Guided Instruction
Each Thinking Blocks program contains six guided practice sets. Proper modeling techniques are practiced for specific types of word problems. The practice sets increase in difficulty and build upon concepts previously learned.

Application of Acquired Knowledge
The independent practice section gives students the opportunity to apply what they've learned. Students must first classify the word problem, then draw a model that reflects the given information. Performance is assessed in this section and students receive feedback and a final score.

Engaging Interaction
Movable blocks and student produced responses actively involve students in the problem solving process. Feedback for incorrect answers includes hints that help students get back on track.

Randomized Problem Sets
Each guided instruction set contains eight practice problems. Within each set, there are at least two conceptual variations of the problem type and several hundred numerical and story line variations. No two questions should ever be exactly the same.

Video Tutorials
Each independent practice set contains more than 100 video clips that help students transition from computer modeling to sketching the models on paper. The video instructor draws the model for a sample problem that closely resembles the problem presented to the student.